South Dakota folk...

gkainz

gkainz

Final Approach
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
8,401
Location
Arvada, CO
Display Name
Display name:
Greg Kainz
My people ...
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THINK ABOUT THIS FOR A MOMENT

South Dakota News This text is from a county
emergency manager out in the western part of South
Dakota state after the recent snow storm.

WEATHER BULLETIN

Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered
from a Historic event --- may I even say a "Weather
Event" of "Biblical Proportions" --- with a historic
blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH
that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles,
stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow
banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of
communities and cut power to 10's of thousands .

FYI:

George Bush did not come....

FEMA did nothing....

No one howled for the government...

No one blamed the government

No one even uttered an expletive on TV...

Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit

Our Mayor's did not blame Bush or anyone else

Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else either
CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, or NBC did not visit - or report
on this category 5 snow storm

Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.....

No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House....

No one looted....

Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something

Nobody expected the government to do anything either

No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris
Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera, No Shaun Penn, No
Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found
And Nope, we just melted the snow for water Sent out
caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed
cars The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks
and didn't ask for a penny. Local restaurants made
food and the police and fire departments delivered it
to the snow bound families Families took in the
stranded people - total strangers

We Fired up wood stoves Broke out coal oil lanterns or
coleman lanterns We put on an extra layers of clothes
because up here it is "Work or Die"

We did not wait for some affirmative action
government to get us out of a mess created by being
immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for
'sittin at home' checks.

Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has
never fallen this early...we know it can happen and
how to deal with
it ourselves.

"In my many travels, I have noticed that once one
gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90%
most of the world's social problems evaporate."

Thanks,

Bob Schmidt
Sr. VP
Pierre, SD
 
I moved away from Rapid City 7 states ago...but when someone asks were I am from, I tell them South Dakota... thanks for posting this. If you are from there you are continually amazed how much people elsewhere blame others or expect help. One of the things we hear a lot from pilots is flying is the only time their life depends entirely on themselves and the decisions they make. If you are from a place like South Dakota you are suprised anyone could feel that isn't true all the time - or why you would want it any other way.
 
hmmm. And ALL the houses were destroyed? And ALL the people HAD to go to shelters or were forced to huddle OUTSIDE SHELTER for rescue? And the conditions remained so for months? And HUNDREDS of people died? And all the houses were URBAN - as opposed to rural, where people are more prepared for emergencies of this sort?

Just wanting to make sure we aren't talking about apples and oranges, here.
 
etsisk said:
hmmm. And ALL the houses were destroyed? And ALL the people HAD to go to shelters or were forced to huddle OUTSIDE SHELTER for rescue? And the conditions remained so for months? And HUNDREDS of people died? And all the houses were URBAN - as opposed to rural, where people are more prepared for emergencies of this sort?

Just wanting to make sure we aren't talking about apples and oranges, here.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you're right. How dare I brag a little about my people? Shame on me. Shucks, man, wasn't nuthin...:mad:
 
etsisk said:
Just wanting to make sure we aren't talking about apples and oranges, here.
Click to expand...

We aren't. Apples and Apples.
 
gkainz said:
Yeah, you're right. How dare I brag a little about my people? Shame on me. Shucks, man, wasn't nuthin...:mad:
Click to expand...
Don't get me wrong, bud - I have nothing but respect for y'all up there in a tough, tough hunk of country! Y'all deal with a lot of serious weather, and do it with grace. I admire the heck out of that. Really.

My point was not about y'all, but about the comparison that was being made - it seemed more than a little derogatory about those that DID require FEMA (not that it did 'em much good), about those that WERE pushed to a breaking point by something way beyond their experience and expectations. I'm not at all interested in getting into some p!$$ing contest, liberal v. conservative, pro/con Bush, blah blah blah. I've intentionally removed myself from the soapbox on the red board and I'm not interested in slipping back into the sewer of what passes for political "discourse" these days. But we just aren't talking about apples v. apples, here.

That said, y'all are pretty amazing in your survival abilities! (of course, given that y'all keep STAYING there, I've gotta wonder about yer judgment!! ;))
 
Alan said:
What Ed said...
Click to expand...
ok, sure. . . I am not gonna contribute in anything that smacks of turning this board into another Soapbox, so yeah, whatever.
 
Tom,
I didn't post that intending in any way, shape or form to put down of the people who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina. They were hit by a disaster and I am truly sympathetic to their situation. I guess it just sort of touched my heart and reminded me of growing up in a very different mindset than a lot of the rest of the country...especially after spending a week beside my dad's bed in ICU...dredged up a lot of very good memories and reminded me that about the only thing my dad doesn't know how to do is quit , or stand around moaning and waiting for someone else to help out. He's pretty typical of the folks from up there.

BTW, I have a self-imposed TFR over the red board Soapbox...
 
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gkainz said:
Tom,
I didn't post that intending in any way, shape or form to put down of the people who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina...BTW, I have a self-imposed TFR over the red board Soapbox...
Click to expand...
Sorry, I guess I have soapbox paranoia - don't mind me. I haven't posted to a political thread there (or even read more than three of them - and wish I hadn't read THOSE three!) since before Thanksgiving, and I'm only now starting to feel clean again. It's ugly how political dialogue has changed in this country lately. Can't stand it.

Again, just to be clear, I wasn't slamming those in the frozen expanses of South Dakota. My feelings are quite the contrary! ;)
 
We flew up to Custer, SD over the summer. I had never been to SD before and wanted to see Mt. Rusmore, and the Balck Hills. It was wonderful! The airport manager offered us a ride into Custer, then thought again. He drove us to his house where he had an old Jeep CJ. I love Jeeps and have a Wrangler, so this was a real treat for me. He gave us the Jeep to use for the day and we had a blast drving it all over Custer and Mt. Rushmore area. That old Jeep just put a big smile on our faces. We filled the tank with gas before we returned it. The people there are very friendly and helpful. Very refreshing.
 
Next summer we need to coordinate a Black Hills fly-in tour. CPA did one last year and I missed it. I know some awesome back roads for Jeeping (and even some that don't risk a ticket for driving on nowadays! - man how times have changed), some great fly fishing holes and just flat-out cool scenery.
 
gkainz said:
Next summer we need to coordinate a Black Hills fly-in tour. CPA did one last year and I missed it. I know some awesome back roads for Jeeping (and even some that don't risk a ticket for driving on nowadays! - man how times have changed), some great fly fishing holes and just flat-out cool scenery.
Click to expand...

You're on Greg. Sounds like a winner.
 
My dad taught me to fly fish in the black hills... but he always said it looked like I was using bycycle chain for fishing line..... and he still made me clean the catch!

Have you landed recently at the Custer State Park strip? They used to have a state park plane under a hanger there with big aluminum circles around the wheels to keep animals away... before cell phones I used to land there and let the passengers sign the guest ledger and make a call from the payphone after they read the caution buffalo-on-runway signs.
 
gkainz said:
Next summer we need to coordinate a Black Hills fly-in tour. CPA did one last year and I missed it. I know some awesome back roads for Jeeping (and even some that don't risk a ticket for driving on nowadays! - man how times have changed), some great fly fishing holes and just flat-out cool scenery.
Click to expand...

Fantastic idea!!! Sign me up now. This is one of the places at the top of my and my wife's places we haven't been but want to go. Almost went last year but had to scrap it at the last minute.

Pick the dates Greg!

P.S. How difficult is it for a normally aspirated plane to make the flight from Rapid City to Custer? Terrain looks high.
 
bstratt said:
P.S. How difficult is it for a normally aspirated plane to make the flight from Rapid City to Custer? Terrain looks high.
Click to expand...

Most of the planes out here are normally aspirated and operate with impunity in and around the mountains and very high elevations, including my Tiger. Rapid City and Custer aren't high compared to a lot of the mountain terrain.

That being said, always pay attention to DA, winds and weather. Not much room for error out here.
 
except on hot summer days, I never had much trouble with my 172 around the Black Hills... what is a little unique though, is the elevation drops pretty dramatically west to east in just a few miles - so often the turbulance is pretty bad if the winds are picking up. I'm back there a few times a year and almost always give some other family or friends rides over the Black Hills - and I try to do it in the early morning or evening hours.
 
Haven't been in the Black Hills area since about 1988. Sure is pretty country, at least when it isn't hip deep in snow. If it wasn't such a far drive from the PNW I'd drive my Jeep there to meet up with you so we'd have one to enjoy on the ground.
 
Kelly said:
Have you landed recently at the Custer State Park strip? They used to have a state park plane under a hanger there with big aluminum circles around the wheels to keep animals away... before cell phones I used to land there and let the passengers sign the guest ledger and make a call from the payphone after they read the caution buffalo-on-runway signs.
Click to expand...

It's still there. Runway is fenced now. The State has been using as a single engine airtanker base during fire season. They then NOTAM it closed without PPR. It wasn't a problem. Base manager was nice. The State Game Lodge (Coolidge summer White House) picked us up. We spent the night and enjoyed great food and some hiking.
 
bstratt said:
Fantastic idea!!! Sign me up now. This is one of the places at the top of my and my wife's places we haven't been but want to go. Almost went last year but had to scrap it at the last minute.

Pick the dates Greg!

P.S. How difficult is it for a normally aspirated plane to make the flight from Rapid City to Custer? Terrain looks high.
Click to expand...

Non issue Barry. Flew over KRAP and KCUT this summer. And it was pushing 100 degrees on the ground. I was at 8500 and had no performance issues.
 
The flight from Rapid City KRAP at 3204' to Custer KCUT 5602' is 31mn and you start climbing for terrain fairly quickly. Direct takes you south of Mt. Rushmore and Harney Peak at 7242' and Crazy Horse at 6330', and north of Cicero Peak and Coolidge Mountain (with towers) at 6378'. As others have noted, the Black Hills are pretty abrupt elevation change from the relatively flat prairies, but IIRC, 6500' within maybe 8-10 nm from RAP and then 8000' within about 15 mn was comfortable. In fact, from just a little above pattern altitude at CUT one can see RAP ...
This sounds like it could be a blast. I could probably pull together some 4WD touring, fly fishing, con an high school buddy who raises buffalo there to kick loose some buffalo burger or steaks (mmmmn, drooling on my keyboard...just put a buffalo roast in the oven) and have a BBQ at the airport...
I'll check around for Jeep rentals, otherwise it will have to be a BYOJ (bring your own jeep) since my brother talked my dad into selling him "our" '46 Willys...
 
bstratt said:
Pick a date! Pick a date! Pleazzzzzz!:goofy:
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FYI - the flight from Lake Michigan about about 30 mils east of KRAP suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.
 
bstratt said:
Pick a date! Pick a date! Pleazzzzzz!:goofy:
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Um, long term planing is not one of my strong suits... I can barely plan tomorrow, say nothing about this summer ....

How about a concensus?

Custer's annual celebration, called Gold Discovery Days (celebrating... you guessed it... discovery of Gold in the Black Hills) :) is usually the 3rd weekend in July, and can be fun or can be just too crowded (yeah, even in Custer it can be too crowded for me) but there's lots of event weekends to pick from (see http://www.custersd.com/ and click on Calendar) ... I strongly recommend NOT choosing the first week in August, which is the Sturgis Motorcycle rally, as the Hills are completely overrun with motorcycles. I used to ride, and it's WAY too much for me, but YMMV...
 
Hi Greg, I'm less concerned with the scheduled activities on whatever dates we pick as I would basically like to to the touristy things - Rushmore/Crazy Horse - although would love to do some backcountry stuff or fly fishing as well.

One factor on timing may be weather - I know the spring around here has almost daily thunderstorms - and the summer's high temps may make the DA a factor - Is there a particular time of year that would be more appealing? We had thought about going last year on Columbus Day weekend in October but it didn't happen.
 
My sister and brother in law still live in Custer. He's recently purchased his parents' business in town and told me it appears that there's a significant increase in the tourism business before and after what is usually considered "tourist season" (Memorial Day to Labor Day).

Typical weather most of the summer is afternoon thunderstorms, but mornings are usually beautiful for flying. The Black Hills is in the 6th year of a drought so next year is either more dry or make your reservations early with "Noah and Sons Arks R Us, Inc" ... The standing joke about Black Hills weather is "if you don't like it, just wait an hour and it will change" so I don't think I can even make a guess about any time of year being better or worse than any other.
 
bstratt said:
and the summer's high temps may make the DA a factor -
Click to expand...

We're not talking Leadville here guys. My general rule of thumb is to at least fly 10% under gross, especially in the summer. YMMV, but in my Tiger I can operate year round at that weight, especially if the highest field elevation I'm departing or landing at is 5602 ft. and I am based at a 5,512 ft. airport. We went in June last year and it was great.
 
So, as we are still trying to come up with dates, if we start at long weekends, we have Memorial Day in May, July 4th (which would be good because if you take the 3rd off you get a 4 day weekend), Labor Day in Sept or Columbus day in October.

What about July 1st to the 4th?
 
Anthony said:
We're not talking Leadville here guys. My general rule of thumb is to at least fly 10% under gross, especially in the summer. YMMV, but in my Tiger I can operate year round at that weight, especially if the highest field elevation I'm departing or landing at is 5602 ft. and I am based at a 5,512 ft. airport. We went in June last year and it was great.
Click to expand...

Ten percent under gross (minus 510 lbs) would be a pretty good hit on my full fuel payload taking me from 850 to 340. I do like to fly a couple hunderd pounds below MGW especially in mid-summer and or the mountains, but 10% seems like too big a drop.
 
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