The plunge.....

8:02 am - Thursday - July 9th - Keystone, SD - 59° F, 78% humidity, wind 5 mph out of the north.....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 75° F.

We have had it in our minds to drive south from Keystone to visit Hot Springs, SD since we arrived, and finally Wednesday it was time to make that 55 mile drive.  We left around 11 am, and once we finished wending our way out of the mountainous surrounds of Keystone we hit the more wide open spaces......

......the drive took just over an hour, and soon we were parking the VW and walking into Evans Plunge, established in 1890.  The name of the town, Hot Springs, is kind of a misnomer as there are no 'HOT' springs......these are what is known in the popular vernacular as 'WARM'  mineral springs....the water stays at a constant 87° F winter, and summer, however, we are advised that in the hottest part of the summer the outdoor pool can get into the 90's.......

.....the indoor pool is quite large.....maybe 100 yards in length, and has a water slide, basket ball hoops, and other things to occupy one's time......

 
.....the cost for us with the senior discount was about $13.50/person.....we chose to spend our time in and around the outdoor pool on this mostly sunny day......

 

 
......we spent some time soaking up some vitamin 'D', but neither of us chose to test out the integrity of the tubular water slide......

......these warm mineral springs are quite therapeutic, and by the time we left two hours later we were both feeling quite relaxed, and less stiff.  Our initial plan was to do some junking in Hot Springs proper after our soak, and then have lunch at a local eatery, however, except for Evans Plunge, the town seemed to be shut down......we saw one breakfast place open for business, but all others were closed, including the thrift.  So, on to plan 'B'.....drive about halfway back to Keystone and have lunch in Custer, which we knew from driving through about a week ago had numerous eateries open for 'dine in' business.....

....the drive coming and going was quite scenic.  Soon we were entering the outskirts of Custer intending to head for the supermarket, but were caught up short when we noticed a micro brewery by the name of Mt. Rushmore Brewing Company.....TLE quickly looked them up on Yelp to find they had a 4 star rating on over 40 reviews, so we pulled into the parking lot and headed directly inside.....

....we chose their alfresco dining option and quickly began to peruse their draft options.....I chose their Rail Splitter, a London style Porter........

.....and TLE their Holy Terror, a whiskey barrel aged Porter.....

....we ordered an appetizer of deep fried pickles, which were some of the best of this type we have ever had.....

....for our main course I had their Fish 'N Chips, and TLE a Brat....both were quite tasty, and paired wonderfully with our draft choices.  Sitting outside in the shade of the building feeling the balmy zephyrs softly caressing our collective epidermises was the perfect pairing with the earlier 2 hour soak, and I think we both could have taken an hour nap right there on the spot, but we still had to do a small shopping at the local grocery store before completing the final 30 miles of our drive home, deferring the naps until then.

We arrived home sometime after 4:30 pm with big smiles, and new memories to cherish....a perfect day spent with The Lovely Elaine......you can believe I took a nice nap then!

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. - I neglected to add about 11 pictures to yesterday's blog post (On the Town), but have done so now....check them out!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!