April 6th: We visited Devil's Tower of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" fame. The Tower is believed to have been formed about 60 million years ago. Molten magma was forced into sedimentary rocks above it and then cooled underground. Others say it was the plug from the volcano. However, as it cooled it contracted and fractured into columns. Then erosion removed the surrounding softer stone and left a tower that rises 867 feet from its base and stands 1,267 feet above the river and 5,112 feet above sea level. The diameter of its base is 1,000 feet. It actually looks like a huge tree stump! Several American Indian nations of the Great Plains share legends on the origin of this butte. I saw prayer ribbons and prayer bundles from many of the tribes all along the 1.3 mile trail around the tower. In June no one is allowed to climb the tower in respect for American Indian beliefs and their ceremonies. After we came back, Rudy noticed that the inside rear passenger side tire was flat on the RV. He called our emergency service and we were told that the tire would be $410 plus $22 installation. However, when they came, they found that the seal around the valve stem was leaking, a $400.00 plus savings! Needless to say, we were overjoyed!!! April 7th : Today we took a ride to Deadwood and Sturgis, South Dakota. Deadwood looked like a typical cowboy town with names of stores like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Tin Lizzies, Gold Bust, Mustang Sally's, Hickok's House, Gallows, Utter Place, Rough Riders and Wild West Winners. The names of streets even depicted the "Wild West" with names such as Calamity Lane and Gulch Road. Rudy wanted to visit the town of Sturgis because of the well known "bikers' week", the largest motorcycle rally in the nation, which overwhelms the town and the surrounding area for 50 miles during a week in early August every year. The town of Sturgis normally has a population of 6,500 people. When the Rally comes to town, its population swells to 600,000 plus. The total population of South Dakota is 754,000. Deadwood and Sturgis resembles "Ghost Towns" because of the low population base and the cold weather, a high of 20 degrees or so. April 8th : HAPPY EASTER everyone!!!! I had a choice of ten churches in this hamlet of 1,000 people. I went to the Methodist Church. It was a very friendly congregation. Friday night it was zero degrees and last night it was in the teens. We now know that the RV can handle the COLD weather and keep us warm. We were the only RV in the campground until yesterday. Now we have a neighbor. The campground usually opens in May, but this year they decided to open a month earlier..Thank You Mountain View Campgrounds!! It had cable, WiFi, water, sewage and electric.what more could we ask!!! We took a ride to Mt. Rushmore passing through rolling green hills, spotted with black cows and sprinkled with a few horses and deer to make the picture complete. It is beautiful country. Since it was a clear day, we could see all four of the presidents. It was neat to see!!! We got close enough to feel we were up there with them. April 9th: We drove through the Badlands and I was pleasantly surprised!!! The Badlands were "Goodlands" in my book!!! The colors and formations were beautiful and unique!!! We drove to Mitchel, South Dakota to see our friend Lance Carter from Jr. High School. We were going to spend only one day here, but 6 inches of snow was forecast and the weatherman was right!! We went to see the World's only Corn Palace. It was built because Lewis and Clark wrote in 1805 that "the area was the Great American Desert suitable only for Buffalo and that no man could ever make a living farming here". So the farmers got together and built the first Corn Palace in 1892 and nailed all their crops on the outside walls (made of wood) to showcase all the different crops grown and to prove that the famous duo was wrong. The first Corn Palace burned down and they built a second one made of wood. Then in 1921 they built one of steel and that is what is standing today, still decorated with local crops!! April 12th : We drove to Houston, Minnesota to visit with Jason's parents Berta and Larry Long. They have a large driveway but there wasn't much left after our coach was parked in the there. On Friday the 13th, the Long's drove us through three states to show us the local sites. We crossed over the Mississippi River a couple of times and saw many different birds and animals that call the river home. That night Jason's brother Matt, his wife Sheryl and their daughter Mckenna arrived. Since the Long's lovely home is built adjoining a golf course, the next day the three men played golf. When they got to the third hole which is behind their house, we went out to say hello. April 15th : We said good-bye to all the Longs. Rudy and I probably weigh 10 lbs. more each since both Larry and Berta are excellent cooks and fed us all day long!!! April 16th : Last night we drove to a campsite south of Chicago and today visited the famous city. We stopped to take pictures of some of the famous buildings and to have a slice of "Chicago Pizza!" April 17th and 18th : We went to Harrison, Michigan which is north of Detroit to visit our cruising friends Kathy and Mike Taylor who owned Gitana (82 foot sailboat) We met when we crossed the ocean in 2001. They showed us the sights and we talked for two days solid catching up on the pass four years!!!! April 19th-20th : We arrived at Nappanee, Indiana to get our RV serviced. This is the factory where our RV was built. We will be seeing the sights for a few days.