Day 12: Shhhhh! A long and productive day...finally

Total Miles: 303.2

We had a great night at Chris' RV Park in Spearfish, SD last night. The place was so quiet, clean and friendly and the cost was perfect. It was a good way to take a deep breath and move forward. 

Today we hit the road again with a goal of making North Dakota.  Miraculously we actually made it all the way to Williston, ND, our turning point. Tomorrow we head east going across the upper portion of the country. 

Today we stopped in South Dakota to visit the Geographical Center of the country. We had not heard of SD being the center of anything ;-) After stopping to check it out we became better educated on the subject. 

It was a beautiful site and had some great memorials to our military as well. The Buckskin Johnny Cabin originally built in 1876 was moved and rebuilt at this location as it was the first cabin built in the area and represented the early day frontiersmen and women. 

After that there was a lot of road but not much else except oil pumps, antelope, wind and rain. Oh and lots and lots of open spaces. It's incredible how much open space there is in this country. How many farms and old ranches have fallen down after being abandoned.

The change in landscape is amazing from high plains, to rocky peaks and everything in between. And all the way are long straight roads that seem to go on forever.  We've seen farms, ranches and now oil country. And it appears that North Dakota is really into oil. 

Today we saw a train of all uniformed oil cars that we couldn't see the beginning or the end of right here in Williston. There are quickly constructed "living quarters" to accommodate the large influx of workers in the oil industry in North Dakota. It's like the old gold rush. It's crazy. 


The good news we did end up in Williston, ND and the local Walmart to park at for the night. We always check with the manager before we stay as some of them you cannot stay overnight.  We are fed and getting ready to tuck it in. SO I'll end this entry for tonight. Jimmy does promise, for your viewing pleasure, a picture of the Williston Walmart. Have a great night.