I have been camping in my 1990 Chevrolet Silverado Blazer 2-door for the last 20 years. When I removed the back seat there was just enough room for a 3/4 sized (Hollywood, as some people called them) mattress to fit between the wheel wells and from the back of the console to the tailgate.
After all those years with my wife and I getting older, she decided we needed a little more room so she found me a 2001 Chevrolet Express van with low mileage on the internet. After checking it out and taking it for a test drive we bought it on the spot. It was a nice passenger conversion LT model with all the bells and whistles available in 2001. I will chronicle the changes I made to transform it into my Class B- motorhome in the next few postings. I call it my Class B- (B minus) motorhome because it is just a regular van without the raised roof.
Camping at Custer State Park, SD in February, 2015.
Camping and visiting Scott's Bluff National Monument, NE in October, 2014.
After all those years with my wife and I getting older, she decided we needed a little more room so she found me a 2001 Chevrolet Express van with low mileage on the internet. After checking it out and taking it for a test drive we bought it on the spot. It was a nice passenger conversion LT model with all the bells and whistles available in 2001. I will chronicle the changes I made to transform it into my Class B- motorhome in the next few postings. I call it my Class B- (B minus) motorhome because it is just a regular van without the raised roof.
Camping at Custer State Park, SD in February, 2015.
Camping and visiting Scott's Bluff National Monument, NE in October, 2014.
This week we visited another state campground that we have never been to yet, Hartford Beach State Park.
This park is as far east as you can get in South Dakota. The other side of the lake is Minnesota.
Again my wife chose a great campsite that had a lot of shade.
I had a great time around the lake taking pictures. Even got to use my walking stick as a monopod.
My wife enjoyed the shore and hiking on the trails that were wide enough to walk two abreast.
The whole area where we camped reminded us a lot of Sica Hollow State Park in South Dakota with its abundance of greenery and springs coming out of the ground.
This is Equisetum, also known as “scouring rush” or “horsetail.” It grows wherever there is a lot of water.
You can’t start the morning without a good cup of “campground” coffee. I boil the water over the campfire and pour it through an old fashioned drip-o-lator that I got at the nearly new store.
One of the pools along the hiking trail had “water strider” bugs in it. The actual bug is to the left of the oval shadows. The shadows are made by the dipping down of the water’s surface tension. The little white spots are where his legs are actually pressing into the water.
Blue damsel flies and dragon flies were abundant. While we were watching a beautiful dragon fly on the grass of the shore, a leopard frog leaped at him. Not sure how the dragon fly got away, but he was almost frog dinner. Neither Nancy or I had ever seen something like that before. I would have loved to have gotten that shot with my camera.
When we walked close to shore, the ground literally moved with frogs jumping all over the place. It almost made you dizzy.
We spotted many caterpillars all along the trail.
This Monarch butterfly posed for me while I shot him from many different angles.
On the trails we saw a lot of dead trees with all kinds of woodpecker holes.
After talking to some of the park staff we learned that there were pileated woodpeckers in the area. This is about the farthest west they are found in our state. Not having ever seen one before, we started looking for them.
The pileated woodpeckers were quite elusive, but I did manage to get a rather fuzzy shot of one off at a great distance. I think I was lucky even getting this good of a shot.
This is what they look like with a clear picture.
On the way home the dead tree two miles east of Roscoe was loaded with cormorants.
This park is as far east as you can get in South Dakota. The other side of the lake is Minnesota.
Again my wife chose a great campsite that had a lot of shade.
I had a great time around the lake taking pictures. Even got to use my walking stick as a monopod.
My wife enjoyed the shore and hiking on the trails that were wide enough to walk two abreast.
The whole area where we camped reminded us a lot of Sica Hollow State Park in South Dakota with its abundance of greenery and springs coming out of the ground.
This is Equisetum, also known as “scouring rush” or “horsetail.” It grows wherever there is a lot of water.
You can’t start the morning without a good cup of “campground” coffee. I boil the water over the campfire and pour it through an old fashioned drip-o-lator that I got at the nearly new store.
One of the pools along the hiking trail had “water strider” bugs in it. The actual bug is to the left of the oval shadows. The shadows are made by the dipping down of the water’s surface tension. The little white spots are where his legs are actually pressing into the water.
Blue damsel flies and dragon flies were abundant. While we were watching a beautiful dragon fly on the grass of the shore, a leopard frog leaped at him. Not sure how the dragon fly got away, but he was almost frog dinner. Neither Nancy or I had ever seen something like that before. I would have loved to have gotten that shot with my camera.
When we walked close to shore, the ground literally moved with frogs jumping all over the place. It almost made you dizzy.
We spotted many caterpillars all along the trail.
This Monarch butterfly posed for me while I shot him from many different angles.
On the trails we saw a lot of dead trees with all kinds of woodpecker holes.
After talking to some of the park staff we learned that there were pileated woodpeckers in the area. This is about the farthest west they are found in our state. Not having ever seen one before, we started looking for them.
The pileated woodpeckers were quite elusive, but I did manage to get a rather fuzzy shot of one off at a great distance. I think I was lucky even getting this good of a shot.
This is what they look like with a clear picture.
On the way home the dead tree two miles east of Roscoe was loaded with cormorants.
Last Wednesday it was time for us to go on another of our new-to-us campground trips within our state of SD. This week we chose West Bend Recreation Area west of Stephan, SD on the Missouri River.
Our campsite #4 was very shady all day so even though the temps got into the high 80's we stayed comfortable. It cooled down enough in the evening that all we needed were our window screens. We did not have to get out the AC unit for the van.
Many of the campsites were right on the shore, but they felt the effects of the wind, whereas our campsite was very well protected. I am sure the boat owners liked these sites. This is Lake Sharpe which is one of the four reservoirs created by dams on the Missouri River in SD.
We walked along the trails that meandered along the shoreline and through the campground.
I did not shoot a lot of birds with my camera on this trip, but we did run across this yellow swallowtail getting a drink in the wet sand.
This trip took us to the south central part of South Dakota. I think our next trip will be to the north eastern part. Stay tuned!
Our campsite #4 was very shady all day so even though the temps got into the high 80's we stayed comfortable. It cooled down enough in the evening that all we needed were our window screens. We did not have to get out the AC unit for the van.
Many of the campsites were right on the shore, but they felt the effects of the wind, whereas our campsite was very well protected. I am sure the boat owners liked these sites. This is Lake Sharpe which is one of the four reservoirs created by dams on the Missouri River in SD.
We walked along the trails that meandered along the shoreline and through the campground.
I did not shoot a lot of birds with my camera on this trip, but we did run across this yellow swallowtail getting a drink in the wet sand.
This trip took us to the south central part of South Dakota. I think our next trip will be to the north eastern part. Stay tuned!
Modifying doesnt stop at RVans. I got a mobility scooter that folds up into a suitcase size. I didnt have it for more than a week before I started modifying it. It gives me something to do.
This is what I started with
and here are the first of my modifications including the sunbrella, a crate on the back for one dog, a basket on the front for my coffee etc. The other dog rides on my lap.
Click For Full-Size Image.
And finally I added rear view mirrors.
Click For Full-Size Image.
This is what I started with
and here are the first of my modifications including the sunbrella, a crate on the back for one dog, a basket on the front for my coffee etc. The other dog rides on my lap.
Click For Full-Size Image.And finally I added rear view mirrors.
Click For Full-Size Image.
This weekend we camped at another South Dakota campground that we had never camped at before. That was part four of our covid quest to camp at every one in SD.
This time it was Lake Thompson Recreation Area close to the home of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House on the Prairie Pageant town of De Smet, SD.
The campsite we chose was very shaded and protected from the wind. People we talked to from Indiana there on a week long fishing trip were camping in one of the cabins near the lake shore really felt the wind.
The water in the lake was very high from all the spring rains they have been getting. Today the wind made the lake very choppy.
On the drive in before we got to the gate of the recreation area we came across this big old chunk of deadwood. It was twice as tall as I was.
We saw numerous muskrat houses along the road to the park.
I am always on the lookout for birds to shoot. Got this fellow with my 300mm (zoom lens that is). It is a migrating cedar waxwing. Not a good picture but the best he would sit for.
This young bird (I think it was a young cowbird) was running all over our campsite eating bugs. Like a young teenager, I didn't think he would ever get full as I watched him for over an hour as he devoured everything he could find. I also watched the Eastern Kingbirds catching bugs on the fly, but they were way to fast for me and my camera.
Time to take the rest of the day off in the shade.
This time it was Lake Thompson Recreation Area close to the home of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House on the Prairie Pageant town of De Smet, SD.
The campsite we chose was very shaded and protected from the wind. People we talked to from Indiana there on a week long fishing trip were camping in one of the cabins near the lake shore really felt the wind.
The water in the lake was very high from all the spring rains they have been getting. Today the wind made the lake very choppy.
On the drive in before we got to the gate of the recreation area we came across this big old chunk of deadwood. It was twice as tall as I was.
We saw numerous muskrat houses along the road to the park.
I am always on the lookout for birds to shoot. Got this fellow with my 300mm (zoom lens that is). It is a migrating cedar waxwing. Not a good picture but the best he would sit for.
This young bird (I think it was a young cowbird) was running all over our campsite eating bugs. Like a young teenager, I didn't think he would ever get full as I watched him for over an hour as he devoured everything he could find. I also watched the Eastern Kingbirds catching bugs on the fly, but they were way to fast for me and my camera.
Time to take the rest of the day off in the shade.
I did make a modification recently. It was not a modification to the van but to my camera tripod which is carried in the van all the time. I have two lenses for my camera, a regular lens and a zoom lens. I switch between the two depending on what I am trying to capture in the picture. I wanted both lenses to be handy so I modified a cup holder to fit on my tripod.
I mounted two closet broom holder brackets to a folding cup holder and mounted it to my tripod center shaft. It could have been mounted to the tripod legs also.
Now I am always ready for whatever subject pops up including snakes climbing trees.
I mounted two closet broom holder brackets to a folding cup holder and mounted it to my tripod center shaft. It could have been mounted to the tripod legs also.
Now I am always ready for whatever subject pops up including snakes climbing trees.
Last weekend we traveled to two more South Dakota campgrounds that we have never visited before. The first one was Snake Creek Recreation Area west of Platte, SD along the Missouri River.
We stayed there the first night then traveled on to Platte Creek Recreation Area about 20 miles south of there. Interestingly enough, we never saw any snakes at Snake Creek.
Our campsite at Platte Creek was very shady and private because during the week the occupancy is quite low.
We did have an exciting visitor about supper time. He/she was coming across the road heading right for one of the trees in our site. I was able to herd him into the grass beyond our site. But about 15 minutes later a second one came along with the birds harassing it. A western kingbird is pictured ascending in flight after ticking the snake on his head.
The snake (a non-poisonous bullsnake)did manage to elude the birds and get to our campsite tree. They do like to climb and are good at it.
My wife and I spent the next several hours watching the snake and taking pictures of it as it searched throughout the tree for bird nests. In this picture the snake is about 30 feet above our heads
I knew they were good climbers. I searched through my picture archives and found one that I got back about 1979 of a bullsnake climbing a brick wall to get at the swallow nests under the eaves of the building.
All in all, it was an interesting evening. We later went for a hike and forgot about the snake, so I don't know if he ever found any of the bird nests in the tree or got blown out by the rainstorm later in the night.
We stayed there the first night then traveled on to Platte Creek Recreation Area about 20 miles south of there. Interestingly enough, we never saw any snakes at Snake Creek.
Our campsite at Platte Creek was very shady and private because during the week the occupancy is quite low.
We did have an exciting visitor about supper time. He/she was coming across the road heading right for one of the trees in our site. I was able to herd him into the grass beyond our site. But about 15 minutes later a second one came along with the birds harassing it. A western kingbird is pictured ascending in flight after ticking the snake on his head.
The snake (a non-poisonous bullsnake)did manage to elude the birds and get to our campsite tree. They do like to climb and are good at it.
My wife and I spent the next several hours watching the snake and taking pictures of it as it searched throughout the tree for bird nests. In this picture the snake is about 30 feet above our heads
I knew they were good climbers. I searched through my picture archives and found one that I got back about 1979 of a bullsnake climbing a brick wall to get at the swallow nests under the eaves of the building.
All in all, it was an interesting evening. We later went for a hike and forgot about the snake, so I don't know if he ever found any of the bird nests in the tree or got blown out by the rainstorm later in the night.
Continuing with our goal of visiting all of the state campsites we have never camped in before in our home state of South Dakota, we visited the Llewellyn Johns Recreation Area and the Shadehill Recreation Area. This is also near the Hugh Glass Memorial. He was made famous in the movie, The Revanant. They took a lot of poetic license making that movie because it was almost nothing like the real events and locations.
Our first stop was the gazebo type of monument to Llewellyn Johns. It is made of petrified wood that is found all over in this northwestern area of SD near the cowboy town of Lemmon.
You can see the lake in the background.
You have to be on the lookout for these when walking around this area, especially if you have cloth type shoes or tennis shoes. It is called brittle prickly pear cactus because it breaks off easily and sticks to your shoes or whatever part of you contacts it.
After spending one night at the Llewellyn Johns campground (a small one with 10 electrical sites and no showers, we moved on to the much larger (85 sites & about 7 cabins and several comfort stations with hot showers) Shadehill Recreaction Area. This campground in located on the shores of the Shadehill Reservoir which is quite large.
We were pleasantly surprised at all the birds we could see from our campsite. The first is a western kingbird and the second is a brown-headed cowbird, both native to this area.
Another bird we saw that is migratory and not native to the area is the cedar waxwing.
I found out you can always learn something new. We heard this booming, vibratory sound as we walked in the campground. I finally located the source. It was a nighthawk. It would fly up and then make a dive which produced the sound from it feathers. My wife looked it up on the internet and this is a mating activity and sound that I had never heard before.
On our drive out of the campground the next morning we came upon this group of buzzards.
We like to cook over the campfire and I had another chance to prepare my diced potatoes for supper.
The next campgrounds we visit will be in the southern part of the state.
Our first stop was the gazebo type of monument to Llewellyn Johns. It is made of petrified wood that is found all over in this northwestern area of SD near the cowboy town of Lemmon.
You can see the lake in the background.
You have to be on the lookout for these when walking around this area, especially if you have cloth type shoes or tennis shoes. It is called brittle prickly pear cactus because it breaks off easily and sticks to your shoes or whatever part of you contacts it.
After spending one night at the Llewellyn Johns campground (a small one with 10 electrical sites and no showers, we moved on to the much larger (85 sites & about 7 cabins and several comfort stations with hot showers) Shadehill Recreaction Area. This campground in located on the shores of the Shadehill Reservoir which is quite large.
We were pleasantly surprised at all the birds we could see from our campsite. The first is a western kingbird and the second is a brown-headed cowbird, both native to this area.
Another bird we saw that is migratory and not native to the area is the cedar waxwing.
I found out you can always learn something new. We heard this booming, vibratory sound as we walked in the campground. I finally located the source. It was a nighthawk. It would fly up and then make a dive which produced the sound from it feathers. My wife looked it up on the internet and this is a mating activity and sound that I had never heard before.
On our drive out of the campground the next morning we came upon this group of buzzards.
We like to cook over the campfire and I had another chance to prepare my diced potatoes for supper.
The next campgrounds we visit will be in the southern part of the state.
