American Gam

“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.” ~ Matsuo Basho

A nickname that I’ve heard for the Black Hills is the “Island in the Plains.” This aerial photograph from far above in space shows you why. You can see the Black Hills jutting up from the surrounding prairie like a single monadnock or a black oasis on the left side of South Dakota.

This “Island in the Plains” has been our home since the first of May, some four and a half months, or nineteen weeks, or one hundred and thirty eight days.

We have lived here, laughed here, cried here, made new friends here, and seen some amazing things here in the Black Hills area, which we have shared with you here on American Gam. This was a major pit stop on the Great American Road Trip.

The best part of our time here in the Black Hills was exploring this beautiful part of the country and experiencing all that it has to offer; from the history to the landscape to the wildlife to the people. The following photos will recap some of the memorable experiences we’ve had here.

The hardest part of being here, of course, was the pain of losing our Kodi-boy just a few days before our arrival here and having to adjust to this new workcamping lifestyle without him. He would have loved exploring the Black Hills with us. He’s been gone almost five months now and the pain, the pain of his absence is… 💔

He was such a good boy.

During our time here it seemed like a lifetime residency but now that we’re looking at it in the rearview mirror I suspect we will come to see it as just another small chapter in the book of life.

Will we be back? No. This is probably our first and last workcamping experience. This job was eight hours a day, five days a week. If we were to do this again it would have to feel more like a retirement hobby and not a full time job, at a much smaller campground. For now we’ll just head home to Florida to our “Island in the Sun” and take some cruises to see some other countries and just enjoy retirement.

And so we head out, continuing on our Great American Road Trip. Forging ahead into what Shakespeare called “the undiscovered country.” Metaphorically meaning the future and, for us, literally to see the unseen parts of this beautiful land.

Heading: Due East.

Goal: To visit family and friends in New England and then, head due south to our “Island in the Sun” Florida home that we haven’t seen since the first of February.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this time spent in the Black Hills as much as we did.

The gam continues…