Bayard - the prairie dinner

The campground at Bayard



Horses adjacent to our campsite



The silliness begins with a toast



Starting the fire in the rain



Marsha and poncho at the bar



The rain continues



Covered wagon ride in the rain



Marsah on and off the wagon



Steaks are on



Marsha coming back from checking up on the cook



The grub - steak, green beans, potatoe and bread, and



home made ice cream





Getting ready for the sing-along



Every sing-along has to have a lead singer



Some of our "fellow travelers" singing along



Marsha singing along



Sunset on the prairie after the storm.


Date: Sunday, August 1st
Day: 79
RV Miles: 6,714
Location: Bayard, Nebraska (About 600 yards North of Chimney Rock)
Elevation: 3,757

This morning was really hectic. There were black storm clouds rolling in on Rapid City from the Northwest and Larry hurried everybody up so we could break camp before it started raining. We rolled out of camp about 8:45 just as a few raindrops started to fall. The black clouds chased us South along US Route 79 but never quite caught us. When we crossed the Nebraska state line, the sky cleared and it turned into a beautiful day.

The campground we are in is rather eclectic. It only has 7 campsites and we are the only RV here. As you can see by the pictures we are parked in a wooded area just South of the North Platte River. This location is right on the old Oregon Trail next to Chimney Rock. We even have an old Pony Express Station site about 200 yards from our camper.

This place is a little different. It is out of the way, it is unadvertised and because of that it is delightful. The primary business here is cooking rib eye steak dinners wagon train style.

Marsha and Larry got a little silly this evening. They opened a bottle of wine and toasted their last official vacation stop. By the time they headed to dinner, Marsha was wearing a crooked smile and walking with a bit of a list. As Larry tells it, she had two or three more glasses of wine before dinner at the open air bar. (Larry is unsure of the count because he is unsure of the number of beers he drank.)

Right before dinner they had a cloud burst but everything proceeded pioneer style. They got a ride in a real covered wagon. Notice the picture of Marsha on the wagon with her wine glass. (Only Marsha could be on and off the wagon at the same time.) They had about 45 people here for dinner and the really good smells drove Sasha and me nuts. Larry and Marsha confirmed that it tasted good as well.
After dinner, they had a campfire sing-along.

When they got back, Marsha went face first into bed and hasn’t moved since. Larry was slightly more cooperative and I did manage to keep him conscious so I could interview him for the blog. I don’t think Sasha and I will see either of them before 10AM tomorrow morning.