I am nearing the end of my “pilgrimage” from the Silver Valley of North Idaho to Rapid City. The reason for my pilgrimage is simple. I need to renew my South Dakota license. It’s a 5 year requirement to remain a SD citizen! Come, spend a night, and get your license updated for 5 more years. The process at the DMV typically takes just minutes.
My recent travels after passing through Helena were all new to me. I knew that Eastern Montana and Miles City would be the western high plains (just like parts of eastern Wyoming and eastern Colorado.) Miles upon miles of relatively flat grasslands. Basically farm and ranch country.
I wasn’t expecting much from Miles City. However, it did over-deliver in three key ways –
- Big Sky Campground – Amy is the proprietor. A basic “FHU” (full hookup) campground by all standards, but Amy is very friendly, helpful and has a bit of an animal farm next door. I saw cattle, wild peacocks, and on Amy’s property, lots of feral cats.
- The Remember When Cafe inside Vintage and Rustics (in the heart of downtown Miles City) – this store used to be a Woolworths and still has the original lunch counter with a real ’60’s vibe to it!
- Spotted Eagle Lake – a small (25 acre) lake on the west edge of town. Free access, good paddling and from what I could see a popular fishing spot for locals
Fortunately the wind behaved itself so on each day I was able to get over to Spotted Eagle Lake to do an hour or so of paddling. Miles City is a town of 8000 residents so it is equipped with all the retail you could possibly need to restock and fill your campers shelves.
Big Sky Campground on the east side of Miles City
Access is just off I-94. Far enough to NOT hear road noise. Close to an “animal farm” next door. Yes, it DID smell like a farm. NO, I was not offended. Yes, the owner Amy is very willing to help. Basically, I’m “low maintenance”, I find my way around. The park is quiet, level, and spacious for the number of sites she has.
Remember When Cafe
I was impressed to wander into a “thrift shop” (google said they have a good breakfast) and found an original Woolworth’s lunch counter! Definitely worth the visit. The store is filled with independent “vendor stores” which are booths loaded with vendor owned “stuff.” Over 20,000 sq. ft. of shopping for oddities and knick-knacks.
Spotted Eagle Lake and Natural Area
A true respite on the west side of town. A small lake with apparently good fishing. From my perspective, I enjoyed paddling there. Its not big. It took me only about 20 minutes to do a full loop, so I did multiple loops!
Moving along…
Rapid City is not far. I located a Passport America campground (see below.) I have a lifetime Passport America membership. It has paid for itself and more! Three nights in Rapid are far more than enough for me to do all the retail shopping I can imagine, hit the DMV, pickup mail at Americas Mailbox (highly recommended) and… time to work on posts like this one! Incidentally, if you’re looking for a mail forwarding service (and more), when you call Americas Mailbox, please tell ’em “box 3847” sent ya!
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