South Dakota! Home Sweet Home.

 We did it!

 In just three days we cut our ‘umbilical cord’ from Colorado, and moved to South Dakota. And it was the most efficient and organized process we have ever seen in our life’s.

Day 1:    We claimed residency and opened up our Mailbox thanks to       Americas Mailbox and Campground. We also opened up a Checking Account with the Black Hills CU.

Day 2:    We registered Rosalina and we both got our SD Drivers Licenses. Plus we straightened out Rosalinas Insurance Coverage.

Day 3:    We registered Lucy and Lou. 

DONE! No appointments as we literally just walked into the Treasury and the DMV. At each place we never had more then maybe a 10 to 15 min wait, if that much. People here are friendly, everyone from the workers to the other people in line waiting are talkative and never did we feel rushed. It’s almost as if we moved back into a time when people were kind, respectful and focused. 

So as of today we are officially South Dakota Residents and we are happy with our move 🍻. 

With all this done we are now ready to start our sightseeing adventures and relax for a while. 

            

South Dakota Here We Come….

 We made it to South Dakota on the 21st of April and we started out relaxing for a couple of nights at the Black Hills KOA in Hot Springs, SD.

On the 23rd we moved to the area we were aiming for. Americas Campground by the Americas Mailbox Office in Box Elder, SD. Now the campground is nothing to rave about BUT it is perfect for what we are planning in doing. The spots are tight, we have electric and sewer but water won’t be turned on until May 1. We also had to disconnect Lou as the backing spot assigned to us is maybe 45 to 50 feet but not the 65 we needed.

We are here because we are finally ready to claim a new domicile/residency and cut the cord with Colorado. Today we got our mailbox and new mailing address and opened an account at a local Credit Union. Tomorrow we are hoping to work on our drivers licenses and register our vehicles. Once we get all our must do’s done we get to focus on playing tourists in our new home state.

It feels good to leave the stress we were under in Colorado behind. Of course part of our hearts will remain there due to beloved family and friends. But onward to our new adventures for year #2. We sure did a lot in our first year on the road but this year will take us into all new places as in the Midwest and East Coast. We would love to see some of you in our travels. Remember you are always welcome to join us 😉

Colorado, Sunrise Silhouettes Alpaca Farm - Harvest Host

 We finished our stay in Colorado with another Harvest Host, Sunrise Silhouettes Alpaca Farm. And goodness did we love it!

 Communications with the hosting couple, Laura and Eric, was wonderful and the directions they gave us were spot on. We had a whole big field to our own which was beautiful. Very level and very peaceful.

 

We arrived around 3 pm and had a little nap followed by coffee, after which Eric, one of the owners gave us a private tour of the farm. We got to give treats to Alpacas, Lamas, Piggies and their pups. We got to go into their enclosure up close and it was just plain wonderful. Lots of cuddle time and we learned so much about them and their characters. Each one is treated like a beloved family member and has names to fit them. We also learned a lot about Alpaca and Lama behavior which we knew nothing about. Eye opening for sure. Oh and they have chickens so we got to leave with a very fresh dozen of eggs the next day. After a restful night of sleep I went and handed out more treats and met Laura, who gave me the eggs while Ron got Lucy ready for our move up north. By 10 am we were leaving and aiming Lucy Lou towards first Wyoming and then South Dakota, which will be our home for a couple of weeks.

 We loved this Harvest Host and we hope to return. 

Colorado equals not having time for things we wanted to do….

We ended up with 4 nights at Cheyenne Mountain State Park which is a lovely Campground but again we had not much time to explore this park as our days in Colorado were booked full. 

I admit I look forward to the time we can aim Lucy Lou to our old home state and just play tourist and most off all see and spend time with our friends. It was a tad heartbreaking that we were here for 23 days total in Colorado and we still were only able to see one beloved couple of friends only because they took the time to stop by  at the Campground due to us being unable to leave (Lucy had a maintenance check light on so a Mobil RV Tech stopped by).

I mean I knew us coming to Colorado would be busy, but I had hoped it wouldn’t be as stressful as it turned out to be. It gave us no breathing time. One set of friends I literally only saw for 3 minutes at our old Veterinarian Office Parking lot as I had to bring Keetna in. How insane is that? We had many more we wanted to see, spend time with and catch up but it wasn’t to be. Doctor Office trip and family took up everything we had.

We did finish our stay in Colorado on a nice, relaxing spot up north, close to the Wyoming border. More on that in my next post.

Those who we missed seeing know it saddens me we didn’t find the time and I am sorry! Those we saw know it wasn’t enough time and we craved more. We will be back….

Colorado, Cherry Creek State Park, Denver

 We arrived at Cherry Creek State Park on April 1st and it was a tad challenging. First I missed our exit and ended up in a subdivision. This meant Ron had to do a u-turn, first one of two in a day.

When we arrived finally at the Park entrance we were guided to another area of the park to go to the registration and campground check in. There we learned that on top of the $41 a night it was an additional $11 a day for our car, Rosalina. Or I could buy the CO State Park pass for $84. So of course we did since that gets us in every Colorado State Park for a year. 

The second u-turn came after the directions we were given to our campsite were all off. First we were told it’s the first exit in the roundabout. That would have been true had we gone left in a one way circle that only offered right turn ins. So in reality it was the 3rd exit, even thought it was highlighted by her to go against the traffic. Then there came the loop…. You could enter and turn left or go straight. Well our highlighted map let us going straight to our spot 135, only problem was it was in the inside of the loop which meant we were now aiming the wrong way for our hookups. So here went Ron, doing another u-turn in a super tight area. It was literally inching it around power poles and boulders. Insane and by the time we pulled in and hooked up we were BEAT.

We originally booked from April 1st to the 11th, but we realized it was not enough time for us in order to get everything we had planned to do, so I added 3 more nights but it meant moving to another spot, 143 this time. Did I mention we are getting pretty good at breaking camp and setting back up?

As to the campground and the park it turned out to be truly beautiful. So many trails to walk the dogs and ride the bikes. The lake had two beautiful swim beaches with lots of sand. The Nature Preserve and Wet Land were so very peaceful and fun to explore. There is also a riding stable and a shooting range in the park but we did not use either so can’t say how good they are. Also in the summer there will boat and paddle board rentals which I am sure would be a lot of fun.

We truly liked this State Park and will keep it in mind should we pass through Denver again.