The horses each get their own large pipe corral - with grass!
There is one faucet in the entire campground - located next to the vault toilet. This is non-potable water and it has negative water pressure, by which I mean the water comes out so slowly it appears to move backwards.
We are right next to the Angostura Reservoir. We have a small private beach next to the campground with a picnic table.
You can see the picnic table waving at us through the trees.
The temperatures have been in the mid-90s. It is HOT! We spent a good hour sitting in the water and it was lovely.
The campsite pads are well maintained and each site has a picnic table and fire ring.
We are the only equestrians at the campground. Other sites filled up with teens and families using small campers and tents.
The horses are quite happy in their corrals.
It was too hot to ride, so we spent a day in Hot Springs, which is about 30 minutes away.
Our first stop was the Mammoth Site. This is an on-going paleontological dig. This is a real place where paleontologists and students work recovering the bones from Mammoths and other pre-historic animals.
Over 60 Mammoths are in-situ at this dig site.
Children and adults can pay a small fee (about 12 dollars) and get an hour working in the dig under supervision.
This is the first real paleontological dig I have seen. I have seen simulations in museums, but this was pretty mind-blowing.
Our next stop was Evans Plunge. This is a large mineral spring pool that is inside. A day pass is $14 and you have in and out privileges (you get one of those wristbands popular at most amusement parks). You have access to a steam room, sauna, hot tubs, and an enormous pool that has two large water slides.
It was too hot to use the sauna or steam room, but we enjoyed the pool a great deal.
Most of the restaurants in Hot Springs had shut down - victims of the pandemic, I expect. A local recommended we eat at the bowling alley - apparently that's the best place to eat in town.
Ari ordered a BBQ chicken sandwich and I had the chili fries. It wasn't the worst food we have ever eaten and with the understanding that this was the BEST food in town...
On Sunday, the temperatures finally came down to the high 70's, so we could ride.
We rode around the reservoir and through this cowboy gate to explore the foothills.
It was a wonderful ride. Getting our first taste of the Black Hills of South Dakota. I have really been looking forward to exploring the Dakotas and so far I have not been disappointed.
No comments:
Post a Comment