We had to stop in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to renew our drivers' licenses and check in with our mail service Dakota Post. After we accomplished this we toured " our home town." The falls that give the city its name are impressive and the park around it is very nice. The heavy rains here in the Midwest did some damage to the park but since it is a major tourist attraction they are working hard to repair the damage.  

We spent a week in Pequot Lake, Minnesota visiting with our Arizona and Full-Time RV friends, Gerry and Bridget. Gerry is working as a starter at Grandview Lodge Golf Course so we got in a few rounds there. While we played golf, the ladies hit the road and must have hit every antique and collectible shop within a fifty-mile radius. Josie was able to find 2 more pieces of the Hall Pottery she collects. We had many nice dinners out and one evening at the Breezy Point Resort, the King himself, Elvis made an appearance. There was a large boisterous crowd and the Mudslides were delicious. It was a fun time. We really enjoyed eating the fresh walleye, that is on almost every restaurants menu. 

The water tower in Pequot Lake is painted like a fishing bobber. and just up the road is the town of Jenkins, population 376.
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​We had a great visit with our Arizona winter friends, Gerry and Bridget. 

We left Las Vegas and took 2 days to drive to Vernal, Utah. Vernal is located near Dinosaur and Flaming Gorge National Monuments. We visited Dinosaur National Monument on our first full day in town. We took a tram up to the Bone Quarry site and viewed many of the over one thousand fossilized bones still in the mountain they were found. We then visited a cabin that was the homestead of Josie Bassett, who lived there alone for over 50 years. She was an alleged associate of the outlaw Butch Cassidy. From there we drove a 30 mile Jeep trail to a scenic overlook of the Green River in the northern part of the park. Along the way we saw many petroglyphs and wild flowers.

The next day Josie drove with me as I played a round of golf at Dinaland Golf Course.  Every morning in the RV Park, we were greeted by a small flock of Wild Turkeys.  

On our last day in Vernal we drove the Flaming Gorge Scenic Byway. At our first stop we toured the Flaming Gorge Dam on the Green River.  It is considered a small dam and its main purpose is for flood control and not hydro-electric power.  We were surprised to learn that it is controlled by the Glen Canyon Dam which is further down the Colorado River. From the dam, we drove to many of the scenic overlooks along the rim of the gorge. 

We then took the Sheep Creek Geological Loop Road and were treated to more of the stunning scenery. Along the way we saw many mule deer, a couple of elk and even a coyote. 

From Vernal we drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming and spent the night before driving on to North Platte, Nebraska. We hit a few of the local Antique and Collectible shops in the area, the most unique one being the Grain Bin Town. A local lady has bought and preserved 15 old wooden grain bins and rents them out to local collectors. 
We spent one afternoon at Buffalo Bill Ranch.  The guides were dressed in period clothing and they were very informative. Buffalo Bill put on a show with trick riding and shooting one fourth of July and it was so popular other towns ask him to do it for them. Thus, the Buffalo Bill Wild West Shows were born. During the show he would release live pigeons and shoot them out of the air. But sometimes the birds would fall into the crowd and bloody the dresses of the ladies. So, his manager developed a clay disc that he put feathers in and when shot out of the sky would look somewhat like a real bird. They became known as clay pigeons. 

I played a round of golf at the Wild Horse Golf Club in Gothenburg, Nebraska. It is rated as the Best Course You Can Play in Nebraska by Golf Digest. The course was built into the existing sand hills and required very little earth moving and they only had to dig a hole in the existing sand hills to create a trap. There is not one tree on this links type course. The tee markers were horse shoes and cow skulls, different to say the least. 

On our last day in town we visited Pals Brewery, the only one in North Platte. It was also rated the best restaurant in North Platte by Travel Advisor. We ordered a very good pizza and the beer was outstanding. Later that evening a severe thunderstorm came through and we took cover in the laundry room. Some of the hail was as big as a quarter, but it did no damage and did not last very long. The locals took it all in stride, I don't think they get excited till the sirens go off for a tornado. 
  

The day after the storm we drove north on Nebraska Highway 83 to Valentine, Nebraska. Along the way we came to an area where the overnight rains had flooded the road way. We followed a few other cars down the middle of the road and had no problems. 
The first full day in Valentine I played the Dunes Course at The Prairie Club. It is rated the 76th best public golf course in the USA by Golf Magazine. It was a challenging round with lots of sand traps and elevation change. Once the wind came up it was even harder. I did not hit one trap from the tee but found 4 bunkers with second shots and on the 18th hole I wound up in bunker on my second and third shots. The pictures below do not do justice to the wide-open spaces and beautiful sand hill vistas.   

One morning we drove through the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. We saw a few Bison and a nice sample of grassland birds.  Another highlight of the drive was Ford Falls. 

On our final day in town we walked to the trestle that goes over the Niobrara River on the Cowboy Trail, an old Burlington Northern Rail Line. We then had a Runza Sandwich while we sampled the beer at Bolo Brewery.  A Runza is a local sandwich made up of hamburger mixed with onion and cabbage. It originated in Lincoln, Nebraska over 65 years ago.