Flashback Friday

After my Utah trip in July, I rested for a couple weeks and then headed out again to South Dakota. My route was 74 to the outskirts of Omaha then catch Interstate 29 up to Sioux City. From there Route 18 West through Winner, South Dakota, and Wounded Knee. From there, up to Rapid City, Deadwood, see Mount Rushmore, and head back East on Interstate 90.

I have about 3 layers of clothes on for my pictures at Mount Rushmore. I made the trek in the morning and it was cold. I stayed overnight at a KOA in Deadwood in my one-man tent. They were advertising a Hot August Nights bash downtown so I hopped on a trolley and enjoyed a night listening to some oldies groups and a couple one-hit wonders, still touring for some Boomer nostalgia. I can't find who were the headliners and groups that night but there were some recognizeable songs.

They sold beer on the sidewalk so I stayed and enjoyed the night. However, once back at my tent I kept having to go to the bathroom and I had to walk over rocks and it was down the way quite a bit. When I did get some sleep by the time I woke up it had frosted. Besides that, there was condensation inside my tent dripping down on me. A most uncomfortable night. This was the last straw on my tent phase. From that day forward my mission was to find cheap mom-and-pop motels: roughing it is vastly overrated.

Mount Rushmore is one of those things I think need to be seen. The presentation is almost as cool as the Mount itself. You enter a large stone area with some artifacts then walk down a long viewing walkway with all the flags of the Union lined on the sides. Then as you are paying attention to those things, you come smack-dab on one of the most iconic creations of the nation. Just about takes your breath away. I found a nice looking family guy to take my picture in front of the carving.

My third trip of the summer would end a few days from these pictures, but I would be off again in a few weeks, the fourth and final trip of this summer, to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to a Kawasaki bike rally. My ass and my wrist find long hauls a little tougher these days but for one summer, it was all I could do to keep in the saddle.

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Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the facts of the murder and attempted murder are most unpleasant

Summer Swim

It's Monday and the start of another work week. Except for me. I have the week off because the parents of my daycare charges are taking the week off, too. This is one of those wordless posts I love on Mondays so I can put my laziness in full view of loyal readers. These pics need no words. Why muddy the waters? They were taken at the pool at Sinkhole Estates aka Death Valley. The nice thing about this pool is it is heated in winter. If one must find positives in one's situation, I suppose that is one. But, please, no more.

Florida Air Museum - Part 3

Welcome back to a pretty neat tour of the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland Florida. There's a lot to see and a couple of the old Geezer Gold Wing guys are already sitting down instead of walking around looking at the exhibits. That's John who is wore out and making a call to his wife. In all honesty, John was pretty well bushed before the ride. He told me his daughter's family was down from one of the Carolina's with the grand kids and he must have played with them too much. He's about to take off on his own and head for home, but he's going to miss a couple of neat things out on Hangar A. But, before we walk over there, we have lots yet to see here. If you saw The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, you'll remember that he went up in a plane during the filming of one of his movies to prove a point about flying. He crashed trying to execute a roll and this is a picture of the plane he crashed. Note the propeller

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