10-Day Vacation to South Dakota

Clarinda, IA 71º overcast.  Light rain during the day.

We left Clarinda, with our travel trailer, about noon Sunday, May 17 for South Dakota.  Our main purpose was to see the progress on the carving at Crazy Horse Monument.  Click Here for website Though we spent only one day at the monument (drove by it several other days) it is interesting that they are building the INDIAN UNIVERSITY OF NORTH AMERICA® on site and currently have students in a 2-year program and are working to build a 4-year University.

 Stopped first in Whiting, IA and parked our trailer in back yard of Leonard & Noni Lund.  They invited fellow RVers Steve and Ann DeBoom from just north of Sioux City to join us for supper and some Pegs & Jokers afterwards.

Next morning we headed north, in very strong winds - blowing hard on us and our travel trailer - and had lunch with Donna and Maynard Weiting.  With her were her daughter Darcy and granddaughter

Well, I started this 3 or 4 days ago and left and never got back to it.  Will post and try to fill in later.
Lynn

French Creek RV Custer, SD

Custer, SD  46º - to get to 38º tonight and scattered rain tomorrow with 47º high.

Have taken some 700 photos - we were in Whiting, IA last Sunday night.  Visited cousin Donna Weiting and her husband Maynard and their daughter Dorsey and Granddaughter Monday noon in Watertown, SD.  Stayed that night at Campground in Desmet, SD where we toured Laura Engalls Wilder buildings on Tuesday.  High winds Sunday and Monday and very poor GPM on the truck pulling the travel trailer.  Winds down on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Stayed in campground right on Missouri River in Pierre, SD about half-mile from the Capital.  Toured the Capital and drove around both Pierre and Fort Pierre looking at sites of Lewis & Clark as well as the Oahoe Dam and lake.  Rode the recumbent trikes about 5 miles on bike trail right on the Missouri River.  Today we drove from Pierre to Custer, SD -- spent several hours in Wall, SD at Wall Drug and surrounding area.  Have 3 nights in French Creek RV Park only couple blocks from main street in town.  Walked a little over a mile tonight on the main street, both east and west after we ate supper at the trailer.  Intend to be at Crazy Horse Monument by 7:30 am tomorrow, hoping to get in as much thee and at Mount Rushmore before or between the rains.

Will post pictures as I have time.  Tonight is first campground with WIFI so have taken advantage of reading on it for about 3 hours now.  To bed and on with things tomorrow.
Later, Lynn

Clarinda Happenings, etc.

Had trouble with the blog so published and continuing in new one.

Tuesday evening the hospital across the street from us had a free hotdog supper as part of Hospital Week.  Attended it as part of a trike ride and visited with several people.

A few blogs ago I led off with the photo at left of the back yard bush.  Photo above was taken yesterday.  Color all gone.

 Yesterday I rode my trike down to the Methodist Church to be there when truck came in for the Food Bank that the Church helps with.  There were something like 4 pallets of items, some frozen, that we carted into the Education Unit and also into the Basement of the Church.  The gals had quite a time getting all the stuff put away, especially the frozen.

Quite a few guys showed up to move the items from the truck.

Guess should post a few pictures of Beth and Steve during there visit.

Yesterday put up ladder and cleaned the gutters on the north side of the house and on both sides of the steel shop building.

Last night went to Choir Practice.

And, since it was the last practice of this Choir Season, we all went to eat at Jay's Pizza & Steak House.

Brother Don and wife Vicki are on road today and will be here tonight and tomorrow and then we go to Lincoln on Saturday for High School Graduation Party of our brother Roger's granddaughter Tiffany.


Till next time, Lynn

Clarinda Happenings

Clarinda, IA  55 degrees - rain - predicted 69 degrees with rain next three days.

Yesterday was May 13th - 7 years since sister Louise passed away.  Went to her grave and put flowers on it Tuesday.

Phyllis' sister Beth and husband Steve were here from Sunday evening through Tuesday after lunch.  They were with us Monday at the cemetery and they put flowers on Steve's parents stone.

 Phyllis fixed this for breakfast Monday:

Bundt Cake Breakfast

By KathyP53 on April 05, 2015

• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr
• Servings: 8

Ingredients: 1 cup diced ham; 2 cups frozen tater tot; 1 dozen egg, whisked;1 eight ounce can biscuit, diced up ( like Pilsbury Grands; 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Butter bundt pan and set aside.
3. Toss all ingredients together in large mixing bowl.
4. Spoon mixture into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 45 minutes. When done baking, flip onto platter, cut, and serve.

5. These flowers have really grown! - Continued on new blog -Click "Newer Post" below.

   
   

   
   

Got topper for pickup truck

Clarinda, IA 67 degrees - overcast - to be 72º later today.

We drove to Omaha Saturday to have our new topper put on our Chevy PU.  Think this completes our unit nicely.  Great to have a place weather-protected to put things.

With windows on the side open it is easy to put things in or take things out of the back from the side.

     Also got the in-channel window shades installed.  We have always had these on our vehicles as you can leave the windows down a bit in hot weather and not worry about rain coming in.  It also helps a bit for wind noise while driving.

Bikes fit without removing seats and folding, though that can be done if we need extra room.  I am reconfiguring the SMV signs for the back to a slide-in holder to be easy to remove.  We were able to get them in the Ford Excursion by bending them slightly, but not here.

Side view with both side windows open.

While working on computer at my basement desk I have been watching many old VCR tapes.  This is Granddaughter Ashley when she was about a year old.  Took photo of the TV screen so it is grainy.

Have worked on several things in the trailer.  Took off the plastic covering of the mattress and plugged in the electric heating element built into the mattress.  May need it when we are in the Black Hills later this month.

With various rains and super high wind a couple days these "helicopters" flew off all the trees they were on and completely covered the lawn, driveway, etc.  If they all grew we would have a forrest.

One late afternoon we had really bad looking clouds to the south.  Other than some light wind we did not get anything like the clouds appeared to be bringing us.

 Friday, while we were in Omaha, it took much of the day to do all the work on the pickup so we walked about a half mile to the bike/walking trail along Papio Creek.  We went as far as Ed Zorinsky Recreation Area and across the dam.  Think about 5 or 6 miles total.

Went up town to Easters on Saturday and while there visited briefly with Mary Damman.


Phyllis' sister Beth and brother-in-law Steve are driving from Colorado to our place today, arrive later this evening.  They will be here until Tuesday.  My brother Don and wife Vicki will be here Friday night and we then go to Lincoln, NE for niece's High School Graduation Party.
   We pack the trailer and take off after Church on Sunday for 10 day trip in South Dakota and Nebraska.  Rain again overnight - think Phyllis dumped .4 from the gauge.

Later, Lynn

Rain, rain, rain.....................and a little more rain!

Clarinda, IA - 65 and overcast.  Phyllis has dumped rain from the gauge almost every morning.  .65, .4, 1.0, 14

 On one of the sunny days I rode recumbent trike down to the airport, put on 5 miles including riding around the apron of hangers and coming back.
Yes, we are just under 1,000 feet above sea level here.






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I fastened our two lawn chairs between back of the trailer and the spare tire.  Not sure I like them there, may see how they look behind the propane tanks, above the battery, on the front of the trailer.

Working in the shop one day I devised stops on the table saw sled to cut corners from some blocks.

The blocks were stacked to bring downstairs bed up 8" so Phyllis can use the bed as a work table for laying out her quilt materials.

Friday night Patty Steckleberg drove over from Shenandoah, IA and rode with us as we picked up Theresa Minard here in Clarinda and Bernadine Behlers in Corning and went to Creston for their Square Dance.  At left is a line-dance between the square dance tips.  (A tip is pair of two calls for square dancing)

Caller for the evening was Fred "Who" Logan from Des Moines.  Saturday was his 77th birthday and cake was made for him.

 Two pictures at left are dancers in line for the refreshments after dancing quit at 10:00 pm.

Sunday morning, at coffee after church service, the ladies were visiting and I tried to catch all in these two photos.

When I was gluing the blocks together to make the riser for the basement bed I had the nail from the nailer (driving 2.25" nails) go into the 2"x4", hit a knot and come out the side of the board.  Of course, I was holding the board and it went into the front of my thumb and came out the side - where the dark dot is.  This was taken day later when it was a little swollen and red.  It will feel better as soon as it quits hurting!

 After church Sunday we went for a 6 mile ride, stopping at HyVee to pick up some things on the way home.  Nice and sunny that day.  Started raining that night - glad I mowed the lawn Sunday afternoon.

Later Sunday afternoon we went for a drive down to College Springs and west to visit Luther Compton.  He will be 93 this June, has had several small strokes, but seems to be getting along well.  Has no use of right hand and some bother with right leg.  However he was in good humor and he and Phyllis visited about a lot of people in the neighborhood of the past - and present.  Marie was in Shenandoah with two other ladies at a play -- she came home shortly before we left. 

Driving home from Comptons we went past Coin, Iowa where we ran the grain elevator from 1974 to 1994.  Only one Quonset building, the yellow Chief building and the Butler building remain from when we were there.  The complete drier facility and bins are gone.  Of course, the wooden elevator building was burned down in the 1990's being replaced by the "Morton type" office building.

Grain elevator used to sit where the green-topped building sits now.  We built the yellow "Chief" building in the late 1980's.  The low Quonset building on the right existed then.

The large grain bin is only one left - we had that built in the '80's.  The 4 smaller bins and one large bin as well as the continuous dryer were between where that bin is and the "Butler" building on the right.  Things change.

Taken of TV last evening.  Tornado watch was just south of us, on the other side of the Iowa/Missouri state line.  We just got rain out of it.

Taken out our picture window to the south.  Clarinda Regional Health Center is across the street to the left.  In center is "bunkhouse" for the 24/7 helicopter crew; beyond it is the building for the 4 ambulances that serve our area.  Not uncommon for sirens in our area and the helicopter going out or coming in.

While working on this blog I am playing some VCR tapes from the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's.  Above is our oldest granddaughter Ashley when she was about one year old, living in Wisconsin.



One sunny day Phyllis did her shearing thing.


Got call that our pickup topper will be put on this Friday so will be making a trip to Omaha then.

Later, Lynn