getting settled and doing some exploring

Saturday we made a Wal Mart run to stock up on supplies and once we got back I was able to make our site look a little more like "home" by getting the chairs, grill and clothesline out.

 That evening we were invited over to Steve and Joan's rig where they taught us a couple new (and fun!) card games. We played "golf" and "fruit salad", we had a great night and look forward to a lot more. Their days off of work are Saturday, Sunday and Monday ...... weekends off SERIOUSLY? :-) So we decided on Sunday to do some geocaching as a way to explore the area some. I'll let the photos tell the story.

Monday we ran a few errands and then had a lazy night at home watching TV.
Today Rudee and I decided to do some more exploring on our own and headed out in search of "out of the way" places. There are miles and miles of Forest Service roads winding through the mountains around us. They are not in the greatest condition but that is what makes it an adventure. We turned off the "main" gravel road onto this one because a sign said there was a dam and it was "only" 9 miles. :-)

We found some signs of past civilization.

I'm not sure how long it has been abandoned but it looked to be really, really old.
We finally came upon a small pond and the dam.

We took a break to explore a little on foot and to sit and enjoy the sound of the waterfall. :-)
Eventually we came upon the ghost town of Mystic, South Dakota. There were still a couple of houses around but not sure if they were occupied or not.

We saw this at the edge of town near a wide spot in the road.

Looked like two graves side by side and another, smaller one nearby. Made us think that it was maybe a married couple and a child.They were marked with white wooden crosses, with the graves outlined with rocks. They seemed very old and neither had any other markings so we were left to wonder what happened here. Maybe a homestead where the occupants fell ill or had some kind of catastrophe, interesting spot for sure.

Lunch was at a small pizza place in Keystone and then we continued our tour through Custer State Park. Rudee told me she needed her "Buffalo fix". This close enough for ya Honey. :-)

The parks and towns are just starting to come to life and it wont be long before the tourists return in droves. I have to report to work in the morning to help with a special event and then Thursday we both report for "orientation", I'll keep you posted.