The Black Hills

Last weekend I went on a roadtrip with 2 girlfriends. None of us had been to Mt. Rushmore before so that is where we headed. It's about a 12 hour drive from here. We had a great trip. Crammed a lot into our 2.5 days there. Learned that there is a lot to do & see in the Black Hills.   The trip started with the amazing sunrise above. Our first stop was in The Badlands.  Amazing...and hot.

 Mt. Rushmore was first on Saturday's agenda.  Magestic, yet it is hard to wrap your mind around how large the scupture really are.

Crazy Horse Monument.  Still in progress.  This is 50 years worth of work.

Sunday was a lot of driving thru incredible scenery.  I did the driving that day.  This was the first tunnel carved through rock that we drove through.  It is on Needles Highway.  It is barely one lane wide.

This spot was my favorite of the day.  We took a gravel road a few miles off the main highway and had these amazing sweeping views in Wind Cave National Park.

We saw a herd of wild donkeys, 2 elk, and scads of prairie dogs but by the time we were close to the end of Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park all we had seen were 3 lone bison.  But then we came across a herd of over 100 bison right on the road.  We even saw these two fighting it out.

It was a great trip! I would love to go back and do some hiking in the area and see more of all there is up there.

Sicky McSickerson

I woke up a week and a half ago feeling miserable.  Thought it was just a summer cold but after a week of not getting much better, I went to the doctor.  It's a sinus infection that's also in my chest.  Yippee.  I am on 5 different medications to kick this thing.  I am getting better now but not full recovered.

Diesel has been taking a little advantage of my not feeling so well.  I'll let him on the bed in the morning so I can get a little bit more sleep.  It cracks me up when he sprawls out like this with his head on the pillow.  I don't know why my mom thinks he's spoiled.

 My sweet friend Gayle is getting married.  I am one of her bridesmaids.  The bridesmaids hosted a bridal shower for her on Saturday which went well.

 I made baked blueberry french toast and Amish breakfast casserole for the shower.  Both turned out well.

I laughed when I saw the bear wearing shorts & going shirtless this morning.  He's also trying to deal with our 100+ degree heat.

A/C and the bear

The biggest news of the week is that my new air conditioner and furnace were installed.  It's not the most exciting picture ever but I am happy to have the new & shiny equipment in.  I also had them install a programmable thermostat. It's nice to have a more efficient a/c in this 100 degree heat, and one that won't freeze up and stop working. 

I drove by the bear and smiled to see him decked out in his 4th of July regalia.