It wasn’t so long ago that I talked about what a lousy golfer I am. Driving a golf cart is still my most useful golfing skill, but a feature in this month’s Golf Digest caught my eye nonetheless. Called “Buddies Trip: The Mild, Wild West,” the article details the adventures of four guys out for a tour-de-Upper-Rockies in search of good golf.

It’s a bit on the long side, but well-written. I skimmed through it, and it seems like they had a pretty good time. They apparently flew into Rapid City Regional Airport, rented an RV and did a loop through both Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska and back through the Black Hills to fly out.

Being the absolute non-authority on golfing that I am, I won’t attempt to judge their choice of golf courses. What did catch my attention was their description of exploring the Black Hills in Winnebago:

First turn out of the RV rental lot, I went up that mountain road instead of down. The road was maybe four inches wider than the motor home. It was steep and twisty with no guardrails to prevent a fiery plunge into the South Dakota wilderness, after which emergency personnel would remark on the foolishness of city folks driving a thing like that on that road.

“Dear God,” I murmured, “let no one as dumb as us be coming the other way.”

It’s a mistake that’s not quite as dumb as these guys might like to think. If you’re in a big RV, it’s pretty easy to get stuck on one of the mountain roads in the Black Hills – particularly the tunnels along the Needles Highway around Mount Rushmore. Even with the posted signs and warnings on the road maps, it’s a fairly common oops. A little embarrassment and wasted time doing tedious backup maneuvers are usually the worst consequences, but it’s worth it to do the research if you’re planning to bring your big rig out this way.