The Same and Not the Same

Hello from Nebraska. We are now further east than we have ever been by land. 

We had a beautiful few days traveling through the Sandhills. Our first night was at Ft Robinson state park. It is a large old army fort with some interesting history. In 1877 it was the sight of Crazy Horse's murder. During WWII there was a POW camp for Germans who had been captured in Africa. We explored the park on bicycles then came back to camp for dinner. In the evening there was a free rodeo so we rode bikes to see it. 

We only got to watch a bit of team calf roping before a thunder storm including a good bit of rain came in. That sent us scurrying on our bikes back to camp. They hold the rodeos every Thursday evening through the summer. There was a nice feeling of small town community there. 

Our next stop was Agate Fossil National Monument. We took a nice walk across the windy prairie to the sight of some special fossil finds; including skeletons of over 1600 predecessors of the rhinos who lived 19 million years ago. 

Next stop Scottsbluff, a major landmark on the Oregon Trail. While there we decided to splurge on dinner and a movie. We used Trip Advisor for restaurant recommendation and it did not disappoint. We ate at the #1 rated restaurant in Scottsbluff -- The Emporium Coffeehouse and restaurant. 

Steak with a blue cheese fritter mmmm

The movie we went to was The Giver. Also good, it was a strange sensation to get lost in a movie for a couple hours and step out of the theater and have to think for a few moments "Where am I?!"

That night we did the free thing of parking at a Walmart. The only good thing about it was the price. Too much light, noise and heat! Oh well, what do I expect for free! 

Here is something new-- Carhenge. As in stone henge but made out of cars. Who knows why! 

Tonight we are at the Saunders County Fairgrounds in Wahoo. The plan is to explore some of Dan's family history area. 

The weather is humid, more thunder storms are expected and I have bites from many different bugs than plain old Mosquitos ugh. Thank goodness for air conditioning!

I do like the sunflowers though, they make me smile.  What made you smile today?

jb

Rushmore Drive-by

We have spent 4 nights in South Dakota so far. We opted out of visiting Mt Rushmore because we were there last September and we figured we could skip the experience of the summer time crowds. 

We did at least pull in for the Washington profile view though. 

While here we took the camper off of the truck so we could navigate the narrow tunnels in Custer State Park. There was not any place to park so I snapped a few "through the wind shield" photos. 

These sort of show the idea. The scary thing to us was just after we passed the longest tunnel we encountered two tour busses on coming. Seemed crazy! It is a neat drive, quite an engineering feat. A couple of the tunnels are designed so as you emerge a view of Mt Rushmore is framed. 

The last two mornings we have riden on the Michelson Bike Trail. The whole trail is 110 miles. We just did about 10 miles each day, riding out and back from Hill City one direction each day. It was a nice place to start because the trail goes up from town both ways so we always had a downhill run back to our starting point. So why is it called "Hill City"? The trail is a nice surface, fine/firm gravel. 

It looks like hops grow wild here. I wonder if local beer makers harvest them. 

jb

A Thready News Report

Here I am sewing on my featherweight on some quilt squares with a great view in front of me. This is our third and final night at America's first Nat'l Monument. I will follow with some more scenic photos, but first a few of my "Thready" work. Today I completed the squares I started sewing when we left home in June. The camper bed is not much of a design wall, but it is best I can do. 

When we left home I had lots of strip sets sewn together and a few triangles cut. Now they are 12" squares ready to go together when I get home. I have a couple more quilts "kitted-up" and ready to sew. I will work on Cathedral Stars when I get my next opportunity to take out the machine.  

The other sewing project I have on going is my half inch Christmas hexagons. 

Here is my quilt blogging idol Bonnie Hunter (of Quiltville.com) admiring my work in progress in early June. Since then I have been working on corners and edges. Hoping to find a stopping point eventually. 

Here is one of the four corners; all four are complete & waiting to go on the "mother ship". 

These two photos are of partially done edge with design notes. This is a "design build" project. Making it up as I go has worked so far. There was just one time I got a section made, didn't like it and had to back up and redo. I have not designed the top and bottom edges yet. I have over 400 hexagons to make before I need to worry about that next step. Here is one more quilt view before moving on to Devil's Tower photos. 

This has been an interesting time to be here because several thousand bikers have come and gone while we have been here. Apparently, "Devil's Tower Run" is one of the popular Sturgis Rally activities. 

This was in nearby Hulett where I visited a nice quilt shop. 

We have hiked two circles around the tower. So we saw it from many angles. Here are a few:

Magic Smoke Circle sculpture at picnic area. 

A view over prairie dog town. 

Here is one of the locals watching the wild life pass by. 

"Hey there, have a great day!"

Tomorrow we head for the Black Hills of South Dakota. We will start at Jewel Cave.   

It looks like we may be in for a thunder storm, batten down the hatches!

jb

A Visit to Greasy Grass Battleground

Known to white folks as Battle of the Little Bighorn or Custer's Last Stand. The photo above is of last stand hill. The landscape is little changed in 138 years. We took a tour put on by the Crow Agency and also listened to a ranger talk about the battle. 

This is a relatively new memorial to honor the warriors. The hills are spotted with marble markers of the places where soldiers' bodies were found. Many are in pairs where they fought back to back by hand after their ammunition was gone. 

The above quote from Black Eagle is on the side of the visitor center. 

The final thought from the ranger- "Everyone who died that day, died doing what they thought was the right thing to do. " 

"One Tin Soldier" keeps going through my head...when will we ever learn?

Peace friends.

jb

Catching up

Yellowstone River view...

I couldn't begin to tell all about Yellowstone, but most folks have either been there or heard all about it anyway. We managed to camp there 3 nights; one night at Lewis Lake and two at Norris CG. No reservations, just get there early and make friends with folks heading out. 

We exited the park through the east route towards Cody. A very nice drive and we found a place to stay along the N Fork of the Shoshone River. 

Here is where I sat and worked on my hexagon quilt for about 3 hours Sunday afternoon. It was wonderful to relax by a river and sew. Two afternoons in Yellowstone I spent a good bit of time sewing on my machine. A future post will include pictures of my progress.

We spent several hours in Cody doing boring things like checking emails, grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions and getting a haircut (for me). 

The World's Biggest Mineral Hot Spring

Yep and what a deal! 

For free you get to soak for 20 minutes in this wonderful 104 degree water. This is Hot Spring State Park in Thermopolis, WY. After two hours you are welcome to come back and soak some more. Adjacent to the bath house where we went are pools with slides etc for the high energy crowd. Here are a couple more pictures from the park area. 

We came and enjoyed the water Monday afternoon then drove south through Wind River Canyon. A beautiful and fascinating drive. I am not sure my photo shows the illusion, but the uplift of the rock walls of the canyon make it look like you are driving down stream when you are going up. 

We camped just above an old dam site, then drove back to Thermopolis for another soak. 

Our next planned destination is the national monument at the Battleground of the Little Bighorn. 

There is lots of wide open spaces in Wyoming. Statistically it is the least densely populated state. Especially near Jackson and east of Cody there are many grand "McMansions". I find my self wondering about the draw of living so far from others. Why do the wealthy seem to want to be so far from their neighbors?

jb

A Blessing

May our hearts feel the song of the meadowlark, our minds the clearness of the mountain air, and our souls the freedom of the soaring eagle. 

May our faith be renewed as the creek in spring, may we celebrate the saving redemption of the Cross in all its mysteries, may we always feel the love of the community of Christ. From service bulletin Chapel of the Transfiguration. 

We attended church at the Chapel of the Transfiguration in Grand Teton NP. The church is owned by St. John's Jackson. They have chaplains come in for one month stints in the summer. Our priest was on his final Sunday before heading back to Baton Rouge, LA. It was a packed house and a nice service. We sang three very familiar hymns. The sermon had a good message about letting go of old and embracing new. 

Here is an item at the little "country store" at the old Menor's ferry landing. It reminds me of our good friend and Dan's old classmate, Carolyn, who still sells Rawleigh products. 

We took another bike ride on the wonderful paved multi-use path. The sign below was at the beginning of the path:

Why do we have to sacrifice a child to get a safe pathway built?

jb

I did not have enough internet to load last evening so posted Monday morning. 

From Laurance S Rockefeller Preserve

"The path to wisdom invites us to walk with a humble heart, recognizing the dance between diversity and unity, action and restraint. "

Our trail head to go to Phelps Lake. 

A beautiful modern facility. 

We hiked a 7 mile loop around the lake. Lots of other hikers and many swimmers. I found a few of these: 

I would be admitting to a crime if I said I sampled them, so no confession here. :-)

The next 3 pictures- a close-up of a mosaic in the visitor center, a picture from further away then a picture from our hike. 

It is a beautiful place. 

Peace be with you. 

jb