Augusta and Veggies

Not Georgia but the veggies are fresh. We decided to take a Sunday drive on Saturday. The travel magazine said visit a town with a western flair on your way stop and buy some chickens and vegetables from the Hutterite Colony, we stopped there on the way home. More on that later.

The drive over was uneventful as far as animals which is ok. We did see a prong horn and about a zillion cows, no big birds. I did however find out where dinosaur eggs come from, Egg Mountain Montana. In 1977 this is where two people who owned a rock shop found some juvenile dino bones. The funny thing with this drive is we stumbled upon the historical marker that mentions the eggs. This is all part of the Montana Dinosaur Trail. So many old bones hanging around to keep Roy company. The drive over actually had us driving on a high plateau I really felt I was on top of the world on the way home we were in the valley. Pulling into Augusta we drive through town and my first thought was cute small town.

Augusta is a town of about 500 people everyone knows everyone reminded me of Ely, NV. I had to use the rest room so what better place then a gas station. Turns out this was a combo old gas station/coffee shop/gift store. I was able to strike up a conversation with the young lady working there. I asked her what it was like living in a small town, she chuckled. They have a school that goes from k-12 and there are only 100 children attending it. She had 8 people in her graduating class. Now that is small. She also said that sometimes you run out of things to do. I told her that happens anywhere. I left after more locals started coming in and she needed to get to work. So I went exploring in the town stopped in an antique store and found a necklace made of an old spoon (this is going to make a great gift). A stop in the store next door put me in touch with an Army Linguist reason that meant something to me was when I was going to join the Army right out of high school that was what I was going to be. It was interesting to hear what might have been. I just am glad I got to serve in the Army sometime in my life. I find out that he wasn’t born and raised in Augusta so I asked why come here he said his wife was born and raised. You could tell how happy he was to have this store which was new and to live in a small town. He now works for the VA and turned me on to something I need to check out when I get home. We talked about why he did not re-enlist he was going to be deployed again and he wanted to be more at home understandable. The interesting thing is he is now in the National Guard as an officer in a chemical unit he chose that MOS because they have never deployed in recent history. Call it Kismet his unit of 13 people are deploying in September. We chuckled at the chance of that. One of his bright side comments was at least I will have my job waiting for me. It is amazing how friendly and down to earth people in this town are.

Lunch time we had a choice of 4 restaurants all bars/casinos so how do you make a choice you ask a local. On a side note; casinos are side rooms off a liquor store bar or restaurant. Each casino can have up to 20 machines and the maximum single payouts are $800. We settled on the Buckhorn which had to be a good place because the first thing I notice is they had a dart machine. The second thing I noticed was the smiling waitress. Roy noticed the gizzards and burrito on the menu. Sadly they were out of both so he settled for a burger. He did say that the burger was very good and hand pressed. I think he was ok without the gizzards. It was relaxing to be able to sit back and feel at home. The western feel to the town was also present at the Buckhorn because I think everyone had cowboy hats and boots on except for the on in rubber boots.

Heading home we took the low road and were able to barely make out the plateau we had driven on to get to Augusta. Yes we are fighting the smoke from wildfires. The sucky part of the smoke is it limits my photo ops because you can’t photograph what you can’t see. We head back towards Helena and stop at the Hutterite Colony to buy those veggies we saw on the way up. If you want to read an overview of Hutterite click here. I was expecting something similar to a road side fruit stand totally not the case. It is just that a colony you drive in and see that they have their own concrete plant, a hog processing plant, the chicken area and a green house. The reason we noticed all that is to get to the fresh veggies they take you around the whole complex. They did not have many veggies for sale some cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, and onions. I bought two onions and headed out. The onions were definitely fresh and homegrown and very good. It was interesting to see how the women were dressed and how shy they were dealing with me. I was surprised by the lack of veggies wrong season I guess to grab more veggies. I am glad I was able to get a glimpse into this colony.

When we got back to Helena we were back in the smoke bowl. It seems every year we are battling smoke or fire at sometime to put a crimp in our plans. I am ok with that because you just adjust and change plans. I do like these short side trips we have been taking hopefully we can do a few ghost towns before we leave. We do have a train/trolley ride that takes us around the capitol/historic Helena.

Hey Bear

Yes, that is what you say when you come up on a bear in Alaska. No, I am not in Alaska. I was, however at Bear Country USA in Rapid City, SD. This is a drive thru wild animal park that has lions, buffalos, and bears. No tigers maybe one day I will get to Africa. I do have to say I was impressed with the amount of wide open spaces were provided for the animals in a near urban environment. After entering the gate and reading the rules, one rule was; pull to the side when taking pictures so cars can go around you. That rule was not observed by many, that was ok because it gave me more opportunity to take mountain lion pictures. I am getting ahead of myself though. Another rule was to leave your windows up at all time. On the flier you get upon entering it states ‘Stay in your cage the animals roam free here.’ There are no fences, so it is possible that you could have a visitor in your window. That might not be fun, although someone would get awesome pictures (just kidding).

The first animals right inside the gate is rocky mountain elk it was amazing the size of some of the bucks racks. The photos do not tell the whole story. This is where we encountered our first of many traffic snarls. This one was animal crossing the road. They are bigger so yes they have the right to go anywhere. We see a few reindeer hanging out by the cattle guard that separate the sections.

Around a curve we come upon two artic wolves lounging on a rock. It was a tad warm for wearing a fur coat so I understand not wanting to move. The next two animals were in hiding dall sheep and timber wolves. One of the wolves were on the passenger side of the car but I could not get a good picture.

The big horn sheep did not disappoint me with a baby who was nursing.

The nursing seems to be a repeating theme this year. I am ok with this because it is special to see the interaction between mother and baby. I was also entertained by one of the kids trying to balance on a stump just using three legs.

People who know me, know I have a few animals I still need to capture, (preferably in the wild). One being the polar bear the other is the mountain lion. After seeing the mountain lion behind a couple of electric fences I am ok with not seeing this one in the wild.

As we were driving by the enclosure one of the big cats were cranky and you could hear her displeasure quite clearly. Most of the lions were hanging out sleeping in concrete culvert I am thinking wow pretty kitty. I see the head and paws of the lion in the corner and my thought is yes this is close enough. I still want to see a polar bear in the wild.

Onward slowly to the bears because we have a bear walking down the road next to cars, he got off the road before he made it to our car. The path wound around a few man made culverts and tree structures that the bears seemed to enjoy. One that got some use was the ‘lake’ I was able to catch a bear getting out of the water.

On the way out of the bear area we had our own flasher bear. I think he was trying to hide behind a blade of grass. We finished up the trip by me dodging the rain drops to pick up some special things for my friends back home. This is well worth the trip if you are ever in Rapid City. It is not your normal zoo.

Not My Kind of Excitement

Imagine sitting in your trailer listening to the jets over head and the lawn mowers mowing outside then you here smack, thud. Well, Roy and I did not have to imagine it. This is exactly what happened to us. We are staying at Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City, South Dakota and this week the big boys are playing so maybe I might catch one or two on camera. Last night all we saw were the afterburn from the engines as they took off. (That is a story for another day.) Back to the excitement at hand.

I will say I do not remember ever seeing safety glass shatter and spider web like this, so it did its job. This is one time I am glad I overslept, we were to be headed up to Deadwood and wanted an early start. I just could not get moving so I got Roy up saying sorry I just couldn’t get going. So, I’m in my pjs drinking coffee and figuring out when we want to go or if we want to go, when the rock struck the window on the slide side of the trailer where we have two windows. Guess what, decision made home we stayed.

The funny in a weird way thing is not more than a minute before this happened, I was getting warm and decided to turn on the air, so all the windows had to be closed. If the window was open the whole thing could have ended up on the ground in a million pieces, or it could have come through the screen. I spring into oh my do I need to get dressed before I run out there, put on shoes, or just go. I decided to just go. I can’t run so I am waddling trying not to fall down, I have to catch him and get his attention. After a few hand gestures on my part he turned off the mower and took out his earplugs. His comment to me was I couldn’t have done it I am over here, but I will call my manager. I grabbed my phone and snapped a few pictures and waited.

The manager came and was very apologetic, which was nice. There was no question what happened and that they would get a glass place to fix it while we were here. That sounded great, until you checked all the boxes. She comes back and says they could replace it except due to ‘COVID’ they can’t get the glass so it would be about 3 weeks, they will make it right. So we thought if we could get Lance (trailer manufacturer) to overnight the glass would that work. Yes, someone could install it. We call Lance come to find out you can not just replace the glass you have to do both windows frame and all. Only problem they have none in stock and it is a 3 to 6 week wait. So that would not work either.

The result of all this is we now have a window that has sticky stuff over it to keep all the pieces together and an appointment to get it replaced in September. I do have to say this is one time I am glad my body said you are not getting up. If everything went as planned we would have been gone and wondered what had happened. In the end no one was hurt and all is well.

Raindrops and Rainbows

I learned a lesson never leave the trailer without a camera. We are spending our last night in Wall SD on the edge of the Badlands NP so we headed to dinner in Quinn. Quinn is the next town over and the sign states population 44, there is a steak house and bar – 2 Bit Saloon and Steakhouse (yes I did get a t-shirt). This place made Roy and I feel so at home the first time, we came back for a dinner a couple of nights later. That is when the rain came.

I have to say this summer we have encountered more rain then any of our other trips. It is enjoyable to listen to the thunder and watch the lightening although hearing hail is not a nice sound. This did happen one of the nights we were in Wall. Tonight though the cell that passed over Wall and Quinn had no hail only thunder and lightening and lots of rain. So after dinner we decided to take a drive to the Badlands and see erosion in progress. Wind and water has been working their magic on these mountains for eons.

So the sun came out on our way out of the park and we got lucky with a double rainbow. I am so glad I had my cell phone and can share the rainbow and cloudburst pictures. There is also a picture showing RVs camping on the wall that overlooks the Badlands. This is a boondocking site and it is on the side of the cliff, amazing views for sure and extremely popular.

So enjoy the pictures and I promise to bring a camera with me everywhere.

Animals Out In Front

of our dashcam. This year we have really been able to catch the animals running out in front of us. I have enjoyed being able to go back and get second and third glances of animals, or things I thought were animals. It is a plus when they hang out in front of the car because I can share these with you. I grew up in the Midwest so I have a little experience with deer running out in front of the car. I will say it is usually at night from a flat corn field. I will preface the video with I am glad Roy is the driver, because I would have thrown my hands up and screamed because I thought it was close. (it wasn’t that close)

https://videopress.com/v/29zB8638?preloadContent=metadata

Jumped Right Out There

During our stay at Custer we were also treated to a jokester who was this turkey kept wanting to weave back and forth. I think he was a wild turkey who was drinking his own brand. (remember my story lol). This guy trotted in front of us and then would not let us pass first one side of the road and then the other side of the road. This was a road less traveled in Custer State Park. I think it occurred when we were looking for you guessed it buffalo.

https://videopress.com/v/IJDGBpdH?preloadContent=metadata

Turkey Trot

https://videopress.com/v/jGGtXRCC?preloadContent=metadata

Double Cross

Also during one of our many dirt road adventures we came around a corner and saw a mom and baby pronghorn running like the wind. I never did see what was chasing them or what spooked them I do know I caught it on dashcam.

https://videopress.com/v/ScHEGNmu?preloadContent=metadata

Run

This buffalo I want to share with you did not cross in front of the car he did get close though. We were just driving up the road minding our own business, ok we were out just for an after dinner drive. I see this large black spot getting closer and closer I realize buffalo, (side note here why are the backsides so narrow?) so we slow down and watch. Roy also makes a U-turn so I can get a better picture with my cellphone, because I forgot my camera. I also wanted to show the right way to not be blocked by anything in the car when taking a picture, the kid in the sun roof has the right idea.

Living Large

The dash cam is still delivering and I will be sharing more of these adventures in the next few blogs, plus you can always find them under the 2021 videos tab.

There are Always a Few

People who cross your path out of the blue. That is what has happened again this trip, in fact just the morning we were leaving Custer State Park we had an encounter. Originally we had planned to drag our black and gray tanks which were full up to Rapid City and dump them there as we had full hook-ups. Well we have had a few plans that have changed or been rearranged this trip, all part of going with the flow. We decided to go to the dumpsite in the park which turned out to be a good thing.

It gives me hope that people can still be friendly and happy even after the year we have all had. Long story short we get to the hardly used dumpsite and a R-Pod pulled in behind us they were honest that they were newbies. So after they got turned around to use the second dumpsite, Roy was able to lend a hand to help them out. This is of course after we find out he is rich oh wait his name was Rich. You know how easily we get confused. It was nice to be able to share some information with people who were searching for answers.

I already gave a shout out to Micah I mean Rust and his piece of mica. They sent me a video of ladybugs swarming on a rock and on Rust. I would have screamed like a girl, his giggles were contagious.

We also encountered Nancy a waitress who works at Blue Bell Lodge she seemed so happy and relaxed the first night she waited on us. It was funny we made an instant connection, her attitude was what clicked for us. We did not eat there every night but when we did she was the bomb! The night before we left she came over to visit with us and I was able to share some of my pictures with her. We talked about how peaceful and how much this place feels like a bubble. It sure did I can’t believe we got to experience that feeling for almost a month.

The funniest one for me though was an example of small world I hobbled up from our campsite to take pictures I needed to get out of the road because a truck was coming, so I popped into a campsite to be out of the way. It happened to be their campsite. So what would a chatty Cathy do. Yup chat. First thing I always ask is where are you from. They say Wisconsin. I say where they say Stevens Point. I say Fond du Lac. They inform me that they know Fond du Lac well, in fact that is where their last three trucks came from. Lenz auto as a matter of fact, small world I went to school with Donna Lenz. (school memories came flooding back). We chatted for a little while and never did know each others name. Just a strange connection.

Being back in civilization is a small shock to the system. I do think I will be able to catch up on pictures and add some of the videos I’ve taken this past month.

I am enjoying meeting people as much as I am taking pictures this summer

SNAKE … eek

Yes, I did see one and it was semi close. On this outing there were animals that we had rarely seen or been able to capture with the camera. I need to mention it was another rainy day. We drove around it after I got a picture of course. (I try never to let a photo-op pass me by). Roy asked if I wanted to get out for a close-up or a selfie. My response was um, no I have a zoom for that plus my selfies need practice. Seriously, though if anyone can identify the snake I would be happy. This is one of those instances when you hear we have snakes in the park so be careful where you step, my thought was sure. My thought is I guess I will be careful when I step out of the car especially around the prairie dogs because that is where they hang out.

I had never thought about it before, but where do adult turkeys come from? Before you answer I bet you never thought about it either. Yes, they come from baby turkeys. The other day when we were driving around we saw an adult turkey with chicks but were not able to capture them on camera. (Dash cam doesn’t count in this case.) So I now have pictures after they crossed the road and dash cam of them crossing the road. So you see they do exist in the wild. We would have never captured these if it wasn’t for a detour to the Needles Highway in search of mountain goats.

I think the fact I caught the mountain goat was a one in a million shot. I am hoping on making it a two in a million shot. So the answer is no we did not see the goat. It was raining and windy at the needle eye. I did however get a few landscape pictures on the way back to camp. The sky opened to show a tad bit of blue and some detail on the needles. We also stopped at a place called ‘hole in the wall’ It was just that a hole in the wall of a rock face. So this detour led us to the turkey chicks. (not to be confused with the Dixie Chicks).

Now what brought us to even thinking about a detour and mountain goats was our trip around wildlife loop on a rainy day which was pretty much a bust. We got to the visitor’s center and saw traffic on a dirt road that buffalo usually are hiding, so off we go. The only thing we were lucky enough to see was a prong horn grazing by the side of the road. U-turn back to the visitor center, we spot a food truck check it out. We both had a buffalo brat and were treated to a buffalo sighting right in front of the car. (This is a case of dash cam counting because I have photos). Side note I talked to a family who was out here enjoying leave with their active military father. They were also lucky to catch a glimpse of the buffalo. From here we started to head back to the campsite but not before seeing the snake. Once back at camp we decided it was not time to head in so that is where the detour came in. Mixed throughout the day we spotted deer and I was able to get a few of these also.

As of July 3rd 2021 Roy has put on 1,300 miles just driving around and no more then 30 miles outside of Custer State Park. We’ve also gone through 3 tanks of gas.

Mount Rushmore revisited

I think I have seen this carving from a bunch of angles this trip. (I have pictures) It has given me an appreciation for how large and small in perspective this sculpture is. I say this because one picture I zoom in and the Presidents take up a large portion of the photo. In real life if you focus on just the sculpture it is large. Think for a moment and let your eye pull out and see the whole mountain.

I saw the size difference when I took the first picture of Mount Rushmore from a pull out on the way to the Mount. If you zoom in you say wow that is big to be able to see it from here. As you see from the zoom out you see it only covers a small piece of the mountain. I read facts like the faces are 60 feet high that is ten six foot tall men stacked one on top of the other. The noses are 20 feet long. That is very large in the scheme of things. Here is a good look at the profile of Washington. At this particular pullout point Washington is all you see.

Compare that to the fact these are all carved into granite that is 5,550 feet tall. The mount does dwarf the presidents, but it does not dwarf the achievement of the people who created Mount Rushmore. Here are 75 facts about Mount Rushmore

I have to say the ability to be able to photograph Mount Rushmore at different times of the day and night has been fun. I was able to capture a sunset and wait twenty minutes and capture the nightly lighting of Mount Rushmore. It is amazing how one National Park can change a perspective.

Maybe there is a deeper meaning here; that if you pull back and take a look at everything IT is not so big. Or maybe my mind’s eye and camera’s eye has gotten better at noticing the different perspectives of an object. Your choice.

Getting Up Early….

Nailed IT!. Yes, getting up at 7 am to get on the road to retake Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse from the Coolidge Fire Lookout Tower. The best part of this was the fact that there were very few people here and the sun and clouds were perfect. I have to say to be able to see and take a picture of Mount Rushmore that is 9 miles as the crow flies is awe inspiring. Crazy Horse is 10 miles as the crow flies. With Rushmore however you only get Washington’s profile and Lincoln’s nose and chin. It also helps to know what you are looking for. Crazy Horse instead of the usual profile from the tower you are able to get full front. The interesting thing is the equipment on that mountain I was able to capture with my camera. These pictures are from the observation deck.

After I was able to get these pictures I head back to the car where I was able to also get a different perspective of both Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. I was able to show a family the picture I took of Crazy Horse and then point it out to them with my finger. We headed down from the lookout and from a pull out I took these pictures looking back up the mountains. This area is also where most of the cell phone towers are for the park. The rest of the day was lazy we went into town to grab some much needed internet time and headed home for lunch. I was also able to catch up on my pictures and blogs. It is needed sometimes just to have a catch up sort of day. Roy, on the other hand sat outside and people watched.