Devil's Tower trip - Blue Mounds

Blue Mounds State Park - Saturday, July 6

The plan:

Head over to Sioux Falls, SD, which is only about a half hour from Blue Mounds. Hopefully take the mtn bikes for a spin with our buddy, Robert.
Relive the 'old days' at Camp Foster YMCA. Camp Foster played a major role in our history...
Meet up with Chris (CC) and Heather and the girls, back at the campsite. Enjoy their great company for the evening...Dean hasn't seen them in almost 3 years...and has never met Kiki yet!!

What really happened...

The Sioux Falls visit was rescheduled for the trip back home - Robert had a sailing date. A much more enjoyable activity than mtn biking, considering the temperature...
Checked in with the fine folks at Camp Foster YMCA. Got to see Pete, Bergie, Scott, Kevin, Sherry; as well as Nate & Nick Varner. After a tour of all the great improvements (we hadn't been back for 6 years), we got a VIP tour of Kevin's shops. He's been the Maintenence Director there for 22 years, and knows a lot of great tips & tricks. Kevin & Dean also share a great love for music & the Packers.
Hand-tossed pizza for lunch with Kevin & Sherry in Spirit Lake before heading to Arnold's Perk near Arnold's Park in Arnold's Park. See it's a coffee shop named after a town named after an amusement park or vice-versa... Time to upload files for the site and time for an iced mocha (iced chai for Michele, of course).
Back to Blue Mounds for dinner & time with Chris, Heather, & the girls. Bergie, Scott, and the kids stopped over for more camp fun. And of course it wouldn't be camping without s'mores, which we all enjoyed!
Although we miss having the dogs with us, they'd be miserable in these mid-90's temperatures (even more miserable than Michele is). And it's nice to actually be able to use our nifty small backpacking tent, which we can't do when the pups are along.

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Blue Mounds State Park - Sunday, July 7

The plan:

Tom, who is driving up from Omaha to join us on the trip, is meeting us at the campground. Spend the morning climbing w/Tom & CC on the gorgeous red quartzite 'prairie walls' of Blue Mounds State Park
Start heading west by early afternoon, to get to the Sylvan Lake area of Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Camp with Tom & CC.

What really happened...

Dean & Michele got a few really good climbs in on a place called Many Cracks Buttress. Another very technical geologic name for a rock formation, huh?
Tom got the campground by mid-morning, and he & CC met up w/Michele & Dean to climb the infamous Thumnail Direct route, which Dean & CC are very familiar with. They've spent many torturous hours in the past trying to overcome the overhanging crux of that climb.
Michele was spent by the time CC & Tom joined in on the climbing, but the others got some good practice in. Tom impressed us all by flashing the crux of Thumbnail Direct on the first try of the first climb of his trip!
Check out the rest of our climbing pictures!
By the time we got done climbing and got the campsite cleaned up & the cars packed, it was about 5pm. Decided to drive only about half-way across South Dakota, and camp for the evening in a small town called Murdo.
Found out there is no internet access in Murdo. So these files will be getting uploaded a bit late. Hopefully tomorrow morning in Rapid City we'll find a place that has internet access. Ate dinner (again, since we also ate at DQ right after leaving Blue Mounds!) in a diner in Murdo. Opal, our waitress, didn't appreciate CC's humor. Especially his question as to whether or not the diner had a data port in the restroom....


	Blue Mounds State Park - Saturday, July 6 The plan: Head over to Sioux Falls, SD, which is only about a half hour from Blue Mounds. Hopefully take the mtn bikes for a spin with our buddy, Robert. Relive the 'old days' at Camp Foster YMCA. Camp Foster played a major role in our history... Meet up with Chris (CC) and Heather and the girls, back at the campsite. Enjoy their great company for the evening...Dean hasn't seen them in almost 3 years...and has never met Kiki yet!! What really happened... The Sioux Falls visit was rescheduled for the trip back home - Robert had a sailing date. A much more enjoyable activity than mtn biking, considering the temperature... Checked in with the fine folks at Camp Foster YMCA. Got to see Pete, Bergie, Scott, Kevin, Sherry; as well as Nate & Nick Varner. After a tour of all the great improvements (we hadn't been back for 6 years), we got a VIP tour of Kevin's shops. He's been the Maintenence Director there for 22 years, and knows a lot of great tips & tricks. Kevin & Dean also share a great love for music & the Packers. Hand-tossed pizza for lunch with Kevin & Sherry in Spirit Lake before heading to Arnold's Perk near Arnold's Park in Arnold's Park. See it's a coffee shop named after a town named after an amusement park or vice-versa... Time to upload files for the site and time for an iced mocha (iced chai for Michele, of course). Back to Blue Mounds for dinner & time with Chris, Heather, & the girls. Bergie, Scott, and the kids stopped over for more camp fun. And of course it wouldn't be camping without s'mores, which we all enjoyed! Although we miss having the dogs with us, they'd be miserable in these mid-90's temperatures (even more miserable than Michele is). And it's nice to actually be able to use our nifty small backpacking tent, which we can't do when the pups are along. top of page Blue Mounds State Park - Sunday, July 7 The plan: Tom, who is driving up from Omaha to join us on the trip, is meeting us at the campground. Spend the morning climbing w/Tom & CC on the gorgeous red quartzite 'prairie walls' of Blue Mounds State Park Start heading west by early afternoon, to get to the Sylvan Lake area of Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Camp with Tom & CC. What really happened... Dean & Michele got a few really good climbs in on a place called Many Cracks Buttress. Another very technical geologic name for a rock formation, huh? Tom got the campground by mid-morning, and he & CC met up w/Michele & Dean to climb the infamous Thumnail Direct route, which Dean & CC are very familiar with. They've spent many torturous hours in the past trying to overcome the overhanging crux of that climb. Michele was spent by the time CC & Tom joined in on the climbing, but the others got some good practice in. Tom impressed us all by flashing the crux of Thumbnail Direct on the first try of the first climb of his trip! Check out the rest of our climbing pictures! By the time we got done climbing and got the campsite cleaned up & the cars packed, it was about 5pm. Decided to drive only about half-way across South Dakota, and camp for the evening in a small town called Murdo. Found out there is no internet access in Murdo. So these files will be getting uploaded a bit late. Hopefully tomorrow morning in Rapid City we'll find a place that has internet access. Ate dinner (again, since we also ate at DQ right after leaving Blue Mounds!) in a diner in Murdo. Opal, our waitress, didn't appreciate CC's humor. Especially his question as to whether or not the diner had a data port in the restroom.... top of page