Another Day

Another day of heat and high humidity- but we'll just tough it out and enjoy the Black Hills area. It's so beautiful and smells so fresh.




So we started out this morning making the climb up the grade to Deadwood where we had lunch at the VFW. Then it was over to Main Street for some shopping. I was done but Karen had a couple more items she wanted. All I wanted was a new battery for my watch that kept stopping. I went to every jewelry store on Main Street and none of them "did batteries." I wonder what the people in Deadwood do when their battery operated watches die? Good grief. So I decided I really didn't need to know what time it was anyway because I had nowhere to be at any specific time. That's the one good thing about being on a true vacation.

So as we headed back to the bikes we rounded a corner off the beaten track and there was a jewelry store - that "did batteries!" The jeweler brought out a chair for me to sit down and "rest my toosties" as he put it, and cool off. He offered me a bottle of water and then proceeded to change my battery. He was done in a flash and wished us well and to stay safe. All this for a $6 watch battery. I guess there are still some wonderful business people in this world who take pride in their customer service.

Then it was on down Highway 385 south - to Nemo Road, Vanocker Canyon and some beautiful scenery and wildlife.

It's hot and humid here again today so it was nice to get out of town and up into the cooler elevations.

Below is a picture of one of the many motorcycle parking lots in Deadwood. There are just a few bikes in town.

Sorry I don't have anything more exciting to report - but the peace and quiet is wonderful.

Love Lena

The next report

Isn't it strange how you can actually forget what day it is when you're on vacation away from your regular routine? That's happened a number of times over the last few days - I've actually had to check with Ole and ask him what day it was. Sometimes he didn't know either. I guess that's when you know you're truly on vacation.

The only part of my regular routine that's left is the fact that Simon and Lucy (two kitties) still maintain their 6 a.m. vigil of wanting their breakfast. I swear they sit on the floor watching the clock tick by the minutes and the second it turns to 6 o'clock they come charging into the bedroom, jump on top of me and start parading up and down until I give in and get up to fill their dishes. Wonder why they can't go on vacation too!!

Yesterday we decided to go into Sturgis and get some serious shopping done before the big crowds arrive and everything gets picked over. One of the things these manufacturers need to remember is that not everyone wears a size 2 - which is what most of them seem to carry. Of course they look cuter on the hanger I'm sure than the size gigantous that I wear. So my friend, Karen, and I went in search of those gigantous sizes and were successful. I've got everything purchased that I intended and don't have to worry about that anymore. It was nice having room to move around in the vendors instead of having to push your way through and sometimes even having your items snatched right out of your hands because someone else thinks they need them worse than you do.

I've severely limited my shopping this year because I refuse to buy anything in a shop that's run by a bunch of Rag Heads. Sorry Folks, I know that's not politically correct, but too damn bad. After several of the experiences I have had down here dealing with these people I can't have any other opinion. Last year I even ended up going to the police about one of the vendors and was successful in having his license removed. But that's a story for another day.

I've been looking for a new leather motorcycle jacket and think I've finally found one. What drew me into the store was the sign hanging outside "made in America", Cleveland, Ohio, actually. Unfortunately, the jacket I fell in love with has to be custom made and will take about 6 weeks to get. I haven't decided yet if I want to wait that long, but to this point haven't seen anything else I like.




One of the interesting things about Sturgis is all the strange things you see on the street. It was SO HOT yesterday that I felt like one of those eggs that you fry on the sidewalk. I was sitting on the street bench waiting for my yolk to get solid when THIS came driving down the street. It was 92 degrees and he was in full leathers and a full face helmet and gloves. He stopped to pose for pictures and I swear I could see the sweat running out from under the helmet. To each his own I guess. I'm sure there will be more oddities that are much stranger as the week progresses.

I'm not sure what the plans for today are - it's cloudy and looks like it could rain. Maybe it will be a bit cooler then. In all the years we've been coming down here I can't ever remember it being this humid. Hot yes, but usually the humidity is quite low. This year it's just like back home - sweltering.

Love, Lena

Things are running more smoothly now

Things finally straightened out yesterday once we got the power back on. There were no more leaks or floods to wipe up after and we knew that the A/C would run to keep the pets cool while we were gone.

Spent a couple of hours on main street yesterday. Here's a picture I got that's rather unique. Note the mouse on top of the cat on top of the sleeping dog.

I wonder how much training this took!!

Also, here's one of Daisy doing her job guarding the campsite. She's taken on the responsibility of announcing everyone that comes to our campsite, and once they're there, it's her job to protect them from any intruders.




Ole takes her on long walks twice a day and everyone is so enthralled with her and wants to meet her. She's been a perfect lady and is very gracious about meeting strangers. She's a wonderful traveler - we've traveled with her previously but have always had Beau along (the other shepherd currently living with Lovely Daughter). But this is her first time to Sturgis and we were a bit concerned how she would deal with all the noise and traffic. So far she's proven to be very adaptable.

We're headed for a ride down Spearfish Canyon this afternoon. More later

Love Lena

Let me introduce you to our friends

We got to the campground this morning by 11:00, got all signed in and registered and drove back to our designated campsite - the one we've occupied for the last 8 years. Much to our surprise, Karen and Dave, our friends from AZ, were already there. They had arrived last night in the midst of a heavy rain storm. It was great to see them - visit and bit and then got busy getting things straightened out, etc.

Here's a picture of Karen and Dave, taken last year.




They're the ones who raised 11 children - 9 of whom were adopted, and of those 9 adopted children, 5 were from other countries. There were 9 girls and 2 boys. It's hilarious when Dave starts telling stories about traveling on vacations with 10 women - 9 daughters and his wife. Also when he tells stories about "raging hormones" all being cycled through at the same time of the month!! He should write a book.

Jeff & Jerry were also already here.

This is also a picture that was taken last year. Jeff & Jerry are father & son and run a very large farm - 6000 acres where they raise grain, corn and beef cattle. Jeff, in the black shirt, had a lap band installed last winter so he's now 150 pounds lighter. Apparently he's lucky to be alive though, as his body rejected it and he was quite ill for about six months. He's recovered now and doing well.



Today was a pretty low key day. About 2 o'clock Karen & Dave and Tony and I decided we'd ride to town and get some lunch. Then it was back to the campground where there was some serious relaxing and napping that took place, until we got up and ate some more - Karen had fixed a ham so we all stuffed ourselves AGAIN!!

I was going through some of my pictures from last year and came across this one that I just HAD to include. This was taken at the Full Throttle Saloon and just goes to show you what some folks will do to have fun!!

We're in the path of storms tonight - it's raining quite heavy right now and just dumped marble-sized hail on us for several minutes. Fortunately not as bad as last year when it hailed stones the size of baseballs. We had over $15,000 in damages done to our RV last year.

Our luck has got to change SOON!!

E.

We're on our way - but maybe we should have stayed home!!

We're headed for Sturgis and points beyond. Yesterday was our first day out and it's not been without adventures. We finally got away from home about 3:30 on Tuesday. I guess we had a lot more things to complete than anticipated.

We were barely beyond Jamestown when Ole passed a semi on the interstate. As he pulled back into the right driving lane, out of what seemed like nowhere came a small white car passing us on the right - the shoulder of the road - honking and waving the middle finger at us. Where he came from we couldn't figure out as there was no car in front of the semi we passed when we pulled back into the right lane. Apparently he thought we were trying to run him off the road or something - although that certainly wasn't the plan. Anyway, he yelled at us that he was going to notify the highway patrol so we should expect to get stopped. We never saw a highway patrol so whether he actually reported us or not, I don't know.

All went well then until it started to get dark. By this time we had turned off the interstate at Glen Ullin and were headed south. I wanted to stop at the Shadehill Reservoir for the night, but that was not to be. Ole insisted we plug on and get as far as Faith,SD, another hour. The road, once you leave the interstate, is very rough and narrow and has no shoulder. The farmers have baled all the ditch hay and the ditches are full of the very large round hay bales. So if you hit the ditch you'll hit one of those big bales. We were flying along, over the hills and around the curves, when we topped a hill and there in the middle of the road sat a car - not moved off to the side at all. There was a piece of farm equipment, I think a hay baler, down in the ditch and a man seemed to be working on it. Fortunately he had his taillights on, but he had picked a very poor place to park. Ole dynamited the brakes, Daisy went flying off the davenport where she rides, all the things that were on the table went flying off and landed on Simon who was sleeping in the chair next to the table, even though I had the cabinets secured some of the doors flew open and everything came flying out. Anyway, it was a mess. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic so Ole managed to squeak between the car and the opposite ditch. There was no way we could have stopped in time to not hit that car. I can't imagine what that farmer was thinking when he parked in the middle of his driving lane just over the rise of that hill.

After catching our breath - me still wishing that we'd stopped back at Shadehill - we continued on. About 30 miles out of Faith a big buck whitetail deer popped out of the ditch and we hit him dead center on the front of the RV. No warning - just splat. I heard all kinds of noises rolling around under the rig - not only dead bodies, but something metal also broke off and went flying. We managed to find a place to pull off to the side, Ole got out to inspect, expecting to find the front of the RV trashed but there wasn't a mark. He'll inspect more underneath this morning before we take off.

Finally got to Faith, and of course by that time the city park that allows camping was full so we had to park on the street. Can't put the jacks down in the street and we're parked on a hill that made we feel like I was falling out of bed all night long.

Hope things improve. At this point I'm wondering if we were just supposed to stay home and not go on this trip.

Love Lena