Happily Ever After

Kssshhht ….
The sound revived her from her driving trance. The beautiful sound of carbonation escaping the pop can brought life back into her. Her glassy eyes stared to focus and there was a little color returning to her cheeks. There was hope.
She grabbed the can with both hands and took a blissful drink, noticing how her throat cleared and suddenly she could breathe deeper. She was saved.
She glanced gratefully to her husband and gushed her thanks to him. Her rescuer.
“Honey, its 10am and, we’ve only been on the road for 30 minutes. Are you addicted to pop?” That’s a lie. I am NOT addicted. Now, hand me that cherry Zero and no one gets hurt.

So concludes this trip. I hope that I will have more to write later. Have a great summer!

Auf Wiedersehen Black Hills

We drove all the way to Wyoming today to see Devil’s Tower. It was great, except that I was tired. (we didn’t sleep very long last night on account of having a campfire/s’mores roast/picnic with some friends who live here…Life is good... We stayed up long enough to get “yelled” at by one of our lovely neighbors) Devil’s Tower is cool and we walked all the way around -which I thought as I was doing it that it was a least a few miles. (actually, a measly 1.3 miles, but, darn it, it was very hilly). The drive was very long and after the scenery petered out, the best thing I saw was a lady who could ride her bike uphill! (wow…) oh – and a Halliburton truck.
We are tired. We are filled to the brim with scenery. Our camper is dirty and worn. The dogs are beyond obnoxious. The rental car goes back tomorrow, and we are ready to head home. There are very few things yet to eat in the camper (most of the things left are the healthy things), and my flip flops broke. It has been a good vacation, but we are done. Farewell, Black Hills, it has been swell.

bears and wolves

Beautiful. That is the only way to describe today. We went to Bear Country USA this morning. The park opened at 8 am and we rolled in right after that. They were feeding all the animals, and we got to see wolves fighting right outside our car. It was really neat and the dogs hated them. It was funny – ear splitting, but funny. The bears were pretty close to the car as well, and the dogs hated them too. Coincidence? I think not. They didn’t give a rat’s behind about the dogs though.
We then headed south again taking Iron Mountain Road. VERY cool. This was a very curvy road opposite Rushmore so at times you could see the Faces in the distance. I got to climb a large pile of rocks and when I got to the top discovered that I was on a really high cliff. Sweet! I got a little cold thrill of excitement as I looked over…yes!!! If you get a chance check out the Norbeck Scenic Byway – it rocks.
Then we headed towards Custer State Park. Driving along we saw a sign for the “Wolf People – come see our wolves – FREE” It was a scary, suspicious old farm with a few old campers and assorted outbuildings. The kind you think that just may kidnap you, kill you, and feed you to those same wolves (and of course there was no cell service)…so we drove right in and knocked on the door. (Walking by yet another sign that mentioned not to rush the fence.) There was an Arctic and a Timber wolf. To me they were fairly scary, but B was thrilled. We got to go really close. Plus, we got out of there alive…
We took the rest of the Wildlife Road around Custer Park and saw people go hog-wild over mules. (huh?) I guess they were “wild” but there were a lot of them with their heads in people’s cars. They were plain old scraggly mules – I don’t get it – we didn’t stop.
The weather continues charming.

Lakes and Such

There was a glint of sunshine streaming through the pines upon waking this morning. We decided that we couldn’t miss a chance to see Mt. Rushmore in the morning light, so we headed that way first thing.
The drive there was awesome, full to the brim with rocks and trees and our fill of vistas and panoramas. Then we saw it. The Memorial itself! Even though we had both seen it before it was a glorious sight. We took the obligatory 45 pictures and then, of course, to the gift shop. Soon, I noticed that I didn’t have the camera, and went immediately into a Modified Stationary Panic. It was a horrible feeling. B eventually found it by asking a benevolent green-shirted park person at lost and found. YAY!
We then headed off to Deadwood. We got to enjoy a couple lakes on the way. Many pictures were taken that I am sure will be indistinguishable from the other 5 lakes we have seen.
Deadwood. What a place. I like the look of it. So historic and mountainous. We saw a bunch of old stuff at a museum, not the least of which was a two headed calf. Plus, some things about Wild Bill Hickock. We also saw the Bar that Kevin Costner owns. There were several costumes from his movies and I took a picture of the Waterworld one for Dad…All in all it was a great day.

Sore. Rain. Tired. Rain. What the?...Hail?

Let me see. What happened today? The day seems very long. Mostly because we woke up way early and drove to Rapid City to get the rental.
The dogs got to stay in the camper while we went to Jewel Cave. The Cave was very interesting. At one point we were 379 ft below ground. We wound around calcite deposits and learned how all this used to be an Ocean floor. It was a little chilly @ 49 degrees, but they made us trek up a LOT of stairs so we didn’t freeze.
We got “home” to catastrophe. Apparently, our little weenie toilet was overflowing and the carpet was soaked. It could have been worse – it could have been crappy. There was a little stream skipping from the loo to across the road. Yuck. It was depressing and icky and we were testy for a while. Aughhh!
Needles Highway. That was breathtaking. Beautiful. We got through just before the new storm. It seems we are in a cycle of storms that come every night. Now it is HAILING. WHAT? This is not supposed to happen! I am SO glad we aren’t in a tent.

At Home on the Range...

The morning dawned perfectly across the eastern sky. A coverlet of fog hung gracefully in the orchard. She wondered at the beauty of it, inhaling a lungful of fresh air, and reveling in the warmth of the new day.
“CHARLIE!!!NOOO!” she yelled franticly and the sound echoed across the blissful plain. The stench hit her like a mandrel in the face. Bird. Dead. For days. Her beautiful dog was grinding the new found country smells far into her long glossy fur. To the dog it was heaven, but it smelled like the infernal regions. Charlie was so far deep in her glorious find that the dog was insensible to any reprimand. She MUST finish. It was far too wonderful.
She yanked at the puppy, taking care to avoid the slimy bits. Grimacing into the newly annoying morning sun, she lugged the dog to the bathroom and to an impromptu bath. Stupid dog.

OK. Official Day one…
Driving is so much better when there is a constant supply of bathroom breaks. I love it.
We were driving most of the day and saw some great sights. Such as billboards. B is so resistant to their clever sales pitches. He is so strong…he didn’t fall for the “See Prairie Dogs for FREE” or “A Badlands MUST SEE! 6 ton Prairie Dog” or even “Come See the 10 ton Log” I admire him.
We did stop at Wall Drug. This is mainly where South Dakota gains it’s fame. We partook of the free ice water and bought key chains, as is the custom. I also must note that the homemade ice cream cones were to die for.
We’ve seen buffalo (roaming) deer and antelope (playing). It’s been a good day.

On the Road Again...

Well, we are on our way. Rain. Still. But, even so, excited. We are trying hard to listen to comedy that B has taped – oh wait- that is so uncool- digitally recorded. We have a Zune filled to the brim with tunes and podcasts, but there is a window that is singing or whistling along (it’s flat) and that makes it hard to hear anything. Tried to fix it…I think it is worse.
We are going to stop for gas because we have driven 20 or 30 miles. (jk).
Sioux Falls tonight and Custer tomorrow...

Introductions and such

Hello,

I never thought that I would ever be writing a blog. I don't want to be a follower. I don't have time to just sit there and type. But, now I have a laptop and we are going on a vacation (YAY). I must do what I must do. My intent is to give glossy discriptions of my super summer.

I hope you like it and the accounts of all our adventures and be glad that we are (finally) Doing Stuff.

-Cari