needing info on rapid city (Ellsworth AFB, Box Elder: for sale, real estate market, home search)

[pejuta]

i live in spearfish now,was in rapid for previous 2 winters. there were 2 mtn lions on the south edge of rapid when i was there,and lots of deer. there was a mtn lion spotted close to my apt recently. he was trailing the deer that a man had been feeding. a neighbor said the man found a dead deer in his yard. THATS WHY YOU SHOULDNT FEED DEER!!! it attracts mtn. lions!!! there are lots of deer and some antelope. drive carefully. many are killed on road. spearfish less traffic. nice place.plenty to do.

[ducksburg]

I am not interesed in hunting and I am an animal lover actually.However,since I myself grew up in large cities,I doubt whether it's safe to be with animals.

I want to be exposed to wildlife and natural as much as possible,if only I can make sure I'm safe enough.

[Jammie]

Aw Ducksburg, you have the same sentiments I do. Funny how I've spent my life in a hunting state, but I love all furry animals and wouldn't have the heart to be a hunter.

[pejuta]

i love animals too,but if you live where there is a lot of wildlife,you will see them dead on road from being hit by vehicles or may hit one yourself, as they can suddenly run out in front of a vehicle. what ever happened to those alarms people put on vehicles heard only by animals to warn them away from road? i would think theyd be required equipment.

[BusySocialWorker]

I have always heard those alarms or whistles don't really work. google them and see what you find - i think they are worthless.

Deer Whistle
A "Deer Whistle" attached to the front of
your car will not scare deer off the road in front
of you. Several studies have failed to find that
deer react to them.
Moderator cut: Provide a link instead of copying everything here, please

[Jammie]

We used to have deer chasers on all our vehicles before we lived in the town we work in. WE'd often encounter deer in a pasture along the road and when we drove by, it appeared to make them run straight along the fence instead of jumping the fence and crossing the road. If we looked in our rear view mirror after we passed them, they'd be crossing the road. Maybe the deer chasers worked OR maybe we were just blessed.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Jammie

We used to have deer chasers on all our vehicles before we lived in the town we work in. WE'd often encounter deer in a pasture along the road and when we drove by, it appeared to make them run straight along the fence instead of jumping the fence and crossing the road. If we looked in our rear view mirror after we passed them, they'd be crossing the road. Maybe the deer chasers worked OR maybe we were just blessed.

Being a professional driver, driving suburbans, not big trucks. We had 4 deer whistles on each suburban. I found them to be very effective. Effective to make the deer run straight out in front of you and then stop because they can't figure out of the whistle is coming from those headlights coming at them. haha

They did nothing. However, there is a good theory with a whistle. My pickup has a brush guard on the front that produces a natural noise. In the 20 years I've been driving it, I've only hit one deer. And where I live, there are a bunch of deer. But what I find with my truck, the deer will stop, wherever they are and just stand there shaking. I can slolum through them if they're on the highway and they won't move. However, my car has a natural magnet on the front screaming, here deer deer deer. haha

Originally Posted by ducksburg

I am not interesed in hunting and I am an animal lover actually.However,since I myself grew up in large cities,I doubt whether it's safe to be with animals.

I want to be exposed to wildlife and natural as much as possible,if only I can make sure I'm safe enough.

Don't worry about the critters. I grew up in the Black Hills and with a little forethought, you'll be fine.

Bears, they are very very few and far between. You might live there for 20 years and never see one. But if you do, don't run. They love to play tag, but their a little rough. Make yourself as big as possible. In other word, unzip your coat and hold it out, wave your arms, make noise. Chances are, they'll stand up, sniff a little, and then wander away.

Mountain Lions. Dress in bright colors. DO NOT WEAR brown Karharts and then wonder why the Mountain Lion attacked what he thought was a deer. Again, make noise as you hike. Chances are they'll see you early and depart the area. Or they'll get back and just peek at you. Of course, watch where you are going. don't just look at the trail. Look at ledges, watch branches. Again, you may go years without seeing one. You have to be a really good hunter and know what to look for to find one.

I'd be more worried about rattle snakes. But again. Watch where you are walking. Don't walk on the side of rocks unless you look real careful first. Depending on temp, snakes will usually set in the shade, or sun themselves on the other side.

Remember, you are in their territory. Stop by the Fish and Game, they have a lot of free brochures giving you ideas on hiking, what to look for, and what to avoid.

The Black Hills are great. I grew up, 18 miles straight West of Rapid City.

[pejuta]

good info,everyone. i thought of something else for newcomers. some of motels have winter monthly rates due to less business. i stayed at one in rapid city for two winters for less than $400 mth. i have been told some in spearfish do same.

[ducksburg]

Thank you all!
Hiking is much more appealing to me than hunting.lmao

I love furry animals,too,but I don't know how to get along with them too much yet

[drblue]

after four years in puerto rico, my wife and i are moving to rapid city. we are planning on renting first until we get a "feel" for the place. before pr, we both lived in florida our whole lives, so we are totally unaccustomed to anything resembling winter. we are both excited about sd, but we realize we are going have a steep learning curve. i had a few questions:

is four wheel drive and/or snow chains necessary? i have a 2wd truck, but i'm not sure if it's up to the challenge.

what do people wear in sd? i'm used to board shorts and flip flops. i keep hearing that i need to wear "layers," but layers of what? long underwear?

do i need to "winterize" my truck? a friend of mine said i shouldn't have to worry about antifreeze, because my truck is relatively new. i'm planning on getting a place with a garage so we won't have to scrape the windshield. i was dreading that after watching fargo.

do we need a humidifier for our house? every time we've been on vacation somewhere cold, we've had to deal with static shocks and dry skin. we were thinking a humidifier might fix this.

thanks for your advice in advance; we'll use all the help we can get!