A Close Encounter

We had returned to Rapid city to see more of South Dakota.  Long time readers will know that we had stopped through in June of 2017 which seems like ages ago.  On that visit we saw the Badlands, took a missile launch facility tour, saw Rushmore and visited Custer State park.  It was a whirlwind and I had thought it would be nice to see some more and revisit the Badlands.

So of course, our first stop this morning was in Wyoming.  Yes we went to Montana and ended up visiting Wyoming several times and now we were in South Dakota repeating our pattern.  Readers of a certain age will remember Close Encounters of The Third Kind. Younger readers can Google it now.  The climax of the movie is at Devils Tower.

After all those years of playing with my mashed potatoes, I was finally going.  Some logistics notes here.  It is always good to google the crowds at the parks.  First, I learned that September was still pretty busy but that there would be minimal issues before 10 AM.  The second is that Google offline Maps are a must out West and especially in the parks.  You can download wide areas to your phone and still be able to get directions and navigate even though you have no signal.

I hate early mornings but I hate waiting more so we got going and were on the road by 7:45 which got us to the Tower by 9:40.  As promised we drove right in.  They have an odd system where you pay or show your pass on the way out.  This appears to be a busy season thing. The entrance is right next to the park boundary and an intersection.  This keeps the traffic from backing up outside the park.

Once inside the gate we did not get distracted with overlooks or the prairie dog town.  We went directly for the summit.  It is a short drive up to the parking lot but there is a sign about half way up that says “About a 75 minute wait from here”.  They have other signs counting down and it ends at a light which meters traffic into the lots above.

As we cruised up the light was not yet in use.  At the top there are two lots, a nice paved one and the overflow which is dusty and further away.  The cars ahead went to the overflow, we took a chance and went for the primo parking.  CC is on a streak and scored the perfect space right at the trailhead.

We did the loop trail, about 1.5 miles where you walk around the tower.  On the way up we met a ranger about to give an educational talk but we decided that learning too much might remove the magic.  The trail around the tower has great views of both the tower and the surrounding terrain.   While it is a stunning natural formation.  It also holds significant religious significance to Native Americans and you can see many prayer clothes around the monument.

The first thing I noticed was that some people were climbing to the top.  CC was going to give it a go but the 11 AM permits were all allocated and you know I wasn't gonna wait an hour so she could climb at 12:00.  A sign said children as young as 6 and. 7 had made the climb.  Since I am not close to that young I had the perfect excuse to skip the climb too.

As we continued around the Tower and they had many informational signs. One pointed out a ladder that had been installed in 1893.  The remnants are still there but in the 1920s they took out the bottom 100 feet to discourage use and people falling to their death.

My favorite Tower story was the daredevil that parachuted unannounced to the top in 1941.  His plans went sideways when he lost his equipment for climbing down during the landing.  To make matters worse, there was an ice storm that trapped him for six days.  Luckily pilots flew by and dropped food, including a steak and warm clothes.  He was eventually rescued by a pair of climbers.  I would not recommend repeating the stunt these days. 

On the way down the mountain we passed the traffic light and it was in use with a line of cars waiting for their turn to park.  We scooted on down and made a quick stop to admire the prairie dogs.  We have now seen several dog towns and this was a good one with the dogs right up to the road on both sides.  We got a last few pictures of the Tower and then headed back to South Dakota.

On the way out I had seen an odd sight, a Twin Bonanza on a stick.  More accurately, a 70 foot pole.  In 2014 a local had taken a Twin Bonanza, or more affectionately called a T-Bone, and mounted it on a 70 foot pole with a crane to make a giant working windsock.  The T-Bone is an ancestor of the Baron so we have family connections.  You would think there is more to the story but that’s it.

We returned to South Dakota and stopped at Bridal Veil falls.  It is a roadside pull out and requires no effort but not much of a fall.  The highway is a scenic byway and was a great drive.  A bit further down we pulled off to see some big white fluffy mountain goats.  They were at a distance and seemed very intent on sitting or grazing.

The byway took us to Roughlock falls.  These were a bit of a pain to get to as the last bit was unpaved but after working our way there and parking we found a nice clear burbling stream, it even had some small trout.  There was a paved path that took you down to the falls.  The falls are tiny and the view is poor.  You then need to walk up the hill to get back to your car.  It scored low, maybe a 3 and the only redeeming features were the clear water and surrounding canyon which was quite scenic.

We continued down the Byway to Deadwood.  I had read it was a historic town and worth a visit, saying it is historic is like saying Cinderella's castle at Disney represents European history.  The place was mobbed with tourists and the main street was like a cheesy remake of Frontierland.  We decided to keep going after a quick drive through.

Our next stop was Sturgis.  Sturgis is known for the annual motorcycle rally which takes place for nine days in early August.  The town's population increases from 7,000 to over 500,000. I was curious about the town but had no desire to show up during the Rally.  

We stopped by and strolled the main drag.  They have a rally picture with entire steet full of people.  Today it was empty.  Many businesses were closed.  One had a sign saying they would reopen next June in 2027.  That’s a really short season.  The place has lots of bars, t-shirt shops and tattoo parlors, not much else though.

It was a nice stroll and after driving by the Harley Dealer which was much smaller than I envisioned, we headed off to get some BBQ.  I had read about JRs BBQ and we stopped in to give it a try.  CC and I split the 3 meat platter.

It came with ½ pound each of turkey, pulled pork and brisket, plus Jalapeno Mac and Cheese, Bacon Potato salad and a piece of white bread.  The brisket and pork were exceptional.  The sides were excellent.  The turkey was good but nothing special.  It was slightly dry and not that smokey.  The bread was white bread which seemed to be a let down.  Overall it was delicious and a good value.

A KRAP Plan

Right after I wrote that our other stops typically did not have prolonged low weather, I looked at the Rapid City (KRAP) Forecast.  It was calling for several days of really low weather.  I started watching and sure enough Rapid City was bouncing between IFR and really low IFR.   The automated MOS forecast was looking pretty bleak for a while calling for ceilings of 200-400 all Tuesday.  The other forecasts looked better but barely.

The winds would be out of the Southwest which meant the GPS 14 which had minimums of 250 feet.  Frankly, while we train to minimums and on occasion I have had to go there, it is not what I prefer.  It was time to start formulating some plans and wait and see what weather we got.

Bozeman weather was going to be glorious so our departure would be easy.  Taking all the forecasts and together, on arrival I was expecting 600-1,500.  Our original schedule was to leave at 8:30, we pushed that to 9:30 as the weather would be better after 11:00.  We would leave VFR and head through the Bozeman pass and then direct HITOS intersection.  This was 40 minutes out from KRAP and would be our transition to IFR if needed.  Just kidding, it would be needed. 

Gas was a concern.  I had planned 116 gallons on departure that let us keep our weight 10% below gross and gave us a better single engine climb rate in an emergency.  We planned to land with 60 gallons which is 2:24 reserve.  If we went missed, our planned alternate, which should be VFR, was 39 miles and 8 gallons away.  This would put us on the ground with 2:12 of gas.  Less if we had to use a back up alternate but worst case we would land with 1:30 or better.

I had some variations of this plan. If the weather was less than 600 an hour out of KRAP, we would stop and add more gas.  My thought was that this would open our options and the delay might provide improved weather.  So after lots of planning, deciding on my go/no go points, we were ready.

The friendly folks at Signature Bozeman had parked the plane on a slight downhill slope so once the oil temps were in the green we started rolling and headed for the runup area.  I asked for flight following to Rapid City and got my squawk.  At the end of the runway, the engines were warm, the runup went as expected and we were number one.   Cleared for takeoff runway 12 straight out, mixtures leaned, acceleration a lot less than normal but with 8,994’ of pavement we were soon airborne, clean and climbing.

The pass is 5,718’ and we easily cleared the rising terrain.  Leveling at 9,500' we took a shortcut along the ridgeline.  The forecast was for a small tailwind and it appeared as promised.   When we departed, KRAP had been 1,200’ but the next update was 600’ broken.  This was acceptable but I wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to go lower.  Twenty minutes later the update was 1,200’ and I was much happier.   

We cruised along and watched our alternate’s weather which continued to report clear so we continued.  It was hard to believe we would soon be IFR. We had clear skies and 60+ mile visibility.  I had filed IFR from the HITOS intersection to KRAP.  Salt Lake City had been following us but Denver would have our clearance as they controlled the HITOS airspace.

As we progressed we got some views of the places we had visited as we passed Billings.  One cool sight was the Bighorn Recreation Area where we overflew the lake.  The canyon views were equally stunning from above.

Our handoff to Denver came as expected and Denver had our clearance waiting.  We became IFR and were assigned 9,000’.  This would be temporary as the MEAs would require us to climb to 10,000 to cross the Black Hills Forest.  The weather at KRAP was holding and the ATIS was calling 1,200’ and we were soon handed off to approach.  We got some vectors to space us behind an airliner and after flying us through final, we were turned back and cleared GPS 14.

We had been descending and were under the glidescope as we tracked inbound.  I slowed to 135 knots and at glide slope intercept dropped the gear.  We checked in with tower and were told to report the FAF inbound.  By now we were solid, the needles were centered and landing checks were complete.  At ZUDIM, the FAF we called in and were cleared to lane.  The winds were 15-20 knots and it was not a smooth ride but at 1,000’ above the runway we broke out to good visibility below.

The landing was good and we were soon on the Westjet ramp.  Our car was there and again it was a bit awkward unloading with the gusty conditions.  Westjet is nice but overpriced.  I did buy a cool t-shirt though.  It says, “I flew through KRAP to get here”.  I though that was appropriate based on today’s weather.

We spent the afternoon visiting town.  They have a section of the Berlin wall which was cool.  They also have a Dino park.  The Dinosaurs were built with WPA money during the depression as an attraction.  It is sort of silly but fun.  The park is on a hill overlooking town and the views are great.

We took the skyline drive down the hill to town.  On the way we saw some wild turkeys which tearing up some elses lawn for a change.  We have a Turkey at home that keeps making amess in our lawn.  Downtown is small but interesting.  They have statues of most of the presidents on the street corners.   I'm sure why, but they do.  

We parked and took a walk.  Our first stop was art alley which is an alley that has been painted and painted and painted.  Anyone can participate, it just requires a free permit.  

We enjoyed the art and met a young man priming a section for his next work.  He had been commissioned to complete 3 projects but we would be gone before he was done.  As we left the alley, 3 men asked us to take their picture.  They said they were some of the artists.  I think they were; though our conversation was less coherent because they appeared to be quite drunk.

Downtown was interesting, not only did we have the friendly artists, we saw a street preacher reading the bible to the street.  The street did not seem impressed.   I was also stopped by a young man that wanted to talk cameras and lenses.  We chatted a bit and then stopped into a bakery but they had sold out of bread so no snack for us.  

After more wandering, we called it an afternoon and headed back to the hotel for a rest before dinner.  We had a big day Wednesday and since this is vacation, we decided we could take it easy for a bit.

Mountains, Caves and Prisons, Oh My

We had gone to sleep Friday with the rain starting.  We awoke to a steady drizzle and clouds hanging on the mountains.  Our plan was to visit the Museum of the Rockies but I figured with the poor weather, it might be packed with children.  We decided to spend some time catching up on our reading and relaxing, this is a vacation. Then decided to take a drive in the rain.

We had flown through Bozeman pass and now we were going to drive it.   The rain was light by Florida standards and the clouds surprisingly high.  We drove into Livingston, a small town just East of the pass.  Downtown had that classic old Western look with brick storefronts.  The rain was still coming down harder than I like so we drove around rather than walking.

The skies to the North looked clearer so we headed North parallel to the Eastern edge of the mountains.  This area is more of the rolling flat farmland than mountains.  We went as far as Wilsall which has a connection to Lewis and Clarke as Clarke named a local river.  There was even a statue commemorating the local Western spirit.  They have a bronze Thunder Jack standing proudly by the highway. He is a fictional character but very majestic.

We turned South and headed over the mountains.  The rain was lighter and with the clouds hanging over the peaks it made for a picturesque view.  I was glad we had flown through in the sunshine.  The road also passed by the local ski area and then returned us to Bozeman near our hotel.  The rain was waning and after a quick snack break, we headed downtown.

Bozeman has about 60,000 people and an amazing amount of traffic for such few residents.  The problem seems to stem from rapid growth, a city which is just a grid of small streets, 25 mph limits, lots of lights and no main arteries.  Trips of 2 miles tend to take 10-15 minutes.  It is a visually attractive city with great backgrounds but a bit of a pain to get around.  The gas station has a mountain views that would be premium in most other locations but here, every direction is beautiful.

We spent about an hour and a half strolling downtown.  It too had been gentrified but some older businesses survive to keep some of the character.  I did find one that I really liked, they have a Co-op store.  It was a mini market that also had hot food that looked good.  I helped support the local economy by buying some very tasty chocolate. 

Sunday dawned bright and cool.  We were headed down to Yellowstone.  Last time we visited the parks West Entrance, this time we would use the North.  Cecilia made quick work of the drive.  The speed limits are higher here with the highway allowing 80 mph and the country roads 70 mph.  I had read that the North Gate was not usually backed up but we had no idea if that was really true.

As we neared the gate it looked good except for a few cars by the entrance.  As we got closer, we saw those cars were pulled over so we did too.  We saw a group of Pronghorns.  They are not deer or antelopes but they are wicked fast and quite cute.  They are actuallin their own family, Antilocapridae. On the other side of the road we saw some elk.  It was an auspicious start.  After pictures, we stopped at the gate to show our park pass and had a zero delay entry.

We had an ambitious plan,  we stopped at the Mammoth Hot Springs and did the climb to the top.  The prismatic pools on the other side of the park are better with more colors and bubbling but these were nice.  We then headed off to Gibbon Falls and along the way we saw a Bison walking down the highway.  Luckily he was in the opposing lanes of traffic and only delayed us long enough to grab a picture.

We made some scenic stops including a really cool or should I say hot hydrothermal feature with a boiling pool and a vent spewing steam forcefully into the air.  We did not really hikemuch today, we did a good bit of walking but the paths were mostly paved.  The park was not empty but we scored parking without much trouble every place we went.  For a while CC was on a roll and kept happening upon the perfectly located spots.

There is a lot of thermal activity in the park.  Roaring Mountain for example is huge and impressive.  Everywhere you look in the park there is something amazing to see.

Gibbon Falls is nice, it’s a view from a distance but you walk about 1,200’ parallel to the river and get a series of great views.  After the Falls we headed to Grandview.  Grandview is a series of Falls and an amazing canyon.  We drove along the North canyon and enjoyed the views.  I am hooked on waterfalls but I think the canyon itself was the most stunning feature.

There were hikes you could take but they all involved huge elevation changes.  We looked at them but there was so much to see that if we spent a significant amount of time hiking, we would have had to give up other sights.

We continued along and stopped at Tower falls.  A very easy walk and a nice waterfall.  After this we saw the Calcite Springs.  It had less active thermal features and more great river valley views.  We thought our last stop would be a petrified tree but then we ran across another Bison just hanging out by the road and we had also seen several elk.

After that we thought we had finished but as we neared the exit more elk which we stopped to grab some pictures.

A short distance later an even larger group of Elk with a 24 point Stag was just hanging out.  It was time to head home, and even though we were outside of Yellowstone, the drive along the Yellowstone river between the mountains is amazing and we saw more Bison and Elk as well as Pronghorns, cows and horses.  Yellowstone did not disappoint.

Our final day around Bozeman we headed towards Butte.  Our first stop was The Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park.  The cavern was discovered in the winter of 1892 when the relatively warm cave air escaping a small opening appeared to be smoking and two locals went to see if someone needed help.  The Native Americans had seen this before but it was not near a water source so they had ignored it.

In true American fashion the locals decided to sell tours and did so for many years.  It's a long story but they didn’t own the land and eventually the US government ended up owning the cave but they just kept selling tours in deffiance of federal law.  These days the tours are much easier than the 1800’s.   Though the one we took is a bit strenuous.

Back then you took a train from Butte and then trekked several miles and up 1,400’ to then repel down through a hole.  The tour also lasted 12 hours and required death defying agility.  During the depression the Civilian Conservation Corps improved the cave by adding stairs and railings. This made the cave safer and easier to visit.  

Thanks to the CCC we drove down a nicely paved road.  They even had several deer cross the road in front of us for that perfect nature effect.  We drove up the mountain to the caves parking lot.  They have different tours and we chose the strenuous one.  It starts with a ¾ mile walk up a steep incline.  The climb starts at an elevation of about 5,000' so that makes it special. You must complete this walk within 30 minutes to prove your fitness for the tour.  If not, they send you down to get a refund.

We did the climb in around 15 minutes though we were breezing hard.   We held our own until the end where we let a young coule pass us but we were second to the top.  The tour then takes you through the cave.  It includes 600 steps, mostly down though. It has lots of really low passages.  I was happy to be on the shorter side as the 6 foot plus tourists had a much harder time.  At the cave entrance, we saw the cave bats.  The colony is pretty small and we only saw four.  They are tiny bats, the size of your fist but pretty cool looking.

The tour takes you from chamber to chamber and the guide explains the cave, its history and you get to see all the natural formations.  The cave is in great shape but there is one area where the people in the 1800’s were encouraged to break off the ends of stalagmites as souvenirs.  This is totally illegal now.

The tight passageways were actually fun and in one place there was an actual rock slide.  It was only about five feet but very cool and it gets you through a very narrow and low section.  At the end of the tour you have to walk a half mile back to the parking lot but it is mostly flat which makes it a breeze.

Our next stop was the Old Montana Prison & Auto Museum Complex.  We have been on several prison tours and they are always interesting.  This prison was built in 1871 and operated until 1979.  Yes, 108 years is way too long to run a prison. We have found that the prisons generally started out lousy and then somehow get worse.  This prison followed the pattern.  The original cell building had been destroyed by an earthquake so the oldest structures were from the early 1900s.  The main cell block building was built in 1912.

This museum is not just the prison, though that’s why we came.  They also have a car museum, a Western museum, a toy museum and more.  I am not into cars but they had an extensive collection starting in the early 1900s through the 1980s.  We enjoyed the cars and some of the later models brought back childhood memories.  The Western collection was heavy on guns but its focus on the many variations of a few weapons made it less interesting.

We did not stop into all the displays but it was a nice follow-up to what was a really dank prison.  The drive back to Bozeman was quick with the 80 mph speed limit.  We also got to cross the continental divide on the way to the museum and back.  It is sort of an arbitrary landmark but always cool.  This was it for Bozeman, we were off to Rapid City in the morning.