Avoiding Weather

We left Rapid City early this morning, avoiding weather that was on its way. Rick changed our intended route toward Omaha, Nebraska to Minneapolis, Minnesota, so we didn't run into thunderstorms and rain. But you only get to see 2 pictures before the clouds come.

I took the first picture wondering who would like to live on this isolated farm. I am glad some one does so that we all have food on our tables!

The second picture shows how bad the flooding was this year. The Missouri River was still swollen and over its banks, and yet the real flooding occurred weeks ago. The land is so flat, the water just goes everywhere.

Our sight seeing from the air is basically over now. All the good stuff was out west. Not only that, but there is more haze in the air as we approach the east coast, so the pictures I do take will not be as clear. Bear with me!

--
Karen
Please note my new email address

Changes at Mount Rushmore

We decided Mount Rushmore needed to balance things out by replacing one of the male faces with a female face. What do you think?

In the valley town of Keystone, women were told to beware of Rattlesnake Jack. But not everyone listens.

Up Close But Not Personal

We walked the Presidential Trail to get closer to the faces. A bit more detailed that what we saw from the air.
Using dynamite to "carve" the faces was quite the monumental task to accomplish. They were accurate to within inches of the face. Then they suspended themselves on what were essentially zip lines to drill a honeycomb pattern; chisel off the bumps; then smooth it all out with pneumatic hammers. This took 14 years from start to finish. The faces were each 60 feet tall.
I didn't mention what presidents were chosen to be memorialized in stone - but they were Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt (some say he was included because he was a good friend of the master mind of Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum).

--
Karen
Please note my new email address

Flying to Rapid City, S Dak

I got in the plane today! And we had a Mom Flying Flight to Rapid City, South Dakota. They had jelly beans as a treat when we landed - that was a just award for me!
That said, on with the sights.

We flew by Devil's Tower - rising 500 feet in the air in the middle of nowhere. The closer we got, the prettier it was. The sides have deep clefts in them, so the tower looks striped. If we were really close, we might have seen rock climbers scaling those clefts. Wouldn't find me in one of those! There are flight restrictions on how close you can go to this monument (3 miles), as well as how close you can get to The Faces in Stone, ie Mount Rushmore (1/2 mile and 7700 feet high minimum). The 3rd picture is a trick - I took that on the road going up to Mount Rushmore.

--
Karen
Please note my new email address

Bozeman, Montana

Our visit to our friend Linda Barnsley (who was our neighbor in Baltimore), made up for all the terror of the flight to get to see her. She was waiting for us at the airport and got to hear all of Rick's conversations with the control tower. She didn't get to hear me because I did control myself and not push the talk button on my control stick (which I have never touched, by the way).  We hadn't seen each other for about 6 years, but it made no difference at all. We talked and talked, and Linda was the perfect guide, showing off "her towns" (she lives in Livingston, but does lots in Bozeman, too. She loves living the relaxed, easy life there, the great art community, being able to get to Yellowstone in less than an hour, and majestic peaks to hike at any time. The picture with the three of us is just outside of Yellowstone. The water is the Yellowstone River. There was a ton of snow this year, and the river is still quite high.

This is not unfamiliar territory to me, since I had traversed it all on a family vacation when Amy had a tonsillar abscess and I went from Yellowstone, to Gardiner, to Livingston, to Bozeman before I could find anyone to treat her! But I still love Montana.

--
Karen
Please note my new email address

White Knuckled Flying!

I am glad I am alive. No matter how much Rick tells me all was completely safe and in control, I was terrified! As we crossed those dang old Rockies and the Continental Divide, the winds decided to come down through the mountains and rattle our tiny little plane. The bumps were so bad, my glasses and some papers were knocked out of the pocket that we hold our "stuff" in. I could say it was worse than a roller coaster, but I don't like roller coasters and have never been on one. And I think that roller coasters are smooth. This was like slamming your hand down on the table. Now granted this only happened 3 times, but the rest of the time we were rocking this way and that. I hated it. It was NOT Mom Flying Weather!!!!! Add to this, we were at 13,500 feet, mountains all around us, and clouds coming in. Not a pretty picture. There is nothing really to hold onto, not that that would help, so I gripped the edge of the plane and gritted my teeth. I did this for 30 minutes. And eventually we landed. Properly. Rick was so sweet to me the rest of the day, that it was like our honeymoon. I know he was thinking I would get that commercial flight out of Bozeman, and then he would be very lonely all the rest of the way home! I am hoping to get a Medal for Bravery. That would be to rival Monk's Star Puppy Medal.

Speaking of Monk, David's reports have me a bit concerned. First he broke his metal choke collar because he wanted to chase something. I should have know - it was a soccer ball. Then today I hear that he broke his wire cable. That was because his friend, Will, came to play with him and David forgot to release the cable.  Then David tells me he chewed the molding on a door frame. I am beside myself, and he texts back "I made that one up." Really, I have had some tough days!


--
Karen
Please note my new email address

Windmills and Patterns

Look hard and you can see little white lines sticking up in the photo. They are just a few of the hundreds of windmills along the Columbia River. We saw windmills frequently on this trip, but these rivaled the numbers we saw in Texas (the picture doesn't show but a few). Our flight path took us along the Columbia River toward Spokane before we began to follow Route 90 through the Rockies. But that is another story.....
The second picture is one of my favorites. I just loved seeing all the patterns and colors that farming and other land use/geography has created. It kept me occupied for the many hours of flying we have done. I can't wait to see the tally at the end of this journey. Rick has to keep a log of the hours the plane is flown. That, along with calendar days, determines the maintenance on the plane.  We want to keep this baby in good shape! 


--
Karen
Please note my new email address