Yesterday we left the Heartland Campground in Hermosa, South Dakota. It was our last day in our newly adopted home state.

After coffee and breakfast, we had the slides in and the jacks up a little after 9am. There were a few things I wanted to do before we departed. First I wanted to photograph a couple of unique RVs in the campground.

The first one is a Vixen 21 TD. This was a futuristic RV produced from 1986 to 1989. Less than 600 were ever built. It featured aerodynamic body work and light weight. This unique RV claimed a top speed of 100 mph and also claimed to attain 30mpg. It was powered by a BMW M21 turbo diesel. The deal breaker for me is the inability to stand fully upright in it.

Vixen 21TD

The other unique RV was built on a Mercedes chassis. This in itself isn’t unusual. What makes this one unique are the license plates. This vehicle was brought over from The Netherlands! I didn’t get a chance to talk to the owners, so I don’t know the story.

Note the license plate – Netherlands (on the rear also)

Before we left I decided to fill our propane tank. When we left Michigan the gauge indicated 2/3 full. After a month on the road it still showed 2/3 full!! I was concerned about the accuracy of the gauge.

It only took six gallons to fill it. It’s an 80-pound tank so six gallons works out to about 1/3 of the capacity. I guess we don’t burn as much propane as I thought. At least I know I can trust the gauge.

In Rapid City I added $170 worth of gas to the tank and then we hit I-90 west. We drove through the Black Hills into Wyoming. We exited I-90 at Wyoming exit 199. There is a visitor information center at this exit. The center i s fairly large and clean with several covered picnic areas outside. They offer free road maps (we love good old-fashioned paper maps) and brochures on tourist attractions. Volunteers there can give directions or advice on local restaurants and whatnot.

Donna at the info center

We followed WY111 north to WY24 west. This led us to Devils Tower National Monument. You can see the tower of stone jutting up into the sky from several points along the highway. Devils Tower was the first national monument in the USA. Wyoming also boasts the first national park – Yellowstone.

We entered the park and drove three miles to the parking area. The road goes through a prairie dog community;we saw several of the little critters poking their heads up out of their holes or running around.

Devils Tower

The RV parking is limited, but we found a space. It was very warm with temperatures in the 90s. At 1pm a National Park Service ranger gave a presentation. She spoke of the geology of the tower and the history of the area. She also spoke about the spiritual customs of the Native Americans.

We took a short hike up the hill to get a closer view of the formation. It was too hot to do much hiking. Donna wanted to walk the path that encircles the monument. I wasn’t up for that, so she settled for a short hike to get a closer look while I waited on a bench in the shade.

We drove south on WY14  which brought us to I-90 and into a little town called Moorcroft. We were hungry, so we stopped at a little diner. I found a parking spot on the street next to a park. We didn’t have high expectations, but were hungry and would settle for what they had to offer.

We were pleasantly surprised. Donna ordered a chef salad and I had a French dip sandwich. Her salad was made with a fresh assortment of lettuce and peppers and chunks of ham and turkey  (not deli slices). My French dip was made with roast beef that looked to be shredded from a home-cooked roast. It was tasty.

We got on the interstate and droned west. The route climbs gradually. The climbs weren’t bad but the headwind was relentless. I can only imagine how many (or should I say how few) miles per gallon we were achieving.

We amused ourselves by spotting antelope along the roadside. We arrived in Sheridan around 5pm and found a Walmart Superstore where we could park for the night. It was hot so I ran the generator to power the A/C units. Since I had electricity, I also turned on the TV and watched a pre-season football game. By bedtime there were 10 other RVs parked here.

Donna resupplied our provisions in Walmart and also got a pedicure. This morning we are debating whether we should take WY16 to Yellowstone for a drive through the national park or should we continue to drone up I-90. I think I know which route our readers would suggest.