June 1, 2025 – weather, dinosaur park, no aurora

Another slow start to the day, but the real excitement was the unpredictable trifecta of weather—hot, rainy, and windy, all within the same day. The temperature hit 91°F in the afternoon, followed by evening thunderstorms, and finally, 40mph winds late at night. Mother Nature really kept things interesting!

Meanwhile, Kirk spent the day installing cameras, only to stumble upon a mystery water leak. He braved the tiny, sweltering crawl space in the middle of the hottest part of the day searching for the source—but came up empty-handed. The leading suspect? The hot water heater. Luckily, an RV tech is scheduled for Tuesday, so fingers crossed for a fix.

In the late afternoon, when things cooled down to a reasonable 87°F, we headed back to Dinosaur Park for a walk and some much-needed exercise for Otis. The park’s giant dinosaur sculptures were fun to see, and the views of Rapid City and the Black Hills were spectacular. We even managed a short trail hike, soaking in more scenic beauty.

Lynn, still obsessing over last night’s missed aurora, kept a close watch on the forecast, which at first looked promising, until it wasn’t. <sigh> Clouds and thunderstorms rolled in. Despite the rain and lightning, she was determined to try, so we took off towards Sturgis, hoping for at least a glimpse. Unfortunately, cloud cover killed any chance of spotting the aurora. The silver lining? Some incredible lightning displays! Kirk, ever the dedicated husband, braved the midnight rain for the cause—but still no aurora. Maybe we’ll have better luck as we travel further north (Minnesota or Wisconsin might be promising).

By 10:30 PM, just as we left for the aurora hunt, the winds picked up in full force. We pulled the RV slides in and Lynn prepped her coffee bar for the next morning—because no matter how chaotic the night gets, coffee must be ready to go. Priorities!

Before the nighttime adventures, we also restocked at Safeway and, surprisingly, had store-bought salads for dinner—and they were actually pretty good!

A chaotic yet entertaining day and still holding out hope for a real aurora sighting soon!

Weather – High 91*, Low 52*. Winds up to 40-44 mph. Rain, thunder, lightning.

Traffic – None.

Notable – Dinosaur Park, thunderstorms.

Food – Nothing to report. Ate in the RV.

Screen time – Dark Matter series (Apple TV+).