Rainy Days and Sunshine in Rapid City

I think we're now officially done with the rainy season in Rapid City.  It's been kind of fun to be here while they had torrential downpours, thunder and lightening on a daily basis.  It seemed like it was every night from about midnight to about 3 a.m. the storms would come in and then in the morning, you'd wake up to beautiful blue skies until later afternoon when dark clouds would start rolling back in.  Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. when I went to Prairie Edge it was blue skies with a couple white fluffy clouds and then an hour later, we had an afternoon downpour like no other!  It was so bad that even the store lights when out and the computers had to be reset causing a little headache for them.

Photo taken from upstairs at Prairie Edge on Main Street, Rapid City

An hour earlier...

Meanwhile, when the downpour came, Scott took these photos back at the rig.  A storm in a house is much different than one in an RV.  In an RV when it thunders, the whole rig shakes...kind of a weird feeling, but you get used to it after time.  When it pours rain like this, you hope and pray no plastic sunroof or air conditioner unit in the rig cracks and breaks.  We've had a couple days of hail and those days I really pray no damage is done to the rig or the truck.

Notice the red streak going down the road, that the red watery dirt from the top of the hill that makes a divot in the street where it's happened so much.  You can see how dark the photo above and and how light the one is below.  The darker one happens on the downpour afternoons while the lighter color happens with heavy rain.  Below are photos I took on another downpour afternoon.  You can see how the road has been patched up from rains past.

I'm not sure what the phenomenon is that caused the rain to come in every single afternoon and then downpour in the night, but it's been kind of fun to lay in bed and listen to the storms, see a flash of light and hear a big boom.  The dogs have just gotten used to it and even Roxy doesn't even flinch.  This past week were the worst ones we've had but I think they are now over and summer has officially come to Rapid City.  There was no storm last night and I checked the hourly forecast today for the next 10 days and there's nothing but sunshine and no rain in the forecast.  This is what we wake up to at about 5:30 a.m. every morning...just beautiful blue skies.  Simply gorgeous!

It's been an adventure being here this time of year.  I heard Lynelle at Prairie Edge tell another customer that they really didn't have much of a winter this past year but that they've had rain upon rain since May 1st.  She said it's been the greenest spring she can remember and I have to say the lime-green hills have been gorgeous!  Thanks, Black Hills, for the beautiful landscape!

Prairie Edge - Native American Shop in Rapid City

Wow!  Today, I went to a little shop at 6th and Main called Prairie Edge!  What an absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G shop!  I spent at least two hours there and could easily have spent another two!

This place has it all including a trading post of beads, REAL Venetian Italian glass beads, ceremonial Native American items, clothing, kitchen things, books and household furnishings!  What an fun place.  Let me show you the shop, so let's get started.  I was able to meet Lynelle, a lovely lady who guided me through the shop and showed me where things were.

My sweet new friend, Lynelle

First, there is a trading store attached to Prairie Edge called Sioux Trading.  They have a huge assortment of tanned hides, beads, thread, needles, furs, etc. as well as finished products for purchase.

At the front of the main corner of Prairie Edge, they also have a lovely selection of apparel and home decor items - rugs, blankets, t-shirts, mugs, coasters, quilts, etc.

In the next area of the store is the Native American section full of wonderful beaded items and ceremonial artifacts that made my heart melt.  I could literally buy the whole shop!

Lynelle and I spent a lot of time in the Native American dolls, purses and miniature and full size baby cradle boards.  She was so much fun to chat with.

Ghost Dancer Dolls

I LOVE this purse!

Upstairs are a few smaller rooms.  One was filled with high end furniture, painting and the like.  Another was filled with local artisans who do paintings, paper carving (amazing, I might add), and Ledger art.  This is old historical receipts and writings and ledger books that have painted over similar to how animal hides were painted on.  These are quite stunning.  Here are some of my favorite pieces.

This resonated with me since I am the Matriarch of my family.

Finally, upstairs in yet another alcove is the 70 tons of Venetian Italian beads I mentioned in our blog post when we visited Crazy Horse that was purchased when the shop in Italy closed its doors.  These are the same beads sold in the 19th Century!  Currently, you can purchase these beads and Lynelle told me many of the Lakota are becoming concerned that certain colors are nearly gone and are worried how they are going to finish some of their beaded work once the colors are gone.  Each color bead and size has a corresponding chart.  The display was simply stunning!

Fulled beaded chair and urn!  Amazing!

And, to end this post, of course, I had to mention a bison in some way, so here is a chart of how Native American Indians treated the sacred buffalo as their way of life.  They used every part of the animal they could with no waste.  I've hoped you've enjoyed this blog post.  I really enjoyed browsing this fabulous shop and can't wait to take Scott back before we leave next week.

National Grasslands Visitors Center and Wall, South Dakota

Between Minuteman Missile National Site and Badlands, we stopped to have lunch at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota (where the jackalopes roam) - an iconic 4 block (or possibly more) shopping area started by one lady offering free ice water to travelers and that has turned into a multi-million dollar company, I'm sure!  RV have a large RV parking area; buses are welcome and cars have plenty of parking spots!  We'd been to Wall Drug before so we knew we'd probably spend a couple hours there easily - but for those who haven't been, be prepared to spend about 4 hours there!  There are shops galore, great food, ice-cream and now, another area has opened along the back part of the block long, drug store.  Below is just a VERY SMALL section of the lunch area.  I had a BBQ Beef Sandwich and homemade donut they are known for and Scott had the Roast Beef dinner.

After lunch, we just stopped in a couple of shops: Minnetonka Moccasins, a camping shop and a Native American artifact shop.  Will never get there?  No fear, you can shop online!

I bought a little bison to put in the truck with me and Scott bought me a bag that just fits my National Parks Passport book like a glove so that we can have a designated place for it.

And, before heading out, we had to get ice-cream!  The shop staff are usually young adults from different countries.  One gal was from Jamaica that we met and I don't know where he was from...he didn't have on his name tag.

Also in Wall, South Dakota as we were leaving town, we spotted the National Grasslands Visitor Center.  Buffalo Gap National Grasslands is next door but I think they are now part of the visitor center.  I decided to stop in before heading to the Badlands.  It was a surprisingly wonderful place and they even have a junior ranger program just like the National Parks do!  The National Grasslands Visitor Center is the only visitor center in the country for all 20 National Grasslands and Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.  These grasslands are located at the following locations: California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming! Who knew?!  As always, it's a free location and there is a 25-minute film, lovely display of exhibits quite tastefully done and ranger-led events!  The Exhibit Room features interactive displays on ecosystems, grazing, Great Plains history, artifacts, wildlife, etc.  If you want to see the film, please request it.  These events are offered only during the summer months, however the visitors center is open year-round.  There is also a gift shop containing a variety of books and collectors items for old and young.  And, you can even stamp your National Parks Passport Book there!

It's well worth  your time to go to both Wall Drug AND National Grasslands Visitors Center.  You could easily spend a day doing both!