Jul 7, 2012 - Mt Rushmore...

Continuing on with our day trip on Iron Mtn Road and our ice cream break in Keystone, we headed back on Hwy 244 to the Mt Rushmore National Memorial. If you are ever in the Rapid City, SD area, Mt Rushmore is just 23 miles down the road. The memorial features 60-foot sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents (in order from left to right) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Washington was selected for Mt. Rushmore because he was the father of our country and represents our struggle...

Jul 6, 2012 - Iron Mountain Road...

Today's post takes John, Joyce, Larry & I on the Iron Mountain Road, final destination Mt Rushmore. Known for its “pigtail” bridges, Iron Mountain Road is a popular scenic highway here in the hills. Climbing 17 miles from Custer State Park to the entrance of Mount Rushmore, it winds over stacked loops of wooden bridges and through one-lane tunnels aligned to frame the faces on Mount Rushmore perfectly. Such care was taken not to disturb the landscape that some sections of the road actually divide into one-lane, one-way ribbons that swoop...

Jul 5, 2012 - Fun times...

We celebrated Independence Day today like many of you, doing the traditional July 4th activities. We began our day by attending the parade downtown. It was started off by many of the local children who really enjoyed 'strutting their stuff' down Mt Rushmore Road. There were no floats in today's parade and it was much smaller than the one that will be held later this summer during Gold Discovery Days. But, they did a great job honoring not only our vets but local fire & rescue personnel. As most of you are aware there are numerous fires...

Jul 5, 2012 - How hot dogs are made!

Have you ever seen the tv program 'How It's Made'? Larry & I watch it fairly often as it happens to air during the last few minutes he's up each evening. They certainly cover many interesting items that many of us use & eat every day. Since many of you may have eaten a hot dog on the 4th (probably the #1 consumed meat that day) I thought you might find this mini-episode of 'How It's Made' interesting. Of course, you may never eat a dog again, I didn't find it very appealing. And what is it Paul Harvey always said? "And now you know the rest...

Jul 4, 2012 - Happy Independence Day...

We honor, salute & celebrate our nation's heroes today. Heading for a parade downtown so I'll post more later this evening. In the meantime, I'd like to share a website holiday link done by our good friend Carol in California. It says more than I could possibly say about the meaning of this special day. Have a wonderful day everyone! 4th of July

Jul 3, 2012 - Custer County Fair...

Today was the first of a two day county fair/Independence Day celebration here in Custer. Larry & I headed downtown to check out a few vendors & afterward enjoyed watching the kids play games & get their faces painted. We caught a few minutes of a magic show & listened to a friend play the harmonica. Then we checked out a few of the items on display at the museum. After a couple of hours we headed home to rest up a bit and have dinner before returning for the music this evening. We watched the square dancers, chatted with our friends & had...

Jul 2, 2012 - Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, SD...

This post covers a day last week spent in Hot Springs with friends John & Joyce. Along our 30 mile trip we stopped at a large prairie dog town along the highway to watch their antics. John had 'Googled' a bit about them the previous evening and shared some interesting details. They are cute! We also encountered several pronghorn antelope along the way but no bison this morning. We arrived at the Arts & Crafts festival in time for Joyce to purchase a purse before locating the entertainment venue where our friends the Ramblin' Rangers were...

Jul 1, 2012 - Proofreading is a dying art!

Proofreading is a dying art, I say we deport the media! Got this from our friend Dot this morning. Gave us a chuckle, hope you enjoy.... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter! This one I caught in the SGV Tribune the other day and called the Editorial Room and asked who wrote this. It took two or three readings before the editor realized that what he was reading was impossible!!! They put in a correction the next...

Jul 1, 2012 - John's BD & Stockade

Today is my husband’s birthday. He is 62 today, old enough for Social Security. It seems really funny/weird/strange to say that my “husband is qualifies for SS”. It kinda makes me feel old, ya know….except that I am 5 years older than him. It just was nicer thinking I had robbed the cradle and now it’s the rocking chair. He is a wonderful man, the nicest man I know, the love of my life and the one I am thrilled to spend the rest of my life with. Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. We were supposed to leave 2 days ago, extended to today, then leave...

Jun 30, 2012 - Buffalo/Wildlife Loop

Lee Ann and I headed into town to pick up some things for dinner, and birthday presents for John. He will be 62 tomorrow and we are celebrating with cake tonight. I snapped some more photos of Custer while we were there. When we got back, we headed off to the Wildlife Loop. "The Wildlife Loop Road, located within Custer State Park, offers the traveler a wide variety of experiences. There are open grasslands and rolling hills speckled with pine. Many of the park's wildlife species occupy this area and are commonly seen. They include...

Jun 29, 2012 - Sturgis/Deadwood

Today we headed for Spearfish Canyon, Sturgis and Deadwood. We knew it would be an all day trip, and it was. What is really going to be difficult is that I took 206 pictures today, so I must narrow them down to ¼. I’ll try to post only the really important ones. “Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway throngs with summertime pleasure drivers. Thousand-foot-high limestone palisades in shades of brown, pink and gray tower to the right and left of Highway 14A as it twists through the 19-mile gorge. Spearfish Creek lines the canyon floor while canyon...

Jun 28, 2012 - Stockade Lake

We all needed some rest after non-stop days of sightseeing. We were exhausted. So, we decided to take the morning off and sleep in. In the early afternoon, well, 3.p.m. if you call that early, we headed off to this big Antique Shop we saw on the road to Crazy Horse. The name of the place is Boyd’s World Famous. A very large area full of anything and everything you could imagine. Inside his store, things were piled to the ceiling. Some things we had never seen before, lots of stuff you might consider junk. He even had a burro wandering...