Custer State Park

Wow, it seems like we just arrived in Rapid City although we’ve been here a week already.  But it’s been a whirlwind since we arrived and I have a lot to write about.  So, I’ll break it up into three posts.

The weather was hot the first couple of days that we were here in Rapid City, so we spent most of our time staying cool and waiting for the cooler temperatures to come back, which they did in short order.  Since then, the temps have been mostly in the 80’s, great for being outdoors and enjoying the sights, as well as spending time with Snookie and Bob and making new friends as well.

On Wednesday, Bob and Snookie invited us to make a scenic tour of Custer State Park and one of the scenic routes through the black hills that promised lots of wildlife and great views.

So we all loaded up in their truck and off we went for a great day with friends.  We wound our way to Keystone where we stopped to check out the chain saw art.  Wow, some of these sculptures were HUGE!  And very impressive.  I particularly liked the eagles.

Out front of the chainsaw art display was a huge chair, so I couldn’t get a picture without somebody to demonstrate the size of the thing.  DeWayne was glad to accommodate.

From Keystone, we took the scenic route that took us over switchback curves, “pigtails”, bridges and tunnels.

Going through this tunnel, we got our first glimpse of Mt. Rushmore through the back window.

Further down the road was a great pull-off where we could get a better view and afforded some really great scenery!

From there, we took the scenic route the black hills and Custer State Park, where we saw lots of Prong Horns (similar to Antelope), Prairie Dogs, Turkey, and Buffalo.  Oh, and LOTS of gorgeous countryside!

And what I was surprised to see were the wild Burrows, who have grown so accustomed to tourists that they actually come right up to people or cars looking for a carrot or french fry.  They didn’t seem to be picky, as long as it was free.

And here are just of few more of the MANY pictures I took along our drive.

What a great day we had!  It looked like rain when we arrived back at the FamCamp, so after we all settled in for the evening, we had some rain showers, then were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow hovering over the tent area that was already starting to fill up with motorcycle enthusiasts, arriving early for Sturgis week.

Next day, DeWayne and I set off to see Deadwood, but I’ll break it off at this point and start another post.  Otherwise, this would go on and on.  I have two more days of sightseeing to cover, so click on “newer posts” to see them as well.

Settled In

Just a quick post to give everybody an update.

We left Lingle, WY yesterday morning and made really good time to Rapid City.  The terrain changed every few miles from rolling grasslands to hills and trees, then back again.  And right in the middle somewhere, we crossed into South Dakota.

Finally, Rapid City came into view:

Following Snookie’s expert directions, we drove straight to the Air Force Base, made it through the gate and into the FamCamp with no problems.  I snapped a quick picture of the park, then we rounded the bend to see Snookie waving to us in the distance.

It was so great to see her and Bob again.  We got set up in no time, then I was invited to join one of the frequent games of Mexican Train.  Snookie took me over to meet Valerie and Sherry at Valerie’s picnic table and we sat in the shade with a wonderful breeze blowing while they attempted to teach me this new (to me) game. 

We had a blast and I, of course, came in dead last.  But I’m getting the hang of it and there’s another game scheduled for this afternoon.  So wish me luck.  I love the game.

We’re seeing more and more motorcycles arriving in the FamCamp in anticipation of Sturgis Week and tents going up already, so I’m wondering just how many tents and motorcycles there will be by next week.  I’ll keep ya posted. 

I have laundry going and need to go put it in the dryer, so I’ll shut up and get this posted.  I hope everybody is staying cool.  Check back in a day or two for more news from Rapid City.

But in the meantime……

HAPPY TRAILS!!!

On The Road Again!

Greetings from Wyoming! 

DeWayne’s Mom is doing great and back to her old self, so we decided it was time to give her some space and get out of her hair for a while.  Plus, the unbearable heat in OKC this summer has been no fun at all, with no indication that it will get any better anytime soon.  Sooooo…..we decided to hit the road.

To sum it all up….WE HAD A BAD CASE OF HITCH ITCH!

We also lucked into a GREAT deal on a 29', '93 Hitchhiker fifth wheel RV about a month ago that is in really good shape.  It isn't as big as our Open Road, but is built so much better and we really like it, so although we bought the Hitchhiker to sell at twice what we gave for it, we liked it so much that we started considering just keeping it and selling the Open Road.  So, we decided to give it a whirl and take it on a trip to see if we can live with the reduced space.  It's important to know since we have accepted workamping jobs in Mission, Texas for the winter and we will be living in one or the other RV's for six months.  So this is a test, so to speak.

We have some business to attend to in South Dakota, and we have REALLY been wanting to see Snookie and Bob (we haven't seen them in a year) so we knew we would be going there at some point.  The original plan was to go straight there and spend two weeks, seeing the sights, then back home.  Then we heard that the heat wave would be affecting South Dakota too for a while, so we got a wild hair and decided to go further north to Glacier National Park in Montana.  It’s one of the places we were going to visit last summer, but never made it.  So we thought we would give it another shot, then swing by South Dakota on our way home.

We packed up and hit the road Sunday afternoon on July 24th.  First stop – Amarillo.  We stayed at the Oasis RV resort for the night, which is a really nice RV park and one that we had stayed in back in November.  It’s big and roomy with all pull-through slots and laundry/bath houses scattered all through the park so that no one is far from one, if needed.  They also have a restaurant, although we haven’t tried it yet.  Maybe next time.

We left Amarillo on Monday and turned north toward Colorado Springs, CO.  We were scheduled to stay two nights at the Mountaindale RV Park outside of Colorado Springs and it turned out to be a really nice park as well.  We even had mule deer grazing within 15 feet of our front door and when we went out to see them, they were not spooked at all.  They just nibbled away, then slowly moved off down the road.  I tried to get pictures, but it was too dark, so my camera got totally confused about what to focus on and refused to let me take any.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  The heat was not as bad in Amarillo (99 degrees), considering that it was 108 when we pulled out of OKC.  Then on Monday, it was still in the upper 90’s until we got almost to Raton, New Mexico.  We went over a pass and the temperature reading on the truck started dropping like a rock.  I kept snapping pictures with my phone and each time, the temp would drop another degree or two until the final low reading:

What a beautiful sight to see 54 degrees!  Of course it inched back up after we cleared the pass, but I think it settled somewhere in the 80’s.  Hey, we weren’t complaining! 

Oh, and I had to get a close up of my number one chauffeur…..

I say that because I rode all that day in the back seat since I’ve developed a swelling problem in my legs and feet, so doc says to keep them propped up.  Anyway….

Here are a few pictures along the way:

We arrived at Mountaindale RV park during a steady sprinkle, so we didn’t waste any time getting set up for the next two nights.  And we noticed when we got out of the truck that it was making a knocking noise that wasn’t there before.  Uh oh!

Next morning, DeWayne made some phone calls to his mechanic back in OKC and to some local shops around Colorado Springs and decided that it was best not to drive the truck until the source of the noise could be diagnosed.  So after a quick phone call to Good Sam’s Roadside Assistance (worth it’s weight in gold), a tow truck arrived and DeWayne’s “Pride and Joy” was loaded up and hauled away to the shop.

Sooooo….we were afoot for the day. The day that we planned to take in a few sights around Colorado Springs.  Pike’s Peak and the Royal Gorge are within driving distance and although DeWayne had seen them both before, I hadn’t seen them since I was 2 years old and don’t remember at all.

But it was not to be, so I entertained myself just looking at the scenery, taking pictures of the park and playing with the camera zoom to get close-ups of the vegetation around the RV.


DeWayne scheduled a taxi for early Wednesday morning to take him to the shop where the truck was.  The diagnosis was the vacuum pump which he learned was added for the purpose of the engine brake (or jake brake as some of us call it).  Anyway, he drove back up in it before noon, grinning from ear to ear since he had his truck back and only had to spend $90 at the repair shop.
 
We decided to make a run to Walmart for a few items we needed and to have supper at Chili’s, complete with baby back ribs and Tropical Sunrise Margueritas.  Yummmmy!

It was showering off and on as we left to go into Colorado Springs and I’m so glad I took the camera, because I got some good shots of the distant rain as well as a rainbow.  Not to mention the beautiful scenery around us as we drove.

Back at the RV park, I took a shot or two of our RV space:

We spent an extra night at the RV park and in the meantime, we talked to Snookie in South Dakota and found out that when we planned to be there would be right in the middle of Sturgis Week and there wouldn’t be an RV slot available anywhere near Rapid City.  Soooo, due to the fact that we would already have to re-arrange our schedule and reservations because of the truck repair and all other things considered, we just decided to go back to our original plan:  head to South Dakota now and spend two weeks there, then go home.  And we will be able to spend more time with Snookie and Bob, not to mention any new friends we hope to make while we're there.

So we left Colorado Springs yesterday morning and drove to Lingle, Wyoming for two nights and we will leave in the morning and drive to Rapid City where we will catch up with old friends, see the sights, and DeWayne might even get in a few rounds of golf for the next two weeks.  I just hope the heat dome that has been hovering over OKC forever will be moved out by the time we start our journey home. 

The cornice/mini blind/curtain assembly on the back window of the RV fell down during our trip yesterday, so DeWayne went to town today to get reinforcing anchors and is in the process of putting the whole assembly back up.  Just as well that I’m finished with this post because it’s time to put it away and help him by holding everything up as he screws it into place. 

So, it’s on to South Dakota tomorrow.  I’m sure I will have lots to post about after we get there, but in the meantime…..

HAPPY TRAILS!!!!!

The Road Is Calling

It's obvious that our time here in OKC is running shorter by the day and we're thinking we might be able to hit the road again the first of July.  First destination - South Dakota, then points wests to what we didn't get around to seeing last summer and on to Seattle and the west coast until time to head on down to Arizona for the winter.  I'm getting excited!

Unfortunately, we won't have Bentley to take with us.  After all the family emergencies and having to leave him by himself way too much, we decided the best thing was to take him back and let him be adopted by another family that has a full size house.  Our RV was definitely too small for Bentley and he literally climbed the walls at times.  He is now running and playing with lots of room.  We miss him, but especially since we have moved into DeWayne's mom's house with her, we couldn't have brought him here.  Molly, the Schnauzer doesn't care for cats, so it would have been world war three around here.  We gave it a good try, but too much happened in too short a time and we were having to leave him alone too much.  Since he adapted so quickly to us, I knew he would adapt just as easily to another household.

For those of you that don't know what we've been up to, here's what I posted on my other blog a couple of days ago:

DeWayne and I are currently in the OKC area and have been grounded from our travels for the last few months. We came back home for the holidays and stayed around until late January for the appearance of a new grandson, Jonathan who was born a little early, but is just a handsome, perfect and welcome addition to our family.



After that, we were ready to head for our winter destination in Arizona, but had concerns about my daughter's health issues and wanted to stick around a little longer while she made some doctor visits. We thought she may have to have some surgery, but her doctor discovered some minor issues that were easily taken care of. But.....


As we made plans to head for warm, sunny Arizona, DeWayne had a "feeling" that we shouldn't go. I've had those feelings myself on occasion, and although few and far between, I've learned to respect my instincts. So I respected his, which turned out to be spot on.


Since we were temporarily established in McAlester Oklahoma for a while, I decided to see if I could get some relief for my back ailments through a local Chiropractor. After 10 adjustments, it was clear that I was not getting any long term relief, so I went to plan B, which was to get the series of three spinal injections that had previously awarded 4 years of relief from my chronic back problems. So I made an appointment for the first injection in Texarkana, which was the same clinic that did it for me four years ago. DeWayne took me down there and we spent a couple of days with my folks who live close to Texarkana.


But then, DeWayne's mom fell and broke her hip February 25th, so she was admitted to the hospital and underwent surgery the next day. Surgery was a success, but she quickly developed double pneumonia and quite frankly, wasn't doing well at all for a while.


And the very next week, I received word that my grandson had been airlifted to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock and was in ICU. So the next two weeks, I spent a lot of time on the road between OKC, Texarkana and Little Rock. I finally got the last two back injections out of the way and DeWayne's mom was doing better, but Nathaniel was not improving.


Nathaniel was born with a genetic disease called Propionic Acidemia eleven years ago and by the time he was three days old, he was in a metabolic crisis that put him into a coma for a while. Although the doctors were able to finally get the acidosis under control and install a feeding tube (which he lived his entire life with), the disease's effects of his extremely low blood sugar and the high blood acid caused significant brain damage. So Nathaniel began life with many disabilities due to the disease itself and the damage caused by the disease. We were told back then that he may live to age five.


Nathaniel beat the odds for eleven years, but when he went into yet another metabolic crisis and was placed in ICU, his body just couldn't recover this time and we lost our little angel the 17th of April. My comfort comes from knowing that he is now in a better place where he is disease free and no longer suffering or in pain. He was always happy in his limited life here on earth and his favorite song was "I'll Fly Away". Now he as flown away to run and play with the angels. I was able to be there for my son the day that the machines were disconnected and he had to let his own son go. It was a very hard thing to do, but I'm so thankful that I could be there for Kevin and his daughter Renee, hearts breaking as they had to let him go. The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming.

DeWayne's mom recovered from the pneumonia, but had to have a feeding tube surgically placed into her stomach and has had it ever since. Due to her age (84), the anesthesia, and the effects of having a feeding tube down her throat for two weeks seriously affected her ability to swallow and put her at extreme risk of aspirating. She was dismissed from the hospital and spent two weeks in a nursing home until she was able to qualify for a rehabilitation facility, where she spent another two weeks. We were finally able to bring her home 18 days ago and she has improved and gained her strength steadily ever since. We maintain her tube feeding schedule and medication and have had a steady stream of physical, occupational and speech therapists visiting and working with her, as well as home health nurses that check in every week. After flunking two swallow tests, she is scheduled for another one on the 12th, so we are optimistic that she will be able to pass this one and slowly start being able to take thick liquids and soft foods, then gradually begin to eat normally again and eventually have the tube removed.


Physically, she is fully able to get around the house with her walker, but we anticipate that with her rapid progress, she will be able to do away with the walker within a couple of weeks, if not sooner. It's so great to see her recovering at such a fast pace and our goal is to leave here knowing that she is in good shape and fully able to resume her life at home with no more supervision. Way to go, Effie Mae!

We miss our RV which is temporarily stored at a friend's house and are both ready to head back on the road and see what we can see. It's been a rough few months for us and we're looking forward to being nomads again.


We've made a new friend in "Hilda", a young woman that we hired to help out with the tube feeding and overall care for Effie Mae.  She's been such a wonderful and caring friend and helper to all of us and Effie Mae really likes her.  We're hoping she will be willing to come around a couple of times a month after we're gone to help with the vacuuming, dusting, mopping, etc.

The speech therapist actually brought yogurt today and tested Effie Mae with swallowing it.  Although she wasn't crazy about the cherry flavor, it was the first "food" she has had since February.  And she did great!  The therapist said she may be able to eat "honey consistancy" things like yogurt or gravy or watered down pudding if she passes the swallow test on Friday.  Wooohooo!  I may actually get to cook her some gravy instead of feeling guilty as I cook for DeWayne and I and she can only enjoy the smell.  It's time she should get to start tasting it as well. 

We've had the truck thoroughly checked over while we've been temporarily grounded and a new clutch put in.  So it's ready and just sitting in the driveway calling to us to get back on the road.  I'm thrilled to see the gas prices coming back down a little. 

That's about all the news and I'll try to post as often as possible as we start preparing to become nomads once again.  But until then.....

HAPPY TRAILS!