Lots of riding, sunny and warm weather, and cool
places visited these last few weeks! Headed to
Buffalo Gap, a town so small that if you blink, you have passed right through
it! And its Main Street is just a dirt
road! But the Crosswind Conservancy is
located there, home to 20 of the world’s approximately 1,500 Spanish Mustangs,
whose bloodline dates back to the days of Christopher Columbus! Beautiful creatures that really took a liking
to Daddy—even the 7-week old foal!
We decided to take in some “educational” sites. Founding Fathers Black Hills is a replica of
Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, complete with its own Liberty Bell! Unlike the real deal, you get to pull the dong
on this bell! Freedom rings VERY loudly
here! Inside are life-size sculptures of the 56
patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence as depicted in John
Trumbull’s iconic painting, “Declaration of Independence”. As the narrator tells the story of how our new
country was forged, you become entwined with the story, ready to take up quill
pen and add your own “John Hancock”!
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| Rambling RV Rat Ready to Sign the Declaration of Independence! |
On to the National Presidential Wax Museum in Keystone. Interesting how complex it is to make wax molds
and models. I found the model of G. W.
Bush standing atop the 9/11 rubble the most lifelike and moving.
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| 9/11/01 Still Evokes Emotions In Me |
I was amazed to learn just how many of our
presidents were “one and dones”, serving just one term. Got me to thinking that I should throw my hat
into the candidate ring: PoPo for
President! From what I learned about
some of our past presidents, their follies and faux pas, we’ve had our share of
snakes, swine, and jackasses. So why not this
Rambling RV Rat? I’d run on a platform
of smaller government, cutbacks on entitlements, crackdown on illegal
immigration, and lower taxes. Let’s get
back to the limited powers the Founding Fathers actually bestowed to the
Federal government! Move over Hillary
and Donald, PoPo’s on the campaign trail!
Truthfully, I don’t think this dumb rat could do any worse than our
current President!
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| Join My Team: PoPo for President! |
OK, off my soapbox and now “all aboard” the vintage 1880
steam train for a picturesque tour through the old mining areas between Keystone
and Hill City. As we peered through the
open-aired rail car, we spotted lots of animal life within the Hills--wild turkeys,
deer, and horses!
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| All Aboard the 1880 Train! |
Speaking of wildlife, I had the scare of my lifetime! We were riding through Custer State Park in
the middle of the day, when suddenly we stumbled upon a major traffic jam. Stopped vehicles in both directions. Turns out a herd of about 100 buffalo were
trying to cross the road! We literally
were surrounded—buffalo walking within 6 inches of our motorcycles! Some laying down in the middle of the road in
front of our bikes!
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| The Buffalo Heading Down the Hill... |
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| Blocking the Road... |
We felt very vulnerable,
telling each other, “don’t look them in the eye”, “don’t rev the engine”, “don’t
spook them”, for fear they would attack. I wish I was a smaller rat—I would have
stuffed myself inside Daddy’s saddle bags for protection! Thankfully, after about ½ hour, the bison no
longer found it amusing to make me poop my pants, and they moved out of the
road.
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| Standing Right Next to Us! |
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| Too Close for Comfort! He Gave Me the Bull's Eye! |
We took in the calming effects of Wind Cave National Park,
participating in an underground tour as well as hiking on some of their nature
trails. Interesting how so many miles
within caves exist in this area, but only a small percentage of these miles
have actually been visited. Both Jewel
and Wind Cave National Parks recruit volunteers to explore the caves for “mapping”
purposes. Underground is now the new frontier! PoPo no can do--this rat doesn’t like
ferreting through small spaces!
Talk to you soon!
