North Platte is where the Railroad meets the Wild West and we had to hang on for the show. This was to be a Rodeo stop so our born and bred Texas friend could attend his first rodeo. That is correct, this man from the Lufkin, TX area had never been to a rodeo and we wanted to correct that and make him a “True Texan”! Continue reading
As the song says, “Don’t call him a cowboy until you’ve seen him ride.” So, how can you claim to be a Texas until you’ve been to a Rodeo? We have a friend who is from Texas. Now this is distinct and separate from being a Texan. He grew up in Texas and even owned horses at one point. But. . . I found out he had NEVER been to a Rodeo! Of course I had mercy on him, never teased him, or introduced him as, “my friend from Texas who has never been to a rodeo.” As circumstance would have it we met he and his wife (otherwise a really nice person) in Custer, SD for a three week visit. They are fulltime RVers and we’re fulltime wannabes. In RVing from Custer to Texas we found out that the NE State Association Rodeo Finals were taking place about the time we’re making our way thru the state. So North Platte, NE, here we come – -Rodeo and all. Continue reading
As we rounded the curve on US Highway 16 outside of Custer, SD, there was Crazy Horse. His face looking out over the Black Hills, “My lands are where my dead lie buried.” As the monument progresses, eventually he will point to the black hills as well. Continuing through the entrance to the park and down the Avenue of the Chiefs, and closer to Crazy Horse, the enormity of the monument became apparent. Continue reading
The enormous majestic animals lumbered through the field, across the road and into another field. They had a grace unto themselves. Their big eyes seemed to look right through us like they knew what we were thinking. They were beautiful with their massive fur, staring eyes and grunting as they made their way to an unknown destination. Continue reading
The morning dawned cool; perfect for a farmers market in South Dakota. As most of you realize, we are addicted to farmers markets. If we are in an area with a farmers market we will be there when the market opens. So off to downtown Custer we went to shop the Custer Farmers Market.
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The train pulls out of the station at 10 mph, chugging and puffing into the Black Hills of South Dakota. The steam locomotive of the 1880 Train not only moves you forward, it transports you back over 100 years to a time of gold mines, Wild West personalities and virgin wildernesses. Continue reading
Proud to be an American!
Mount Rushmore
It’s smaller than we envisioned but no less impressive! Yesterday we had a chance to visit one of our nation’s most visible and memorable landmarks, Mount Rushmore. Crazy Horse, from the road (we have not visited the site yet) looks massive so we expected the same of Rushmore — not so. Yet the feelings of pride in the USA were undoubtedly there at such a massive artistic accomplishment.
Today marks four weeks on the road and four weeks to go on our “Trial Run” to full time RV travel. It has reflected life with ups, downs, and moments of boredom. We’ve seen fantastic sights certainly not found in South Louisiana, met wonderful people (plus a few toads), and certainly have a list of places to see ‘next time’. We’ve planned on staying places which we passed on for various reasons, stayed at places we would rather have not stopped at, and sometimes traveled farther in a day than we had planned. Continue reading
When you’re from the lowlands of Louisiana, having your morning coffee with a majestic view of the Rockies in the distance is awe inspiring. Our perch at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont, CO, gave us a view of the mountains being painted by the rising sun in the morning and a silhouette in the evening. This morning was different. We packed a picnic lunch and set out to explore Trail Ridge Road in the Rocky Mountain National Park.
On our trip from Bear Lake we stopped in Estes Park to have lunch and see the sights. One of the main sights is The Stanley Hotel which sits high overlooking the town of Estes Park. F. O. Stanley, of the famed Stanley Steamer, came to Colorado in 1903 for health reasons.
