Travel With The Thayers: #6 Spearfish, ND to Oacoma, ND

#6 Spearfish to Oacoma, ND

Derrille’s brother Jay and Jay’s wife Lynn joined us in Spearfish. From here we will travel together for the next seven months. Jay, Lynn and Derrille stand in front of our rigs as we prepare to leave Spearfish.

The South Dakota landscape in June looks so fresh, green and clean.

In the few places with exposed rock, the color is red. Here the prairies go one for miles. No mountains are visible on the horizon.

The Black Hills National Cemetery with its somber display of white crosses graced the hillside next to the freeway.

The power lines attest to being on the prairie. Flat expanse of land lays in all directions. Occasionally the road rises and falls a bit.

Grassland flow over the countryside.

We passed the Cheyenne River. Some singular antelope or some in small groups grazed in a few fields. We also passed a Prairie Dog village. By the time we recognized what it was, too late for photos.

Ponds of water settle in low sections. They may result from all the rain that has pelted this region recently. Some sit out in the middle of a field. Some are closer to buildings.

Liked this old structure.

In one place the pond on the right side of the road shared the field with white cattle. Across the road, a similar pond was surrounded with black cows.

South Dakota claims some interesting signs.
I-90 closed when flashing. EXIT

2 The second sign is basically a U-turn. You can get off going east, but you can’t get back on to continue east. You must re-enter the west bound lane. Sign like these are frequently along the road. A snow gate also sits ready to drop and close the highway.

Memories of Saskatchewan cross our minds with the straight highway and gentle turns. Miles of fields surround the road and dirt side roads exit the main road.

Silos spike into the horizon.

Several fields showed results of recent mowing down the corn stalks. We were lucky to see the tractor and mower that did the job.

Wall Drug started in 1931 in Wall, South Dakota. Sometimes referred to as “the geographical center of nowhere”, this ultimate tourist trap offers a fun stop for travelers. The complex covers several acres within a maze of shops. They provide free water. The main café seats about 530 people. Other places to eat, and buy fudge, ice cream, pie, candy, etc. abound. Souvenir shops and gift shops display a myriad of products. Activity based area include a shooting range and arcade. Wall Drug has it all! We have been there three times and didn’t feel the need to stop again. But if you have never been, put it on your list of things to do.

Some Badlands formations are near here, but on I-94 you can see them from the road. Here I think we drove a bit south to view them.

An interesting trio of vehicles passed on the highway. A sleek, black utility truck with a dome on top went first. The sides showed lots of bins and hatches with silver latches. A second sleek black truck minus the dome and shaped like an ambulance followed the first truck. The third part of the procession was a truck like the second, except it towed a large, shin, black, cargo trailer. They looked like a storm tracker team. I immediately checked the Weather Channel Radar to see what was up ahead. Nothing for us! Just clear sailing! We got the side of the trailer when we pulled off for fuel.

We did stop at the next rest area. This sign caught our attention. Also of note: the flags are flying straight out. Can you say, Wind? The brick picnic shelters might be another clue.

Billboards advertised an authentic 1800 town coming up soon. According to the signage the town originated as a stage coach stop. It looked pretty commercial out front, with the town at the back. We have visited many similar towns over the years. We didn’t stop.

We think the small rows of trees that show up in the fields may have something to do with the wind. Most places we saw a two rows of trees. One place sported a four row barrier.

The Oasis campground reservation was made after our campground on the river was flooded. Oasis has nice long sites. We were impressed with this park. As usual the park sits right next to the freeway. We did have a view of the Missouri River.