Saturday and Sunday

We had a good night and headed across Nebraska following the North Platte for a long time. There are a lot of sunflowers so you know that we took pictures of that. We took a detour to Chimney Rock, Boot Hill in Ogallala, and drove and drove. Saturday night brought us to north of Oakley, Kansas to a great campground. A local organic farmer has a little garden there. He allows travelers to pick the veggies and you can donate whatever you want. I took pictures. As usual we enjoyed meeting the people who own the campgrounds. We ate a Kansas steak for dinner which I deserved after the drive. Sunday morning we drove on into Oakley after a good breakfast. There is a huge bronze of Buffalo Bill Cody shooting a buffalo. Awesome! Paulette dropped me off for church where I met some really nice folks. The ladies are scrapbookers and one is a Creative Memories consultant. We visited for a long time. We tried to visit a couple of other places but time was not right and the road to one place was too rough for the trailer. Late afternoon brought us to Guymon, Oklahoma. That is where Davida (Paulette’s daughter) lives. We will leave here early Monday morning and wander back by Abilene and then on the Corsicana for a trailer repair or redo for them. We should be home by Tuesday at the latest.

Friday

Saturday morning at the KOA is always Pancakes and bacon. Good! Packed up and headed for Rapid City and Prairie Edge. Prairie Edge is the ultimate in Pendleton, Native artifacts and new items and all to make things with. I tried my best to keep my wallet in my purse….not easy. Arriving in downtown with our little trailer was a bit of a challenge for parking. We discovered that the historical society or mayor or? Had decided to acquire a bronze statue of each of the presidents of the USA. There was one on each street corner so getting photographs of each one was a job. We did not get each on but there is “next time.” We pulled out of there around noon and headed to Pine Ridge. Following GPS and 3 different maps we headed south. The chosen road was through the Lakota Sioux reservation. It was a good choice for seeing and experiencing a wonderful tour of the Red Cloud Heritage Center. The counselor at the school showed us the language center; church with stained glass windows designed by the students, Red Clouds grave, and told us a ton of history. The agreement between Red Cloud and the Jesuits was for the good of the children. He realized the children needed an education in order to preserve their history, language, stories and ability to blend into society. The Jesuits were his answer. They found a way to blend Catholicism and Indian Religion. Going to the grocery store on the Rez was a new experience for Paulette. It is a lot different than going to a Pow Wow at Traders Village in Houston. We did go to the Pow Wow area thinking we would be able to camp there. We had been told it would be a good way to see and experience the event. A place to park was not as great as the ground was extremely rough and we should have gone early to get a better spot. I am use to blending in and no one knowing I don’t belong. Paulette was aprensive about being singled out and was not comfortable. I realized that we did have a lot of things in the truck that were valuable and I would hate for someone to breaking and take something while we were in the ceremony. It was really different that others I attended. We walked around and checked out the vendors and realized it would be another 2 hours before they began and it was dusty hot. We pulled out and headed toward Nebraska. The campground we found there was just lovely.

Destination for this evening was Rapid City, South Dakota. Sometimes it takes a while to find the destination. We pulled out of Pipestone fairly early and headed out for Sioux Falls to catch a glimpse of the falls there even though I was no that impressed the last time. Wow! With the 17 inches of rain this summer and a heavy rain the night before, the falls were running fast and high. Where I sat two years ago was covered by at least 4 feet of rushing water. Beautiful! …on the road again toward the Badlands. There is a scenic loop which would only take an hour or less. Grass was growing in some areas because of the rainfall and we enjoyed the drive. Some of the spires reminded us of places in Zion but with a change of colors. Zion is more vivid. All do not think it is beautiful but I let my imagination go to the mysteries of the bad guys of the past with horses hidden within the natural corrals. Interesting person of the day was my new friend Robby from New York by way of Florida. He was on vacation on his way to Sturgis to experience a couple of days as a biker. He asked if I would take a picture for him. I got one of him also which I will share later. He was a nice young man just out for a ride in places he had never been. After the loop we hit the world famous Wall Drug Store in Wall, SD. Okay, I can now say I have been there since it became so famous. For me it is a lot of junk and I do not have to go back. Seems like it took us forever to get to the KOA at Rushmore but we made it. Our neighbor is a cousin of Melanie Crowhurst of Hempstead and Carol Fry of Bellville. He and his wife are from Livingston. We hurried to the evening ceremony at Mt. Rushmore. It was just wonderful as it was 11 years ago. A group of Boy Scouts did the flag ceremony and pledge. At the end the ranger asked all Veterans to come to the stage. We honored them with cheers and applause. He specifically asked the Vietnam Vets to step forward as they did not receive their accolades when returning from war…. Lovely and heartwarming. We are back in the campgrounds for a shower and bed. Pancakes at the KOA in the morning. Yeah! Then it will be a day at Sioux ~ Pine Ridge Pow Wow. Now that will be a treat for me.

Tuesday and Wednesday

It was up early in Two Harbors headed north to Betty’s for breakfast. The bill of fare for me was Bread Pudding Toast, real maple syrup, eggs and bacon. Desert was two pieces of pie to go. During the summer months they make in the vicinity of 350 pies a day. I did my best to help them. My Mimi made much better pies but Betty has been doing this a long time. Stuffed to the gills it took a little effort to get hooked up and on the road. On the road through Duluth we spotted three of the tall masts of the schooners remaining in the Duluth harbor. It is difficult to hook a left with the baby egg trailing. Did it anyway…right through the hoards of people. Paulette jumped out of the car to get some pictures as I slowly went around the circle and then back on the road. Pretty slick! It is across the state to Pipestone National Monument. We never get where we are going very fast because I am easily lured off the road by a mere sign saying something like “Ojibwa Museum.” Luckily I had only a few minutes before they closed. Paulette went nuts over the cool barns. None are painted with quilt square as in Iowa. Silos and barns really have a draw. As usual we pulled into Pipestone at 10:30 at night. The mosquitoes were so bad that we set up in record time and quickly ran to the shower. Sleep was good.
We were up pretty early, had breakfast in camper and off to the monument. We were greeted by the most delightful young woman. She is working on a master’s degree in history while working as National Park Ranger. She is Oglala Sioux who loves her family. Her family is heading to Pine Ridge Pow Wow on Friday. This is her first time to miss this because of her new job. We had a long wonderful conversation about her grandmother. She is not bitter about the treatment of her grandmother during the days when children were taken from the parents on the reservation and placed in schools. She shared a lot of information about the pow wow and gave me dates of the Sun Dance to be held at Pipestone next year. We walked the trail and observed the quarries where only American Indians can dig for pipestone. It was as beautiful as before. In the distance I could see the main pole of this year’s Sun Dance. We took as many photos as we could being so far away. A walking tour of the town was next. A large number of the buildings in town are made of Sioux quartzite which is red and resembles the pipestone.
We had our dried fish tonight with mustard and crackers. Yummy! It is off to bed and ready for an early rise tomorrow and off to Mt. Rushmore and a few other stops like Sioux Falls. Loving what I am doing….got a new tiny cedar flute today. Mama you will love it. Hugs and blessings, Mary Alice

Monday

August 2

Sunday night in the forest at Eckeback State Campground was great. The open windows allowed a sweet breeze to flow through the camper. A few little night friends sang their chorus and I slept like a baby. It rained most of the night which made good sleeping. I rolled over and my knee touched the area under the window. Wet! Windows went down and we took care of the dampness. Upon awakening at daylight in the forest I could hear rushing water. The night before, you could walk across the Baptism River on the rocks. This morning, the water was rushing and deep. We jumped up to take pictures before hooking up and heading out. The idea of sunrise at Split Rock Light house was a myth. We were there by 7:30 and wandered around the grounds. A gentleman and his daughter were there. His great-grandmother use to sit a specific rock on the shore and paint the light house in various seasons and weathers. He had many of her paintings. When each child is old enough to appreciate the thought, he brings them there to see the lighthouse and to sit on the rock where she painted. I was honored to take their picture at the lighthouse.
We hiked down to the shore on the trail and returned following the steps near the location of the tram. The tram was used to bring supplies and guests from the ships on Lake Superior up to the lighthouse. There were 170 steps to climb ~ little tough on my bum knee. Paulette toured the light house ~ I had done it 2 years ago. The fog was so heavy and made for some great pictures. We took lots of pictures of us and others at the rugged rocks on the shore line. This is the 100th Birthday of Split Rock Lighthouse. We zipped down to Two Harbors to acquire a camping spot with at least water. We got a good spot with water and electricity. Then we were off to Betty’s Pies. Yummy and it was worth the wait for a table. I had Betty’s Beef Passtie and then RHUBARB/STRAWBERRY pie. Just as I had remembered! Gooseberry Falls was the next stop for a nice hike up to the Upper Falls, Middle and Lower Falls. We were fortunate to be at Upper Falls with not a sole around. It got hot while we were there. We took a break at the Quilt Shop where we had a fabulous visit with the ladies there. “You Betcha” we did. They invited us to come park our trailer at their house next year. We visited Agate Bay Light House in Two Harbors. It still sends its beam into the night. There were lots of Canadian geese around. Fog began to roll in and we headed for the house. A quick shower, light supper in the camper and it was lights out for these girls. Check you again tomorrow after breakfast with Betty. Blessings to all, Mary Alice

This was Sunday ~ New destinations on a new day. This was a reorganize day. Paulette washed clothes and I hooked up the trailer. The dress clothes are packed out of the way except for something to wear to church and I am hunting a UPS store so I can ship home the wonderful jewels I got at Showcase. Some of my friends have been asking for the punch with a palm tree and I got a few. I placed my order this morning for the new things that just came off the press. I know some of you don’t know nor could care but the new Cricut Cartridges that are exclusive to CM are must haves.
We pulled out of Minneapolis heading for Duluth. Roads under construction are painful for me. We took the low road to avoid it and got it again in Duluth. The tall sailboats came into Duluth on Friday and Saturday with tours scheduled for today. There were no parking places for Jr and the little red truck so we had to pass on tours today. Up the shore we drove hunting a campground…not to be found until we entered the National Forest only 100 miles south of the Canadian border. We have ditched that plan but will stay in Minnesota another day. The light houses are lovely on the shore. I have seen them before but this is the 100th Anniversary of Split Rock Lighthouse and sometime soon they will shine it’s beam one more time. We plan to leave the campground early enough to see the sunrise over Lake Superior at the lighthouse. Paulette wants to take the tour and then I plan to eat a piece of rhubarb pie at Betty’s Pies. A good meal might be in order. Tonight I made grilled cheese sandwiches in the trailer and they were jummy. It is raining ever so slightly on the baby trailer and with no electricity in the forest I am grateful for butane cooking and a full battery on my laptop. This will be posted tomorrow as there is no internet or telephone service in the North Woods. Listening for bear in the woods, I remain Mary Alice the wanderer.