Saturday, October eve!! Today is the last day of September which means that this year is rapidly passing. Only three months left of 2017 -- wow!

Today was another tourist day here in the Black Hills. We began the morning with the pancake breakfast that the motel offers. It was tasty and filled us up to start out sweeping some great places. We started out by going to the Crazy Horse Mountain memorial that is being built and literally carved out of the mountain much as was done years ago when they made Mt. Rushmore. A fellow started carving on that mountain I think back in 1941 or so and it is aa family operation. The whole thing is privately funded and through donations and tours and revenue gathered at the gate. But, the family has expanded their operation to the point that it now included a medical school for Native Americans. The memorial is of Chief Crazy Horse, a Lakota War Chief but it is dedicated top all tribes of the Native American people. I seriously doubt I'll live long enough to see it finished but generations from now will be able to see a wonderful tribute.

After Crazy Horse, we went to Mt. Rushmore. We have been there before but it is always great to see it. I just stand there in awe at the work that has been done to create that monument. And I stand in awe at what it represents: George Washington; the father of our country;  Thomas Jefferson; author of the our Declaration of Independence, Theodore Roosevelt; Father of our National Parks and Abraham Lincoln; the great emancipator from the civil war. The monument represents the vision and promise of this nation and each of these presidents stood tall when adversity came at them from every direction.

Tomorrow we head out for Cody Wyoming. As usual, I ask for your prayers for our safe travel. Tomorrow is Sunday and our church service will consist of travel and being grateful to God for the wonders of this world. In the mean time, I pray for peace in your soul.

Friday afternoon in Custer, South Dakota. The long awaited day has come and gone. Ms. Kate and I set the alarms for 0500 to get up, get dressed and head out to the buffalo roundup. Of course that means we slept light and got up around 0430, and were out of the door by 0515. We got to Custer State Park and joined the long, (miles long) line of folks waiting for them to open up the area gate at 0615. I had a breakfast of pancakes and sausage and coffee out on the prairie which amped up my cowboy spirit.

The event was fairly short lived once they actually started moving the buffalo our direction. We had watched them gather different herds into a central gathering spot off on a distant hillside. At about 1000 they started moving the entire herd our direction. It was an awesome sight and was well worth the trip, worth the getting up early, worth chilling our fannies off in the morning air and 50 degree breeze cooled air. I have no idea how many people were out there to witness the roundup, suffice it to say there were thousands of people along the fence lines. We could have waited around and caught a bus down to the corrals and watched them work with them down there but decided we had seen what we came to see. So, we headed out, and stopped by the Blue Bell Lodge for lunch. There is one less buffalo somewhere out there becaue I had buffalo stew for lunch. I used to go to the Blue Bell lodge when I was a kid and traveling with my parents. They would stay in one of the cabins.

We have tonight and tomorrow night yet here in the motel. It is a fairly nice place. The beds are comfortable and the staff is friendly. We've had a flock of wild turkeys and a deer here in the yard this afternoon.

Tomorrow we plan to go to Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse mountain. Sunday we head out for Cody Wyoming. All of this just keeps me in touch with the Holy Spirit. Being out in nature is such a wondeerful thing to do. Feeling the sun on your face and smelling the fresh air out here in the mountains is a wonderful thing. That, however, doesn't take a single thing away from my mornings sitting in my sunporch watching all my critters in the backyard buffet. It is just a different kind or level of enjoyment.

So, as I travel, please keep me and Ms. Kate in your prayers for safe travel. We'll do the same for you and your activities in your daily life. God is always there no matter where you are, Traveling like this is simple proof in the pudding. Jonah might run, but Jonah can't hide. LOL Peace.

Thursday evening and we are in Custer, South Dakota at the Bavarian Inn. It is a pretty nice little place which is a good thing since we are going to be here three nights. Tomorrow morning at "zero dark thirty" we need to be up and on the road into Custer State Park. So, we plan to be up by 0500 and get ready quickly. We expect there will be a long, long line of traffic going into the park for the buffalo roundup. I asked the lady at the front desk what time we should be up and gone and she told us that if we want to be down by the corrals, we'll need to be leaving by 0400. However, to be up on the hills where we can see everything that is going on we need to be on the road by 0630 at the latest. So, we'll go to bed a little early tonight and hit it running in the morning. The actual roundup doesn't start until 0930. But they sell breakfast in they park at the roundup so I'll be glad to eat cowboy style in the morning. By the time you read this I'll be well immmersed in buffalo or maybe it will all be over . Wish you could be here with us.

We toured the Badlands National Park today. We've been there before but it never gets old. As we drove into the park there was a large herd of mountain goats eating right beside the road and even holding up traffic while they just rambled back and forth across the road. Ms. Kate and I have traveled all over the United States and I never cease to be amazed at the wonders of this country. It amazes me how different the landscape and topography is as we travel across from state to state. Yesterday we were seeing farmland and crops and flatland to rolling hills. Today we were seeing barren ragged terrain that is called The Badlands for a very good reason. God is quite the artist and His beautiful creations are unforgettable.

We are blessed to have beautiful weather too so far while we are here. I hope it holds up. Time to go to bed and get my beauty sleep. The buffalo won't wait for latecomers. Have a blessed day.. Peace.

Good evening from Wall, South Dakota. We put in 655 miles today and it was a lovely day to do so. My thermometer in the Caddy sat on 60 degreees out side for about the first four hours and then we got out of the cloud cover and into the sunshine and it went up to 70 and sat there the rest of the day. It is currently 53 degrees outside here in Wall and is going down to 44 tonight. I call that good fall weather.

We got to South Dakota and the speed limit went up to 80 mph That certainly made the trip go a little quicker. It also helped that there was little to no traffic on the interstate.  We saw a lot of crops in the fields as we made our way north and west today. However, of all the crops wwe saw, I'd easily say that less than one percent of them had been harvested even though it looked like they could have been. The coolest crops we saw were the fields and fields of sunflowers. By now they are hanging their heads over as they ciontinue to dry. I would really like to se how they harvest them.

If you have never been to Wall, SD you would probably enjoy it at least once. Wall became famous because of the local gas station in in the 1930's gave away free ice water to visitors and coffee at the diner was a nickle. It's funny how a thing like that can catch on and become tradition. Wall Drug Store has now become a megaplex facility with all kinds of stores and restaurants and a chapel for travelers. It is "the place to go". So, if you drive through South Dakota and need a good break, stop by Wall Drugs.

Tomorrow we head out to the Badlands for a drive and then on to Rapid City and the Black Hill and Custer State park. For the next three days we'll be in and around that area. I'll write when I get time. Until then, Peace.

Good morning! I'm coming to you this morning from Columbia, Mo. It is kind of a hazy and sunny morning and I have no idea yet how warm it may be out there. I reckon we'll find out soon when we head out.

We have an incredibly short travel day, only about 125 miles. We took off yesterday around noon from home so we could get through and around St. Louis before the rush hours and the start of any demonstrations that might be planned for the day. It is a dang shame that people have to plan their travels around places because some group might be protesting and or rioting somewhere. But, we made it safely to Columbia and had a good noight's sleep. And of course we started out our day with our Comfort Inn and Suites waffles, and biscuts and gravy. Tonight we are going to be in Independence, MO. I would love to be able to go farther but our room was arranged early in our planning and our room rate is non-refundable. Tomorrow we will have a long travel day so I reckon we'll be up early. We need to make Wall, SD by tomorrow night. I think that will be almost 600 miles. However, once we get into South Dakota I think the speed limit jumps up to 80 mph.

We've notice that there is a lot less fall harvesting being done over here in Missouri. It will be interesting to see what the harvest rate will be like as we travel on up through to South Dakota and across that state. I'm not sure what crops are planted in SD. I think they do a lot of wheat but don't know if they do corn and beans. I know Nebraska and Kansas does a lot of sunflowers. They're the folks that are responsible for keeping my birds happy.

I guess I might as well get ready to put the stuff in the car and then get us on the road. Maybe we'll find a few geocaches as we travel today. We always look for cemeteries to go to because there is usually a geocaches at the edge of the cemeteries.

Until tomorrow or whenever I get to you next, I pray you will have full and blessed days. Peace.

Happy Monday morning to you. I hope you have an excellent week planned full of joy and happiness. It is a warm morning already around here and I think the temperature is going up to ninety degrees again today Summer really is making alast gasp effort to hang on despite the fal that is is autum already.

We had a busy weekend filled with chores and guests dropping by the house. For a visit. How often does that happen any more to have someone just drop by to visit? I think that "living rooms" have practically become a thing of the past. We have a living room where one would normally ((at least in "olden" days) sit and visit with company, and we have a "family room" where we watch TV and visit with folks and we have the sunporch which is where we really sit to visit if folk come by. Saturday our pastor came by for a visit and he and I sat out in the sunporch for a couple of hours and visited.

Ms. Kate has already made an apple pie this morning. As soon as we get cleaned up and the last of the packing done and in the car, we are heading off on our vacation today. Yes, I know it is a day early, but that is the way we are. We'll head out and get through St. Louis today and spend the night in Columbia, MO. Tomorrow night we'll bee in Independence , MO and that will be the last of the "big cities" until we start heading back home and a week or so. Wednesday will be a 600 mile travel day which for us is a long day. After that it will be short days and lots of sight seeing.

So, --- my writing will be somewhat sporadic for the next couple of weeks but I will try to keep you informed of what we are seeing as we go along so you can vacation with us. Of course, this coming Friday is the Buffalo Roundup which prompted  this whole trip in the first place.

I ask that you keep us in your prayers for safe travel as we zip along the highways and by-ways. And I will keep each of you in my prayers that you have good days full of the joy of God Almighty. Pray also for our nation and other nations that peace may become the watchword of the day. As my favorite song lyrics say, "Let there be peace on earth, --- and let it begin with me."

See ya' on down the road. Peace.

Good Friday morning to you. I hope your day has started off as sunny and bright as mine has. Again today the sky is cloudless and it is already warm this morning. It is supposed to go up to 90- again today. That's fine by me as I did my yard work yesterday; well some of it anyway. I got the leaves raked up again and the yard mowed, front an back. I suspect that the grass will be going dormant soon and then the only reason to be running the Deere back here will be to mulch up the leaves. Then before you know it, it will be time to put the mowing deck aside and put the snow blade on and wait for winter weather to get here. As you may remember, last year my snow blade never saw a flake of snow. If I do any yardwork today, I may go ahead and cut back the peonies and the rest of the phlox. At the end on the season they get really full of mildew and the blooms are all gone. Even the hummingbird leaves them alone now. The end of September is the time to cut it all back.

Ms. Kate has to go get a perm this morning and then I guess we are going to go do a little shopping for things that we want to take along on our vacation. A week from today is the big roundup and I get more excited about oit every day. I watched the Smithsonian tape of it again last night. It will be fabulous to see in person. Of course, that is just one of the things that we are anxious to see and do while we are gone. I saw that South Dakota has a new monument called The Dignity Sculpture that is close to Rapid City. From the pictures, it look marvelous. I hope we have time to see that. And, I'm hoping the weather is clear enough and the roads are clear enough for us to go see some side roads in and around the Grand Tetons.

I refilled the backyard buffet again yesterday so I have a lot of company this morning. I had one red headed woodpecker just fussing and fussing at me yesterday as I was filling feeders. I guess it was anxious for me to refill the bark butter feeders because as soon as I finished, here it come. The birds are not shy about letting me know what they like and don't like by their actions. They will be waiting for me when I get back from vacation and will fuss because the feeders will all be empty by then. But, as I have said before, sometimes I wait until they completely empty a feeder any way just so the residue in the bottom of the feeders doesn't mold.

It is time for me to get out of my chair and get myself dressed and ready for the day. I need to start gathering up stuff to put in my suitcase. The long pole in the tent of course is to try to figure out what the weather will be like. We could end up packing all wrong.

I would urge to you to continue prayers for all of the folks that are dealing with the aftermath of the natural disasters that have occurred around the country and the world. I would also ask you to join me in prayer for our nation as we again go through a period of social unrest and demonstrations and riots.  Much of the nation's people are having a hard time adjusting to the actions and programs of the president. The last president was a man who instituted all kinds of welfare and feel-good programs and he was in offfice for eight years. This president is a man who says people need to works for a living and has ended many of those programs. It is causing a lot of national strife. Let's pray that we can come together like adults and bring peaceful resolutions to it all.

Have a wonderful weekend. Peace.