We put a lot of miles on Rhonda and saw some amazing things as we drove through the Black Hills National Forest.

While the scenery was amazing, we noticed large sections of discoloration in the mountains. From afar it was actually sort of pretty, but as we drove closer we realized something sinister was going down.

A beetle infestation is killing all the trees. The Pine Beetle is responsible for destroying 384,000 of the 1.2 million acres in the Black Hills. That’s one third!!!! Al the red trees were awesome looking, but they were also dead!

With the power of Penny Lane, South Dakota counter-punched with a Beatle infestation of their own. A Beatle’s cover band in downtown Rapid City seemed to make it all better (at least for the evening). The entire town came out. The weather was perfect. Brett made sure we had proper provisions….

…and children were dancing through the rhythmic water fountains as it followed the beat of the music.

The heart and spirit of Crazy Horse was everywhere. Bottom line, don’t count South Dakota out!