I find it difficult to verbally explain the Badlands. It seems silly to simply say they are "bad", but that would be an acceptable word if one were driving a mule team or a wagon across the prairie and came upon them. Such an excursion into the west would promptly come to a halt.

They aren't mountains, but they are up and down and steep and rugged. There are peaks and valleys and crevices and colors in the rock. There is not much vegetation though they say that they come alive at dusk and dawn, the cooler hours.

We entered and drove the loop. Much of the national park is not accessible by road, but the road, like most of our national parks, is where the people stay. There were numerous overlooks and the loop ended, for us, at the visitor center. There was lodging of some sort near the visitor center and a store and expensive gas and a video at the visitor center telling about the park and a ranger lady that I talked to for awhile because I want to be a park ranger at a national park. It seems rather unlikely though being a campground host is attainable.

Leslie, the kids, and I walked out some into the Badlands. There are many places to sit and contemplate alot of things.

While in the park at the first stop, the Pinnacles Overlook, I met a young man and struck up a word with him because he rode up on a bike.

"How long have you been riding?"

"What day is it?"

"Tuesday."

" Then, we have been riding four weeks yesterday."

Silence.

They started from New York City. Three friends, attending three different New York colleges, all turning twenty years old, and they thought, "If we are going to do it then now is the time."
They were headed to Seattle by way of Glacier National Park. They camped everywhere though they made a stop in Chicago and somewhere else I don't recall.

After the park, we headed back the way we came, Interstate 90.

Next, the Needles Highway and Custer State Park.

Wall Drug.

Located in Wall, South Dakota, the "drug" store is actually a large mall. Part Golden Corral, Stuckeys, First Monday Trade Days in Canton, and amusement park, Wall Drug began, according to their story, as a stopping place for people traveling the highway. Things weren't going well so they began offering water for 5 cents. People stopped and have kept stopping.

We stopped on our way to Badlands. We explained the place to the other members of our family, who have not been to South Dakota before, as a place not worth it's own visit but worth a stop if traveling somewhere else. The exit for Wall also is the same for the western entrance to Badlands National Park.

We timed our stop to coincide with lunch so we ate and walked around for awhile. There was one of those areas in the rear of the store where there are holes in the concrete and water shoots out of the holes in an unpredictable manner. Jeb and Erin "dodged" the water. After we ate, we allowed them to get as wet as they wanted.

Leslie and I first visited Wall Drug over thirteen years ago on our first trip to South Dakota. We, then as now, were traveling to the Badlands. We knew nothing of the place but were pelted with signs on Interstate 90 advertising the place to such a frenzy that it became a must stop.

Next, Badlands. I would write more, but we are on our way to Babe's Chicken House.

While in South Dakota, the one place we all knew we would visit was Mount Rushmore. We arrived in Custer, SD, on Saturday evening. We went to church at the Black Hills Church of Christ Sunday morning and then went first to see the Crazy Horse Memorial.

This is a large carving in rock similar to Mt. Rushmore except that it is:

1. Of Crazy Horse
2. To be larger than Rushmore
3. Not finished
4. Not nearly finished

The memorial was started years ago by a man now deceased at the invitation of some elder indians of the Lakota tribe. The project has been a continued endeavor of his wife and children, 7 of his 10 children. The project accepts no public/government funds, only private, so the pace of completion is staggeringly slow, but this seems to be no big deal to the family. Being true to the initial vision and purpose are more important, and the family seems to recognize that they will not finish this in their lifetime. The assumption is that future descendants will carry on the carving to completion.

The sight provided more than I anticipated it would. There was a large visitor center, a sculpting studio, a nice museum of indian artifacts, and a place where local indians sold their art work. The plan is to have a school of indian studies among other things.

We left and drove through the Black Hills and Keystone, SD, to Mount Rushmore. We timed our arrival so that we could stay until a ceremony that occurs nightly at 9:00. The ceremony includes a ranger program, a patriotic video, a call to all veterans to the stage, a singing of the national anthem by all in attendance, a lowering of the flag, and the folding of the flag by all of the veterans gathered on stage. During the video portion, gradually, the faces of Rushmore are illuminated. This is referred to generally as the "lighting ceremony."

Prior to this ceremony, we watched a video about the construction/carving, walked through some exhibits, visited the memorial store, bought some ice cream to share, and walked a trail that runs below and closer to the memorial and has some great views. A popular stop in the exhibit area is a mechanism where the patron pushes down on a explosion thing and simulated on the screen of the monitor is an explosion of dynamite blowing off some of the rock. Very popular.

Tomorrow, Wall Drug and Badlands National Park.

Corn syrup, corn meal, corn starch, cereals with corn, corn itself, popcon, ethanol. That is our list of uses of- corn. On the Sandhills Scenic Byway and for many more miles elsewhere, fields of corn. More than I would have imagined had I been asked previous to the trip to imagine the most corn I could.

One interesting tidbit. Gasoline, in some spots in Nebraska, was cheaper for the mid-level grade than for the cheapo regular unleaded because the premium, mid-grade, had 10% ethanol. Obviously trying to increase the demand for ethanol/corn in children of the corn country. Naming the Nebraska football team "cornhuskers" is no longer a mystery to me. And, by the way, this trip was the first time in years I bought anything other than the cheapest gasoline.

Through with our travel of the byway in the town of Alliance, we ate at an Arby's before heading north through Chadron and into the Black Hills through a torrential wind/rain storm pulling into the Rodeway Inn in Rapid City, South Dakota, at about 7:30ish. Sustenance was at a Perkin's Family Restaurant across the road from the Rodeway, and Sonic not 50 yards down the road.

Now, I am tired since it is 9:15 and we just arrived home in Keller from this trip that I am telling about. We started home this morning at 8:34 from the Motel 6 in North Platte, Nebraska.

Tomorrow, I will share our Black Hills stops.

When was the last time you saw a "Weigh Station" on the highway that was open?

South Dakota

Awhile back, my side of the family planned a trip to South Dakota. Discussions started taking place in the fall about visiting Mount Rushmore and the area around.

We left on Friday, July 20th, and we all met in Oklahoma City since we were all travelling from different starting points. There we ate at a Cracker Barrel.

Our three car caravan had plans to make it to Grand Island, Nebraska, but we fell 41 miles short and holed up in a Holiday Inn in York, Nebraska. I know of York only from my Harding days when some would speak of a Christian college in York and from Jack Graham, a science teacher at Fort Worth Christian who has some family connection to it. The Holiday Inn gets 4 out of 5 stars.

I had my eyes set on a scenic road. The Sandhills Scenic Byway, otherwise known as Highway 2 heads northwest out of Grand Island. I shun interstates when possible and since there was not an interstate going where we were going, the byway seemed a good choice. After a stop, the first of several at Sonic locations and a Wal-mart/Subway breakfast sandwich stop, we left out of Grand Island (no idea on the island in Nebraska thing althought I guess it has something to do with the Platte River that runs through it) at approximately 10:00ish.

Corn in the next post. A lot of corn.

I was to post more on the Alpine Loop. However, as of this moment, I am sitting next to a heated pool where my children are swimming, and the pool is at the Bavarian Inn which is located in Custer, South Dakota, Black Hills region. The southwestern corner nestled by Nebraska on the south, Wyoming to the west.

We are on another trip.

So...the Alpine Loop. It was a fantastic trip full of memories. To expedite this portion I will sum up.

The town of Animas Forks located about at the half-way point on the loop is a ghost/mining town of several buildings. This was a popular junction on the loop since it can be accessed by many mining/four-wheel roads. The town's homes and other buildings are in great condition.

We also passed a house that is advertised in some literature as a house one time belonging to Henry David Thoreau. I doubt this greatly due to the newness of the house.

Cinnamon Pass and Engineer Pass are about 12,000 feet. The tundra terrain is stark and all three jumped, crawled, scaled the rocks all around. The wind was stiff, but they all leaned into it and played.

We visited the American Basin which was still splattered with snow that the kids played in and threw. The Basin is a jumping off point for hikers headed up Handies Peak, a 14'er. The basin was beginning to be dotted with wild flowers.

Grizzly Gulch, I think, or Wager Gulch was an area that also led to a ghost town called Crystal City. This town isn't in as good of condition as Animas Forks but the location was exceptional and we had it to ourselves.

Off of the loop, we ate at a soda shop recommended by the kid's orthodontist, Dr. David McReynolds.

Lets finish this trip here with just a little more.

After leaving Lake City, we stopped in Creede for a bite and a purchase and made it to near Alamosa when we decided to turn north to the Great Sand Dunes. The dunes stand in the shadow of Blanca Peak which is the sight of my first and failed attempt to climb a 14'er. A little about that. I attempted this climb with Brent Auvermann and Bill Walker. We met in Walsenburg, drove to the trail head, slept in the vehicles, started early up a ridiculous road, got to Lake Como, kept climbing, were not going to make it, started back down, exhausted, got in truck, drove to Walsenburg, ate a steak, drove back to Amarillo that night with B. Auvermann as we took turns sleeping in the back of his truck.

The sand dunes were a big hit. Not a location for a long stay but just right for us then. The kids climbed a large dune that they should have, did, feel proud about tackling.

Stayed in a Comfort Inn with a pool in Raton. The pool was the thing. Awoke and drove to Amarillo to visit with the Auvermanns.

I walked that afternoon around their house. We all walked to a park and talked in the early evening. The next day we were home.

That was a bit quick.

Out

The Alpine Loop is an advertised adventure. You can read about it on the web and print literature.

My first acquaintance with the loop happened in the mid 1980's on a late night drive in my white, Toyota Tercel with a friend, David Faltys, now superintendent of Carroll I.S.D., up one side of the loop toward Engineer Pass. We drove long and until dark until arriving at a farmhouse where the road became too much for the car. We headed back and began to creep ourselves out because of the ghost/mining towns that we passed and the sound of the rushing creek and then the silence and the absence of any light and no moon.

This trip was the only "for sure" thing on this vacation. Most of the time, we play it casual with little specific planning of activities. I have wanted to rent a jeep and drive down roads that most don't travel. We rented the jeep from Pleasant Valley Rentals for an acceptable sum and drove.

The loop is approximately 35 miles or so according to my memory. It is, as the names suggests, a loop. So starting in Lake City, we returned to Lake City.

Cinnamon Pass is on one side of the loop and Engineer Pass on the other. At least, generally speaking. There are sights on the way: American Basin which is a valley of wildflowers, Animas Forks ghost town, other ghost towns and abandoned cabins some with names and some without, a souvenir shop near Lake City built into an old mine selling core samples and polished rocks.

Many loop drivers plan their 6+ hour trip around a side trip to Silverton for lunch, snacks, or to buy some trinket. We packed our lunch and stayed on the loop all day.

Tomorrow more specifics.

$140.oo if you were wondering.

Cabin #3 located at Vicker's Ranch was situated next to a river and two stocked fishing ponds. Kids fishing only in the ponds. I am not much of a fisherman, but the kids wanted to try so we purchased a Zebco 33 at the Wal-mart in Durango and did some casting each day in the early evening hours. They became quite proficient at the casting, but we caught no fish which seemed to be no big deal. They enjoyed the weather and the scenery and throwing rocks into the lake while their sibling was doing the casting. The exploding of the small boulders in the vicinity of the pond in which we were "fishing" might have had something to do with the lack of fish catching.

On Friday nights, the Vickers host a complimentary meal for all of the people staying at their ranch. At 7:00, all gather in the barn appropriately decorated with animal heads, mounted fish, picnic tables, old juke box, pictures of great memories, a fireplace, and a food serving bar made of gigantic trees. Through conversation it became apparent that many of the people there that night have been regulars at the ranch for years. Several rent a cabin for weeks, months, and one lady said they usually rent one for a year. We met a couple from Texas who asked how we had heard of Lake City, and we explained. It seems that, while they are not suspicious of new comers, they are interested in how their hamlet came to anyone's attention.

The meal that night consisted of hamburgers and hotdogs cooked on a very large outdoor grill with young cowboys in slickers and cowboy hats operating as cooks. On the bar when we arrived, there were beans, cole slaw, jalapeno peppers, some other very good salad like items, green beans with Feta cheese and walnuts (tasty), onions, and a dessert table where many of the regulars brought their best dish. It was bring your own drinks though they had water coolers available.

Sometime past 7:00, Larry Vickers, who seems to be the head man now and the man who I spoke to about arrangements, walked out of the kitchen banging a spoon on a metal pan. He walks to a piano straight out of Gunsmoke, and people gather around instinctively. He welcomed all and said that they had been doing this for quite some time and that everyone had to gather and sing two verses of Amazing Grace before eating. He started it. A lady accompanied him on the piano. The first and last verse. Then people gathered up their plates walked out to the cowboy cooks and pointed to what they wanted.

There was plenty. All was good.

We walked back for some fishing/rock throwing and then played a game with dominoes called ChickenFoot by the fire built with Aspen Wood. After that, the game was Greenie Weenie. Erin was the Greenie Wienie. You might be able to decipher from the name that one might not want to be the Wienie.

About the arrangements with Larry. On our first day, I walked in and introduced myself. We shook hands. He told me we were in #3, and their was no key. "Have a great time."

The next post = The Alpine Loop.

Taco Bell.

It has been my experience that this eatery is the worst at getting an order incorrect. It matters not whether one is dining in or going through the drive-thru.

I don't believe it is the fault of the food technicians. The counter associates. The food handlers. It is the fault of Taco Bell, Inc.

Here's why. They have too many items on their menu. They are introducing new items constantly. Just recently they introduced the chicken taquito with a steak option. Remember the thingy with the hard taco inside of the soft taco?

The counter people are confused. They hear someone order a chimmiquitolupa grande and their brain freezes. Is that the one with the hard and soft shell combo? The one with just bean dip spread on a hard shell? The soft wrap dipped in cheese? What is a person to do?

When was the last time you heard a campaign by McDonalds introducing a new item. Burger King? Now, tonight Wendy introduced the Baconimter or Baconsomething. They will run it out there for a while, and if it is a hit then they will keep it otherwise it will fall by the wayside.
Sonic keeps a pretty stable menu. They did introduce flavored tea not too long ago, but Sonic specializes in drinks.

Anyway...

We left Durango the morning of the 5th of July headed through Pagosa Springs, Wolf Creek Pass, Southfork, Creede, and into Lake City. We had reservations at Vickers Ranch.

I first heard of Vickers when I was reading a book in the late 1970's. A guy named Peter Jenkins wrote a book about walking across america called A Walk Across America which chronicled his walk from New York to New Orleans, I think. The next book, A Walk West, took him from New Orleans to the Oregon coast. It was in this book that I heard of Vickers Ranch. Mr. Jenkins stayed there while he was walking through Colorado. I had forgotten about it until I started trying to make reservations in Lake City for this trip. I hit upon it on a website for lodging.

I first came into contact with Lake City when I ventured west by Toyota Tercel, Team Toyota, with David Faltys, a friend from Texas A&M, in the summer of 1986, I think.

Vickers and Lake City. Neither disappointed.

Ouray was the destination, but Durango was the final resting place. We previously booked a night at a establishment called The Iron Horse Inn in Durango because of the lack of space in Ouray. By the time we reached Durango, we were wanting a stop. This hotel proved to be a nice purchase. One bed upstairs. One bed downstairs. Little kitchen. Fireplace. Friendly people. Free breakfast. In town. Clean. Plenty of free soap, shampoo, lotion. But no shower cap.

That evening, this is the evening of the 4th, we watched the parade through Main street which began at 6:00 and had cyclists, the Shriners, the mayor, people in old cars throwing Tootsie Rolls, and old gentlemen carrying the American flag. What else does a parade need?

9:15 was the start time for what was a tremendous firework display. A display that was good enough that we several times thought to ourselves, "What a finale!!!"

We ate between the two events at a pizza place recommended by a local lady. I stopped her on the road and asked about a great local pizza joint. She said "Her kitchen." We settled on a place that her son frequented, and it was a fine meal. Plenty of pizza. Enough to take some with us out the door which I ate in route to Lake City, Colorado. Our primary destination.

Have I mentioned that of all the fast food restaurants in the world one consistently gets the most orders wrong?

This afternoon, we returned from Colorado.

July 3. We left thinking that we would possibly reach Clayton, New Mexico, for our overnight stay. However, due to a little late start because of a QuikTrip gas up, a return home for a forgotten item, and thunderstorms, we recognized early on that Clayton was a dream.

Just before we left we received a call from the Waldrons. They were returning from Colorado where second daughter, Emily, was playing in a softball tournament. We maintained some contact with them as we headed for each other. Somewhere before our arrival in Amarillo, but after Clarendon, and they were in Raton, New Mexico, the two travel groups settled on Dalhart as a hook-up locale. The Comfort Inn was chosen and we secured room #43 and they, # 42. I had no idea how to punctuate that last sentence.

We visited late. We hit Sonic late as they turned out the lights for the night just before delivering our route 44's. Their children and ours gathered in #43 for t.v. and talking and jumping. The older crowd, including their oldest daughter, Abbie, lingered in #42. We decided to visit McDonalds in the morning together before we took it north and they, home. Again, a punctuation problem.

I believe that we visited the McDonalds in Dalhart during a trial combination psychology/nutrition exercise. About thirty patrons, including the eleven of us, were subjected to a thirty minute sausage biscuit/egg mcmuffin/hotcakes test of the wills. Would they give in and give us our food before we succumbed and blew up the place? We won. We outlasted them so they were forced to hand over the order.

Our goal for the evening of the 4th was to hit Ouray, Colorado, to see the downhill jeep parade. Leslie and I, along with a young Caleb, caught this spectacle by surprise several years ago.

We didn't make it.