We were going to head to Deadwood, SD on Memorial Day, but the weather forecast was pretty bad for the afternoon and we didn’t want to drive over an hour to get there & be rained out. So we decided to stay close to CC and enjoy the clear weather early.
The three of us decided to hike to the Stratobowl it’s a huge natural occurring “bowl” just outside Rapid City that was used by early “space travelers”. The tour guide mentioned it on the bus & this morning’s weather was perfect. It’s about a mile hike to the bowl. The box canyon was an ideal place for a balloon launch, since the natural walls could allow the balloon to be shielded from wind until it was fully inflated. The first mission ended in near-disaster on July 28, 1934, when the hydrogen balloon carrying three crew members made it to 63,000 feet before a tear in the balloon sent the crew plummeting to the ground. All three were able to bail out safely – and later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross – before the remaining hydrogen burst into flame. They was undeterred.
On November 11, 1935, Captains Stevens and Orvil Anderson ascended from the canyon in a helium balloon known as Explorer II. The pair reached a new record of 72,395 feet — a record that would last for 20 years — and snapped the very first picture to show the curvature of the Earth.
We didn’t see any balloons, but we did watch a couple of woodpeckers. The trail was gravel & not too hilly. It was a great way to spend the morning.
We headed back to the Duffield’s and started to play Pickleball on their indoor Pickleball court. It makes sense that they have an indoor one, it gets a bit chilly up here in South Dakota in the winter. Rita & I have been talking about playing Pickleball but never have. This was the perfect opportunity to learn. John & Kaye were very patient. We had a blast. So after a bunch of games it was decided that we needed to head to Scheel’s Sporting Goods for the necessary equipment!
We decided to go to the Black Hills Caverns, locally owned by some fellow Country Coach owners. It was a perfect way to spend the day out of rapidly approaching thunderstorms. We had a great time with our guide Sophie, we were her third tour. I was smart enough to wear a ball cap because this was a tight cavern tour, no blood!
By the time we came out of the cave the thunderstorm was over so we headed out to buy Pickleball paddles and then a pizza. Back to the Duffield’s where we forced Mica to learn how to play Seven Spades, a card game. Which she won by a lot. Then to the Pickleball court to test out our new equipment. Rita claimed her new paddle had a hole in it, but I just chocked it up to newbie skills.
We had a great time chatting with the Duffield’s, playing cards, playing Pickleball, eating (and eating and eating) and just catching up. Another great perk of belonging to our Country Coach International club is finding like minded people to hang with, throw in RV parking with 59 amp, golden. What great hosts & a great weekend!
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