Joe and I left for South Dakota on May 25th. We were going to spend the weekend in the Black Hills of South Dakota exploring and then head even further east to Badlands National Park and Wall Drug. These two places had been on our list to visit since our move to Wyoming,
He went to dialysis that morning and I went to work and when his session was complete, we headed north of what would be our last "daycation" together. (Only a few days before we left did we learn that Roger and Connie would also be in that same area and we might have the opportunity of meeting up with them. They were supposed to come stay at our home the following Monday, but this might give us the chance to spend more time with them. Roger was Joe's best friend for the last million years and Connie is Roger's girlfriend for the last many years).
Anyway Joe and I drove to Hot Springs, South Dakota that afternoon. It was about 2 1/2 hours from our home and a lovely old, little town. We stayed in a cute little, "mom and pop" motel and ate at one of the local restaurants having prime rib and all the fixings for $10.95 each. What a deal and what a meal for us. Our purpose for staying here was to go visit the Wooly Mammoth Site the next morning. In 1974, a construction worker, George Hanson, unearthed unusual bones while the area was being prepared for a new subdivision.
The weather looked quite ominous at times, but we always seemed to be either in front of it or it had already passed over us.
Made it South Dakota. This is Joe's response to "smile". The silver object around his neck was a device connected with his hearing aids. It could cut out background noise and also worked as a volume control.
We talked about how Derek would love this train and the others we saw at Siding 7.
One of the old buildings in Hot Springs...
After dinner we drove around this picturesque town and decided that there was just too much to see and that we'd come back another weekend to explore the area. Called Minnekahta (warm waters) by the original white settlers in 1879, the town's name was changed to Hot Springs in 1886. Earlier, the Lakota and the Cheyenne Indian tribes fought for control of the natural warm waters. Legends tell of a hostile encounter waged in the hills high above the gurgling springs on a peak called Battle Mountain.
A Messenger arrived from the Great West with news of a wonderful water which, he said, had been touched by the finger of the Great Spirit and would cure all manner of diseases. Indians came to these springs by the thousands.
After a lapse of more than 200 years, the Cheyenne took possession of the springs and built an immense tipi city covering hundreds of acres.
In the following years, the Sioux migrated west and disputed the ownership of the springs. This culminated in a fierce conflict in about 1869, the memory of which is preserved in the name of the eminence to the east, Battle Mountain, where the besieged Cheyenne established fortifications. The Sioux won the battle and possession of the springs which they called wi-wi-la-kah-to (Springs - hot). They called the area Minnekahta (Water - hot) and termed the Black Hills a great "Medicine Home".
Battle Mountain History After the Battle Mountain fight, tradition says the Sioux and Cheyenne agreed to allow the springs to be a health sanctuary to give their sick and lame the benefit of the healing waters. Around 1880, pioneers began to settle the area.
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