All Aboard!!

Headin’ for the station with a pack on my back

I’m tired of transportation in the back of a hack

I love to hear the rhythm of the clickety-clack

And hear the lonesome whistle, see the smoke from the stack

And hang around with democrat fellas name Mac

So take me right back to the track, Jack

Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie

Woo woo, woo woo ch’boogie

—Choo Choo Ch’Boogie, Louis Jordan

My dad and his dad both worked on the railroad. I inherited some of that railroad DNA. I love to ride the rails. Sadly, America has turned its back on trains, but when we go to Europe, I ride the trains as often as I can. Even in India, which has just about the worst RR system in the world, I had to give it a whirl. OK, that was pretty bad. Goodness gracious, any RR that puts prison-like bars on the windows of completely decrepit train cars is scary.

Anyway, we had tickets for the 1880 Steam Train from Keystone to Hill City and back. Two and a half hours of open-air passenger car, steam-engine heaven. The train literally chugged through the heart of the Black Hills.

This is a train line that must be well-off. I estimate that they had 350 passengers on board. Some made a one-way trip, but most rode round trip. So, say 500 fares per round trip. During the day, the RR made three round trips for a total of 1500 paying customers. At $32 a head that translates to $48,000 a day, and $4.3 million in 90 days of summer. This would explain the fine condition that the passenger cars were in.

The route was truly scenic, cutting through woods, passing gorgeous bluffs, sneaking through RR cuts, and crossing creeks. I was all grins when we completed our journey.

Unfortunately, we had chores to perform after the train ride. The laundry monster needed feeding before it got out of control, and the van needed yet another oil change, our third one of the trip. Rapid City, the only major city in western South Dakota, with a population of 67,000, fit the bill. It was only 35 miles or so from Keystone, so off we went.

Rapid City is a typical town, nothing too remarkable. It did have a very nice laundromat that took credit cards. Next trip I will have to take along more cash. We ran out at the last laundromat.

One quick-lube joint wanted $52 to change the oil. Walmart did it for $30. So, off to the black hole we went. Walmart tagged us for another $60 for other junk that we decided we needed only after we walked into the store. Damn that store!

We returned to camp via the Needles Scenic Byway. It was absolutely gorgeous, on par with anything we explored in Utah. The Needles are hoodoo-like, tall thin rock formations. Peter Norbeck plotted out the road with his trademark severe switchbacks and tight tunnels. In one tunnel, we had to pull in Saturn’s mirrors in order to make it through unscathed. We are really liking the Black Hills.

Just before reaching the Needles Scenic Byway, we drove around to the side of Mount Rushmore for a profile of George Washington.

Glossary of terms used for newcomers: 1) V-Jer. The name of our camper. 2) Saturn. The name of our Van. 3) Duende. Our mischievous gremlin that breaks things. 4) Tata. The good gremlin that helps us fix Duende’s dirty work. 5) The Black Hole. This is what we call Walmart because every time we go in for just a couple of items, we come out spending way more than we figured. 6) QT. Quaint Town. 7) Little Buddy. This is what we call our Dyson cordless stick vacuum.

Dave and Wanda

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