Looking For A Lull

Not writing a lot today.  Very bummed about the loss of our wonderful Saratoga.  I miss her.

Aside from work things have been slow around here for a change, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been filling my time with projects.  It seems like we've been in GO mode for three straight months and its nice to have a little break in the action to recharge.  That said, I've gotten some things done around the house and still have more on my list. I've replaced the kitchen faucet, we've put in the air conditioners, and done some weeding but it doesn't feel like I've yet scratched the surface of my to do list yet.  My to do list is long and contains some pretty ambitious items along with some smaller ones as well; Things like Fix/replace the roof over the deck Repair the water damage in the ceiling from my mouse friends that ate through a water line. Replace the tub faucet and hardware upstairs. Trim the trees that I can reach Finish cleaning the gutters. Repair some of the cracked/settling on the ceilings Build a planter box for the front ...

I mentioned our Grand-kitten and Grand-puppy before but I haven't put any pictures up here yet.  I thought it is high time I do that! This is Freckles.  She is staying with us for a few days while TW airs out his place from the water.  She is a ton of fun and she has already helped out around the house by catching a mouse! This is Serenity catching some rays on the deck with "Aunt Donk".  She is a lot of fun.  Very curious, but it's a laid back curious.  She is coming to stay for a bit while Katia and Tony are on vacation.  I can hardly wait.  I don't want to forget "The boys" Charlie and Grinch, although I keep forgetting to take pictures of them when we visit.  They don't come to visit us since they are more excitable and that many dogs in one place is a lot to handle!

This has been the rainiest it's been here in Ohio since we arrived from New Jersey in 2007.  The ground is soaked, many roads are closed, and people all over have complained about flooded basements and worse!  Aside from a very muddy yard, we've been pretty fortunate to avoid all of the problems with the water, but I feel for those who haven't. TW even got a bit of water in his kitchen at his new place.  I don't think this will be a normal occurrence for him so after it dries up a bit around here he should be fine.  In the meantime our Grand Kitten is visiting for a few days while he opens the windows and doors and blows the water out (I'll have to take some pictures while she's here). I hate to think about what the Mosquitoes are going to be like when all that water finally stagnates and they start hatching. *Shudder*.  I may have to invest in some plate armour and ankle weights. We will probably spend part of the weekend out at the campground this weeken...

The two week vacation was a great time but, as vacations often are, it was packed and busy and there was always something going on.  It was also preceded by my son moving, moving my office, and all the prep work and followed by Karen's Mom visiting and my awesome Aunt and Uncle visiting after that.  This is the first week in a while I haven't had a ton of stuff going on except for work and I'm trying to rest up. We went out to the camper this weekend to stay, rest, and test the new hitch.  It was a nice quiet get away and we'll do it almost every weekend until we hook up again for our Michigan trip. The Michigan trip will be a working trip for me and a another good test of the setup and equipment for working on the road before heading south for winter.  It will also give us an opportunity to spend time with friends and family up there as well. Getting ready to Hitch Bodie and Chappy the first time!

Bodie came with the puck system so it didn't make much sense to remove the old hitch from Delilah when we traded her in.  I bought a new hitch from a local dealer and he got it delivered in record time delivered in record time.  The installation was simple except for moving around the bulky hitch, attach the legs, drop it in the pucks and close the latches. Hitching up to the trailer was a little difficult though.  The jaws are supposed to close and lock when you back up to the pin, but I couldn't get them to close all the way.  After a few attempts moving forward and then back again we finally did get it to engage so I'm hopeful that over time it will "loosen up" and be less of a hassle. It's a nice hitch system though and I like the design.  Curt Q20 if you are interested in that sort of thing.

Returning to Michigan and then to Ohio was very uneventful but sad as always to see the end of a vacation coming.  The Donk was a real trooper and on the final leg between Michigan and Ohio it was just her and I in the truck since Karen rode back in her own car with her Mom.  She actually fell asleep, unaided by the good drugs, with her head snuggled next to my elbow for most of that final trip. Sometime during the ride from SD to MI, I can't recall exactly when, the subject was brought up by Karen that Delilah's back seat was 'just to small' for a big dog like Donk and WAY to small for both her and the Donk so we discussed getting a new truck. I realize there is still much to tell about the trip, dropping the trailer off at the campground and other events that have occurred and I promise to get to most of that, but because I'm excited to share and sad to see Delilah go I want to introduce our new tow vehicle  "Bodie" (Short for Boadicea) Bodie at ...

It was time for us to start our trip back so we decided to make our way through the Indian reservation to Wounded Knee and then on to the same campground in MN that we stayed at on the way out.  You won't find any pictures of Wounded Knee because we only stopped for a second and didn't even make it out of the truck before we were accosted by people trying to sell us little trinkets.  It is really sad to see the state of what should be a hallowed place that holds the story of a part of American history that should not be forgotten barely represented and neglected.  So sad. I chose the headline for this post because of the state of things that we found when we arrived at our campground in MN.  While we were gone they got a TON of rain.  Many sites were flooded, they warned us that they couldn't mow because the mower got stuck in the mud a couple of times and OMG the bugs.  We drove through swarms of bugs on the way there and Chappy will need a big bath when...

After spending a day in Hot Springs we packed up the trailer and moved to a new campground just outside that city since it would be a good jumping point for a quick trip across the reservation to Wounded Knee on our way to our midway return point. Aside from the move the day was pretty relaxing and the campground was beautiful.  We decided not to cook for lunch and instead check out a cool brew pub we passed on the way to the campground.  That was interesting.  The menu had many items crossed off the pages and the monitors on the wall that indicate what beers where available held very few choices.  It turns out the place was closing down at the end of the week. :(  The food was delicious though and the beers we tried were quite good and unique.  I'd suggest trying the raspberry Jalapeno beer, but alas no chance for that any longer.  They also had a cool gimmick where they could can a 32 oz of beer to take home with you a "crowler" if you will.  ...

The last couple days of our time in SD we decided to spend  around Hot Springs, SD.  The city got it's name from the Native Americans (Sioux and Cheyenne) that came to the area to enjoy the warm springs and considered them to be sacred.  Europeans came into the area in the 1800's and not long after built a few health resorts catering to the belief that the warm springs and others like them around the country had some healing and therapeutic qualities. It is home to the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, an Old Sanitarium that cared for TB patients and then was converted into a VA hospital (now a historic landmark), and really kick ass museum of the towns history in an old school house on a hill overlooking the town. Located just south of Wind Cave national park the town and it's surrounding areas offer quite a few interesting things to do especially for those that like nature, history, and science. Our first day there was a day trip from Custer where we visited the Mammot...

Before the trip we chose a campground near Custer, SD so we were central to all of the places we wanted to go, but not having spent time in the little town I didn't know what we would find. It turns out it was a perfect little place for some shopping, restaurants, and groceries.  We even were able to pick up a replacement stinky slinky from the local hardware store after ours broke. (More on that some other time.) Custer is located just about 10 miles south of the Crazy Horse monument almost right between Custer state park and Jewel cave making it a great place to visit if you are headed to any of those locations.  There is a small grocery store located on the east side of town right off the main drag and their prices are not bad considering they are literally the only place nearby for groceries. We spent time in many of the shops and ate at quite a few restaurants, but our favorite was "Buglin' Bull".  The food was excellent as it was at a number of the other...

Deadwood, SD.  I love history and so this was a highlight of the trip for me.  I've read numerous books on Deadwood and I still enjoy it even though much of what is town now was not town originally due to fires and such.  It is still pretty neat. There is still a lot of gambling in town, and even though we didn't gamble, it is a draw to some of those who visit.  We spent our time in the shops, restaurants and saloons picking out gifts to take back home, having some lunch or a drink.  For drinks we had "The Best Bloody Mary in Deadwood" at the Nugget Saloon, and a couple of mixed drinks with moonshine from the "Bloody Nose Saloon".  The bloody mary was $10, but it was REALLY good and lives up to it's hype. We did the bus tour up to Mount Moriah cemetery and saw the graves of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane.  I'm not much for kitschy tours but I knew Karen and Big Joe would enjoy it.  The bus driver was fantastic and I did end up learning a thing or...

The Donk has a sore hip so Karen stayed back at the trailer with her while Big Joe and I went to Jewel Cave.  It was a pretty neat tour of the worlds 3rd largest cave system and not far from the campground either.  I took a ton of video and we'll see how that turned out.  If it looks decent I may put some on here as well. The cave was pretty chilly as caves are, and the walking tour took us about an hour.  I learned some important facts though;  #1 Leaving your jacket at the trailer when going to visit a cave is a bad idea especially if you are sensitive to the cold. When the tour finished up we stopped at a quirky little tourist trap called "Four Mile old West town".  The buildings are pretty run down and the place needs some work, but it was still AWESOME!  There were a ton of old antiques that you don't see every day and the ladies working there were very friendly.  I'd suggest a stop if you have the time. Joe and I finished our outing at...