1880 Town, South Dakota

Murray made a better selection in choosing this campground than he realised. Campgrounds with cable TV in the Dakotas are few and far between, so when he found this KOA campground in South Dakota with cable TV - that clinched the deal - he was keen to watch the US Golf Open.

Our RV site amongst the prairie lands of South Dakota

When we drove in here on Wednesday we realised our campground was only about .75 miles or 1.2 km from South Dakota's 1880 Town - an easy walk from our RV. We were impressed with the tidy, neat environs of the campground and entered the office to check in. The host mentioned they served meals in their restaurant - bacon and eggs for breakfast, bison steaks for dinner, amongst other things. I jokingly asked if we could bring our own bottle of wine, and she said, no need, we have wine here at $4 a glass. She won me at hello! Once we parked we looked around us, and realised that we were indeed right in amongst the South Dakota prairie lands. Delightful. A swimming pool, laundromat, book exchange, gift and grocery store, restaurant and gym were simply the icing on the cake!

This morning we decided to walk up to 1880 Town, and as there had been a brisk, cool breeze the day before and when we first got up today, I wore jeans and closed in shoes. I feel the cold. By the time I had walked a few minutes up the road I should have turned back and changed into cooler clothes. However, most place in America are air-conditioned and I need to take a light cardigan everywhere, so I figured I'd be right once I got there. Wrong! It was an authentic 1880's town, so there was no air-conditioning in the buildings back then - (although I noticed they did cool the 'Saloon' and the dining car, as they both operated in serving cool drinks and people could sit and chill out). The fantastic collection of memorabilia made up for any slight discomfort I may have had. 

While we were with Jenny and Peter we visited a similar historic village in Wichita, Kansas called 'Cowtown'. Murray and I have also visited a few others in our visits to the USA over the 7 years we have been coming here, so now when we see an old western movie, or a documentary about some issue in the early years of North America, we recognise the old blacksmith stable, and the Well's Fargo wagons, and the old church, schoolroom, living hut, saloon, emporiums etc, as we have seen a lot of the real McCoy, and can say, we've actually seen one of those in real life. How often did we see those old coffee pots on the fire or the stove in cowboy movies! Quite mind boggling really. Walking into these old buildings where people lived or worked so long ago is a bit like visiting Graceland in Memphis, and knowing that you are walking on the actual stairs that Elvis walked on.  

Entrance is $10 a head

So much history here - all for sale too. Those old coffee pots you see in centre top of photo had a tag of $65 on them

Double click on the link to get a good look at the antiques and see how much you recognise!

Mt Rushmore is about 200 miles from here. The man who carved the stone did his drawings on this desk. 

Here are some of the film props from the movie 'Dances With Wolves' with Kevin Costner.  

Looking down the main street of 1880 Town - I even caught a bird on the wing

This collection of Custer's memorabilia includes spurs and bridles found on the Battlefield at Little Big Horn

Among the Buffalo Bill memorabilia was this last farewell letter he wrote

Sibly Stove used in Civil War and Indian Wars to heat tents of cavalry and infantry

Our last stop was a railway car converted into a diner. Just simple fare at lunchtime like hamburgers, chilli (beef), salads, sandwiches, soup. It was air-conditioned! The hamburgers were very tasty with very fresh filling. Tonight we will wander over to the office 'restaurant' and have a bison steak with a local red wine for dinner. No wonder my jeans were a bit tight today!

Murray in the rail dining car - the gentleman opposite us lives in New York state, spends winter in Florida, and travels a lot in his RV