June 15, 2013 - work day in Meota

     Well if we thought yesterday was miserable, you should see it today.  The rain is going sideways!  And they say it rains in BC.....I don't think I have ever seen rain like this.

    The men are going to work at the renovations at the cabin on the lake today and the women are going into town to pick up some necessary tools, supplies, etc.  Town is about 34 km from the lake so while in town we do a little shopping for the unnecessay stuff; you know, fun stuff.

they are making progress

and then there was some plumbing needed

     Back for some lunch and then some computer time.  We hang around inside for the day as it is just too miserable to do anything else.

     Phyllis prepares another one of her fabulous meals and we relax and chat the evening away.

June 14, 2013 - On our way to Meota

  We spent the night in the church parking lot across from Sheena's house;  pretty noisy as Lewvan Drive was right behind the trailer.  Oh well, I got to see my girls again before pulling out.  I'm going to miss them like crazy...

my precious babies

another beautiful outfit sewn by Sheena

Adorable

     We made a nice midway stop along the way in Saskatoon and had an opportunity to see Richard's nephew Darryl, Ron's youngest son and had some ribs at Tony Roma's to boot. 

Uncle Richard with nephew Darryl

We pulled in to Meota in the late afternoon, just in time for dinner at Larry and Phyllis's.  But first we register at Meota Regional Park campground.  The weather is not very nice and there are many mosquitoes and fish flies.  Ron and Shanon have met us here and we are parked right next to them.  Oh well, as they say, "along with the sunshine, there's gotta be a little rain sometime".  This has really been the first bad weather we have experienced since we left home 6 weeks ago.

dinnertime in Meota

our gracious hosts

June 13, 2013 - a visit with my beautiful granddaughters.

     Well we had a good sound night sleep in the Walmart parking lot in South west Regina.  Not the best ambiance but it's cheap. (free)

     Best part of day is I get to spend it with my georgeous granddaughter and my 2 equally gorgeous great granddaughters.  Sheena surprised me with an embroidered tee-shirt that says "I may not be rich & famous but my grandchildren are priceless".  We have a tea party, pretend shopping, real shopping, swimming and we did some crafts.  After that we all went to Five Guys Burgers for some dinner.

a tea party

where's MY chair?

our new family....Sheena says they love doing this in Old Navy

painting sun catchers

 

Livi really took to grampa

she is such a good eater

 

 

didn't want her picture taken

me and Lexi and my new tee-shirt
I'm gonna miss these girls

  

  We managed to squeeze in a visit with my brother Terry and Laurie before returning to our campspot in the Sikh Temple parking lot across from Sheena's house.

my Mom's old house on Scarth Street in Regina

bro Terry

Laurie

June 12, 2013 - Saskatchewan here we are again

     Well it's finally raining.....man how I've missed the rain (NOT).  We use their beautiful showers this morning before heading out on the road.

     We reach Minot, ND in time for lunch.  But first Richard graciously takes me to the fabric shops where I need to get some stuff.  Hobby Lobby is a huge craft store very much like our Micheals in Canada.  I could have spent the day in there.  We fill our list and then find some necessay home decor as well.

     There are lots of windmills in this area and lots of Luthern Churches along the way.  But mostly just wide open prairie.  Our wildlife today consists of 3 pheasants and a skunk.  They didn't sit still long enough for a photo though.

mountains of overburden from the coal mines

drag line for coal mining

I couldn't believe I got this shot from the moving truck

     We wind up in Weyburn, SK for dinner and plan on making it into Regina and park our trailer at Sheena's.  Can't wait to see those girls again.....

a welcome stop in Weyburn (notice the bunny on the bottom of the glass)

    

June 11, 2013 - On our way to North Dakota

     We set out at around 9:00 AM with our sights on arriving in Theodore Roosevelt National Park sometime today.

     Our first stop is in Sturgis, SD, where the big Black Hills Rally takes place.  We are told they will be celebrating there 75th anniversary in 2015.  I had no idea it had been going on for so long.  It looks like it's a wild time in their town usually during the early part of August each year.



this explains it all

this is on the hillside looking north

   
 From there we head out into the open plains that seem to comprise most of South Dakota.  The weather again is beautiful; around 24 degrees celsius.

a big indian fight took place here

claims to be the largest metal sculpture in the world

     For lunch we stop in Bowman. North Dakota and then continue on our way.

we didn't drive up to Sue, just a view from afar

Here she is in all her glory

We decide to get off the beaten track and take the road going north from New Salem and end up at the Garrision dam which is where we end up spending the night.

Electric generating station at Garrison Dam

water intake at the dam

 

The Downstream Campground is beautiful with completely renovated washrooms and showers and to make it even better, with Richard's new lifetime senior's park pass (only available to American citizens), we are only charged $9 for our night's stay.

there are more lilacs here than anywhere

view from the back of our campsite

 

June 10, 2013 - Mt. Rushmore

     Our luck in weather is following us.  Another gorgeous day.  After my one pancake breakfast we set out for Mt. Rushmore.

     George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt grace the side of Mt. Rushmore; a memorial designed and sculpted by Gutzon Borglum.  At age 60, he spent the last 14 years of his life working on this project from 1927 to 1941.

a sculpture of the master done by his son Lincoln

the fifth face

well here we are!

In all their glory

We have reverted back to old times

     From there we took a drive along the Iron Mountain Road through to the Wilfife Loop Road where we saw buffalo, pronghorn, wild donkeys and prairie dogs.

a baby suckling

lunch at the Cattlemans in Custer City

waiting for the laundry

I was a little nervous

 

Back home at our campsite, we do a couple loads of laundry in preparation of our departure tomorrow.

 


  



June 9, 2013 - Our first full day in the Black Hills

     Once again we have started the day in glorious sunshine; not a cloud in the sky.  This campsite offers an "all you can eat" pancake breakfast for $2.99.  This sounds pretty good so we hustle over there about 8:00 AM.  We can only eat 2 each and then learn that they are only $1.00 each.  Tomorrow we will only pay $1.00 each cause really they are so big that's all you can eat.

     Off we head, firstly to the Crazy Horse Memorial site.  The sculpture, started by Korczak Ziolkowski a Bostonian of Polish descent in 1948, is still in the process of being sculpted.  Since his death in 1982, his wife Ruth and 7 of their 10 children continue the work.  This project has never solicited or received any government funding and continues on moneys raised by private means.  When complete, it will be the largest mountain carving in the world.

a plaster casting of what it will look like

The finished face of Crazy Horse

work in progress

     A little side stop ensures a good fire tonight with a box full of tinder dry pine from one of the many piles of pine beetle killed and fallen ponderosa pine.  Some of the hills are just brown with timber not yet taken down.  What a crime; very much like our pine forests in BC.

another bonus

     From there we head to Jewel Cave Monument where we take the lantern tour and are the only 2 people with our native American park ranger guide, Vance Thunderfire.  It's a gruelling hour and a half descent into the cave where they show you how it was accessed in 1941.

Jewel Cave entrance for lantern tour

this passage is called "Fat Man's Misery"

a long way down

a long way up

me and Vance Thunderfire

     Next is a drive down the Needles Highway on our way back to our campsite.  We aren't sure where the name comes from until we start getting into the rocky peaks that look like needles.  Incredible!  Sylvan Lake in on the way and it is beautiful; half of it surrounded by towering boulders.

the needles

eye of the needle

a little crevise

needles in the distance

our truck coming through this very narrow tunnel

wild turkey

a beautiful image of Sylvan Lake

large rock in the middle of Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

 

     Back home we light another fire and cook bratwurst on a stick for dinner.