Doug, Barb and the Girls

2011-10-15T13:54:00.000-04:00

A wonderful buck in our yard.

2011-10-15T13:38:00.001-04:00

Went out to look for elk in the evening and captured this lovely sunset on the prairie.

Long time no hear!!!

2011-07-11T16:11:00.010-04:00

Have not been on the computer for over a month and a half. Have done some hiking and some nice rides. However we have been up and down with some kind of flu bug. I am finally feeling better, but Doug is still struggling with it. Am just going to post some pictures we have taken over the last month. We are still enjoying Custer and just LOVE our screen room. Will try and keep up a bit better in the future.

Wildlife in our Yard

2011-07-11T15:51:00.006-04:00

Here is some of the wildlife we have in our yard!!

Nicholas' Graduation

2011-06-06T11:21:00.004-04:00

We came home for our grandson's graduation from High School. It was a bitter sweet time!!! As I sat and watched him receive his diploma I could still see him as a 2 year old, rolling on the floor with him and receiving his hugs. I thought about how I would try to have him in for his nap before his mom would get home as he would cry so when I left. Now it is I who cries when he leaves. We won't see him again until Christmas and I think we will see even more changes then. We are so proud of him. In another three years we will be going through this with Ana!!! Life goes by so quickly.

Custer State Park Open House Weekend

2011-05-24T13:37:00.004-04:00

This past weekend was the annual SD Open House Weekend for all SD State Parks. I had the fun of giving tours of Valhalla Cabin. This is a cabin build by the father of CSP Peter Norbeck. He also had Needles Hwy and Iron Mtn. roads build. If you have not seen any of these things you have missed a lot and need to make a trip out here!!! Here are just a few pictures of the cabin.

Why Doug Drives the Sani Truck

2011-05-24T13:32:00.004-04:00

The following pictures are the reason Doug like to drive the Sani truck. He gets to see all the wonderful sites in the park!!!

Snow in May

2011-05-24T13:24:00.005-04:00

The weather has not been the greatest lately. Last Thurs (5/19)it poured all day in the park, but they had 12-18" up at Sylvan. Doug got a few pictures, but it got a lot worse than what they show

Snow at Sylvan Lake

More snow at Sylvan!!

Nice view near Sylvan.

Our Favorite Sights at Custer State Park

2011-05-17T12:45:00.006-04:00

Here are the pictures I didn't have with me last time. Too bad it is not a video, the babies are so cute running. They seem to run and hop at the same time. Another reason we love this place so much.

Notice how shaggy they are. In a few weeks they will look a lot better.

This little girl just stood there as I talked to her and walked right past to get in the RV.

Our 1st Drive

2011-05-15T18:01:00.002-04:00

Our first drive and believe it or not we had to stop at a layer of rose quartz I did not remember seeing!!! Doug was amazed that I had missed it the last two years!!! Have pics of more wild life but forgot to bring it down to the lodge. I will post them next time.

Our 3rd Year at Custer State Park

2011-05-15T17:50:00.004-04:00

Well, Thurs. April 28th was a rather eventful and frustrating day. We drove over 400 miles and only gained a little over 100!!! We were detoured several times because of water over the roads. It is amazing the flooding they had in Arkansas. I guess we should not complain about our inconveniences compared to the trauma so many are suffering.

Saturday we covered a little over 400 miles and the weather was great. Stopped at a KOA campground in MO. Got up on Sunday to heavy winds. I am VERY nervous. The wind throws the coach all over the road. I am hoping Doug will give in and stop early. We are already in SD (10 AM). However, we are still over 400 miles from Custer!!.

Doug finally stopped at 12:30 as the winds continued to gust at 40-45 mh. Stayed at Lake Vermillion State Park. We have stayed there three times on our trips to and from Custer. It is a very nice campground. However, the winds came off the lake and rocked us all night long.

Woke up to sunny clear and calm weather. Made it to Custer State Park early afternoon Monday, May 2nd. It is good to be back.

We took a couple of days to settle in and started work Thurs. May 5th.

Doug decided that instead of bending over to get the pinecones out of the yard he would hit them out to the other side of the road. We sent to our favorite thrift store and he got a golf club. I am sure anyone who plays golf and watches him will br very amused as he knows nothing about golf!!! Thought you all would enjoy his form!!!

After all the work Doug has done over the years here to make our spot nice with a stone wall, he has decided that we cannot fit our screen room in this site, so we are going to be moving to another spot. I do think it will be better for us. I won’t have the view of “my mountain”, but I think we will see more wildlife and the site will be better for us.

Today, Sat. May 14th he is out there moving fire wood that he has collected. It is quite a bit to move. The weather is in the 30’s and we have been having snow flurries!!! Have decided not to put up the screen room until we return after our trip home for Nicholas’ graduation. By-the-way, he got accepted to NYU’s Film School. He is extaticc. However his parents are struggling with the cost and how to pay it!!! His grandparents are struggling the idea of him being in NY and so far away!!!

2011-04-28T21:00:00.001-04:00

2011-04-28T20:53:00.001-04:00

More on the Tornadoes

2011-04-28T20:53:00.000-04:00

Safe from the Tornado Disasters

2011-04-28T20:31:00.004-04:00

We are on the road again and feel very blessed to be safe. We left St. Pete on Mon. planning on staying one night in Tall. and visiting our son Chip. We barely made it to the campground as we started to have some problems with the RV. We took it to Camping World on Tues. AM and were rather upset when we could not get it done until Wed. As it turned out it was not done until late Wed. so we spent another day in Tall. and left 6AM Thurs. The tornadoes hit Wed. night. If we had not had problems, we would have been in the middle of the mess. As we drove through Birmingham, AL today we were shocked to see the damage. We so wanted to stop and help, but realized we had nothing to offer them. I saw people just standing around in shock, not knowing what to do or where to go. Here are a few of the pictures I took as we drove through. Keep these people in your prayers.

Time is growing short!!

2010-08-04T17:35:00.006-04:00

Well, we only have about three weeks before we leave for home. Can't believe how fast the time has gone. We have been hiking almost everyday to get in everything we want to see. Here are some of the scenes from up high!!!

Sleepy Girls

2010-08-04T17:30:00.002-04:00

The girls are going to miss the dash, they get very comfortable there!

More Fun!!!

2010-07-20T15:02:00.014-04:00

Sorry we don't take time to get on the blog as often this year, we just don't seem to have the time!! Time is really growing short, as we leave here the end of Aug. We are trying to make as much of our time here as we can. We have taken a couple of more great hikes. Went to the top or 'My Mountain" again, Doug went with me this year. He is doing really well with the hiking and we are both enjoying it. We do prefer to blaze our own trail rather than a designated trail, it is just much more challenging.

One exciting thing that happened - we had a herd of buffalo walking through our campground. I was getting dressed and heard a strange sound, I thought it was Doug moaning!!! He called and said I should see what was outside. The RV was surrounded

I will include a few photos with captions, it makes my job a bit easier!!!

I have a hard time not taking pictures of the buffalo, they just fascinate me.

These were the buffalo surrounding our RV - tried to get pictures that showed how close they were. The cat was really fascinated by them!!!

These were the first and only baby prong horns we have seen. We thought they were so cute, a pair of twins.

These were some pictures from the top of 'My Mountain'. The views are amazing and there is no trail up, which made it more exciting.

This was the trail we hiked this morning. We didn't have much time so we went on one of the designated trail. It was a very nice WALK, not a hike. Had beautiful rock formations and we had to ford the creek up to our knees a few times. We have already scoped out where we want to go off trail the next time!!!

Busy, busy, busy - having fun!!!

2010-07-12T15:50:00.016-04:00

We have had a lot of fun the last two weeks and have not taken the time to write on this blog. We have done a lot of hikeing and riding the back roads All the back roads around here are gravel and by the end of the day poor TT breaths a sigh of relief!!!
This was on what they call the Lovers Leap trail. There is a story that an indian couple jumped from this spot. What a fantastic view. A moderate hike.

The above pictures were taken on one of our rides. We had stopped at the corner where all the street signs where the same. A farmer stopped, he said he knew we must be confussed. The pictures with the buildings are 'downtown' Dewey!!

The next day we went out to Fairburn and still could not get into the agate beds so took a 'two track' road to get back into the beds on the other side of the road. As we drove out the grass in the middle of the two track was as tall as the windshield and we could not see. We climbed a hill, when we got to the top, all we could see was sky!!! What a ride, a bit scarey as we didn't know what was on the other side. Needless to say, we managed to get up to the top and back again. These are just a few of the pictures we took.

Today we hiked up a mountain near the RV that I have always wanted to do. It is right along the walk I take to work, and as I walk I look up and wonder just what is up there!!! Here are some pictures of what we saw.

The trail in the forground is the one I take to work.
This is the office!!

This was on the way down. It was a great hike.

Another hike today

2010-06-29T18:12:00.006-04:00

Last week on one of our rides on the dirt roads we came across a couple of men that were biking up a path that was gated off. They said there was an old homestead about a mile down the road and we should take the hike. Today we took the time and were really happy we did. The property was donated to the National Forest and qualifies for historic preservation.

The setting was absolutely incredible with views to die for. We spent quite a bit of time just walking through the buildings and were sorry we did not bring our lunch so we could have a picnic. These are only a few of the pictures we took.

This was a fascinating rock - you know me and rocks!!!! This was a hugh one that split and in the center of it was a large air pocket which made it into a small cave!

Another try at Fairburn Agate Beds

2010-06-29T17:56:00.005-04:00

We had the pleasure of seeing some old friends last week. Kent and Phyllis have been our friends for 30 years and we hadn't seen them in about 8 year. Unfortunately they were here the same three days that we work, so we spent evenings with them. We had a great time catching up and I can't believe I did not take any pictures!!!

Yesterday we made another try at Fairburn. Unfortunately the creek was still too high and running too quickly for us to get in. So, we went across the road and went to another area of the grasslands. We had a great hike and great day, even though we didn't find any agates, just some very interesting jasper and prairie agates.

We took a bit of a ride and came across this lady haying with horses. We stopped and asked if she would mind if we took her picture. You don't see this every day!! Doug loves taking pictures of old homesteads. It makes us both think about the families that once lived there.

Lots of rain!!!

2010-06-20T13:58:00.003-04:00

We have had lots of rain and wind. Thurs. there were at least 6 trees that where down around the park. This is keeping me from Fairburn as the road will be very muddy. Doug keeps reminding me that we didn't get to Fairburn last year until about mid July. I am getting impatient!!! I just know this year I am going to find the real gem of an agate!!!

Around Custer State Park, SD

2010-06-20T13:53:00.003-04:00

I thought this was a neat picture of a very pregnant burrow on the top of a hill.
As allways. we love watching the buffalo and their babies. The moms are very protective and it is fun to hear them call the little ones that get too far away!!!

Wild Horse Sanctuary

2010-06-20T13:36:00.005-04:00

The sanctuary is so beautiful it has been used is several films.
This group of horses gave us butt shots, the guide said they do that a lot!!
Cave writing at the sanctuary.

Being greeted by a buffalo

2010-06-08T14:58:00.005-04:00

Don't have a whole lot of time today so will just show a few recent pics. The other day when I was walking to work there was a large bull buffalo standing right in front of me as I walked across the bridge to the office. I had to walk way around the building to get in and he watched me the whole time. Not everyday you can have a buffalo greet you at work!!!!

No Luck at Fairburn

2010-06-01T18:13:00.002-04:00

We had a beautiful day yesterday and decided to go to Fairburn and see if we could get into the agate beds. Unfortunately the water was too high, but we had a lovely ride. We went to Buffalo Gap, a very interesting town, larger than Fairburn, but not by much!!! The scenery shows how the town got it's name.

Buffalo Gap

2010-06-01T18:09:00.003-04:00

A sunny ride around Custer

2010-06-01T18:04:00.002-04:00

When we had our first sunny day and also had it off we just had to take a ride around the park and see the damage and enjoy some of our favorite areas. The following pics are from that ride.

Lovely view in the back country.

2010-06-01T18:00:00.003-04:00

This was a view along one of our favorite back roads at Custer. It is quiet, the only sounds you hear are the birds and the breezes through the trees.

An interesting cave

2010-06-01T17:57:00.002-04:00

This was an interesting cave we saw last year but the grass was too high and we were afraid of snakes. This year we hicked up to it, but still too chicken to go in!!! Great rock formations.

Finally Sunny Weather

2010-06-01T17:50:00.004-04:00

This was amazing, the 1st tree hit the second right between its branches. Almost like it was aimed that way!! You can appreciate it better if you click on the picture and enlarge it.

Spring Storm at Custer State Park

2010-05-25T14:49:00.005-04:00

Yesterday we had tornado warnings all day long. We had tremendous winds and rain. Doug and I went into Rapid City early in the day not realizing we were in for some very heavy weather. We drove through terrible rain mixed with hail. I was not sure when we got home of what we would find!!!

We were home about ten minutes when we heard a tremendous crack and then the moaning of a tree as it fell. We could not see the tree but knew it was close. I didn't know which way to run!!! These pictures show how close the tree was to our RV.

This is usually a rather small stream, it is probably three times it's usual size!!

More Spring in Custer

2010-05-25T14:31:00.002-04:00

Just some wonderful scenery, the next day was a different story!!!

We can't resist feeding the burrows. This little guy can hardly see with all that hair in his eyes!!

I am watching these two ducks on my way to work. Can't wait to see the babies.

A Busy Weekend

2010-05-25T14:12:00.006-04:00

This sure has been an exciting few days. We started our regular work week just when they had the annual Open House Weekend at the South Dakota State Parks. Thurs and Fri. we worked our regular hours. Sat. Doug did is regular run and I helped with the free pancake breakfast from 7:30am to 10am, then went to work in the office until 6pm. The next morning we both helped with the pancake breakfast. We finally had a chance to take a ride around the Wildlife Loop to see the spring babies. Fortunately it was a beautiful day.

This guy visits our bird feeder daily and chaces the females away!!!

This is always so cute to watch. Mom is still sheading her winter coat.

These two were feeling very frisky. It was cute to watch them play.

A Busy Week Here in Custer

2010-05-15T17:35:00.005-04:00

This is going to be a bit short today. We have been at orientation all week and this is the first chance I have had to get on-line. The weather has been really up and down. One day we had to cancel our trip up to Sylvan Lake as we had so much snow during the night. The day before had been sunny and cool. Yesterday was sunny and warmer, a really nice day and today it is raining and in the 40's!!!

Even though we were here last year, we arrived too late to do the orientation. We were boyh surprised at how much we learned. We were also fed too much all week!! Yesterday we went to Crazy Horse Monument and got to go out on the arm - it was amazing. Then they fed us lunch and the wife of the artist (he died in '81) greated us and shook hand with each one. What a lovely woman she is. We went to Crazy Horse last year, but we enjoyed this trip much more.

Then we went to Mt. Rushmore and had a very informative talk by the Ranger there and then were treated to ice cream!!! We had lunch at two of the lodges here. I think we both put on several pounds!!! We have two more days, but no more food!!! We are really looking forward to getting to work on a regular basis. I haven't even had a chance to get to Fairburn yet!!!!!

This was May 12th, isn't he cute!!!

This was May 13th!

This was May 14th!!!

Spring in Custer State Park South Dakota

2010-05-06T14:02:00.005-04:00

I woke this morning and told Doug it looked like it was foggy out! He informed me it was not fog, but snow, several inches of it.

Took a ride around the wildlife loop and were rewarded with some really neat pictures. We saw two different cyotes one was about to have a pronghorn for breakfast, but I think we scared it away. The other was going to enjoy a deer, but they were way ahead of him and rean.

The buffalo don't seem to mind it at all!

Some Really Shaggy Friends & Cute Babys

2010-05-04T14:11:00.005-04:00

Apr. 30 – What a drive yesterday!!! Doug held onto the wheel with white knuckles! This is definitely tornado season We were so tired we stopped at 2pm. I found a park just north of Kansas City, MO. We used the GPS to find it and it turned out we had stayed here last year on our way out! Very nice park..

They are predicting rough weather for today also and it will include rain! Sounds like another short day to me. Trying to get out early. It is 7:20 and we are almost ready to take off – the rain is starting already!!!

May 2 – Got into SD yesterday, the weather wasn’t as bad as had been predicted. Stayed at Vermillion State Park. What a beautiful park that is, we had a nice spot right on the lake. Weather just gorgeous, in the low 70’s.

Left early today for the last leg of our trip out. What a terrible day!!! The wind was so strong I thought we were going to be tipped over! After eight hours of VERY hard driving we arrived at Custer State Park!!! We are so happy to be here, not only because the trip was so difficult, but it feels like home!

We were happy to see our neighbors Archie and Karen. After we set-up we went over to tea and talk, catching up on our winter events. We all agreed it is too early to be here. When we were setting up the temp. was 42 degrees!!! It is still hovering at that temp and it is noon time now!!!

Have not seen any of my four legged friends yet, but Karen said they have been here since Thurs. and the deer love ‘my’ tree! One of the first things we did was hang our bird feeders, but haven’t seen any birds yet. I think they are smarter than we are!

Doug decided we were not level enough, so is out there trying to do a better job, and he is NOT a happy camper at the moment!! He has never had so much trouble leveling. Oh for a newer RV!! Not really, I have gotten to love this old thing.

Doug was working outside and told me to look out – we were having SNOW flurries!

May 4th – Yesterday was a very nice day. It was sunny and got to the upper 60’s. We checked into the office and it was like old home week, very nice to see everyone.

Took our first ride around the Wildlife Loop. All the animals are just shedding their winter coats and look rather shabby. At first I wasn’t sure what some of the donkeys where as I have never seen them with such long fur!!! Still not too many of the volunteers here yet and Orientation starts next week so have a few days to relax and enjoy being here again. We start work on Fri. We found out our schedule has changed from last year, we work Thurs., Fri., and Sat., and have Sundays off, that makes us happy.

We are predicted for very high winds and low temperatures today. Had some heavy winds during the night and it seems to be starting up again now. The temperature is a very cool 40 degrees!!!! Want to get something posted on the blog today and after that might go to Rapid City and get our shopping done before starting back to work.

Shaggy looking bighorns!

2010-05-04T14:06:00.000-04:00

Vermillion Lake State Park South Dakota

2010-05-04T13:53:00.002-04:00

Our first stop in SD - what a great park.

On The Road Again !!!!

2010-04-27T17:30:00.000-04:00

April 27th - Well, we are on the road again!!! Left home the 23rd, it was a beautiful day, and got rather warm late afternoon. Stopped at a real nice RV park in Colquitt, GA. An of you RV’rs going through that area, we recommend Emerald Lake Resort RV Park. It is a Passport America Park, so not expensive. The have a beautiful lake and a nice little restaurant. Fri. night they have a steak and shrimp ;;;;buffet, it was fantastic.

Took off in the rain Sat for Jane’s. It rained all day, we arrived around two in the afternoon after getting lost. For some reason we always get lost going to Jane’s and her street never shows up on the GPS.

That night around midnight the sirens starting going off along with the warning on Doug’s weather radio. There were tornadoes in the area. We put the girls in their carriers and ran over to Janes’s house. We watched the weather for about an hour and then decided our area was in the clear and went to be. Evidently there was quite a bit of damage in some of the surrounding towns.

Sunday we went to church with Jane then just visited the rest of the day. It was really nice to relax. She has such a wonderful location and sitting on her porch looking at the lake was a real treat.

Monday Jane and Doug cleared out the edges of her driveway. There was a lot of poison ivy so Doug didn’t want me out there (that was handy!!) He really enjoys getting out there and working.

Started out this morning about 9am. It is cloudy, with sun peaking through. I think we are driving away from the heat, thank goodness. We are now focused on SD and anxious to get there.

And into the corrals!

2009-09-29T18:24:00.001-04:00

Finally they are herded into the corrals. They are just magnificent animals.

Buffalo over the hill!

2009-09-29T18:20:00.002-04:00

Here they come over the hill with the horses and cars chasing them.

Finally it is over!

2009-09-29T18:18:00.000-04:00

After all the indignities it is finally released!!!

Getting Branded

2009-09-29T18:16:00.001-04:00

The calf is being branded with the year it was born and an S that represents it belongs to the State.

Final Chute

2009-09-29T18:14:00.001-04:00

This is the final chute for the calves, where they have all the nasty things done to them!!!!

Bison in the Chute

2009-09-29T18:08:00.001-04:00

Here are the bison as they go through the different chutes.

Barb and the Vet

2009-09-29T18:00:00.000-04:00

Barb talking to the vet about the bison.

Finally the RoundUp!!!

2009-09-29T17:21:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was really busy, but also very exciting. I started on Sat. manning the information booth at the Arts Festival and Doug did traffic control! Worked from 7am-5pm Sat. and 8am-5pm Sun. Had a lot of different people come through and almost all of them just loved the park as much as we do. There were thousands of people there and I didn't have time to take even one picture!!!

Mon. we were out of the RV at 4:30am on our way to park cars for the Round-up. It was bitter cold when we started, but got into the mid 70's and was a perfectly beautiful day. We both worked in the calf area and what an education we got. I felt so sorry for those little calves as they went through the shoot, got branded, got their shots and even had something squirted up their noses to prevent pneumonia. I kept a record of the ones that will be going to auction. Doug was the relief person at the gates so he had more time than I did for pics, so all of the pics at the corrals were done by him.

The roundup was a little let down as the buffalo almost walked into the corrals! The crowd really wanted to see a bit more action, but the staff was happy as there were no injuries to any of the bison and they were not overly stressed out.

This is my last day at work and Doug is packing everything up (mostly my rocks!!!) as we prepare to leave either tomorrow or Thurs. We are predicted for rain turning to snow tomorrow and it is making him a bit nervous. We will probably take off later today.

I finally climbed that mountain!!!

2009-09-21T15:36:00.005-04:00

Almost every evening this summer, Doug and I sit outside and our view is of a great mountain. I have been saying before we left I wanted to get to the top. Finally found a couple of friends that would go with me. It was quite a hike, but I made it. My friends were hardly breathing heavy, but I had to stop often!! It was well worth the effort, the view was amazing. In the first pic you can see the car and Rv

So close and yet so far away!!!!

2009-09-21T15:32:00.002-04:00

The girls where a twitter as they watched that little bird on the step just outside the door. I believe they are anxious to get home as they are chaceing each other up and down the hall at night!!!

While making phone calls!!!

2009-09-15T13:11:00.003-04:00

This big guy was resting along the road where we make our phone calls!!! We were going to take a walk up that road and decided it would not be a good idea!!

Buffalo RoundUp Coming Soon!!!

2009-09-15T13:05:00.002-04:00

We are very excited about the upcoming Roundup. We have been given your jobs and I will be working closely with the animals recording the data on each one. We have made a devinite decision to leave here Oct. 1st. There will not be much for us to do after that date. VERY mixed feelings. We just love this place!!! The other day I drove to work as it was raining and very cold. I turned into the parking lot and was glad that I drove. Right at the end of the walk was the above bull!!! If I had been walking I would probably have come right up to him before knowing it, and they do not like to be surprised!!!! I went in the side door and took the picture through the front door!!!

Time is flying by!!

2009-09-06T17:25:00.005-04:00

We can hardly believe that we only have another month here at Custer State Park. It has been such a great experience. Have not been on lately as I was sick last week, but getting better. As a result, we have not done any traveling either. It has been nice tho just sitting at the RV and watching the wildlife walk by - I still am in awe of them. It will be an adjustment when we get home not to see a buffalo or deer walk through the jard!!! Weather continues to be wonderful, nice cool evenings, low 50's upper 40's and the days are mid to upper 70's with LOW humidity!! Will

Our Favorite Pastime

2009-08-26T13:45:00.009-04:00

Not much to say as we are doing what we enjoy most - rock hounding and watching animals. We have kind of settled into a routine and go to our favorite rocking place - Fairburn, to collect TONS of jasper and a few agates!!! Each evening we sit outside and watch whatever strolls through our yard, (buffalo, big horn sheep, deer, birds, etc) above are a few pics of what we see!! No, the satellite dish is not ours!!! One of the things we have appreciated more than anticipated, is NO TV, which means NO NEWS!!! We plan on leaving here Oct. 9th, the weather should be getting just cold enough for us to be anxious to get home!!

The 4th and Final Day!!!

2009-08-18T14:44:00.004-04:00

The 4th day we went to Belle Farouche and the Center of the Nation. I think the kids got a kick out of it. The big event of the day was going to Devils Tower in Wyoming. It was another state, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind was filmed there. I think this was there favorite place. We all, even Doug, did the 1.3 mile hike around the base. We were all exhausted when we got home and we had to get up at 4AM the next morning!!!!! We got to the airport before 5:30 and the plane took off only 10 min. late, at 6:55. It was very sad to see them go, we had a great time with them and are thankful we had the chance to have them.

The 2nd and 3rd Day

2009-08-18T14:40:00.002-04:00

The 2nd day Nicholas and Ana were here we started early again and their
second surprise - a tour of Mt. Coolidge Fire Tower. It was the big deal that the helicopter was, but they still enjoyed it. We then went to Wind Cave, another place they had heard of. After Wind Cave we went to the Mammoth Dig. Ana was a bit more interested in this that Nicholas and of course, I find it fascinating! On the way home we took the Wildlife Loop Rd. and got to see LOTS of buffalo!!! That evening we went to the Custer County Fair and had a Buffalo BBQ and saw a little of the rodeo. That got mixed reviews!!!

The 3rd day was a visit to Wall Drug Store and the Badlands. The Badlands was a big hit. It was also a very long day. We arrived home to lots of rain and the tent we had borrowed for Doug and Nicholas to sleep in was full of water!!!!! We managed to get it dried out and Doug had gotten plastic sheeting to go over it to keep it dry. Just one of those good camping stories!!!!!

Their First Day in South Dakota

2009-08-18T14:36:00.001-04:00

Just a couple of the MANY pictures we took!!

Nicholas & Ana Arriving

2009-08-18T14:27:00.001-04:00

Well, the kids finally arrived, tired but safe, it sure is great to have them here. We started the day off early - 8AM!!! They impressed me by being ready when we told them the time we wanted to leave!!! Our first stop was in Keystone for a helicopter ride around Mt. Rushmore. This was a surprise for them and I think they really enjoyed it. After that we went to Mt. Rushmore and did the hike around the bottom of the monument. This is the second time we have been there and it is just as impressive as the first. After that we drove the Needles Hwy back to Custer State Park and around Sylvan Lake. This was a must for Nicholas as it was in the movie National Treasures Two. We did a short hike around part of the lake then Nicholas thought he saw a rattle snake so we decided to cut the hike short. A very full and fun day.

Trouble with pictures

2009-08-12T13:37:00.003-04:00

Have been trying to up load pictures without success. Am in a hurry as usual, our grandkids get in today and have lots to do. We are really looking forward to seeing them. Will get back on ASAP. Here we are in front of a cat that was found here in the park. It hangs in the office.

The Needles Eye Tunnel

2009-08-12T13:28:00.003-04:00

Here are some pics of the tunnel we directed traffic on. The one picture shows a bus coming through the tunnel. I wish I had gotten the picture of it when it was just coming out as you would get a better view of how close it was. There were actually only a few inches on either side of the bus!!!!

Thousands of Motorcycles!!!!

2009-08-05T14:31:00.002-04:00

Sorry I don't have any pictures today, I forgot my camera when I came to the lodge, but thought I would at least let you know what we have been doing this week.

Yesterday we directed traffic and the Needles Eye Tunnel and had a blast. The bikers were so much fun. We figured there were about 13,000 bikes that went through during our five hour shift!!! There are hundreds of thousands of them in the area for the Sturgis Rally - Daytona Bike Week is nothing in comparison.

We think we will be staying until Oct. 1st instead of Sept. 1st. Doug has decided not to go to his class reunion and that gives us time to stay for the Buffalo RoundUp. During the roundup they corral all the buffalo, examine them for health problems and sort them for the auction that will happen later in the month.

We look forward to the arrival of our grandchildren next week. We are going to try and cram a lot of stuff in four days.

My little doe friend!!!

2009-08-03T22:07:00.004-04:00

This is the little doe I see on my walk to work. She just stands there and listens to me. Today Doug came down the trail after me and when he spoke she ran!!! I think his voice scared her!!!

Finally a Bison in the Park!!!

2009-08-03T22:03:00.003-04:00

I have been waiting to see a buffalo in our park and finally got to see it. for two nights he has strolled the park!!!

Sturgis, SD Bike Rally

2009-08-03T21:55:00.003-04:00

Life is really busy right now. There are literally thousands of motorcycles here in the park this week. They expect between 500,000 and 600,000 bikes this week and most of them want to do the ride to Custer as the roads are perfect for bikes. The Governor road through the part today with 150 other bikers!! Tomorrow we have the fun of traffic control at one of the tunnels on the Needles highway!!! As you can imagine there is all kinds of fun when you have that many bikers!!! I will try and get pictures. The attached pictures are from the governor's lunch with his friends!!!

2009-07-31T21:04:00.001-04:00

Mystic, SD

2009-07-31T20:59:00.002-04:00

The town of Mystic is essentially a ghost town. The scenery is wonderful. We had hoped to find some garnets, ubt even though we didn't, it was a very nice day.

More Bison and Baby

2009-07-31T20:58:00.001-04:00

Bison Mom and Baby

2009-07-31T20:55:00.001-04:00

We had so much fun watching this mother and her baby. She was the most attentive mother Bison we have seen.

Finally - Pictures of Elk!!!

2009-07-31T20:52:00.003-04:00

I was so excited to fianlly get pictures of an elk herd. This was bout 10AM - very surprising.

Midnight and Doug

2009-07-31T20:49:00.001-04:00

Have to include the 'domestic wildlife' once in a while!! That is Midnight just loving her belly scratched!!!

Bison at Custer State Park, SD

2009-07-31T20:44:00.003-04:00

Tourists love what a close-up view they get of the wildlife. That baby we just curled up by the road. It was getting dark! I just can't leave!

July 31st.

2009-07-31T20:32:00.003-04:00

Another week gone by. We have spent many hours just watching the wildlife as usual. I am including some pics of the bison as usual, we spend a lot of time with them. We were also very luck to see a herd of elk, I have been trying to see them since we have been here. Got some great pics. Today we took a nice ride out to the country with the hopes of finding some garnets. Didn't find the garnets, but sure did see sine beautiful scenery!!

The annual Sturgis Bike week is this week and we have had hundreds of bikes here in the park and have passed them on the road. Last year they had 550,000 bikes at Sturgis and this year they expect more!!! We will be working an extra day next week to help on the Needles Hwy with traffic. I cannot imagine being in Sturgis this week. Not that we have anything against bikers, since we used to be among their ranks, but the noise has to be incredible.

Doug reminded me the other day that we only have four weeks left here and I felt so sad. However, we mite have some changes in our schedule, will keep you posted.

The Mural

2009-07-28T13:12:00.001-04:00

I was informed that I had forgotten to add the mural with the Indian poem. Here it is.

Doug & Barb in the Center of the US!!

2009-07-24T15:03:00.002-04:00

This is supposed to be the geographical center of the US.

Views from Visitors Center Bear Butte!!

2009-07-24T15:01:00.003-04:00

Bear Butte State Park

2009-07-24T14:55:00.005-04:00

This was a beautiful place. The indians hold this as a sacred place and go up and worship, therefor we were not allowed to drive up and unfortunately Doug did not feel up to hiking. I loved the words written under a mural. Be sure to click on the pictures and you will be able to read it. The visitor center had some beautiful views.

The Bison are restless!!!

2009-07-24T14:52:00.001-04:00

Views of Custer

2009-07-24T14:47:00.001-04:00

More Fun in Custer State Park

2009-07-24T14:42:00.002-04:00

Sorry I am not doing so well with keeping up with the blog. I don't get the internet at the RV and it becomes difficult to get to the lodge to get on. I am too busy having fun!!!!

We got back out to Fairburn the other day and spent 5 hours digging!!! It had rained the night before so we could not go into the dunes and worked a wash at the beginning. I actually did rather well and found a couple of nice agates.

We went panning with another couple and did not find much gold, but I did find a couple of nice garnets. I have a few very nice rocks with tourmaline in them - the one is my favorite of all my collection. I will get a picture of it and list it!!!! I know everyone will be jealous!!!

We are spending most evening on the Wildlife Loop watching the bison. They are going into rut and it is fascinating to watch the mail court the females. The cows seem not to have any interest, but we have noticed that if the male does not follow she will stop and wait for him. The babies are also so much fun to watch. The other night we watched a couple of little ones pretend to do battle, it was so cute.

Nicholas and Ana will be coming out for a few days next month and we are really looking forward to it. I hope the animals will be out and about. Every once in a while we have campers say they have not seen any wildlife. It is unusual, but they do hide occasionally.

Yesterday we went to Bear Butte State Park. It is a small park but beautiful. The butte is a volcano that never erupted. It is in the middle of the plains. The Indians hold it as sacred, and as a result we could not drive up and Doug did not feel like hiking.

After that we went to the geographical center of the US - Belle Forche They say if you put the US on a spindle at this spot the US would be balanced.

Next week is Bike Week in Sturgis, and as I understand it we will have literally thousands of bikes coming through the park. I am sure all the noise will chance the animals back into the woods and we won’t see many.

Sites I love around Custer State Park

2009-07-24T14:14:00.002-04:00

More in Fairburn, South Dakota

2009-07-24T13:59:00.005-04:00

My favorite place to go rock hunting - the town also fascinates me!!! Note Main St.!!!

Fairburn, South Dakota!!!

2009-07-14T16:12:00.004-04:00

Finally got to so some rock hunting!!!

2009-07-14T15:56:00.003-04:00

I can't believe I have been here for over a month and just now found time to do some rock hunting. We are not allowed to take anything out of the park, so I have to go out to do it. There is a little (and I mean LITTLE) town about 20 miles from here that we were told have 'Fairburn' agates. We took a trip out there, it is just a dirt cross roads! we stopped at the little post office and asked for directions. She had a map drawn as lots of people go there. It is about 12 miles outside of town (of course a dirt road)! When we got there we were amazed at how much it looked like the badlands, just much smaller. As usual I had a wonderful time. Don't think I got any great agates, but spent 4 hours digging!!! It was a great day and I look forward to another day like it tomorrow.

We are both enjoying our jobs. I just love this park. There is always something new to see. We also are hoping that our grandchildren will be coming out next month for a few days. I know they will just love it here.

Snow on July 2nd!!!

2009-07-14T15:51:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to show you the snow we saw on July 2nd!!!

Our friend John is with his heavenly father.

2009-07-14T15:41:00.002-04:00

I want to thank all my friends for their prayers for our friend John Cox. He went home to his heavenly father on Saturday. We all know he is in a better place, but we also will miss him. Please continue to keep his wife Kay in your prayers. She know where John is, but that will not stop the pain of the loss. Pray that God gives her the strength to get through this difficult time and that she feels the Lords presence and love.

A Friend needs our prayers

2009-07-08T17:20:00.002-04:00

I just receive an email telling us that a good friend of ours was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident and is in a coma. I would like to ask all of my friends to pray for him and his wife. Their names are John and Kay Cox. John has been a real trooper as he has been fighting cancer for sometime. Now this, please pray for God's mercies to give them both strength to deal with whatever lays ahead. John loved this blog and followed it daily. He has been looking forward to he and Kay taking a trip similar to our Alaska trip.

First Moose Ever in Custer State Park, SD

2009-07-08T17:17:00.003-04:00

This moose is really stirring up interest. It has been in all the local papers, as they have never had a moose here before. It sure would be nice if we had a female to keep him here!!

Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota

2009-07-08T17:08:00.003-04:00

July 2 - Today we went for a very nice ride. We drove up to Spearfish Canyon and what a sight. It was just lovely. The canyon walls were absolutely magnificent and the waterfalls breathtaking. We learned that the final few scenes in the movie Dances with Wolves was made here. We are going to have to watch that movie again!! We went through a fairly good thunder storm in the canyon, it seemed to make the thunder much louder.

After the canyon we drove up to Sturgis. This evidently is a meca for motorcyclists! Every year thousands of them descend on the town. They say in the park for several days that is all you will hear - not looking forward to that. However, Ft. Mead is in Sturges and we found it to be one of the best historical museums we have ever been to. It is small, but filled with items from the original fort and history of the surrounding area.

We took back roads to get home, came around a curve and we both said at the sametime, “What is all that white stuff!!” You guessed, it was SNOW. It appeared they must have had at least a couple of inches for the amount we were seeing, there was even slush of the road in one place. Naturally it was very wet and melted quickly. Hard to believe snow on July 2nd!!!

Never get tired of Needles Hwy.

2009-07-01T18:04:00.005-04:00

More pictures of Needles Hwy. It is so awesome!!!

Bear Country, Custer, SD

2009-07-01T17:58:00.006-04:00

These are some pictures we took at Bear Country today. I Really felt sorry for these animals that are kept in very small areas.

My walk to work!!!

2009-07-01T17:44:00.005-04:00

The other morning Jeanne and I were walking to work and right on top of the mountain we saw several mountain goats. We both got lots of pics of them. We were at work about a half hour and there were five goats in the yard. We went out to get more pictures and hear bleatting - before long there were three adorable babies. The above pictures show what a traffic jam they cause. These are the same goats we saw the other day.

Last night we were having dinner and noticed a lot of cars on the road. I noticed something dark go behind the house across the street. We went out and they said it was a moose!!! I said, "You mean an elk", as there are no moose in Custer. They said no, it is a moose. I ran to get my camera and couldn't find it. Fortunately Doug had his video and got video of it. It was indeed a moose!!! There are not supposed to be moose in Custer!!! We talked with one of the rangers and they said it was a first!!!!

1880 Railroad Steam Engine

2009-07-01T17:39:00.003-04:00

The other day we went on a nice ride on the original 1880 train from Hill City to Keystone. It was fun and I took tons of pictures. It was only a 20 mile trip, but we definately enjoyed it.

More news!

2009-07-01T17:24:00.003-04:00

It has been almost a week since I have had time to blog. The weather has been magnificent and the park has been VERY busy!! Doug spent a couple of days at Badger Hole, the cabin that Badger Clark lived in, and loved it. He got to talk to LOTS of people and has enjoyed studying Badger's history. He spent one day getting to know the two visitor centers and enjoyed the contact with the public there as well. Last weekend the office was so busy we would hang the phone up and just pick it up again. We are totally full, so most of the calls have been questions about the area. I am working hard to get more familier with it.

Today we went to Bear Country - it is on the list of freebees for us to get familiar with so we can tell people that ask us. We were VERY unimpressed with it!!! They had lots of bear in a very small area, and some pens with other wildlife. I don't know how they have gotten away with the number of animals for the amount of space they have!!!

I am still enthralled with the wildlife in the park. I don't think I will ever get used to it.

Causing a traffic jam!!

2009-06-25T11:25:00.002-04:00

This goat and two others had to be chased off the road by a ranger as they were causing a traffic jam. The baby was with them, but I couldn't get a picture of it.

Some of the views in Custer St. Park

2009-06-25T11:20:00.003-04:00

The rolling hills and prairies makes you want to read 'Little House on the Prairie'.

A Deer at our RV

2009-06-25T11:18:00.002-04:00

You can see how close it was to the RV.

Cowboy and Cowgirl!!!

2009-06-25T11:09:00.004-04:00

June 25th - Went on the Chuck Wagon Dinner ride the other night. It was OK, it would have been more fun if the wagon had been pulled by horses instead of a truck!!! The scenery was great, as usual, and on the way home it took us about ½ hour to go about 2 miles as there was a very large herd of buffalo on the road. They kept going from one side of the road to the other and they had their babies with them. I didn’t take many pictures as I had so many from the last time, but this herd must have been about three times the size of the other. What a sight, the little ones had a hard time keeping up with their mothers as the herd was not grazing, but moving rather fast. Guess they were in a hurry to get to their sleeping area!!!

Last night we went to a play at the Black Hills Playhouse. It was The Sugar Bean Sisters and stared Marcia Williams from the Newhart Show. It was a little slow moving but was fun.

We went for a nice hike yesterday and it was so awesome. The woods were so quiet, we even got close to a deer before she ran. We had planned on taking anther one but Doug had had enough. Will try and do another trail today. I didn’t even fall!!!!

We go for a ride almost every night and I am still trying to see an elk with no luck yet!!! We feed and talk with the burrows almost nightly and have now seen several of their babies!!! The weather could not be nicer. Yesterday it was in the upper 70’s and last night it went to about 60!!

Doug starts his new job this weekend, and I think he will be really happy with it - I sure hope so!!! There is still a lot of touring to do, but things are getting rather busy around here. Going to try and take an old train ride today or tomorrow. I need to do all these things so I can tell people when they are making reservations. I get a lot of questions about what there is to do here.
The campgrounds have been full for the last four or five days. I had one woman say to me “How could that possibly be, you have so many campsites, you must have something open!!” This is a very popular park.

Edie and family arrived home safely and they had a wonderful trip. I did not realize how anxious I was to have them home!!!

Wind Cave South Dakota

2009-06-18T13:11:00.004-04:00

July 17th - We went to Wind Cave today and what a marvelous place. It is the fourth largest cave in the world and they figure it is only 5% explored!!! It was quite a hike and we took the least strenuous tour!!! I took tons of pictures, but could not tell what I got until I got home as it was so dark in there. I am posting a few but they do not show the magnificence of the cave.

After the cave we took the long way home and saw more beautiful scenery.

Edie and family should be home today from Italy. Looking forward to talking with them.

More Badlands South Dakota

2009-06-18T13:03:00.003-04:00

Badlands of South Dakota

2009-06-18T12:56:00.002-04:00

June 16th - This was a great day off. We finally had a sunny day off and went to the Badlands. The drive over was fantastic. The mustard grass was in bloom and all you could see in some areas was this wonderful yellow green on the hillsides.
The Badlands are an incredible place, it is almost a mini Grand Canyon. The colors were magnificent - a geologist’s dream We put the top back on the car and I stood taking pictures during the drive. I ended up with 175 pictures and then my battery died!! Fortunately it was toward the end of our visit. Driving back we could see thunder storms in the distance. It is amazing how far you can see and the different cloud formations.

This evening we decided to take a ride around the wildlife loop. They have elk here in the park but they say we would have more luck at dusk seeing them. Unfortunately we did not see any, but we did see buffalo, pronghorn, wild turkey, deer and of course our favorites - the ‘beggin’ burrows. What a beautiful ride, I never cease to wonder at the beauty out here.

Tomorrow we are planning on going to a couple of the caves around here. However, we might just go in another direction if the spirit moves us!!! Retirement is nice!!!!