Okay, I admit it -- trains are almost as much fun as bikes and old VWs for Craig. So when our South Dakota friends told us about something called Railroad Days at Prairie Village in Madison, SD we loaded our bikes in the '87 VW camper and headed out west. The original reason for the day trip was an invite from Jeff's friend Bill to come and have lunch at the "Hobo Stew Cookout." Bill, his girlfriend Dawn and a bunch of other volunteers put on an iron pot cookout to feed at least a hundred people. They made stew in a dozen pots over and under live coals. The results were delicious.
The first thing we saw when we arrived at the Village, though, was Bill's 1936 Dodge Ram pickup (above) -- absolutely the best example of a neat old truck I've ever seen. Bill and Dawn drove it from home, an hour away, hauling firewood, iron pots and food ingredients to the site. The truck's coolest feature is the hood ornament, and even though that Ram lost a horn somewhere along the way, he's still got all the style he needs!

Hobo Stew seems to involve whatever meat is available (in this case chicken -- thankfully not the more traditional roadkill), potatoes, onions, carrots and a variety of other garden veggies , and enough water to keep it from sticking. The potato starch produced during cooking thickens the juices into gravy, and the whole mixture began to smell wonderful as everything started to simmer. When the pot was finally opened, the results were definitely worth the wait. I had a plateful that included a whole chicken leg, plus beans and some very tasty berry crisp -- definitely worth driving for.


Later in the weekend Craig and Jeff DID get in a bike ride, so taking the bikes was not a waste of effort. Many thanks to Jeff and Sue, Bill Lee and Dawn and the railroad volunteers for a really fun weekend!
I was on the guys there with my speeder giving rides. My car is the bright yellow speeder in Picture 7 at the back of the line. It is a 2 cycle, belt driven car. Lots of fun to operate and give rides to the youngsters. You can tell they really enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteDave from Pierre SD
We had a great time at Railroad Days at Prairie Village. Eat some great campfire stew and got to ride on interesting RR equipment. My thanks to all the people who worked hard for our good time.
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