A change in the weather...

That has been a song, a movie, and a work of fiction, all having that title... so, no bonus points on this one.

"You talk about the weather a lot, don'tcha?"  Thanks for asking.  Yes, I do.  Seems that a lot of the things we enjoy are weather dependent.  Plus, I am a known weather nerd.

It has been warmer than usual the whole time we've been in South Dakota this summer.  And now, at the end of August, we had to turn heat on in the coach last night.  It got down to 49º here, very early this morning.  After so many days over 90º, that is downright chilly.  On the bright side, the howling wind has given us a break: over the past two days, the gusts exceeded 50mph.  We pulled the slides in yesterday afternoon, as a precaution to protect the awning that comes out over the slides when they are extended.  The folks in the motorhome next to us didn't do that, now they have a tear in that awning, right where it attaches to the coach.

Today, the morning weather weasel said, "Mother Nature is telling us that summer is winding down, and fall and winter aren't far away."  Except this is South Dakota, and we've seen snow in September as well as days in the 90s.  Spearfish (where we used to live, an hour or so north of here) holds the world record for fastest recorded temperature change: on January 22, 1943, at about 7:30 a.m. MST, the temperature in Spearfish was −4 °F (−20 °C).  The Chinook wind picked up speed rapidly, and two minutes later (7:32 a.m.) the temperature was +45 °F (7 °C).

People from all over will tell you: "If you don't like the weather here, just wait 5 minutes."  This area laughs at your 5 minutes.  ;-) 

I took Rufus outside for a walk after I got back from a bike ride (wearing a sweater jacket).  Ruf did not want to stay out more than about 3 minutes.  I get that.

We went into Rapid City to run a couple errands and Joan suggested a stop at the new Fleet Farm store.  It is like a combination of Tractor Supply, Manards, and Cabela's.  It also had more people in there than all three of those other stores combined.  Most not wearing masks.  Or making any attempt to stay 6' apart.  I am not agoraphobic, but I wasn't comfortable in there.  People were packed in the line to pay, even though there were "stay 6' apart" signs on the floor.  Fortunately for us, they didn't have the camp chairs we were considering... because I would have had to wait in the car.  But, they do have camp chairs.  And guns.  And candy.  Fence posts.  Carhart clothing.  Building supplies.  Garden supplies.  Sports and outdoor stuff.  Shoes.  Seasonal decor.  And all kinds of other stuff that I wouldn't stand in line for.  Friday was their Grand Opening.  Yeah, this was too soon.

We made a compromise that we finalized this morning.  Joan was ready to go home as soon as our last reservation is up on September 14th.  I would be ready to go back when the weather there cools off and when people learn how to use a mask and not try to cram 300 people into a house party.  So, we extended our time here for another 12 days.  See - we know how to compromise.  Wish it was that easy with Mother Nature... but I am convinced that she and 2020 are having a contest to see who can screw with us the most.