Strolling Amok

Pops goes on tour.

Archive for the category “Campsites”

26 Aug 2017
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Scouting for Campsites

After overnighting at the Cabela’s store in Rapid City, South Dakota and listening to the subtle strains of reggae music blasting across the way from a gathering at a nearby parking lot all evening, I set off to visit the South Dakota Air & Space Museum the following morning. After that, I had all afternoon to locate a campsite suitable for a week’s stay.

Truth to tell, I was somewhat intimidated. The Black Hills National Forest is huge, being comprised of four districts. With another heat wave rolling in, my task was to find a workable site at somewhere above 5,000’ elevation. I made my way to the Mystic District Ranger Station for any advice they might have on what areas are highest. They were nice, gave me two MVUM’s and a sheet with a list of rules (like how far to stay from developed areas and water sources, and the maximum distance from roads), but they had no advice about where elevations were generally higher. After I downloaded those MVUMs onto my old iPad to help me know where on the map I was at any given time, and headed in, I soon found out why the lack of Read more…

Posted in Campsites and tagged
13 Aug 2017
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Camping on the Rim

This is, in point of fact, where the antelope play.

This is an optimal camping site. A little intimidating at times, but pretty much great. The views are something else, and the nearest neighbors are at least a half-mile away. It’s a toodle to get to the highway leading to Wall, but the trip is quite convenient overall.

The weather here is the conundrum since, so far, it’s either/or. It’s been either sunny and peaceful with a slight breeze, or it shows off just what a thunderstorm can be all about. With the Mighty Furd’s nose pointed westward, that’s usually just a little off of facing the wind. The weather warning yesterday was for a thunderstorm with high winds, and it delivered.

Despite being just a little off in orientation, well, I’ve never yet seen the clear vinyl window flaps bulge inward like they did. Fortunately, the Velcro strips keeping them in place held well, but Velcro is not really airtight. As a result, both roof vent covers seemed determined to jitter their way open to let the air pressure out. Didn’t matter how tight the mechanism was cranked. I finally got the bright idea to Read more…

Posted in Campsites and tagged
11 Aug 2017
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Wall, South Dakota

Ugh! The view out my screen window was like an RV park just for tenters. And this is after some had already moved out!

My second night at the Sage Creek Campground was much like the first: crowded, with lots of chattering going on until all hours. It obviously appeals to many, but it’s not my favorite camping experience.

The window view out the other side was better, except for more vehicles packed in close beside the Intrepid.

After a mediocre night’s sleep, what’s a budding hermit to do? Move out. I headed for greater metropolitan Wall. Despite a cloudless sky, I had to go to an alternate location on my list but do it in a timely manner, since storms were predicted to arrive about 2 PM. In sufficient quantities, rain can make trail passage difficult, and my alternate location is known for mud in wet weather. Downtown Wall offers Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Tourista! and tagged ,
10 Aug 2017

Buffalo in the Badlands

I offer for your amusement this very brief video (about 40MB) which I captured with my Pentax DSLR on the road to camp.

https://vimeo.com/237482740

During filming, the optical eyepiece is blocked out and the rear LCD display shows what is being captured. In bright sunlight, that’s a problem. I could only make out what was land and what was sky – pretty much, anyway. Afterward, stabilization in software helped with the result. Looks like I’ll be unpacking the ancient Canon digital tape videocam while I’m here. It has an optical eyepiece.

This place hit 85 yesterday, then a low of 48 last night. A severe thunderstorm skated past in the late afternoon and early evening, but it was far enough off to the south to merely rumble in the distance. The campground was pretty well packed out with young Read more…

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09 Aug 2017
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Entering the Badlands!

Not too much of this in Illinois, I must say. The scenery is great, but the lack of tire-swallowing potholes is a bit unnerving.

The start of the day saw the Mighty Furd being refueled at a Sinclair station, seeing as how it seems to like Sinclair diesel fuel best. In airing up the tires behind the station, their system got both fronts to 75 PSI, but the couldn’t top 70 after that. I could hear the inside air pump re-pressurizing the tank, but it didn’t make much difference. The station next door didn’t have any air supply, so I popped the Ford’s hood and hooked up my Viair pump to finish the job. The new ARB digital pressure gauge thingie worked better than I’d hoped for, but I’ll save that tedium for another time.

Did I mention lots of bikers?

After quite a few miles through Buffalo Gap National Grassland, I hit the eastern-most entrance to Badlands National Park. My America the Beautiful Senior Pass netted me entry and a very helpful brochure with map. This being a Wednesday, there were lots of visitors, the majority being refugees from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally still ongoing. Most of the drive through the park is on the paved Badlands Loop Road, which has oodles of viewpoints distributed Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Tourista! and tagged ,
31 Jul 2017
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Road Locomotives

Once cutting edge technology, these steam tractors are still very impressive accomplishments.

Different weeks here in Butterfield bring different sights. This week, it’s a couple of steam-powered threshing machines that have been moved out of a large shed and parked on the grass. This won’t do the grass much good in the long run, since the prodigious weight on the rear wheels of these things visibly compacts the soil! These two are not the largest I’ve seen, but they are certainly large enough.

Advance Thresher Co., Battle Creek, Michigan. 1881-1917. At their peak, they produced 1,000 annually, along with much more harvesting machinery of various kinds. (The rear platform and boxes on this one are not original.)

They are referred to mainly as steam threshing machines, though the terms traction engines, road locomotives, and tractors are often bandied about. We think of them today as steam tractors, but that connotes plowing as the main function, which is not really accurate. They were actually designed mainly as Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Miscellania and tagged , , ,
26 Jul 2017
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The Butterfield Marauders

Not having been started for months, this little motorbike sputtered for awhile before it was able to idle.

Out for a walk a couple of weekends ago, I returned to camp to find that a motorcycle gang had moved in. Okay, maybe it was more of a motor scooter gang, and all of their bikes were vintage and very similar. The rider in the photo above told me that his mount was a Hirscheiser, spoken in a tone which assumed that I had heard of it, or at least should have, had I been civilized or at least housebroken. You know, Hirscheiser! Nope. My memory banks coming up dry, I didn’t think to ask for the spelling, and a modest search online didn’t produce anything. Nonetheless, a half-hour later, fifteen riders of the little bikes putted down the road toward downtown, happily looking for trouble.

I thought these were all there was, until I later peeked out of the Intrepid to see a stream of them heading toward town.

Nearby were parked two Indian motorcycles, 1946 and 1951 models. The stuff of legend, Indian motorcycles predate Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Miscellania and tagged ,
21 Jul 2017
8 Comments

Lake Voss Walkabout

Minnesota has no shortage of pleasant scenery.

Since I’m here in Butterfield, Minnesota for awhile more to wait out the heat wave, I thought I’d show you a little of what’s here. Athough the village of Butterfield is a one-horse town with businesses you can count on one hand, the houses are substantial, their yards treed and well-kept, and the people are friendly and welcoming. Biking around town is a pleasant silence, with nary a barking dog to be seen or heard. That’s unusual, in my experience.

This pier and boat launch is on the park-side of the lake. a sand “beach” has been added, with a tiny swimming area being roped off.

The campground is vast, and before long is expected to be packed to the gunnels with participants and attendees of the upcoming threshing bee. The park grounds have quite a number of large buildings made by local hobby clubs, as well as many old, semi-historic buildings that have been relocated here and re-purposed. Judging from the other campers here, Voss Park is used as a Read more…

Posted in Campsites and tagged ,
08 Jul 2017
3 Comments

Voss Park Campground

Not much info is available online for Voss Park Campground, and what’s there is out of date, including the park’s own website. Best to go check it out personally, when possible, before financially committing!

Intense research last night and this morning as to my camping options to avoid the brunt of the current heat wave produced the affordable option of Voss Park, a large city park in the tiny town of Butterfield, Minnesota.

An aside: The town of Butterfield exists today only because of a poultry processing plant in town, Butterfield Foods. It suffered controversy earlier this year after Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Travelin' Man and tagged , ,
23 Jun 2017

Rock Cut State Park

Picturesque.

Due to the 14-day limit at Chain o’ Lakes State Park, Rock Cut, out near Rockford Illinois, is the only viable alternative for a short stay. But with all the necessary activities and need to get out and about most days, I haven’t seen much of either of these parks, actually. Between that, the heat, and the frequent fronts of rain moving in, taking care of business is usually the order of the day. “Business” that has included seeing good friends, my beloved chilluns and grandchilluns, annual medical checks, and registering a home address change with the entities that I do actual business with.

The drivers license change will have to wait until next year, since they want me to produce mail with the new address on it, which is not easy when you just moved and you’ve selected “paperless” as your preferred receiving mode. I’ll have to remember to turn on the “paper spigots” next February or April at the latest, in order to accumulate mailings from the “proper” kinds of outfits in time for my next arrival. Pity my poor son, who will have to use a laundry basket to store my mail instead of a handy little envelope-sized bin.

Of necessity, life here more resembles a continuation of the Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Mod Squad, Navel Gazing and tagged , | Leave a comment

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