AUGUST 15 TO AUGUST 22: Pre-Rally and Rally Time!

Wednesday, August 15, we drove 10 minutes east of the Spearfish Walmart to Elkhorn Ridge RV Resort . The Chapter Pre-Rallies and the American Coach Association National Rally were to be held at this location starting that afternoon.  Elkhorn Ridge is a large campground with 186 RV sites, many cabins,  tent camping, and many amenities to go along with this scenic location at the edge of the South Dakota Black Hills.

Front view









Side view










 We're members of 3 ACA chapters, and the morning gatherings and Happy Hour meals provided abundant pre-rally food and companionship.



Thursday, August 16,  we started the day with a  coffee and light pastries gathering. We went into Spearfish to take care of some errands, and then went 40 miles west on Hwy. 14 to Sundance, Wyoming, so we could say we had been to Wyoming!. We ate lunch at Higbees Cafe.





      At 5 P.M. there was a happy hour gathering  with hot dogs and all the trimmings.


Friday, after the coffee gathering, it was time for more sightseeing. The Spearfish Canyon Road was reported to be one of the sights to see in the area so that was our destination after breakfast. We traveled US 85 to Deadwood, SD, known for its gold rush history  The downtown area has a lot of old west architecture mixed with a few modern buildings. There are casino or gaming signs on many buildings, and the area is accessible on foot or on trolleys from the parking lots at the edge of town.











Lead, SD is Deadwood's neighbor, and is also a product of the Black Hills gold rush.





From Lead, it was a short drve to the the 22 mile Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway, which climbs 2000 feet through rugged back country. Bridal Veil Falls is on the side of the road....no hiking required





The name of this 60 ft waterfall can be seen in the shape of the water as it falls over the edge and thinly veils the limestone and other rock layers like Victorian lace.

















There are plenty of trails for those hardy people who are up for the challenge.










Friday evening, there was another chapter Happy Hour with a catered barbecue dinner.

Saturday, August 18 was the official start of the rally with an evening dinner and giveaways for the 250 attendees.  During the next 4 days, there were meals, entertainment, an ice cream social,  some seminars, more giveaways,  and a tent of vendors to visit, along with chapter happy hours every day.


Sunday, we joined 46 others for a bus trip to the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore.  After a rally continental breakfast, we departed the campground at 9:05 A.M. for the 90 minute drive to the Crazy Horse Memorial through part of the scenic Black Hills. It was rainy, windy foggy and quite chilly when we started out, but the rain had stopped,  and the fog had lifted a little by the time we arrived at our first stop. The Memorial includes a large Indian Museum, as well as the mountain carving in progress. Proceeds from the site go toward funding the Indian University of North America as well as funding the memorial.  No government funds are accepted for these projects, and development has been slow, but constant, by the descendants of the sculptor who began the memorial.



This is the sculptor's model for the mountain carving taking place.

The memorial is far from completed.  The work is currently being done on the extended hand of Crazy Horse.  There was still some fog rolling by as we took this picture.





We enjoyed a delicious box lunch as we departed the Memorial and headed a short distance away to Mount Rushmore National Park.




As you enter the exhibit, you see the familiar sight straight ahead.

Amazingly, there were no worker fatalities during the construction of Mt. Rushmore.  However, several men later died from a lung condition caused by breathing the constant dust that resulted from the use of dynamite and jack hammers.




Our tour bus headed back to the campground under sunny skies about 3:30. After joining some friends for a dinner at Applebee's, we were ready to call it a day!


The rally ended on Wednesday night, August 22, with a dinner, and a variety of entertainment, including a marriage between two older members who decided this was the time and place for their wedding. An Indian minister officiated.  There was also a family magician show, followed by a DJ with music for dancing.


During our stay in Speafrish, we got to experience another of the thunderstorms that seem to come up in this area almost daily. There were no warnings with this one, but a high wind gust caused our new Eagle One antenna to break above the coach connection.  Hank has made one good antenna (we hope) from the two broken ones, and will test it when we get to a place where we'll be for several days.