As we travel the country, we have been talking about our favorite locations and where we would like to settle down once our travels are finished. At this time we have no end date, but always on the lookout for a possible forever home location.

Last year we made a stop in the Black Hills of South Dakota for a week, and we fell in love with the area. So when Korey had the opportunity for a workamper job here in Piedmont we both quickly agreed….Let’s GO! Piedmont is on I-90 between Sturgis and Rapid City in South Dakota. It is a tiny little town with a gas station, post office, and a few bars, but other than that there isn’t a whole lot within the town limits. We have a gorgeous view of the hills when we look out our living room window. We also have a view of an RV dealership when we look in the opposite direction as we are staying on the property of Jack’s Campers where Korey is currently working.

There is SO MUCH to see and do around here. So far we have visited Deadwood multiple times, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Badlands National Park, hiking in Spearfish Canyon & Custer, drove the Needles Highway and Iron Mountain, enjoyed a couple Rodeos, Korey worked the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, explored lots of the little towns in the Black Hills, hit up Wall Drug, explored Rushmore Cave and played at the Rushmore Adventure Park. This isn’t everything we have done but the “big” touristy stops around the area. It is a lot of fun around here and also the most beautiful views. We love Custer State Park and have been multiple times, I am sure we will return at least 2 more times before we head out of town.

We got to visit Rushmore and Crazy Horse with Korey’s Uncle Dave and Aunt Karen, we had SUCH A FUN time with them!!

So sounds great, right? Beautiful area with lots to do. Here comes the BUT…. as I mentioned we are always on the hunt for our forever home location. Our goal is to buy at least 10 acres, be near bass fishing (Korey’s #1 hobby), Mountains close by and build a little cabin (sticking with tiny living…we love it!). When we initially returned we thought that the Black Hills could certainly be a contender to build our cabin. There isn’t a whole lot of bass fishing, but there is some. We have the mountains and lots of streams and lakes nearby too. Korey could stay here. He loves working for Jack’s Campers and would love to come back to work here full time. He has made friends here and has learned so much about fixing and maintaining RVs which is obviously helpful since we live in one. I am not 100% convinced yet. This is no longer on my top 5  list of “I would LOVE to live here” areas. Maybe top 10 though! It is this crazy weather and constant fear of hail damage to our home and truck.

The weather has been crazy ever since we arrived. It snowed just before Memorial Day weekend and then at least 3x a week, sometimes more, ever since our arrival we have dealt with thunder, lightning, high winds, lots of rain and hail bigger than I have ever seen before. We have had to move our truck under a covered area more times than I can count because Korey says that if the hail damages our rig, at least our truck will be OK to get us to a hotel or to family if needed, and he is right. I do not know if I want to risk living in an area where the hailstorm threats can potentially ruin your vehicle or home all throughout the summer. Oh and the mosquito population here is bonkers, they also love my blood so I have been using a perfume of “deet” all summer,haha.

We still need to visit Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Northern Idaho and back to western Wyoming before we make our final decision and take the plunge to buy the land whether we are done traveling or not. All we know for certain is that we both love the mountains and smaller towns (I never thought I would admit this…I have always liked living near the city). Who knows, maybe our summer spent in the Black Hills with crazy weather has been a fluke? and this isn’t the norm? According to some of Korey’s coworkers, this summer’s weather has been very much out of the ordinary.

Only time will tell, we still have a lot of ground to cover before we make such a big decision. In the meantime, we will enjoy our travels and time together as we explore. There is so much beauty to take in and we are loving getting to live this lifestyle.

Will the Black Hills make the cut? not sure, we shall see 🙂

Next stop – Sugar Beet Harvest year #2 (workamper job for Korey) and we head that way towards the end of September before working our way back towards the west coast to spend the holidays with our families.