Split Shift

Yesterday morning we hopped (or maybe crawled is more accurate) out of bed and actually got out the door around 7:30 a.m. The morning activity was simple, just drive the wildlife loop through Custer State Park. We were told that you need to go early to see the most animals. I guess 7:30 was not early enough, as we didn't see many critters.

The babies seem more curious and willing to be still for pictures than the adults:



These prairie dogs were just too cute to resist:

Sweet baby bunny:
The burros are not native here. They were set free after they were no longer needed to haul tourists up Harney Peak. These are the descendants of the original ones.

We finally came across a few buffalo, and this baby was in the group:

We enjoyed the drive, even though we didn't see thousands of animals. The terrain varied from flat or rolling prairie to steep hills through densely wooded forest.

When we got back home, Jim went to the store to pick up a few groceries. He also looked for a place to get the oil changed on the Saturn. No such place in Custer. We'll have to get that done when we go to Rapid City. He did get the car washed and vacuumed, though. He even cleaned the windows!

We had time to relax most of the afternoon. I worked on blog reading and doing some family research online. I've recently come across a few more tidbits to add to my family tree. It's always fun for me when I come across new information.

Around 4:00, we geared up and headed out to Mt. Rushmore to do the tourist thing and attend the evening lighting ceremony. We looked around, took a lot of pictures, visited the gift shop and had a bite to eat. We toured the museum in the visitor's center. It was especially interesting to listen to the short recordings of some of the men who worked on the mountain as the monument was being created. Local people, miners, farmers, laborers, had jobs on Mt. Rushmore, drilling, blasting, and many other tasks. To them it was just a job, hard work, hot and dusty, or cold and miserable. One man said he made Sixty-five Cents per hour, which was a lot of money in those days.

We picked out our spot in the amphitheater to wait for the 9:00 ceremony. We sat in the very back row, which is the only row that has a back to the seats. That row was the first to fill up, and was filled well before 8:00. We spent the time people watching and taking pictures.

This was one of those "Kodak Moments" -- this wild boy with the Mohawk walked by and I just whipped around to snap the picture of him. I didn't know until I downloaded it that I also caught the girl with the astounded expression on her face.

I stitched 3 pictures together to provide a panorama of the crowd. It got a lot more crowded by 9:00. I cannot imagine 35,000 people being around this area, as there were for the July 3rd fireworks!

Finally, patriotic music began to play and people got settled in for the show. It was dark by this time, and we could no longer see the presidents above us. The ceremony was very moving. It consisted of a ranger giving a short talk about the personal meaning of patriotism, then a film about each of the 4 presidents depicted on Mt. Rushmore, as well as Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor. I gained a new appreciation of our country's history as I watched the film. As the film ended, the ranger asked everyone to stand and join in singing the national anthem. As we sang, the lights began to shine on the monument, very dim at first, growing brighter as we sang. When the anthem ended, a Boy Scout troop from Sugarland, Texas, marched up on stage to retire the flag, as veterans were asked to come to the stage for recognition.

From our seats at the very back of the theater, we were able to scoot out ahead of the crowd. We made our way back to the gift shop to make our purchases. We'd also parked at the back of the parking lot, so we had little trouble getting out on the road. We got home around 10:30.

What a day!

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...Then Bears and Lions, Oh My!

This time it was 2:00 a.m. when the storm hit. And hit, it did! Flashes of bright lightning followed almost immediately by loud claps of thunder. There was to be no sleeping through that! It went on for what felt like and hour, and I began to think we might escape any rain. Not so fast. The rain came all of a sudden, very heavy. Before it was over, I wondered if we would float away. I got up several times to check on everything. The Castle held up just fine. I sure felt for the people here in the campground who are in tents, though. I can't imagine staying in a tent through that storm, but I also couldn't imagine getting out of the tent to seek any other shelter.



Finally, it quieted down and we got back to sleep. We got up around 8 and got started on the morning. Yesterday evening, we made a list of all the activities we still want to do while we're here. It became clear we hadn't planned enough time here in the Black Hills of South Dakota, so one of the things I did this morning was go pay for another week here at Broken Arrow Campground.



We didn't know what the day would bring in terms of weather, so we decided today would be a good one to visit Bear Country, U.S.A.. After a quick breakfast, we got underway. It's close to 40 miles from Custer to the drive-through wildlife park. The instructions specify not to leave your windows open while driving through the park. We cheated a few times since it was gray and rainy part of the time. At the end of the drive-through sections is an opportunity to park and walk through babyland.

I had a very difficult time picking which pictures to post today! In addition to bears, the park houses elk, reindeer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, fox, timber wolves, arctic wolves, mountain lions, as well as an assortment of small mammals.


Throughout the bears' area, there are climbing (and relaxing) opportunities for them:







A bear and timber wolf check each other out:







This guy was big!






The grizzlies were pretty laid back:


Babies climbing





The newest baby:

Beautiful arctic wolf:

And fox:

This racoon looks cute and innocent! I know better!

The bobcat:
A baby big horn

And the peacock:


After our tour, we headed to the little town of Keystone and had lunch before heading home for our afternoon relaxing time.

This day has flown by, what a great one it's been.

A Special Day

July 7, 1985. It was a hot, very hot, day in Colorado Springs. It didn’t really matter to us, though, as we weren’t thinking about the weather, other than to hope it didn’t rain that afternoon. We had a wedding and reception to attend – ours. That is the day, 23 years ago, Jim and I blended our families into one. The kids were part of the ceremony, which was held at my sister’s house. We had a small wedding, just family and close friends. But immediately after the wedding, we had our reception there, and all our friends came and helped us celebrate the beginning of our lives together. It’s been quite a ride, the ups and downs of raising our family, along with all the challenges and rewards of our careers, home ownership and just life in general. Now that we’re retired and living our dream, it sure was worth all the struggles. Of course, we have many great memories of all those years.

We celebrated today by accepting Ginger and Jesse’s invitation to their place for lunch. Gee, what a drive to their house! They are staying at a campground just outside Hermosa, South Dakota, right across Custer State Park from us. On the way, we got delayed by big horn sheep and buffalo. What a nice sort of traffic jam!

This one stopped in the middle of the road, just a few feet from us, with a look that said, "so you want a picture?" Sure!

This scene gives new meaning to the phrase, "Share the Road"

Jesse grilled some delicious chicken breasts, Ginger made a broccoli salad and a pasta salad and I took a pan of the same recipe for “baked beans” that I fxed at the rally.

Ginger getting the table ready:

Jesse getting the chicken ready:



After our wonderful meal, we played two games of canasta. This time, Ginger and I won the first game. We let the guys win the second! We finished off the afternoon with a piece of peanut butter pie that Ginger made. The recipe is from the RV Dreams Family Cookbook, and it is a keeper for sure! Ginger and Jesse are heading back to Colorado this week. Their house is still on the market, and they need to get back to see to things. We’re sending some positive “sell” energy with them. Thanks you two, and good luck getting that house sold!

Looks like sugar stupor to me:

What a special day it's been!

A Saturday Drive

Today was about unwinding and relaxing. We had our usual morning routine of coffee and walking dogs. We decided that we would just take a drive this morning instead of trying to visit any of the official sites around here.

We headed out to take 89 North, which goes across the Needles highway. Highway is a loosely applied term around here. Most of the roads are narrow 2-lane blacktop with no shoulders. This was a twisty-turny road that provided beautiful views and rocks galore.

We didn't get many good pictures, because the morning was cloudy and gray.

The green, thick forest is beautiful!

Even though it was hazy, this is an awsome view.

From 89, we took 16A, also called Iron Mountain Highway. This is another twisty, turny road that leads to the turn-off to Mt. Rushmore. But this one has tunnels that allow travelers to get a view of Mt. Rushmore as they come out of them.

It's hard to get a perspective of the size of the carvings on Mt. Rushmore from driving by. It's even harder to grasp their magnitude in a picture. Today we were lucky to see a group of people on Roosevelt's head. Our guess is that this is a crew dismantling the fireworks structures. If you look very closely, you can see the little dots on top of the head of Roosevelt. There were 6 or 8 people there.

After our drive, we came home, had leftovers from yesterday's barbeque and have spent the afternoon relaxing.

We got a call from Ginger and arranged a lunch on Monday with her and Jesse. We'll be going over to Hermosa where they are staying. It's about 20 miles over there, through Custer State Park. We'll just have to endure the scenery another time.

Karon and her family have moved across the state line into Wyoming. We'll see you down the road!

The sun came out this afternoon and it's been another wonderful day.