Rosemary's Birthday

So, after a trip to see where my dad's buried, I thought it would be a good idea to go visit Mom where she's still alive and kicking! Today's her birthday, so we'll go out tonight (after a uneventful drive to Ft. Pierre) and have some good food and toast Mom's birthday. She's doing well and looking forward to another phase in life, maybe a big move coming soon.

Yesterday was a good day too, with the afternoon in Dell Rapids where we looked at lots of cool old cars and checked out the downtown and the old houses. We discovered that matinees at the old theater there are just two bucks and two nights a week you can get in for the same price. Cool.

A Trip to See Dad

It was a trip west into my dad's country, the high Bighorn Basin west of Buffalo, Wyoming. After a failed attempt to ride up a muddy, snowy road, after a trip up to Hyattville, where Dad grew up and where his ashes now rest, after successful ride and a long hike in and an overnight stay, brother Jess and I arrived at Lake Solitude, where Dad's dad took him, and where Grandpa Sidney's dad Tude took young Sid. So now I've been there, and I'll be back. I've got a picture of me at the lake; this one is of West Ten Sleep Lake, where we fished after giving up on the first climb. More about all that later. A good day, with calls from two kids, a tribute to the father-in-law, and some good work.

Most Systems are Go

Early summer is not warm up in Hyattville, Wyoming, where my dad's family comes from, but we're headed there anyway. We delayed the bike trip out that way until a snow storm had passed. I was ready to ride behind the plow, but brother thought it might be better done if my bike actually had treads on the rear tire, so, after a day of golf and swimming in Cascade Falls yesterday, we took the rear wheel off my Concours today and hauled it up to Rapid City, where the good boys at Powersports put a new tire on. A new filter and oil was in order, and after lunch at the Mongolian Grill, we headed home, worked the bike over, spent some time up on his little piece of heaven in the hills, and then began packing in earnest. The bikes are now ready to roll. Hyattville shows a low of 40 degrees tonight (colder certainly up on the mountain), but in the morning we're heading west, snowplow or no snowplow.

The wife reports fine times in Boston, including her succumbing to peer pressure and taking a boat into the harbor. What the heck is a duckboat doing in Boston?

On the Road in the Black Hills

Thanks to the wife for her excellent posting here about our New Ulm trip; we had a great time there and I'm glad to see the photo of her by the windows of The Bohemian, where we stayed. It's a great town and a great B&B. Oh for another taste of Bobbi's bacon!

After a stop in Ft. Pierre I'm out here in Whitewood at my sister's getting ready to be back on my bike. As noted, I ran the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon (they're calling it the MTM) yesterday and survived with about 102 minutes of running. With the recent rain, the trail was cris-crossed with running water, making even the excellent trail a muddy mess in spots. It was a real trail run! Only the old Mystic Mountain Run was more rugged.

Now I'm going to work my way south to Hot Springs, where my brother and I will pack up tomorrow and head for Wyoming on our bikes, then hike into the Cloud Peak Wilderness area. Feats don't fail me now!

Danke Schoen to New Ulm

John, who ran the Deadwood 1/2 marathon today with an even better time than the Fargo a couple of weeks back, invited me to be his guest blogger and post some pictures from our anniversary trip to New Ulm, MN. It was a quick trip, so we didn't take in all the sights, sounds, and tastes of the "most German town in the U.S." But we took in enough to know that we'll return to visit again some time.

We stayed in a wonderful b & b, the Bohemian, where Bobbi took great care of us. We took a tour of the Schell brewery, which ends with a generous beer tasting, we ate some mouth-watering spaetzle, schnitzel, and desserts (yes, plural--rhubarb bread pudding, fudge, French silk pie--if it was a sweet, we tried it), and we enjoyed poking around downtown, visiting with people. Here is a sampling of what we enjoyed.