SOUTH DAKOTANS

Last Thursday we arrived in South Dakota to spend the required one overnight before we could become residents. The next morning, with important documents in hand, and with a little bit of fear and trepidation, we got into our car and drove into Sioux Falls. We had been told that the Department of Public Safety office, Alternative Resources, and the Insurance agency we were using were all in the same complex. Our first stop was Alternative Resources, the mail forwarding company we are using.  We met the friendly faces behind the voices we had been talking to on the phone and we also picked up our mail. Then we walked a couple of doors down to the DPS office to get our new South Dakota drivers licenses. We took a number, filled out a couple of applications, and waited. Once our numbers were called, it only took  an eye test and an exchange of $40 and we each had our new licenses in hand. Our next stop was a few steps away to get Auto and RV insurance. With that completed, we were two thirds done. The final item we needed was South Dakota license plates.

Before we went to get the license plates we made a consulting appointment with Karen at Alternative Resources. We wanted to make sure we knew exactly what documents we needed to take with us to the County Treasurers office. Her help was invaluable as we ended up going back to the RV for a couple of additional pieces of information. We headed out again and drove over to the Treasurer’s office.  After standing in line for a few minutes we were helped by a very friendly rep and in about 15 minutes we had our license plates. Almost too easy!!

 

And we were right.  The hardest part of the day was putting the license plates on the Explorer and RV.  SD uses two plates per vehicle whereas Michigan only requires one.  That meant it was back to the Ford dealer to buy a front license plate bracket.  Unfortunately, last year when we had installed our SMI Airforce One braking system we naturally centered everything, right where the bracket needed to go.  After relocating the air line and the safety cable, we were able to mount the bracket and plates.  The mounting bolts on the front of the RV were rusted so we had to destroy them, while getting them out, and install new ones.  A couple of hours later in 100 degree heat, we were finished.

 

We are now in the small town of Medora, North Dakota. After traveling hard for the last few days we are ready to stay put and relax for a few days. Last night we went to the famous Pitchfork Steak Fondue and the Medora Musical. It had been raining all afternoon and we were hoping not to get rained out.  But the weather cleared and we had a great time.

 

We are in a busy campground with a steady stream of RV’s coming and going so we are hoping to move over to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park campground this morning. No hookups and hopefully no crowds.