Yet another bubble busted!

This morning on the early Sunday morning radio program "Standard Time", I heard Bob Hope's "Thanks for the Memories". On this show she plays standard tunes, mostly from the 30's to the 60's. If you listen to the show consistently you find that she plays the same songs a lot. She has played this song before, but for some reason all the stimuli in my life were aligned for me to actually listen to the words this time. This song was apparently introduced in a 1938 movie called, "The Big Broadcast of 1938" and written for that movie by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger. As most anyone over 50 would know, it became Bob Hope's theme song for the rest of his life including the myriad of USO shows he did for the troops. (http://www.byjoy.com/BobHope.html). As the USO's and Bob Hope's TV show evolved, the lyrics to the song evolved to include events and societal change over the years, so the original lyrics were difficult to decipher. In addition, Frank Sinatra recorded his own version, then more recently a group called "Fall Out Boy" wrote and recorded a "rock" version using the title. The title, however is also confusing. You can find the Bob Hope version listed as "Thanks for the Memories" and "Thanks for the Memory".. Sorry, at this point, I don't really care which is correct. I can grammatically make both work. So what busted bubble am I talking about? I have always thought of the song as I believe Bob Hope used it through most of his life; a fond rememberance of times past which developed into endearment.... period. This morning, as I really listened to the original version, sadness grew as the insensitive, melancholic nature of this song unfolded. Yes, Bob and his costar Shirley Ross were thanking each other for the past memories, but it was as they were divorcing after a short marriage. The real message was "Oh well, it's over, but it was fun.... thanks! Good bye!" When you have been growing a loving relationship with the same person since 1959 including over 46 years of marriage, 3 sons, 9 grandchildren, and yes, a great grandson, you don't just say, "thanks, it was fun, good bye".. Although we came from different "worlds" we started our relationship including "the whole family" so we knew we could each exist in each other's world before we started to carve out our own path as a couple in this world. With God's help, we learned to cherish each other and try to change for each other and to accept each other where we each could not change. In the words of Tim McGraw, "a heart don't forget something like that". As we grow older, both of our bodies have changed in shape and the ability to endure, but when we look at each other, I think we still see those teenagers who cruised the root beer stands and got sunburned at the Indiana Dunes. I see how the years have etched a new kind of beauty in her and she calls this fat, short, bald man "hot".. Wow, what a stretch on her part. We can get down when we see that those days are past and won't be again for us, but the good memories bring a twinkle to our eyes and a childish grin to our faces. As we watch our grandkids doing and thinking a lot like we did, we are also thankful that we are able to watch them do it. My problem is that while Bob Hope's song used to start me going back through these files in my mind, chuckling as I go, I can no longer get this pleasure from that song. We didn't make these memories together to cast them aside and go on to another life with another person. I expect that when I hear this song in the future, I will begin to pray for folks who are in the battle for the survival of their relationship. I will have to find a different song to trigger the happy memories of the past, because this one just won't do.. As I look over this post, maybe I should rename it, "a love note to Georgia".. hmmm. You see, that bubble hasn't been busted. It continues to grow as we face new and different challenges together.

Venumb

This morning I was sitting in the B&B for breakfast. There were only 4 other people there at that time; Butch and an older gentleman I hadn't seen before and 2 other guys in their 60's. After I ordered my "usual" (actually Debbie pretty much had it down and I hadn't seen her since early last summer), the 2 other guys left. Then Debbie said to Butch, "we should have asked them about that word". As a person who likes words and their meanings in this day when words seem to be flung around without thought, I was intrigued. Soon after, another couple came in and the gentleman with Butch picked up the bathroom (outside) key and went out the door. Meanwhile Debbie and Butch are discussing "the word". She says, "it begins with V. I couldn't find it with the dictionary, here you look for it". I got my breakfast and the gentleman returned from the "outhouse", laid the key on the counter and said, "I got the word. It's venumb". Now I am really curious. They discussed it a bit, then satisfied in their quest, dropped it. Now I'm in trouble. I can't just sit there wondering. So the first thing I did as I got up to settle my check was to tell the gentleman that I was glad to know that I wasn't the only one who does my best thinking in the bathroom. After that, I went to the counter to pay and had to ask Debbie, "What was the question?".. She said, "what question". I said, "the word y'all were looking for". She said, "Oh, it was a word scramble puzzle". I dropped it, paid, and left. After filling the tank with gasoline for the trip to Indy, I hooked up my computer and went googling for venumb. I guess I"m not awake enough to handle the results. I got all kinds of hits, but they seemed to be in all directions. Is it a video game, something from Avitar, someone's screen name, a warcraft tool or what. Although I probably won't get it done, now I want to find the puzzle to see the context, cause I would never have thought it was a word. ... and I still don't know what it means.

Weekend in Heaven, Week of Rain, and a Day from Hell

Having only 2 weekends to explore in Oregon for this trip, we spent one in the Sisters, Redmond area (See Oregon High Desert post), we of course had to spend last weekend on the coast. Rather than trying to see "something new" we did a "spa date" at the Whale Cove Inn and spent much of the time watching the waves crashing. On facebook, I am posting more wave crashing pics than anyone could want. Seems the Pacific was more demonstrative than in the past. Although it rained on Saturday, Sunday it was sunny and in the high 50's, with heavenly views all around us. As usual, I don't think the pictures really capture it and the repetative thunder of crashing waves certainly add to the ambiance. That was the weekend in Heaven. Being in Oregon during the "rainy season" has become natural for us on this our 3rd January/February visit to help teach the basic radiology course. The new thing this time is that there is actually an "on staff'" radiologist at Oregon State. Dr. Susanne Stieger is a "European boarded" radiologist who joined the faculty last July. We really enjoyed Susanne and her family and I enjoyed working with her. Back to the rain. I think this week, we saw more rain than we had in the past. A couple of days I was glad that although I had walked to work, Georgia picked me up after work because of the rain. This week was busier than usual as I wrapped up my part of teaching in the course as well as my interaction with senior students on radiology rotation in the clinic. These were the students I taught in the basic course on our first trip to Oregon plus a couple of Caribbean students. Friday night, we got packed up, took a couple of bags to FedEx to ship home, then off to Portland for a quick overnight near the airport. We got settled in and I went out to fill the Camry with gas. The directions the desk clerk gave me were good and I drove straight to the nearest gas station. However, on the way back, I apparently missed a turn. If you look at the location of the Portland airport (PDX), you will see that it lies along the Columbia river. I ended up on what is apparently a very scenic drive in the daylight, but at night, it is simply a long road with no turn offs that runs between the river and the airport. I'll have to check it out sometime in the daylight. I finally got back to the room where we watched a little of the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. A little aside here.... We have DirecTV at home. While watching the Colts lose the Superbowl last Sunday evening on the tiny TV in our apartment I saw the DirecTV add saying that we can progrom our DVR to record from a computer or cell phone. I checked it out and gave it a shot. I set it up to record the Ceremony at home.. So once we got home last night, we checked and by golly it worked. What a deal. So you can bet that while we are in Oklahoma during the Big 10 tourney, I will be setting up to record the Illini games. Back to our Day from Hell starting at the Portland Airport. With an 8am flight and the warning to be at the airport 2 hours ahead of departure, we got a 4am wake-up to assure our on-time arrival. In the past, this 2 hour warning has been unnecessary, but this time we used every part of it. When we got to the airport at 6 am, the counter was jammed with people from the 6am flight that was cancelled. We should have known that this was not a Portland problem, but a national problem. We had heard that Hawaii was the only state without snow and that air travel was messed up, but had no idea, really. We printed our boarding passes and just as we were at the counter to check a couple of bags, the line somehow shifted and a group taking supplies to Sierra Leone Africa was in front of us. We watched them tag probably 30-40 containers of supplies. Because of their mission, we couldn't get to concerned about our plight. Because of Georgia's back and foot ills, we decided this trip to ask for wheelchair assistance in airports on this trip. With all the confusion that part got dropped, but we got some help and a small lady in her late 50's was our "pusher". Remember, I'm carrying 2 computers and a bag stuffed with my CPAP and Georgia's nebulizer. Having wheelchair assistance was our salvation at PDX. Not only could we move at a quicker pace, but these people take you through the "fast lane", so we had help with the Security Check, etc. This also happened in Chicago and Dallas on the way out. We made it onto the plane in time and took our deep breaths for the 3+ hour trip to Dallas. Now for the rest of the story. We got off the plane, found the flight to Champaign on the big board and no gate number. The young man who met us with a wheelchair inquired and found it was to be at B3. He took us to one of those electric transporters and we got on. That cart took us for a ride (we came into gate C28) and to an elevator. The driver took us up the elevator where another cart met us. He had new information that our gate was not B13. After dropping some other folks off, he took us to B13. Since we had plenty of time (we arrived at 1pm and were to fly out at 7:10) we wanted to get a meal, so I asked the driver where the nearest eating place was. He said, "TGI Friday's" is back at B11, do you want me to drop you off there?" We thought that was a good idea. Had a great meal, then made our way back to Gate 13. I inquired to be sure we were at the correct gate... good thing I did. Now it was Gate 27. We started hoofing it and I found a wheelchair to help us get to that gate. After a while, there was an announcement that there was a gate change to B23. We wheeled to that gate to find Dr. Fred Troutt. Dr. Troutt was an intern at Purdue while I was in vet school there, was a faculty member at UGA while we were there training for radiology, then in the 90's became the U of I clinical department head (my boss). Here we were in Dallas and there he is. Also at that gate was a former Illinois vet student. They had been at a meeting in Las Vegas. Another couple who used to work in Mahomet was returning from Maui. We went through several time changes as our gate was being used by other "intra-Texas" flights. Then came the "coupe de gras". Gate change to B27 because our plane which was being repaired was abandoned and another plane was brought in, but one of those "intra-Texas" planes was at "our" gate. Having given up the wheelchair at that point, we slowly made our way back to that gate. By the time we got on the plane, all I wanted to do was sit there and wait til we landed in Champaign. The joy of this flight was the flight attendant Kelly who had been through the same confusion as the rest of us. She had a refreshing, no-nonsense approach with a "real person" demeanor. Finally we landed at cold CMI. It was the coldest we had seen since January 18. The warmth of Greg, Mel, and Ava who met us with our car soon melted our moods. Aidan was away at a retreat. Ohh! Our own bed really felt great.

Oregon High Desert

This weekend, we did get away. Drove into the Cascades to stay at a favorite place, The Lodge at Suttle Lake, near Sisters. We were planning to sight see Sunday. As we drove on Saturday afternoon, it rained and rained. We drove through rain and fog and clouds and more rain. I was getting concerned that we would not get to see much because of the weather. We stopped and checked in, then drove the 10 miles or so on into Sisters. During the entire day we couldn't see much. We couldn't see the 3 sisters mountains, 3 fingered Jack, Mount Jefferson or much of anything. Before we left, the tripcheck.com road camera showed the road through the Santiam pass to be full of snow. Becki, bless her heart, loaned us her tire chains (which is a legal matter in the mountains), but by the time we got to the pass, the road was clear. Speaking of Becki, she has become our travel consultant. She sent us to Crater Lake and down the Aufderheide scenic byway. Jason sent us to Astoria. Let's roll back to last week. We were trying to decide what to do this weekend and on one of the radiology computers the screen saver is a collection of beautiful places from around the world. This picture of Smith Rock State Park in Oregon came up. (www.oregonstateparks.org/park_51.php) I had heard of it but knew nothing about it. I turned to Becki and said, "where's this" She said, it's up near Sisters..... See we had been to Sisters several times and across to Bend a couple of times, but never strayed from the "beaten path" ..... much..ha ha. We discussed and found that it was a favorite place for rock climbers. Jack, the ultrasound guy is a rock climber. I checked it out to see if we could see worthwhile sights without hiking or backpacking into the wilderness.... cause we are NOT there. Jack and Becki assured me that we could see some neet stuff. We woke up Sunday morning to clear skys and sunshine. We drove back into Sisters, then the 20 miles to Redmond and another 9 through the small town of Terrebonne, following the signs to Smith Rock State Park. I should tell you that since we started the locums, this is the first trip we have taken without my trusty (most of the time) Mapquest printouts. It worked out great (til we were almost home.... later on that. We stopped in the Terrebonne Assembly of God Church to take an overview of Smith Rock.... Wow. I also found out that Smith Rock is a WORLDWIDE favorite rock climbing destination. We spent the afternoon taking in the different looks of Smith Rock and met several neet people. A retired Coast Guard guy who was in Astoria when the Columbus Day Storm of 1962 occured (google it.... quite a deal). ..... and his wife had visited the Lincoln Library in Springfield (IL). A local guy who was hiking back from a walk along the Crooked River at the base of Smith Rock was born in Champaign-Urbana while his dad was stationed at Chanute AFB. How's this for the influence of a mother. This guy was born and raised in America to an american dad and an English mother..... He had an English accent. You would have thought he was from the British Isles. Well, Becki did it again. Along with info she gave us on Smith Rock, she included lunch at the Terrebonne Depot.. Another gustatory delight. (http://www.terrebonnedepot.com/) Georgia had a great pizza (part.... we had the rest for lunch Monday). I had the South of Central Oregon Buffalo Burger... good... very good. And although I'm trying to stay away from French Fries.... these were GREAT! As a little extra "while you're there" Becki threw in info on the Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint. (www.oregonstateparks.org/park_50.php) It was just north of Terrebonne on 97. At this spot, the Crooked River had cut a 300 foot deep canyon. I'm not sure the pictures do it justice... as usual. There we found that Peter Skene Ogden was a guide to early explorers and Ogden, Utah was named after him. Another WOW! It was then time to head back "home. we decided that since it was close to 5pm, we didn't want to go back down highway 20 which is notoriously twisty and turney.... Not a good thing for old folks in the dark. So we went down the way we had used when we came to Corvallis the first time in February 2008. We took route 22 via Detroit Lake. This road was much easier to drive, especially in the dark although it was quite a bit longer. I had found that I could cut 30 miles from the trip by turning off onto 226 at Lyons going directly to Albany rather than going up to Salem and back south. All was going well. We went through Detroit, stopped at the same rest stop that we hit on our first trip. We went through Mill City, then found the turn off to 226 at Lyons. We were essentially home free. as we drove I was looking for Scio, the next little town when a familiar sign appeared.... Mills City.... uh oh! Somehow we had missed a turn and had doubled back to Mills City. Hmmmmm!!! So we retraced our path to Lyons. About this time Georgia was in need of a Diet Coke fix. She remembered the little Corner Market that we saw just as we turned off 22. As we pulled over to the store which was right along the road, she saw a sign saying that 226 turned right just after the store. It had been hidden by the store's big bright white lit up sign. If we hadn't stopped at the store, I'm sure we would have bypassed it again heading back to Mills City and into our own "Ground Hog Day" experience. Even a diet coke craving can have it's redeeming qualities. After we made the turn, we were in good shape and got into Albany. We drove past "our" Walgreens" and from there on were on a familiar path. Another great sight-seeing experience under our belts, we were ready to rest up for another week..... well, the music awards did keep some of us up a while. Coming back we got to see all the mountains that we missed on Sat.., so, ALL IS WELL AND THE TRIP A COMPLETE SUCCESS!!!

Aaaandd. back to Corvallis

Since the last post, we did Thanksgiving at Greg and Mel's with them and Ava and Aidan's other grandparents, had (I think) a really nice family Christmas on Christmas eve at our house, had Georgia's sister, her daughter and her kids for a few days after Christmas and Georgia's Mom for about 2 weeks before packing for another trip to Corvallis. The night before we were to fly out of CMI, I got a call from the airline that no flights were going out of CMI the next day. Since I was scheduled to lecture in Corvallis the following day, we made arrangements to drive to ORD to fly out. Fortunately, Jeff was available to go with us to bring our car home. Once we got in the air (having been introduced to Garrett's popcorn and caramel corn- I think Mel's is as good or better)... Things went pretty well for a long cross country flight. With the change of plans we got settled in our apartment about 10:30 pm (PST).. It was a welcomed sight. Dave had carried the large suitcase full of "work clothes" that we FEDEX'd out the week before up along with the fan, shredder and printer we had left from before. Aside from our home and Nan's, we have spent more time in this apartment than anywhere else on earth....Wow! Here is the view out my office window looking on the coastal mountain range. This train goes right past our apartment (remember, the base is the Corvallis Depot.) This trip is different because I am not teaching at Illinois this year and there is now an on-site radiologist so rather than the make-shift course schedule we have worked in the past, we are following the OSU course schedule and are actually having labs. I just finished my second week of that course and covering the clinic. The OSU radiologist has been handling it all by herself since we were here in late June. (I think she started in early July). It was great to re-acquaint with old friends and make new friends. The OSU radiologist has brought some organization to the program. She is actually of German/Austrian descent and grew up in western Austria. It is quite possible that Georgia went through her home town when she was in Europe... This shrinking world is amazing. Along that line, I didn't have students in the clinic for this first 2 weeks, but was assigned a large animal surgery resident who grew up in Memphis, TN. Her father has met Mr. Tuohy (Tim McGraw in "The Blind Side"). Because Georgia was feeling punky last weekend, we "stayed home", then drove to Salem to see that movie.. good flick.. Let's see; eating in Corvallis where there is never a lack of interesting places to fill your tummy. We of course have brought home chicken salad from the New Morning Bakery a couple of times (along with their deliceous cherry pie). Have ordered Pizza from Cirello's twice, China Blue once Iovino's once and Cloud 9 once. These are all favorites from the past. Got to go to a new place that we apparently missed last June. They opened last St. Patrick's day. "West Coast Italian" is their description and Terzo is their name. If you go back to our first trip, we raved about the French Bistro. As I understand, that guy is now doing Terzo. (http://www.terzocorvallis.com/) Georgia had these gigantic meatballs and spagetti. I really lucked out in choosing Italian sausage soup... It's a little like Olive Garden's Zupa Tuscana, but oh so much better....mmmmmmm! Then my entree was pork tenderloin scalapini... with fig sauce. OMG. Some of you are old enough to remember the line; "I can't believe I ate the whole thing."... Yup! Then Friday the radiologist who was at OSU for many years and retired some time ago to devote more time to training dogs and enjoying life in Corvallis stopped in the clinic with her dog Billie. I hadn't seen her since she was in Champaign "boning up" on Nuclear Medicine with Dr. Twardock. She took us out to lunch at "Bombs Away".. They have this $5 lunch (mexican) that makes the $5 footlong look like a snack and with so much more flavor... and probably cholesterol, etc. That was good. Kind of a dive, but good eating. We followed that with dinner at El Sol De Mexico with those in the radiology group that could make it.. Lots of Mexican in one day, but that's just fine with me. Oh, I forgot, we also did a carry out one night from "Local Boys" which is a campus favorite of lots of cheap flavorful food... It is traditional Hawaiian... If you remember from a previous post, our great surprise at eating there was the lack of pineapple.. to us Hawaiian means pineapple, but that is apparently not true. OH, while we're on food. Across the parking lot from the vet school is the sports complex. A past OSU graduate is working part time in radiology and his wife works for the OSU football program in this building at the end of the football field called the Valley Football Center. Y'all have heard about the "training table" where the athletes eat. Four days a week, anyone can eat in the cafeteria where the athletes eat for $7. Well, one lunchtime, we went over and partook.... again, mmmmmmm! and lots of it. Supposedly they are also open during dinner in the early evening, but we haven't hit that yet. This veterinarian grew up near Buffalo, Wyoming in the Bighorn mountains when we crossed on our last trip home from Washington State. Again that small world is shrinking. I have put some pictures here that Georgia took last nite at El Sol de Mexico with some of the radiology group. Notice. Sara's dad is Columbian and her mom is German/Austrian... Does she remind anyone else of our little Bruno whose mom and dad are Kneller and Perez.. Obvioulsy, we thought she was darling.

Before I leave this post there is one more little item. If you go back to last June when I was walking along the track to work, you will find my idea of the "classic Oregon home". At that time one morning, I met the lady of the house tending their raised garden boxes and also met their little dog. Last night, as I passed their house, "Chuck" was out looking over his workshop with a beer in one hand and a cigar in the other, making plans of upkeep. I stopped and we chatted. He is a high school guidance counselor and as a side, a singer/songwriter. I'm pretty sure I posted a picture of their cute little house by the tracks last June. I also met their cat whom I surprised Friday morning. Guess he wasn't quite awake until I nearly stepped on him. Although I, again, am making my doctors happy with this twice a day mile walk, I don't think it is causing me to loose weight. Seems the old falciform ligament is storing up plenty for that impending famine. As a parting shot, here is a picture Georgia took of her mother and her great, great grandson Bruno!!

Darn I forgot this part, so am adding it later. All who have followed this jibberish know that breakfast is my meal and I have "searched the world over (really just much of the USA)" to find the perfect breakfast spot. Until this trip, the B&B in Gas City, Indiana; Sammy's on Mattis in Champaign, Illinois; and Tommy's 4th street bar and grill in Corvallis were my top 3. You can imagine then that as we headed into town down 4th street I was anxious to see the 1940's decor of Tommy's.. I couldn't find it in the dark. The next morning, still in the dark, I drove past the spot I remembered and still couldn't find it. so not to waste the opportunity, I headed over to Sam's Station on Harrison. That is a good breakfast, but a little expensive and they aren't very flexible with their menu items. I had remembered some other suggestions, so with the help of the internet, I found Sharon's Cafe out south of town (I think). Although I liked Tommy's better, it did take Tommy's place among my top 3. Plus, although like most northwest eating, "home fries" are actually little cubes of potato. I was however able to get a half order of extra crispy home fries with onions, one egg over easy, sausage links and whole wheat toast with no disapproving looks from the waitress (who by the way is from Indianapolis). Now comes the part that put Sharon's solidly among my top 3. When she dropped off my breakfast, she LEFT THE CHECK... Why is that such big deal? I think from growing up on the farm, eating is something I do to put food in my body and get on with life, rather than a social occasion. With that, again I think with the thought of getting back to the field, or later onto some other work related issue, I am a very fast eater (Right Georgia?) So I find my self sitting and waiting for the check quite often when I am eating alone... Don't like that!!! At Sharon's there's no waiting for the check... After all who is going to add a desert after eating a breakfast? When you walk into Sharons (once you find it), you see the clear decor of native american, wolves and owls.... all over the place. So, I asked about Tommy's. Seems somewhere between June and January, it burned down. So I drove by the location in the daylight and sure enough most of Tommy's is gone and the rest is charred and boarded up. Another landmark gone. Oh, to clear my conscious, I have decided I should go out for breakfast only on Saturday mornings while here. The rest of the time I'm being a good doo bee and eating shredded wheat or peanut butter toast. There I feel better.

A little less west

This week Georgia's "Cowgirl Up" hitch cover and floor mats are right at home. Although we didn't have to travel as far, we are now in "Cowboy Country"; the land of the Oklahoma State University Cowboys who squeeked out a football victory over Colorado last nite. Cowgirl stadium is just up the road. We are housed in Granduate Student and Family Housing in a neet little 2 bedroom apartment. Just outside our door you can see the bright lights of Boone Pickens Stadium and hear the announcer from the football game. Also we were warned that traffic would be intense from about 5:30 to 6:30... and it was. "Our street" McElroy was solid for that full hour. Really nice folks here also. and as with everywhere (when you reach this age) I ran into several people from my past at Illinois. Today, I get to touch base with the dean of the OSU (south) vet school, Dr. Mike Lorenz who was a "young buck" with me at UGA. Here are a few pictures. Carreker Hall where we "live"; the front of the vet clinic; Zara who keeps us all on track; Carolyn and Sue, 2 of the technologists (John wasn't available) and a shot of the radiology vet students when they are not doing radiology. All across the nation senior veterinary students are studing for and taking the NAVLE (North American Veterinary Licensing Examination) and they are all freaked out... happens every year. For the first time in years, I had to take an exam; the Oklahoma Veterinary Jurisprudence Exam. Had me a bit uptight also... Apparently I passed because I am allowed to work in the clinic here. Oh, the male student second from the left is actually from Valparaiso, IN. We are now looking forward to home, but also returning to Stillwater next spring.

Cody to Custer

Again, before we start, it's time for another healing finger update. Probably the last time, at least for a while. Now that that's done, Here are some pictures to give you a touch of the scenery between Cody, Wyoming where we stayed after spending a cold evening waiting for Old Faithful in Yellowstone. We were here on our "family vacation" of 1976, and Georgia really loves Cody. Although we "breezed through" and had to get on the road to cross the Bighorn Mountains, we did get to see the "Buffalo Bill Trail Town", a replica of the old west and some fantastic lifesized bronze sculptures. The sculptures were very like the Remington Art of the old west. These life sized sculptures are all around their gallery. Their website is: http://www.mtgcody.com/

The scenery changed as we went east from Cody, with sparce "grassland" (where the antelope roam). Then we hit the Bighorn Mountains. After that we finally got back on the interstate. That was good because it was getting dark. We arrive in Rapid City, ready for a good night's sleep. You Illinois people; I don't want to hear you complaining about the wind. Have you ever been to Rapid City??? It is windy! Today was a short trip to Mount Rushmore and back through Custer State Park where we were flooded out when camping in 1976. Saw lots of Buffalo poop there, but no Bison.. Did see a few wild turkeys and deer. As usual. there will be many more pictures for my facebook friend.