Shelter in Place

October 27, 2021 Writing My Story

Wall, South Dakota

It felt like I had been driving against the Wind across South Dakota to Wall and it was really picking up. Rain and some serious snow were forecast. After I parked I saw that we were under 35 mile an hour wind warnings with gusts up to 60 mph! No high profile vehicles are to be on the roads during those times, because they will just get rolled over with a wind gust. You can’t predict it and you can’t avoid it. So RVs in particular, are told to shelter in place. I have experienced this before and even in private campgrounds, no matter when your reservations end, you stay where you are. Nobody is going to be coming in to take that spot because of the weather, so you are automatically extended.Great policy.

When I finally left Wall, South Dakota on a nice clear day, I saw a couple RVs that got caught in the Wind. Not pretty. Have no idea if they had injuries or not for either of these flipovers.

***This one just got pulled upright. You can see the dirt and damage to the truck & RV. Got caught by the wind on the curving on ramp.*****The white rescue truck is sticking up above the RV roof**

**This is a trailer that also got flipped. I can only imagine the mess inside!!**

I closed the bedroom door and kept my slides in so I would be heating just the living area. ( Just like the Texas cold last year!! 🙄) I kept the temperature at 55° and closed the blinds tight. The wind was strong, even in town! I had no idea how much heat was being swept off by the wind & how fast my propane tank would go down, so I kept it low. I did NOT want to go out in the middle of the night to change tanks!! 😳 I slept (kind of) on the couch both nights. ( No electricity, no recliner ☹️ ) I also kept on my regular clothes as pajamas because it was a LOT warmer!

***Yup, a hooded sweatshirt and a jacket!! Who has room for a warm quilt when you’re going South ??!! 😳***

**The wind really came in through the door!! The only wind break I had was a vinyl tablecloth! It worked great! 👍**

It’s starting to look like I’m homeless in here!!

Am I having fun yet? No!!

BUT the first morning, I got up, cleaned up and headed over to a much warmer place!! Wall Drug!! Heaven! At least if I had to shelter in place, this was a great place to do it with a lot of options!! 👍. First…find breakfast!

**Yumm It tasted very good and I didn’t have to cook! 👍**

I had to bundle up for winter AND needed an umbrella against the rain to walk to WD! Miserable outside! Tonight I had reservations starting for a week at Custer State Park. That’s not going to happen!

**Tried to capture the trees and poles that were bending in the wind. 😬**

***I put my purse on “my table” for the photo. I spent many hours there throughout the day 😊***

Now doesn’t this look a lot better!!? There are 3-4 dining rooms in WD. I took the one near the Grill, near a fireplace ( no fire going) with a plug in for my phone !! So much warmer and cozier than the RV! Great art work by famous Western artists through out the room, with the background, (providence) of each one listed next to it. You are not allowed to take pictures of them individually. You can see some of them in this photo. There were always people in there. I just timed my photo.

***My view from my table. The two “windows” are actually the open area into the grill/kitchen***

***Still 5¢ coffee and it really was good!! Small cups 😅***

I soon found out what was happening around me during this storm! I was very happy to be where I was! I was OK with the delay. 👍

Nobody was going to be going anywhere any time soon!! I-90 was totally closed from Rapid City into Wyoming. Those gates I saw along the highway…. came down!

After two cold nights, the storm broke and the next morning was sunny, still cool but low, low winds! So when I pulled out before noon, I found out there was a propane refill spot just a couple blocks away . I took my RV over there. I wanted to refill the propane tank I had been using, just in case. The good news, was that it only went down about 10 # and cost me just over $7 !! Yippee! So that gives me some idea of what to expect from my propane. 🤔 It was a woman about my age that did the filling so it was interesting. I was able to muscle it back in pretty well so I was happy with that.

***My fold up dolly that I bungee my tank to when I have to transport it. Works well 👍***

***Sheriff Kati was kind enough to stop for a picture. I admire women in the force. It’s a tough job.***

***Look at this handsome dog in the fancy motorhome next to mine in the parking lot! He was striking. One blue eye, one brown .***

Since it was now a nice day, I decided to go to the outdoor area behind Wall Drug. Here is where they have the outsized jackalope, the full size horse and wagon, the bucking horse, a real, stuffed buffalo , a concrete 6′ rabbit outside, but the old realistic 6′ rabbit inside their history building and some other things to pose by or on. So, of course I had to pose one more time on or by most of these iconic Wall Drug symbols!!😅

Tradition! I have pictures of myself on this bucking horse when I was about 10 years old, when I was in college, and again a few years back when we made another trip out west! Then the horse was covered in real horsehide and it was a different horse on every picture. It probably was a good move to go to plastic!

***Second time by a buffalo! The real deal! Stuffed!***

***And the 6′ Rabbit!! A little worse for wear, but at least SOME real hair in place yet 👍***

What most impressed me about Wall Drug this time, are three areas I never paid attention to before. 1) the beautiful, historic artwork. 2) the great sculpture collection by historic artists and 3) the historic photos all over the walls in the backyard history building. They don’t mention the museum quality collections they have here!

That will be my next installment 👍 😬