Good morning!
It was a very busy week last week at Crazy Horse and the surrounding area with lots and lots of motorcycle bikers in the area. Business at Crazy Horse was very busy ....we served an all you can eat Native American Taco Bar all week last week..... saw lots of bikers and not many families as usual. Then Saturday like a light switch...the bikers trickled down to a few and more families showed up!
Everyone had told us about seeing all kinds of people and "things" during Sturgis week.... well, somehow one gal got through the gates with only a pr. of wild jeans on and a topless but bodypainted top! We still couldn't understand how she even got to be seated in the restaurant..... they decided to seat her and not make a huge fuss to create more of a distraction. We were filled with bikers besides. She had a full body paint in front and on the right shoulder. How do I know this? I was out cleaning the taco bar and looked up and there she was ..... across the bar from me!
Someone told us that she had had that painted Sunday and that was Wednesday....now you do the calculation..... no bath for 4 days! Yuck!!!! She was posing for lots of pictures outside as she made her way out to the parking lot I'm told......
That morning, Bill had asked me to bring the camera up to him and he would get it on his break which was later than this all happened...of course I had the camera in my purse and he didn't get a picture! haha!!!!
Yesterday our day was very slow and not many at Crazy Horse at all.... but we have been told lots of tour buses this time of year so that will pick our business.
Our grandson's begin school tomorrow which seems pretty early for us...... their hectic summer schedule will slow down some now but fall sports will keep them busy and they have also purchased a new to them camper so we are looking forward to spending time with them camping sometime while we are "home"......
They are so excited about it.
So that about does it for now....
Until next time!
BJ
Monday, August 15, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
We are still alive and well in South Dakota!
Good morning!
We are still alive and well and working fast and furious here at Crazy Horse....our days seem to slip by...... I know it has been along time since I have written as usual that is my only excuse!
We had a busy July with Megan and Jeff coming over the 4th of July weekend...she had an epidural due to a herniated disc on Friday am before they left. They (the dr.) punctured the spinal column and fluid leaked...to make a longer story short she was sick and didn't feel good the whole weekend they were here. We felt so bad for her as she couldn't do anything but lay on the couch and drink caffenated drinks to help the headaches. They left on Monday am very early, instead of Tuesday as planned, and arrived home late Monday evening. She had what is called a "blood patch" on Tuesday and had felt great since. A blood patch is a vial of her own blood was injected in the puncture site and it sealed the puncture hole. Needless to say she will not be having these shots again. Maybe next year they will be able to come up and we can do the sightseeing thing then.
The week of July 12th to July 17th our grandson had the opportunity to play in the Little League World Series AA in Omaha....we had planned on going to watch him play the last few days but there were only 5 teams that showed up. So our plans were changed and we did not go but cheered them on from Custer! They got second in the tourneyment but were dissappointed that there were only 5 teams to play.
The following week we had 5 couples from our Newmar Kansas club join us! We had a great time with them when we could spend time with them. We were able to see them almost daily at some point or another and was able to tell them places to go and see.... of course the days passed by quickly and the first part of August they headed back to Kansas in the heat again!
Last Friday, Betty and Steve and Bill and I went to Hill City to ride the 1880 train from Hill City to Keystone, SD. It was a beautiful day and a nice relaxing ride. When we arrived in Keystone we walked around town....the whole block of it! and saw a huge number of motorcycles and bikers! This week is Sturgis week and they have arrived! We sat on a bench for over and hour at Keystone and people/biked watched! All sizes, colors and kinds of bikes and people to match!
As a said,....this week is Sturgis week in this area and we are very very busy at the Crazy Horse with visiting bikers and others. They have marked off the 2 parking areas for bikes and they are full.... also this week they have taken down the regular salad bar and replaced it daily with a all you can eat taco bar. It is a change but we are constantly replacing and filling the taco bar.
So that in a nutshell is what is happening in our life..... next week my sister and brother-in-law will be arriving on Friday for a week so we look forward to that!
The temp's have been great....warming up nicely in the day and cool at night..... the past couple of days we have had showers or small thunderstorms and cool cool nights....last night I even ran the furnace! It was 49 when I got up this am! Is fall in the air? It is to warm up later this week.... just a teaser I guess!
Well, time for work...... I am starting late shift again this week!
Until next time!
BJ
We are still alive and well and working fast and furious here at Crazy Horse....our days seem to slip by...... I know it has been along time since I have written as usual that is my only excuse!
We had a busy July with Megan and Jeff coming over the 4th of July weekend...she had an epidural due to a herniated disc on Friday am before they left. They (the dr.) punctured the spinal column and fluid leaked...to make a longer story short she was sick and didn't feel good the whole weekend they were here. We felt so bad for her as she couldn't do anything but lay on the couch and drink caffenated drinks to help the headaches. They left on Monday am very early, instead of Tuesday as planned, and arrived home late Monday evening. She had what is called a "blood patch" on Tuesday and had felt great since. A blood patch is a vial of her own blood was injected in the puncture site and it sealed the puncture hole. Needless to say she will not be having these shots again. Maybe next year they will be able to come up and we can do the sightseeing thing then.
The week of July 12th to July 17th our grandson had the opportunity to play in the Little League World Series AA in Omaha....we had planned on going to watch him play the last few days but there were only 5 teams that showed up. So our plans were changed and we did not go but cheered them on from Custer! They got second in the tourneyment but were dissappointed that there were only 5 teams to play.
The following week we had 5 couples from our Newmar Kansas club join us! We had a great time with them when we could spend time with them. We were able to see them almost daily at some point or another and was able to tell them places to go and see.... of course the days passed by quickly and the first part of August they headed back to Kansas in the heat again!
Last Friday, Betty and Steve and Bill and I went to Hill City to ride the 1880 train from Hill City to Keystone, SD. It was a beautiful day and a nice relaxing ride. When we arrived in Keystone we walked around town....the whole block of it! and saw a huge number of motorcycles and bikers! This week is Sturgis week and they have arrived! We sat on a bench for over and hour at Keystone and people/biked watched! All sizes, colors and kinds of bikes and people to match!
As a said,....this week is Sturgis week in this area and we are very very busy at the Crazy Horse with visiting bikers and others. They have marked off the 2 parking areas for bikes and they are full.... also this week they have taken down the regular salad bar and replaced it daily with a all you can eat taco bar. It is a change but we are constantly replacing and filling the taco bar.
So that in a nutshell is what is happening in our life..... next week my sister and brother-in-law will be arriving on Friday for a week so we look forward to that!
The temp's have been great....warming up nicely in the day and cool at night..... the past couple of days we have had showers or small thunderstorms and cool cool nights....last night I even ran the furnace! It was 49 when I got up this am! Is fall in the air? It is to warm up later this week.... just a teaser I guess!
Well, time for work...... I am starting late shift again this week!
Until next time!
BJ
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Sunny day in the Black Hills
Good morning!
The sun is shining and it is to be warm today. We both work late today ....I begin at 11 and Bill starts at noon. We both will be getting off around 9 tonite. I begin my shift for the next week at 11AM to closing or around 9PM. Long days and I can't for the life of me seem to sleep past 6:45 in the morning! Rats!
We have had late afternoon thunderstorms the past couple of days. The skies sure get dark looking around here when the storms move through the mountains.
The night before last I am told we had a double rainbow...we saw part of one but not the double. Last night I saw one leg of a rainbow also..... they were so bright and clear.
Not much going on and we have been busy working and not doing much else.... maybe on Friday life will be more exciting for us! haha!!! We are both off work for 2 days!
Until next time!
BJ
The sun is shining and it is to be warm today. We both work late today ....I begin at 11 and Bill starts at noon. We both will be getting off around 9 tonite. I begin my shift for the next week at 11AM to closing or around 9PM. Long days and I can't for the life of me seem to sleep past 6:45 in the morning! Rats!
We have had late afternoon thunderstorms the past couple of days. The skies sure get dark looking around here when the storms move through the mountains.
The night before last I am told we had a double rainbow...we saw part of one but not the double. Last night I saw one leg of a rainbow also..... they were so bright and clear.
Not much going on and we have been busy working and not doing much else.... maybe on Friday life will be more exciting for us! haha!!! We are both off work for 2 days!
Until next time!
BJ
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Catching up time again!
Good evening!
It is time to catch you all up on our working and "exploring"....
We have been very busy working and trying to keep up with our schedules and accommodating the 3 couples getting to work!
My schedule is now working from 9-5 for one week, which is a Wednesday through Tuesday and then the next week I work from 11-Closing(usually by 9PM). Bobbie and I are switching each week to help at night. Bill's schedule will continue throughout the summer as a daily change! He never really knows what time he will work the next day until that evening. We do know that we will have Friday and Saturday off together.
We have made a trip to Rapid City to get some groceries and run a few errands around town. Rapid City is the closet large town and had a Walmart and the major box stores!
The week before last Friday,we took a drive up to Deadwood and had lunch, then did a very small amount of gambling. I lost about $3 and Bill lost maybe $5..... Deadwood has several casino's still downtown and they are revitalizing their downtown to attract vacationers again. The last time we were in Deadwood it was even worse than it was this time. No traffic at all. We drove up through Spearfish canyon.... it was so pretty and we stopped at Roughlock Falls. Part of this canyon was in the movie "Dancing with the Wolves" many years ago.
Friday, June 3, we took a drive through Custer State Park and Iron Mountain Road.
We saw lots of animals throughout our drive that day......
This little guy wanted to ride with us or he was looking for food!
We saw several large herds of buffalo that day....just being lazy or eating!
Of course we had to sit and watch these big guys saunter across the road!
There is a "feral" herd of tame donkey's that roam the Park..... lots of people were up close taking a picture and feeding them...They are still wild animals....
And of course we saw the Pronghorn sheep
Then we drove on to Iron Mountain Road.... it was a beautiful drive with lots of switchbacks, curves and "pigtail" roads..... it brought us back to the highway 16 which is where we needed to go to head back to our RV park......
here are some great views and a surprise at the end of the road!
There were 4 tunnels that were 1 car width and made of stone.... very old and amazing to see in the road.....
Along our way there were these little piles of wood stacked up in the forest area. Steve told us that the Boy Scouts come in and stack the wood and during the winter they burn these piles of wood one at a time and only when there is lots of snow on the ground... these were hundreds of these piles along our route...
Here were are at the top of the Iron Mountain Road...almost time for the surprise!
As you can see, the tunnels were not for the tall vehichle and definitely not for the RV!
As came out of the last tunnel....there it was! Mount Rushmore ....from a different angle! Amazing! It really was a better view as you can see.....
Saturday, June 4 was our 35th Anniversary and we worked all day! It was a busy weekend at Crazy Horse and it is where the annual "Volksmarch" takes place. Volksmarch is a 10K hike up the mountain and it is the only time of the year that the public is allowed to go up to the arm of Crazy Horse free with a food donation for the local food bank. People take a 6 mile hike up the mountain and then take the 2 mile road coming down. They were expecting around 10-15,000 people the 2 days of the march. Needless to say we were very, very busy. They had a breakfast buffet which is why we came in early to set up and then serve the lunch buffet. Betty and I went in at 5AM and worked until 2PM .
Every Thursday evening during the summer, Crazy Horse is sponsoring a weekly "lecture series".... last Thursday, June 9, we were off work, so Betty, Bill and I went back to watch the Wontyon Youth Indian Dancers dance. They consisted of a Luthern church group from Rapid City. We were told they "pow" every Wednesday for a couple of hours before church and the young dancers were learning their culture and carrying on tradition of dancing. It was an amazing experience....we all enjoyed these young people.. who ranged in ages from about 5 to young adult. During the dancing, a spokesperson spoke to the crowd thanking others for coming and also they found out there were a group of Elders from the First Nation of Canada..... each Native American there went over to personally thank and shake hands with each of these Elders... so touching and very respectful.
This is the group of drummers.....
Here are the young people :
They were so fun to watch dancing and they were so energetic!
This little guy was dancing right beside his parents for most of the dancing and when it was time for him to join the rest of the group... he wouldn't go out so his mom tried to get him to join them.... what an expression! So cute!
We all really enjoyed the dancing and look forward to more groups as the summer continues!
Last Friday, June 10 I had a hair appt. in the morning, then we met Steve, Betty, Bill and Bobbie in Rapid City for lunch and did our weekly grocery shopping.... we came home and spent the rest of the weekend enjoying the sunshine! Saturday evening, we grilled salmon and Bill fried halibut and shrimp! It was delicious!!!
So hopefully all these pictures will post and you will enjoy some of what we have been doing the past few weeks! Hopefully the next time I write it won't be so long!
Until next time!
BJ
It is time to catch you all up on our working and "exploring"....
We have been very busy working and trying to keep up with our schedules and accommodating the 3 couples getting to work!
My schedule is now working from 9-5 for one week, which is a Wednesday through Tuesday and then the next week I work from 11-Closing(usually by 9PM). Bobbie and I are switching each week to help at night. Bill's schedule will continue throughout the summer as a daily change! He never really knows what time he will work the next day until that evening. We do know that we will have Friday and Saturday off together.
We have made a trip to Rapid City to get some groceries and run a few errands around town. Rapid City is the closet large town and had a Walmart and the major box stores!
The week before last Friday,we took a drive up to Deadwood and had lunch, then did a very small amount of gambling. I lost about $3 and Bill lost maybe $5..... Deadwood has several casino's still downtown and they are revitalizing their downtown to attract vacationers again. The last time we were in Deadwood it was even worse than it was this time. No traffic at all. We drove up through Spearfish canyon.... it was so pretty and we stopped at Roughlock Falls. Part of this canyon was in the movie "Dancing with the Wolves" many years ago.
Friday, June 3, we took a drive through Custer State Park and Iron Mountain Road.
We saw lots of animals throughout our drive that day......
This little guy wanted to ride with us or he was looking for food!
We saw several large herds of buffalo that day....just being lazy or eating!
Of course we had to sit and watch these big guys saunter across the road!
There is a "feral" herd of tame donkey's that roam the Park..... lots of people were up close taking a picture and feeding them...They are still wild animals....
And of course we saw the Pronghorn sheep
Then we drove on to Iron Mountain Road.... it was a beautiful drive with lots of switchbacks, curves and "pigtail" roads..... it brought us back to the highway 16 which is where we needed to go to head back to our RV park......
here are some great views and a surprise at the end of the road!
There were 4 tunnels that were 1 car width and made of stone.... very old and amazing to see in the road.....
Along our way there were these little piles of wood stacked up in the forest area. Steve told us that the Boy Scouts come in and stack the wood and during the winter they burn these piles of wood one at a time and only when there is lots of snow on the ground... these were hundreds of these piles along our route...
Here were are at the top of the Iron Mountain Road...almost time for the surprise!
As you can see, the tunnels were not for the tall vehichle and definitely not for the RV!
As came out of the last tunnel....there it was! Mount Rushmore ....from a different angle! Amazing! It really was a better view as you can see.....
Saturday, June 4 was our 35th Anniversary and we worked all day! It was a busy weekend at Crazy Horse and it is where the annual "Volksmarch" takes place. Volksmarch is a 10K hike up the mountain and it is the only time of the year that the public is allowed to go up to the arm of Crazy Horse free with a food donation for the local food bank. People take a 6 mile hike up the mountain and then take the 2 mile road coming down. They were expecting around 10-15,000 people the 2 days of the march. Needless to say we were very, very busy. They had a breakfast buffet which is why we came in early to set up and then serve the lunch buffet. Betty and I went in at 5AM and worked until 2PM .
Every Thursday evening during the summer, Crazy Horse is sponsoring a weekly "lecture series".... last Thursday, June 9, we were off work, so Betty, Bill and I went back to watch the Wontyon Youth Indian Dancers dance. They consisted of a Luthern church group from Rapid City. We were told they "pow" every Wednesday for a couple of hours before church and the young dancers were learning their culture and carrying on tradition of dancing. It was an amazing experience....we all enjoyed these young people.. who ranged in ages from about 5 to young adult. During the dancing, a spokesperson spoke to the crowd thanking others for coming and also they found out there were a group of Elders from the First Nation of Canada..... each Native American there went over to personally thank and shake hands with each of these Elders... so touching and very respectful.
This is the group of drummers.....
Here are the young people :
They were so fun to watch dancing and they were so energetic!
This little guy was dancing right beside his parents for most of the dancing and when it was time for him to join the rest of the group... he wouldn't go out so his mom tried to get him to join them.... what an expression! So cute!
We all really enjoyed the dancing and look forward to more groups as the summer continues!
Last Friday, June 10 I had a hair appt. in the morning, then we met Steve, Betty, Bill and Bobbie in Rapid City for lunch and did our weekly grocery shopping.... we came home and spent the rest of the weekend enjoying the sunshine! Saturday evening, we grilled salmon and Bill fried halibut and shrimp! It was delicious!!!
So hopefully all these pictures will post and you will enjoy some of what we have been doing the past few weeks! Hopefully the next time I write it won't be so long!
Until next time!
BJ
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Rainy Day at Crazy Horse
Good morning!
It is a rainy, misty day here and it is to continue until at least Saturday or Sunday!
The temperature's have at least gotten a little warmer and no snow blowing like last week! That's a good thing!
We have had a couple of busy day's at the Laughing Water Restaurant.... Monday was "kind" of slow but we still were serving lunch until about 3PM. I have pretty much done the salad bar and helped fix other items. Yesterday, was a very busy day with several tour buses coming through.... this is a busy time of year for kids tours and also Asian tour buses. The restaurant is only open until 4PM until around Memorial Day then we will be working longer hours. I have been working until around 4:30 each day.
Bill has been working later than I have. He has gotten off at 8PM, 7PM and today he works until 6:30PM . He is really enjoying driving the bus. He said he has met lots of interesting people and everyone has been pretty nice so far.
Today is a special day in our family...it is our middle grandson's 6th birthday!
Happy Birthday Bryson! Pappa and Grandma wish we could be there to celebrate your birthday Lots of hugs and kisses to you! We love you!
Well, almost time to head out..so better be going!
Until next time!
BJ
It is a rainy, misty day here and it is to continue until at least Saturday or Sunday!
The temperature's have at least gotten a little warmer and no snow blowing like last week! That's a good thing!
We have had a couple of busy day's at the Laughing Water Restaurant.... Monday was "kind" of slow but we still were serving lunch until about 3PM. I have pretty much done the salad bar and helped fix other items. Yesterday, was a very busy day with several tour buses coming through.... this is a busy time of year for kids tours and also Asian tour buses. The restaurant is only open until 4PM until around Memorial Day then we will be working longer hours. I have been working until around 4:30 each day.
Bill has been working later than I have. He has gotten off at 8PM, 7PM and today he works until 6:30PM . He is really enjoying driving the bus. He said he has met lots of interesting people and everyone has been pretty nice so far.
Today is a special day in our family...it is our middle grandson's 6th birthday!
Happy Birthday Bryson! Pappa and Grandma wish we could be there to celebrate your birthday Lots of hugs and kisses to you! We love you!
Well, almost time to head out..so better be going!
Until next time!
BJ
Monday, May 16, 2011
Dedicating a Helicopter at Crazy Horse
Yesterday was a very busy day which included dedicating a Light Utility Helicopter. We prepared Buffalo Stew,Fry Bread, Ojape, cake and drink. The Buffalo Stew had been prepared a few days ahead and we added Vegetables to it to make the stew. It was delicious! I think I learned the correct spelling for the Ojape which I explained a couple of posts ago, which was put on the fry bread. Yummy!
They were expecting around 1000 people, mostly Native Americans but we think the figures were around 600 or so.... they were from all different tribes in South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana.... along with a large unit of National Guard.
I did not have my camera and so I wasn't able to take any pictures but we were up on an upper parking lot.The helicopter was named Lakota and will be used as a Medical Emergency copter for the area tribes.
The SD National Guard had brought the new helicopter on Saturday and they set up huge tents so they could stay overnight. The activities began around 9 AM with different speakers from the Lakota Motorcycle Riders, the Patriot Riders and others. We served lunch from 12:30 to around 1:45...it was sooo cold and windy not many stayed around for the afternoon.... but I did get to see many Native Americans of all ages from small children to adults dancing in beautiful tribal wear and a large circle of drummers.
After the activities were over the helicopter took off and circled Crazy Horse twice and left.
Today was a "normal" day but we served 125 kids...hamburgers or chicken nuggets, french fries and a cookie...I told Randy... my "teacher control" almost came out today..... lots of kids today and I am told there will be many in May.
So that is about all that has gone on... Bill has been busy driving the bus daily and is working longer hours.....
Stay tuned!
BJ
They were expecting around 1000 people, mostly Native Americans but we think the figures were around 600 or so.... they were from all different tribes in South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana.... along with a large unit of National Guard.
I did not have my camera and so I wasn't able to take any pictures but we were up on an upper parking lot.The helicopter was named Lakota and will be used as a Medical Emergency copter for the area tribes.
The SD National Guard had brought the new helicopter on Saturday and they set up huge tents so they could stay overnight. The activities began around 9 AM with different speakers from the Lakota Motorcycle Riders, the Patriot Riders and others. We served lunch from 12:30 to around 1:45...it was sooo cold and windy not many stayed around for the afternoon.... but I did get to see many Native Americans of all ages from small children to adults dancing in beautiful tribal wear and a large circle of drummers.
After the activities were over the helicopter took off and circled Crazy Horse twice and left.
Today was a "normal" day but we served 125 kids...hamburgers or chicken nuggets, french fries and a cookie...I told Randy... my "teacher control" almost came out today..... lots of kids today and I am told there will be many in May.
So that is about all that has gone on... Bill has been busy driving the bus daily and is working longer hours.....
Stay tuned!
BJ
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Busy at Crazy Horse!
This is a very long post with pictures..... I don't usually post on Facebook but wanted to share with everyone who has asked about our jobs so far!
I would like to tell you a little about Crazy Horse before I post about our jobs.....
Crazy Horse Memorial is a non profit organization originated by Korcjak and Ruth Ziolkowksi. Korcjak was a sculptor and was asked by Chief Standing Bear in 1939 to carve a mountain memorial of Crazy Horse. He thought about this for 7 years and accepted the offer. He began in 1949 with building a little one room shack for a home after living in an Army tent for 7 months in the SD winters. His wife was one of the volunteers on this project and at 84 still runs the organization. There are 10 children in the family and 5 of them still work at the memorial. When we arrived last week we found out that one of the daughters had suddenly passed away. The funeral was at the memorial on the family plot which Korcjak had built. He knew when he began building this memorial he would never get to see the final result. He made the Crazy Horse sculpture from suggestions and drawings several tribal leaders as there aren't any pictures or drawings of Crazy Horse. Crazy Horse was killed by a soldier under a flag of truce. Crazy Horse had died on the same day at Korcjak Z. was born. The Native Americans believe this to be an omen.
They are still working on the monument and no one is sure when it will be accomplished. We did find out yesterday that they are going to begin working and blasting on the hand/fingers this summer then begin the horse's head work.
Crazy Horse is one of the 7 wonders of the world and the tallest sculptural undertaking of the world. Mt.Rushmore's faces would fit in the face of Crazy Horse.
This is a family operation/organization. "Mrs. Z" at age 84 as I stated before still runs the business and lives onsite. She answers the phone and even makes the daily schedule of all the workers... She knows everything going on in this complex!!! Pretty amazing woman at that age for sure! the restaurant is the only schedule she doesn't really do so I will know my schedule weekly and we are hoping it coincides with Bill's! We originally requested Friday and Saturday's off and I think it will work that way once more people get here and get started. Their oldest daughter is another one who is always onsite and is in and out every day, she pretty much runs the restaurant also. Their son is the only son who is working on the carving and blasting daily. Another son runs the rock quarry of the rock that has fallen and takes care of the roads etc of the complex. I think the youngest daughter is the creative one in the family and is on top of the mountain working with her brother. Blasting is done every 2 weeks from what I'm told.
There is a welcome center, and amazing amazing Native American Center that has thousands of artifacts donated and given to the center. It is awesome! They have a large gift shop and a Cultural Center where there are more artifacts and where they will have native Americans bringing their wares, making and selling them this summer. They even have Crazy Horse's peace pipe there!
They also are beginning a school for the Native Americans. It is ran in the summer only and for 3 hrs. college credit this year 34 young people will come to Crazy Horse and work in the gift shops, restaurant and welcome center. This is the 2nd year and the number of students was increased from 18 to 34. These students are selected by grades and phone interview before being chosen to come.
It will be a busy place this summer and we are looking forward to being a part of it!
Now for our jobs!
Wednesday I began my job by preparing a fruit tray for the funeral dinner on Thursday. I cut up fruit and veggies and made some dips. It was a long day and I stayed until 7:30 helping get things prepared for the funeral dinner. I also made deviled eggs for the family when they had a viewing on Wed. evening. They had or'duerves (sp???) .
Randy is the head chef and tells us what we need to do but Betty is my rock! She tells us what we need to do and has shown me how the buffet bar will be set up and what needs to be filled etc. It is a pretty laid back kitchen and we work hard but still have fun! Randy( Native American) had made something new to me called Ojabe..pronounced whoa-job-eh..... it is made with berries..he used blueberries, raspberries and sugar. Cooked it down and then drained it ...added water to it and cooked it again.... it became a sauce and they use it on hot Indian fry bread . The Ojabe and fry bread is hot...it was delicious!!! Betty teased him that the white folks like it with ice cream! yummy!!!! I know I have not spelled it correctly but it was soooo good no matter how you spelled it!
Thursday am Betty and I got to work at 6:30 to prepare for the funeral dinner to be served at noon. We prepared the salad bar and the line cooks or the cooks prepared the meats.. Betty made twice baked potatoes the day before and scooped out potatoes all day that day it seemed! I was asked to help "run" with Betty and keep the salad bar filled during the dinner and was given a white shirt to wear! We worked until about 2:30 then began to clean up and put things away.... they had guys there to wash dishes so we didn't have to do that..which really helped. There were a ton of people at the funeral and I heard later the Gov. of SD was even there.... have no idea who he was or if I saw him!
Bill began his duties as bus driver on Wed. also. He thought he was going to be riding with someone for a few days to learn the "ropes" and the talk they give on the way up the base of the mountain. But they had him ride a couple of times and told him he could go on his own. So he has been on his own since Wed. afternoon! We received information about Crazy Horse and the organization so he has been reading and studying what he was going to say. We have talked to so many people here and everyone has been so helpful!
Friday morning, we and about 12 others had "orientation" at 9AM. So most of the morning was spent telling us about the organization and what our jobs would be... of course Bill and I had already started.... after lunch Bill had to go to work until 6.... he would not get to ride to the top of the mountain! The weather was gorgeous yesterday and it was awesome! This ride is available for $125!!!! We took vans up and got out and walked out on the arm of Crazy Horse!!!! Be being somewhat afraid of heights...I was hesitant but it was wonderful! They have built roads to get the equipement up there and around so far up..... here are some of the pictures!---
This is a cart which they take things up to the head and wherever they need it.
Here is a picture of some blast holes....
When we walked out a little farther past the blast holes our guide said do not look around to the face just yet..... so we walked out and he said "turn around"..... there it was the HUGE face of Crazy Horse!!!!! What a sight!!!
The view from above!
This is the GPS marker at the edge of the end of the arm.
Looking up Crazy Horse's nose!
This is where I just was!!!
What an exciting day! The weather was gorgeous and it was finally warm out!
But that didn't last long.....
This am we woke up to cold cold temp's....like 29 degrees and snow!!! YES,.... SNOW!!!! Bill had to go to work today and work from 9-6 so I was going to run to town and get some groceries and check out Custer..... But Steve called and said they were going to run into town and then ride through Custer State Park.... so I rode with Steve, Betty and Bill and Bobbie. Bill and Bobbie worked at Amazon last fall in picking but we really didn't ever see them much. They will begin to work here tomorrow they think! We had a nice ride and saw lots of buffalo, donkey's, mountain goats, antelope and turkeys today. It reminded me so much of Estes Park and our rides through the National Park. But by the time midmorning came rolling around the snow had stopped and the clouds were breaking and the sun was shining some...it is cloudy and cool but at least not still snowing. Thursday, the snow really came down but didn't stick... very cold though so I guess that is Spring in the Hills!
Tomorrow we work again and it is going to be a big day..... I have to be at work at 8 AM and we are fixing Buffalo Beef Stew for 1000 people. Betty, Bobbie, and Randy are going to be in a "hot dog cart" outside in the parking lot serving it..... they are having a big function dedicating a new Lakota helicopter. We have been told when helicopters are made they are given the names of one of the Native American tribes.... this one is Lakota and this is going to be a big deal.... so stay tuned! I can't wait to taste Buffalo Stew!
I hope you have enjoyed visiting today and hope you have enjoyed our pictures.... we have really enjoyed our time so far and I'm sure it will get really busy...so stay tuned...hang with us..... always and adventure will be the ticket this summer I think!
Until next time!
BJ
I would like to tell you a little about Crazy Horse before I post about our jobs.....
Crazy Horse Memorial is a non profit organization originated by Korcjak and Ruth Ziolkowksi. Korcjak was a sculptor and was asked by Chief Standing Bear in 1939 to carve a mountain memorial of Crazy Horse. He thought about this for 7 years and accepted the offer. He began in 1949 with building a little one room shack for a home after living in an Army tent for 7 months in the SD winters. His wife was one of the volunteers on this project and at 84 still runs the organization. There are 10 children in the family and 5 of them still work at the memorial. When we arrived last week we found out that one of the daughters had suddenly passed away. The funeral was at the memorial on the family plot which Korcjak had built. He knew when he began building this memorial he would never get to see the final result. He made the Crazy Horse sculpture from suggestions and drawings several tribal leaders as there aren't any pictures or drawings of Crazy Horse. Crazy Horse was killed by a soldier under a flag of truce. Crazy Horse had died on the same day at Korcjak Z. was born. The Native Americans believe this to be an omen.
They are still working on the monument and no one is sure when it will be accomplished. We did find out yesterday that they are going to begin working and blasting on the hand/fingers this summer then begin the horse's head work.
Crazy Horse is one of the 7 wonders of the world and the tallest sculptural undertaking of the world. Mt.Rushmore's faces would fit in the face of Crazy Horse.
This is a family operation/organization. "Mrs. Z" at age 84 as I stated before still runs the business and lives onsite. She answers the phone and even makes the daily schedule of all the workers... She knows everything going on in this complex!!! Pretty amazing woman at that age for sure! the restaurant is the only schedule she doesn't really do so I will know my schedule weekly and we are hoping it coincides with Bill's! We originally requested Friday and Saturday's off and I think it will work that way once more people get here and get started. Their oldest daughter is another one who is always onsite and is in and out every day, she pretty much runs the restaurant also. Their son is the only son who is working on the carving and blasting daily. Another son runs the rock quarry of the rock that has fallen and takes care of the roads etc of the complex. I think the youngest daughter is the creative one in the family and is on top of the mountain working with her brother. Blasting is done every 2 weeks from what I'm told.
There is a welcome center, and amazing amazing Native American Center that has thousands of artifacts donated and given to the center. It is awesome! They have a large gift shop and a Cultural Center where there are more artifacts and where they will have native Americans bringing their wares, making and selling them this summer. They even have Crazy Horse's peace pipe there!
They also are beginning a school for the Native Americans. It is ran in the summer only and for 3 hrs. college credit this year 34 young people will come to Crazy Horse and work in the gift shops, restaurant and welcome center. This is the 2nd year and the number of students was increased from 18 to 34. These students are selected by grades and phone interview before being chosen to come.
It will be a busy place this summer and we are looking forward to being a part of it!
Now for our jobs!
Wednesday I began my job by preparing a fruit tray for the funeral dinner on Thursday. I cut up fruit and veggies and made some dips. It was a long day and I stayed until 7:30 helping get things prepared for the funeral dinner. I also made deviled eggs for the family when they had a viewing on Wed. evening. They had or'duerves (sp???) .
Randy is the head chef and tells us what we need to do but Betty is my rock! She tells us what we need to do and has shown me how the buffet bar will be set up and what needs to be filled etc. It is a pretty laid back kitchen and we work hard but still have fun! Randy( Native American) had made something new to me called Ojabe..pronounced whoa-job-eh..... it is made with berries..he used blueberries, raspberries and sugar. Cooked it down and then drained it ...added water to it and cooked it again.... it became a sauce and they use it on hot Indian fry bread . The Ojabe and fry bread is hot...it was delicious!!! Betty teased him that the white folks like it with ice cream! yummy!!!! I know I have not spelled it correctly but it was soooo good no matter how you spelled it!
Thursday am Betty and I got to work at 6:30 to prepare for the funeral dinner to be served at noon. We prepared the salad bar and the line cooks or the cooks prepared the meats.. Betty made twice baked potatoes the day before and scooped out potatoes all day that day it seemed! I was asked to help "run" with Betty and keep the salad bar filled during the dinner and was given a white shirt to wear! We worked until about 2:30 then began to clean up and put things away.... they had guys there to wash dishes so we didn't have to do that..which really helped. There were a ton of people at the funeral and I heard later the Gov. of SD was even there.... have no idea who he was or if I saw him!
Bill began his duties as bus driver on Wed. also. He thought he was going to be riding with someone for a few days to learn the "ropes" and the talk they give on the way up the base of the mountain. But they had him ride a couple of times and told him he could go on his own. So he has been on his own since Wed. afternoon! We received information about Crazy Horse and the organization so he has been reading and studying what he was going to say. We have talked to so many people here and everyone has been so helpful!
Friday morning, we and about 12 others had "orientation" at 9AM. So most of the morning was spent telling us about the organization and what our jobs would be... of course Bill and I had already started.... after lunch Bill had to go to work until 6.... he would not get to ride to the top of the mountain! The weather was gorgeous yesterday and it was awesome! This ride is available for $125!!!! We took vans up and got out and walked out on the arm of Crazy Horse!!!! Be being somewhat afraid of heights...I was hesitant but it was wonderful! They have built roads to get the equipement up there and around so far up..... here are some of the pictures!---
This is a cart which they take things up to the head and wherever they need it.
Here is a picture of some blast holes....
When we walked out a little farther past the blast holes our guide said do not look around to the face just yet..... so we walked out and he said "turn around"..... there it was the HUGE face of Crazy Horse!!!!! What a sight!!!
The view from above!
This is the GPS marker at the edge of the end of the arm.
Looking up Crazy Horse's nose!
This is where I just was!!!
What an exciting day! The weather was gorgeous and it was finally warm out!
But that didn't last long.....
This am we woke up to cold cold temp's....like 29 degrees and snow!!! YES,.... SNOW!!!! Bill had to go to work today and work from 9-6 so I was going to run to town and get some groceries and check out Custer..... But Steve called and said they were going to run into town and then ride through Custer State Park.... so I rode with Steve, Betty and Bill and Bobbie. Bill and Bobbie worked at Amazon last fall in picking but we really didn't ever see them much. They will begin to work here tomorrow they think! We had a nice ride and saw lots of buffalo, donkey's, mountain goats, antelope and turkeys today. It reminded me so much of Estes Park and our rides through the National Park. But by the time midmorning came rolling around the snow had stopped and the clouds were breaking and the sun was shining some...it is cloudy and cool but at least not still snowing. Thursday, the snow really came down but didn't stick... very cold though so I guess that is Spring in the Hills!
Tomorrow we work again and it is going to be a big day..... I have to be at work at 8 AM and we are fixing Buffalo Beef Stew for 1000 people. Betty, Bobbie, and Randy are going to be in a "hot dog cart" outside in the parking lot serving it..... they are having a big function dedicating a new Lakota helicopter. We have been told when helicopters are made they are given the names of one of the Native American tribes.... this one is Lakota and this is going to be a big deal.... so stay tuned! I can't wait to taste Buffalo Stew!
I hope you have enjoyed visiting today and hope you have enjoyed our pictures.... we have really enjoyed our time so far and I'm sure it will get really busy...so stay tuned...hang with us..... always and adventure will be the ticket this summer I think!
Until next time!
BJ
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
We are at Crazy Horse
We arrived Sunday early afternoon without any problems....got set up and relaxed for the afternoon awaiting our friends to get off work. They stopped by after 5 when they got off and then we decided to go eat. We drove in to the town of Custer. It is a small town and not many restaurants but a few good local ones. We ate at a bar/grill and since it was Mother's Day they had a special fillet for $8.95 and we got a free dessert! What a deal! We all had steak and it was delicious! Not bad for a baked potato, salad extra 99cents) and then a 6 oz. fillet.
Monday am we were up and around early since our bodies are still on Central time and we are on Mountain time! We decided to go to the Crazy Horse Memorial to meet our new "bosses" and see what we had to do..... so we did!
We met several people and got our schedules to begin on Wednesday from 9-5 for right now. This organization is still ran by the owner of the Crazy Horse Memorial Mrs. "Z"....she makes all the schedules daily.... we were told she is in her upper 80's..... very interesting story of the Crazy HOrse monument and compound itself...
We are excited about working and getting to know what our jobs will be. I am going to be a prep cook and will be cooking with our friend, Betty. Betty and Steve worked with us at Amazon last fall. They are great people and we have had lots of fun with them.. This summer should be no exception! Bill is going to drive a van from the ticket booth to the base of the mountain and back...maybe 1/4 mile.... we took the "tour" yesterday and he will "ride" along for a week or so then go on his own....
We had beautiful weather yesterday am but by 2:30 yesterday the clouds began to move in and became misty and then raining in the evening....about 2:30 yesterday we lost our satellite service and we fought with that about 2 1/2 hrs. trying to find a signal again.... calling DISH did no good and even a call to a guy in Hot Springs south of here didn't help. So he moved the satellite behind the camper this am and got a great strong signal...we don't know what exactly happened..my guess is the clouds covered it up and the signal wasn't that strong to get through them.
Mid morning we made a road trip to Hill City which is north of here to look for cheaper fuel..not to be found so we went onto Rapid City even farther north about 25 miles from where we are.... we also found a Lowe's so Bill got a chain link fence pole to make a new post for the satellite tripod.... It was 62 in Rapid City and by the time we got back to Custer here it was 42 and the wind is STILL blowing hard! It might be a long long summer!
Here are some pictures I took yesterday:
This is a picture of Crazy Horse from our rig. The next one is our campsite.
The last picture is a view from our campsite to across the highway and the pasture . We mostly hear the highway noise when we are outside ...nothing more than what we heard at Deer Creek Valley in Topeka.
So stay tuned to see how our day goes tomorrow......
Until next time!
BJ
Monday am we were up and around early since our bodies are still on Central time and we are on Mountain time! We decided to go to the Crazy Horse Memorial to meet our new "bosses" and see what we had to do..... so we did!
We met several people and got our schedules to begin on Wednesday from 9-5 for right now. This organization is still ran by the owner of the Crazy Horse Memorial Mrs. "Z"....she makes all the schedules daily.... we were told she is in her upper 80's..... very interesting story of the Crazy HOrse monument and compound itself...
We are excited about working and getting to know what our jobs will be. I am going to be a prep cook and will be cooking with our friend, Betty. Betty and Steve worked with us at Amazon last fall. They are great people and we have had lots of fun with them.. This summer should be no exception! Bill is going to drive a van from the ticket booth to the base of the mountain and back...maybe 1/4 mile.... we took the "tour" yesterday and he will "ride" along for a week or so then go on his own....
We had beautiful weather yesterday am but by 2:30 yesterday the clouds began to move in and became misty and then raining in the evening....about 2:30 yesterday we lost our satellite service and we fought with that about 2 1/2 hrs. trying to find a signal again.... calling DISH did no good and even a call to a guy in Hot Springs south of here didn't help. So he moved the satellite behind the camper this am and got a great strong signal...we don't know what exactly happened..my guess is the clouds covered it up and the signal wasn't that strong to get through them.
Mid morning we made a road trip to Hill City which is north of here to look for cheaper fuel..not to be found so we went onto Rapid City even farther north about 25 miles from where we are.... we also found a Lowe's so Bill got a chain link fence pole to make a new post for the satellite tripod.... It was 62 in Rapid City and by the time we got back to Custer here it was 42 and the wind is STILL blowing hard! It might be a long long summer!
Here are some pictures I took yesterday:
This is a picture of Crazy Horse from our rig. The next one is our campsite.
The last picture is a view from our campsite to across the highway and the pasture . We mostly hear the highway noise when we are outside ...nothing more than what we heard at Deer Creek Valley in Topeka.
So stay tuned to see how our day goes tomorrow......
Until next time!
BJ
Saturday, May 7, 2011
On the road again
Greetings for this evening!
We are on the road heading to Custer, South Dakota to our summer job. We left this am around 8 and arrived here at 4PM Mountain Time. This is a very small park and we are the only ones here! The owner's house is right next to us but we haven't seen anyone yet this evening!
This has been a busy week with the kids..... going to get them on the bus and then going back over to pick them up off the bus and daycare....lots of miles on the truck this week! But we have had fun with them and enjoy spending time with them even if it was short "spurts" of time!
It rained a couple of times in Topeka this past week but the temp's were finally comfortable! It is to be 90 this next week there but a high of 37 in Custer..... OF COURSE we would be going where it is cold! haha!!!
We are looking forward to starting our new jobs next week.... just to see what all they will entail and will expected of us. Our friends are already there and working...
they said they are very busy already.
We haven't seen very many RV's on the road today but maybe it is early in the season yet for traveling.
Not much else going on.... we will arrive early afternoon in Custer tomorrow.....
Stay tuned!
BJ
We are on the road heading to Custer, South Dakota to our summer job. We left this am around 8 and arrived here at 4PM Mountain Time. This is a very small park and we are the only ones here! The owner's house is right next to us but we haven't seen anyone yet this evening!
This has been a busy week with the kids..... going to get them on the bus and then going back over to pick them up off the bus and daycare....lots of miles on the truck this week! But we have had fun with them and enjoy spending time with them even if it was short "spurts" of time!
It rained a couple of times in Topeka this past week but the temp's were finally comfortable! It is to be 90 this next week there but a high of 37 in Custer..... OF COURSE we would be going where it is cold! haha!!!
We are looking forward to starting our new jobs next week.... just to see what all they will entail and will expected of us. Our friends are already there and working...
they said they are very busy already.
We haven't seen very many RV's on the road today but maybe it is early in the season yet for traveling.
Not much else going on.... we will arrive early afternoon in Custer tomorrow.....
Stay tuned!
BJ
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Where is the sun???
I have truly meant to write sooner since we have not had to work "working" in our schedule for this month and apologize again for not writing!
It has been a somewhat busy month with the grandkids' schedules and babysitting when we are asked. The day after we got here our son-in-law,Ryan, and his parents left to go to the Masters' in Georgia for 3 days....so that meant getting up very early each day that week and being at their house by 7 so Erin could go to work and help get the boys up and around to school. Then off we went on our day of whatever we needed to get done. We cleaned and sorted cabinets and straightened cabinets back up again. Glad that is done... We took some things over to storage and Bill changed the oil in the truck. We then met the boys' after school and sometimes took them to ball practice. Whew! What a week ...hitting the ground running all the way!
I did have a dr. appt. with my podiatrist to have another cortisone shot in my foot.... the pain of the Morton's neuroma is gone for a few months at least! Yea!!!
Last week was the semi yearly dental appt....glad that is done also...... the dentist was away on maternity leave so didn't get to see her this time.
I have set my sewing machine up and have been working on making blocks for another quilt for our bed.... got most of the blocks done yesterday afternoon but need to check the number and see if I have made enough. The next step is sewing the blocks together. I am going to wait and have it quilted in Arizona next fall.
Last Thursday and Friday we babysat our granddaughter Lauren since she did not have daycare for those 2 days. It was fun and we had a wonderful time watching her...she is happy and very good most of the time..... she loves to sing and help in any way....just like a 2 yr. old!
Saturday afternoon, we went over to Ryan's parents house for an Easter egg hunt for the 5 little grandkids... 5 being Ryan's sister has 2 boys...
We went over to Erin and Ryan's for Easter dinner after going to church. We had a nice day and it was finally fairly nice outside. But the nice weather didn't decide to stay...it has been cold and rainy most of the week and the sun is really trying to peek out as I write this this morning.
Bill finished our patio table for the patio.... if you remember the last time I wrote he refinished a table that we got in Indiana. We couldn't get rid of the table base in Az. so we decided to make it into a patio table for us....he can take the top off when we travel. We bought a formica sink cutout top for $5 at a place in Phoenix. It works perfect!Now to be able to go outside and sit and enjoy the sun!
I will take a picture and post on the next post. We will be leaving next weekend for our summer job in Custer, SD.....
So that is about it for now..... we have some errands to run today and then we are meeting some friends and Megan and Jeff for fried chicken tonite for dinner! Yummy!!!
Until next time!
BJ
It has been a somewhat busy month with the grandkids' schedules and babysitting when we are asked. The day after we got here our son-in-law,Ryan, and his parents left to go to the Masters' in Georgia for 3 days....so that meant getting up very early each day that week and being at their house by 7 so Erin could go to work and help get the boys up and around to school. Then off we went on our day of whatever we needed to get done. We cleaned and sorted cabinets and straightened cabinets back up again. Glad that is done... We took some things over to storage and Bill changed the oil in the truck. We then met the boys' after school and sometimes took them to ball practice. Whew! What a week ...hitting the ground running all the way!
I did have a dr. appt. with my podiatrist to have another cortisone shot in my foot.... the pain of the Morton's neuroma is gone for a few months at least! Yea!!!
Last week was the semi yearly dental appt....glad that is done also...... the dentist was away on maternity leave so didn't get to see her this time.
I have set my sewing machine up and have been working on making blocks for another quilt for our bed.... got most of the blocks done yesterday afternoon but need to check the number and see if I have made enough. The next step is sewing the blocks together. I am going to wait and have it quilted in Arizona next fall.
Last Thursday and Friday we babysat our granddaughter Lauren since she did not have daycare for those 2 days. It was fun and we had a wonderful time watching her...she is happy and very good most of the time..... she loves to sing and help in any way....just like a 2 yr. old!
Saturday afternoon, we went over to Ryan's parents house for an Easter egg hunt for the 5 little grandkids... 5 being Ryan's sister has 2 boys...
We went over to Erin and Ryan's for Easter dinner after going to church. We had a nice day and it was finally fairly nice outside. But the nice weather didn't decide to stay...it has been cold and rainy most of the week and the sun is really trying to peek out as I write this this morning.
Bill finished our patio table for the patio.... if you remember the last time I wrote he refinished a table that we got in Indiana. We couldn't get rid of the table base in Az. so we decided to make it into a patio table for us....he can take the top off when we travel. We bought a formica sink cutout top for $5 at a place in Phoenix. It works perfect!Now to be able to go outside and sit and enjoy the sun!
I will take a picture and post on the next post. We will be leaving next weekend for our summer job in Custer, SD.....
So that is about it for now..... we have some errands to run today and then we are meeting some friends and Megan and Jeff for fried chicken tonite for dinner! Yummy!!!
Until next time!
BJ
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Still alive and well in Kansas
I know I know..... I am way behind in our daily postings which have become few and far between! We have had a busy March and thoroughly enjoyed our time in El Mirage. The time and days just seemed to fly by which consisted of working and it seemed we usually had plans in the evening also......
We have been asked back for next year and..... my prayers have been answered!!!! We are going back in mid-October!!!! yahooo!!! No Amazon!!!!
Bill got our kitchen table revamped and we love it! The base is definitely more stable and heavier than we had before. We didn't know what to do with the other base...we even set it outside on the street to see if anyone wanted it...no one took it. So we decided to make a top for it and use it as a patio table.... we heard about a place that sold kitchen sink cutouts for $5... so we got one. Bill has to now cut out the bottom of the base where the cutout will sit and fix it like he wants it. We want it to be movable and removable so it can travel..... But he got our table done! He refinished the whole table and it looks great!
I finished a huge lap quilt while in Az. I quilted it also. It fits on the top of our bed so it is almost a queen size. I also made some placemats for Megan and a table runner for Erin. So my projects got finished also. I also made a planter for a philodendron that I bought in Az.
We really didn't travel very much while in AZ. this time.... we only went to Mexico and Quartzite..... the fuel prices were climbing and we decided not to travel much due to that. I didn't even make it to Tuscon to see my uncle and cousins which I really wanted to do.... next fall for sure!
Bill began working 4 days a week towards the end of February and he liked that. He will work 4 days a week next year also... 2 of those days will go toward our site and he will get paid for the other 2 days. I will continue what I was doing in the Activities office which I liked also.
During the 3 week in March, Luke Air Force Base holds their biennial Air Show....the weekend was great although sometimes cloudy but we were able to see the Thunderbirds flying right over our heads! It was amazing and so neat to see them... we could even see the pilots they were so close. Bill took some pictures on top of the rig .... he also got lots of pictures of the clouds too--trying to get them as close as he could!
The kids are doing well and it was great seeing them again. We will be trying to see them as often as we can while we are here for the month.
Brayden and Bryson baseball season begins next Monday and Tuesday. We will go to as many as we are here for.
The truck did great on our way home and we even got up to 13 miles per gallon!!! It was great! We left last Friday and got to Albuquerque for the night. We had dinner with Bill's cousin, Jeannie and Butch...it was great seeing them again and catching up about their family.
Saturday night we spent in Liberal Kansas at a fairly new RV park on the east edge of Liberal. Nice small park.... The wind was beginning to blow a little bit so we were glad to get off the road. Sunday am we left around 8:30 and got to Great Bend around noon. The wind was blowing a little harder and it really started to blow late afternoon. When we got home from our friends ...the big slideout was blowing so hard it moved it in some so we brought it in. We had stopped to see out the end cap gelcoat shine coming off. It will have to be repainted sometime. The wind blew all night long really hard. Monday the wind was really blowing and I think we both were nervous about heading out but we headed north to Interstate 70. When we got on I-70 the wind pretty pushed us along and it wasn't so bad.
We got to Topeka around 2PM yesterday and got set up. Megan and Jeff came over after work and stayed for dinner. After they left we went over to see Ryan and Erin and the kids.... the little ones had gotten taller and were glad to see us!
The above is a picture of one of the catcus's that were in bloom a couple of weeks ago. It was so pretty! Enjoy!
Well, that about catches us up for this time!
Bill and I didn't do much today as I had to get some meds and later this afternoon we are going to get the kids from school and fix supper for them before they have ball practice....
Have a good evening! Stay tuned! You never know when I will write again!
BJ
We have been asked back for next year and..... my prayers have been answered!!!! We are going back in mid-October!!!! yahooo!!! No Amazon!!!!
Bill got our kitchen table revamped and we love it! The base is definitely more stable and heavier than we had before. We didn't know what to do with the other base...we even set it outside on the street to see if anyone wanted it...no one took it. So we decided to make a top for it and use it as a patio table.... we heard about a place that sold kitchen sink cutouts for $5... so we got one. Bill has to now cut out the bottom of the base where the cutout will sit and fix it like he wants it. We want it to be movable and removable so it can travel..... But he got our table done! He refinished the whole table and it looks great!
I finished a huge lap quilt while in Az. I quilted it also. It fits on the top of our bed so it is almost a queen size. I also made some placemats for Megan and a table runner for Erin. So my projects got finished also. I also made a planter for a philodendron that I bought in Az.
We really didn't travel very much while in AZ. this time.... we only went to Mexico and Quartzite..... the fuel prices were climbing and we decided not to travel much due to that. I didn't even make it to Tuscon to see my uncle and cousins which I really wanted to do.... next fall for sure!
Bill began working 4 days a week towards the end of February and he liked that. He will work 4 days a week next year also... 2 of those days will go toward our site and he will get paid for the other 2 days. I will continue what I was doing in the Activities office which I liked also.
During the 3 week in March, Luke Air Force Base holds their biennial Air Show....the weekend was great although sometimes cloudy but we were able to see the Thunderbirds flying right over our heads! It was amazing and so neat to see them... we could even see the pilots they were so close. Bill took some pictures on top of the rig .... he also got lots of pictures of the clouds too--trying to get them as close as he could!
The kids are doing well and it was great seeing them again. We will be trying to see them as often as we can while we are here for the month.
Brayden and Bryson baseball season begins next Monday and Tuesday. We will go to as many as we are here for.
The truck did great on our way home and we even got up to 13 miles per gallon!!! It was great! We left last Friday and got to Albuquerque for the night. We had dinner with Bill's cousin, Jeannie and Butch...it was great seeing them again and catching up about their family.
Saturday night we spent in Liberal Kansas at a fairly new RV park on the east edge of Liberal. Nice small park.... The wind was beginning to blow a little bit so we were glad to get off the road. Sunday am we left around 8:30 and got to Great Bend around noon. The wind was blowing a little harder and it really started to blow late afternoon. When we got home from our friends ...the big slideout was blowing so hard it moved it in some so we brought it in. We had stopped to see out the end cap gelcoat shine coming off. It will have to be repainted sometime. The wind blew all night long really hard. Monday the wind was really blowing and I think we both were nervous about heading out but we headed north to Interstate 70. When we got on I-70 the wind pretty pushed us along and it wasn't so bad.
We got to Topeka around 2PM yesterday and got set up. Megan and Jeff came over after work and stayed for dinner. After they left we went over to see Ryan and Erin and the kids.... the little ones had gotten taller and were glad to see us!
The above is a picture of one of the catcus's that were in bloom a couple of weeks ago. It was so pretty! Enjoy!
Well, that about catches us up for this time!
Bill and I didn't do much today as I had to get some meds and later this afternoon we are going to get the kids from school and fix supper for them before they have ball practice....
Have a good evening! Stay tuned! You never know when I will write again!
BJ
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tuesday am and we are still here!
Good morning!
It has been along time since I"ve last posted but we have had a busy month! We have 3 more couples from our Kansas camping Newmar club joining us now and we have been on the run!!!
Making a trip to Mexico for meds and out of there safely! haha!!! No problems at all..... lots of Snowbirds there so felt pretty safe. They spoke better English there than the Mexican's in Progresso......
We traveled last Sunday to Quartzite....it is a very small town in the desert but during the winter months it becomes a huge huge "city" of RVer's "boondocking" in the desert. Boondocking is finding a spot and having no water or elec. hookups..... they are just there and when they are out of water they hook back up and head to town or to someplace that has water...most people out in the desert use generators to have lights,etc..... they are BLM land and the "rent" is very minimal..... that kind of life is not for us..... we were just amazed at the number of RV's in Q. Thousands, and thousands....... The weather was chilly and windy so that meant the dirt was blowing ..... We went to the RV show tent and then down a couple of the other rows and headed home. There were 6 of us and the other couples had seen enough... it becomes overwhelming after a bit because things look the same..... same shirt places, tools, kitchen supply etc....... lots of jewelry this year of course.
Last Friday, 9 of us went to a huge Vendor show which was mostly quilting items but there were other hobbies there also.... had a good time with everyone .It was in the center of Phoenix at the fairgrounds so it took awhile to get there.
One month down and this is kind of our hump month as we will be winding down with activities next month. The 3 Kansas couples will be leaving ....Jim and Vickie will leave tomorrow if the weather is good and the others at the end of the month.
We will really hate to see them all go...we have had a great time with everyone.
Now for the weather....it has been fairly decent here until last night and yesterday...windy windy and cold! It was a high of 66 yesterday but it was cold! it got down to about 33 last night and the wind is really howling today..... we are bundled up in winter clothes again! The storm that is hitting Kansas and east is affecting us too..... Freeze warnings out for last night and the next 2 nights.
Work is going very well and we both like what we are doing.... we just hope they will ask us back next year..... we will probably come down earlier if we come back.
Almost time to head to work this am for our day...... Bill has left already and was bundled up with a hooded sweatshirt and gloves on this am......
I have a sweater and jeans!
Stay warm and safe!
Until next time!
BJ
It has been along time since I"ve last posted but we have had a busy month! We have 3 more couples from our Kansas camping Newmar club joining us now and we have been on the run!!!
Making a trip to Mexico for meds and out of there safely! haha!!! No problems at all..... lots of Snowbirds there so felt pretty safe. They spoke better English there than the Mexican's in Progresso......
We traveled last Sunday to Quartzite....it is a very small town in the desert but during the winter months it becomes a huge huge "city" of RVer's "boondocking" in the desert. Boondocking is finding a spot and having no water or elec. hookups..... they are just there and when they are out of water they hook back up and head to town or to someplace that has water...most people out in the desert use generators to have lights,etc..... they are BLM land and the "rent" is very minimal..... that kind of life is not for us..... we were just amazed at the number of RV's in Q. Thousands, and thousands....... The weather was chilly and windy so that meant the dirt was blowing ..... We went to the RV show tent and then down a couple of the other rows and headed home. There were 6 of us and the other couples had seen enough... it becomes overwhelming after a bit because things look the same..... same shirt places, tools, kitchen supply etc....... lots of jewelry this year of course.
Last Friday, 9 of us went to a huge Vendor show which was mostly quilting items but there were other hobbies there also.... had a good time with everyone .It was in the center of Phoenix at the fairgrounds so it took awhile to get there.
One month down and this is kind of our hump month as we will be winding down with activities next month. The 3 Kansas couples will be leaving ....Jim and Vickie will leave tomorrow if the weather is good and the others at the end of the month.
We will really hate to see them all go...we have had a great time with everyone.
Now for the weather....it has been fairly decent here until last night and yesterday...windy windy and cold! It was a high of 66 yesterday but it was cold! it got down to about 33 last night and the wind is really howling today..... we are bundled up in winter clothes again! The storm that is hitting Kansas and east is affecting us too..... Freeze warnings out for last night and the next 2 nights.
Work is going very well and we both like what we are doing.... we just hope they will ask us back next year..... we will probably come down earlier if we come back.
Almost time to head to work this am for our day...... Bill has left already and was bundled up with a hooded sweatshirt and gloves on this am......
I have a sweater and jeans!
Stay warm and safe!
Until next time!
BJ
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!!!
Happy New Year from now sunny Arizona!!!
We had a wonderful Christmas with the kids and left early 6:15AM Sunday am to begin our journey heading southwest.... taking us through Great Bend, Ks. Dodge City and onto Dallhart, Texas as our stopping place for the 1st evening. We met our friends, Jim and Vickie, from Topeka also in our camping club, on I-70 and traveled together from Topeka. The RV park we stayed at in Dalhart was called RV Corral. A nice little park with level sites and full hookups so we were happy!
Monday morning arrived early and we left in the dark around 7ish and continued traveling southwest on Highway 54 cutting across Ks., Ok. and Texas into New Mexico. Great traveling weather this time of year...no complaints there! As we were Tucumcari, New Mexico, Jim called and said he needed to stop as something was wrong with his tow Jeep. He had a flat tire. Bill told him we would go on and wait for them up the road and so we did. He didn't want to travel far on the spare tire so we took it easy...... several miles down the road I could smell smoke and something hot...about that time we saw oil smoke coming from their Jeep! Made a quick call to them and he pulled over. The torn up tire was in the passenger side front seat and it had possibly knocked the 4wheel drive button engaged. So it tore up the differential....long story short they had to stay in Santa Rosa and get their jeep fixed. We decided since they had to stay and get their jeep fixed we would go on to LasCruces. They had to have their jeep towed to Santa Rosa to be fixed.
We left them around Noon on Monday and made it to Hacienda RV Resort about 5:30...that is a beautiful park..... we didn't get to scout around Las Cruces as we didn't unhook that night. Getting up early and deciding to leave early again so we could come on into El Mirage due to the coming storm we made it all the way into El Mirage early afternoon Tuesday. We were able to get into our site and not wait for the other couple who were here to leave as they left because the storm was coming. So we were able to get set up and were greeted by many friends we met when we were here 2 years ago. We are in the same area of the park just on another street behind where we were originally.
Wednesday the rain began and it rained all day Wednesday and then the wind blew that night...it really blew and was quite cold..... We made a Walmart run and a couple of other places to get necessary things for the "set up"...... like hose connections.
Bill says we never have enough hose connections!
Thursday was cleaning day and also a trip back to Walmart to get some meds..... it took so long Thursday to get some meds and transferring prescriptions etc. we decided to try Walgreens. So next week I will call my dr. and see about getting prescrips sent here to take to Walgreens... just down the street about 3 blocks.... much more convenient.
I waited over and hr at the pharmacy for a script to be transferred and they only had 2 gals there waiting on everyone..
Friday, was a sunny but very cold day..... we were invited over to a couple's house that live here in the park for dinner. We each brought something and my "something" was dessert. I made a dessert called Dessert Rosa.... my sister gave me the recipe and it was delicious! Everyone really liked it and we even brought some home but Bill probably won't eat any as it has pineapple in it!
There was a group of 10 of us for dinner. We had a great time visiting and catching up with everyone!
For New Years, the park had a dance and so 8 of us went together. We had fun and it was a great way to break in the New Year! We celebrated at midnight said our goodbye's and were home at 12:10!!!! hahah!!!!
Today has been a lazy day. Bill is outside putting his dash cover on the truck which I got him for Christmas. We are going to a movie later this afternoon ....it has been along time since we have been to a movie... can't wait for the popcorn!!!
Happy New Year!
Until next time!
B&J
We had a wonderful Christmas with the kids and left early 6:15AM Sunday am to begin our journey heading southwest.... taking us through Great Bend, Ks. Dodge City and onto Dallhart, Texas as our stopping place for the 1st evening. We met our friends, Jim and Vickie, from Topeka also in our camping club, on I-70 and traveled together from Topeka. The RV park we stayed at in Dalhart was called RV Corral. A nice little park with level sites and full hookups so we were happy!
Monday morning arrived early and we left in the dark around 7ish and continued traveling southwest on Highway 54 cutting across Ks., Ok. and Texas into New Mexico. Great traveling weather this time of year...no complaints there! As we were Tucumcari, New Mexico, Jim called and said he needed to stop as something was wrong with his tow Jeep. He had a flat tire. Bill told him we would go on and wait for them up the road and so we did. He didn't want to travel far on the spare tire so we took it easy...... several miles down the road I could smell smoke and something hot...about that time we saw oil smoke coming from their Jeep! Made a quick call to them and he pulled over. The torn up tire was in the passenger side front seat and it had possibly knocked the 4wheel drive button engaged. So it tore up the differential....long story short they had to stay in Santa Rosa and get their jeep fixed. We decided since they had to stay and get their jeep fixed we would go on to LasCruces. They had to have their jeep towed to Santa Rosa to be fixed.
We left them around Noon on Monday and made it to Hacienda RV Resort about 5:30...that is a beautiful park..... we didn't get to scout around Las Cruces as we didn't unhook that night. Getting up early and deciding to leave early again so we could come on into El Mirage due to the coming storm we made it all the way into El Mirage early afternoon Tuesday. We were able to get into our site and not wait for the other couple who were here to leave as they left because the storm was coming. So we were able to get set up and were greeted by many friends we met when we were here 2 years ago. We are in the same area of the park just on another street behind where we were originally.
Wednesday the rain began and it rained all day Wednesday and then the wind blew that night...it really blew and was quite cold..... We made a Walmart run and a couple of other places to get necessary things for the "set up"...... like hose connections.
Bill says we never have enough hose connections!
Thursday was cleaning day and also a trip back to Walmart to get some meds..... it took so long Thursday to get some meds and transferring prescriptions etc. we decided to try Walgreens. So next week I will call my dr. and see about getting prescrips sent here to take to Walgreens... just down the street about 3 blocks.... much more convenient.
I waited over and hr at the pharmacy for a script to be transferred and they only had 2 gals there waiting on everyone..
Friday, was a sunny but very cold day..... we were invited over to a couple's house that live here in the park for dinner. We each brought something and my "something" was dessert. I made a dessert called Dessert Rosa.... my sister gave me the recipe and it was delicious! Everyone really liked it and we even brought some home but Bill probably won't eat any as it has pineapple in it!
There was a group of 10 of us for dinner. We had a great time visiting and catching up with everyone!
For New Years, the park had a dance and so 8 of us went together. We had fun and it was a great way to break in the New Year! We celebrated at midnight said our goodbye's and were home at 12:10!!!! hahah!!!!
Today has been a lazy day. Bill is outside putting his dash cover on the truck which I got him for Christmas. We are going to a movie later this afternoon ....it has been along time since we have been to a movie... can't wait for the popcorn!!!
Happy New Year!
Until next time!
B&J
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