5 - Yellowstone or Bust

We left Custer on July 30th and headed toward Yellowstone National Park.  On the way, we made a side trip to Devil's Tower, which is north of Custer.  We stopped in Buffalo, WY for the week-end after an exhausting stay at Custer :)  Just missed that rodeo in Buffalo tho.

Devil's Tower National Monument, WY

The Sentinel - Prairie Dog Town Near Devil's Tower

The Hard-Drivin' Man

4- Custer State Park, SD

From Grand Forks, we drove (and drove and drove) through miles of fields in SD.  We had a reservation at a campground in Custer, SD for July 23, 2010.  We needed to get in and out before the Harley-Davidson gathering at Sturgis, SD, which spills over to Custer.

Our retired friends from St. Petersburg, Barbara and Doug, volunteer at Custer State Park, and we met up with them.  The first evening, they invited us to a Wild Game Feast at the park, which was venison, elk, wild turkey, prairie hen, goose, duck, northern pike, and walleye.  OK, I choose not to think about the source so it was (almost) all very good. 

Over the course of a week, we:

• Saw Mt. Rushmore
• Scouted the park for wildlife
• Went to Lead, Deadwood, Sturgis and Belle Fouche (the geographical center of US to include AK and HI), SD
• Went to the Badlands and museums

It's truly an outstanding area (if you can ignore the rest of SD). 

Mt. Rushmore at a distance and a Beggin' Burro

Sturgis, SD -- The biggest motorcycle gathering in US August any year

Belle Fouche, SD -- Geographical Center of US

Also in the area, for which the Lakota Indians are fervent, is a huge memorial to an Indian warrior to represent them all, Crazy Horse.  The scale on which this is being built (from the '50's on with the builder & family) is monumental. 

Needles Hwy Custer St. Park, SD

Barb got the memo

Paul, Donna, Monkey, and the Bark Ranger Dog

3 - IL to St. Paul, MN and Grand Forks, ND

Day on the Mississippi River with Special Friends

Our oldest (chronologically-speaking, that is) friends are Ken and Diane in St. Paul.   We couldn't leave the midwest without spending a few days with them.  They have a wonderful family, and we're happy to be part of it.  (Note:  I'm the short one.)

The very worst assignment Paul ever had in 21 years of Air Force, according to him, was Grand Forks, ND.  He wanted to go there from St. Paul just to "relieve himself" on the front gate.  Things have changed over the years.  He kept saying, there are trees here now!  (P.S.  He properly used the men's room.)  It was also Monkey's first outing. 

Monkey Looks at the World

Paul Faces Down an Old Haunt

2- A week in my hometown

Our first stop was my hometown of Danville, IL for my high school reunion, a first for me. The best of it was reconnecting with those I started first grade with. Here are two: Mary Ellen and Sandy.
 

Any time I get to spend with the first love of my life, my Dad, is always special!  Here he and I are with Helen, my step-mom of many years.

Donna, Curt & Helen Montgomery