Devil's Tower and Termespheres!

Sunday, September 26, 2021

You might recognize these 5 musical notes from the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." And if you have seen the movie, you would also recognize Devils Tower...our destination for the day. 

One of the main reasons we decided to add on a two-night stay to our trip in the northern part of the Black Hills was to put us closer to Devil's Tower National Monument...something we didn't include in last year's itinerary. It's not like we haven't been there before. Bob estimates that he has climbed Devil's Tower 10 times...or at least that is his guess because he has actually lost count. But it has been some time since he has been here and much longer since I visited.

Bob rappelling down from the top of Devils Tower in 2005.

Bob and two of our sons on top of Devils Tower (2005).

A climber's view.

Badlands to Black Hills

Saturday, September 25, 2021

Slow and relaxed mornings are what I have loved most about retirement. No alarm clock, spending up to an hour drinking my cup (or two) of coffee and generally just not getting in a hurry for anything. Bob knows my routine, so he knew his best option would be to go out hiking while I took my time showering and getting ready for the day. He headed out walking towards some of the peaks near the cabin.

Bob's morning hike took him to the peak in the distance.

A summit selfie. 😀

Westward Ho

Please check out my blogs from our 2020 Black Hills & Badlands trip for more information on what to do in this area!

With less than 6 hours of travel to reach the Badlands (our first destination) there wasn't any need to rush to get out of the house. Normally we have a whole checklist of things to do when we leave on a trip, but this time our son, his wife and youngest son were arriving later in the afternoon to spend the weekend in our home. They were dropping off their older son at a church camp retreat nearby and would stay until Sunday when they would pick him up and go home. I left a detailed note explaining what all they needed to do when they left (turn off the water, empty the garbage, etc.) This son is very responsible but I still felt the need to do a FaceTime call while we were driving just to make SURE everything was handled correctly.

The change from summer to fall was quite apparent as we drove. The corn and soybean fields were turning from green to gold and fields of sunflowers were now almost unrecognizable. What had been a blanket of yellow flowers was now just dried brown stems. A sure sign of autumn was a truck passing by pulling a trailer loaded with pumpkins.

Black Hills 2.0

If you received an email alert for this blog post, be aware that the Feed Burner mail service that I used previously is being discontinued. If you would like to make sure you are notified of any future posts, please sign up on the right side of this page for my new service with Follow.It. More information can be found in the previous blog post. Thanks a bunch!

Like many people, when the word "pandemic" started popping up, I thought life might change for oh...maybe a month or two tops. Never did I imagine that a year and a half later my travel plans would be formed based on the ability to be outside or stay social distant. But that is exactly what pushed us to plan a return trip to the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota.

A couple of weeks after our 2nd Covid vaccine in March I was ready to go SOMEWHERE. When I noticed on the AirBnB website that the Black Hills apartment we rented last year was available for the same time this year it seemed like a sign. The fact that the reservation could be cancelled up until the day before made it easy to commit without really being committed. Five nights in late September...booked.

I Need Your Help

Hello Readers...

For now there won't be any travel blog posts from exotic locations, but we are planning a short road trip soon. If you have signed up to follow this blog via email, then I need your help to make sure you continue to get notified when a new post is published.

The email service I used previously to alert readers of a new post has been discontinued and will no longer work. I have added a new service called "follow.it" that will alert you whenever a new blog post is added. All you have to do is provide your email address in the box on the right hand side of the blog to subscribe. There is no cost and your address will not be shared nor will you be bombarded with SPAM. You will also be able to unsubscribe easily should you decide you don't want to be notified.

Once you enter your email in the box, you will be asked to confirm you are not a robot. Immediately you should receive an email asking you to confirm your request. If the confirmation email doesn't show up, check your spam folder to see if the email is there. The email sender will be listed as: follow.it. 

Technology advancements have managed to outpace my computer skills, so I would welcome any comments on how this is working...or not working! I would also love it if any of my current subscribers would sign up (again) and be even more happy if new subscribers join!

Thanks a bunch. Let's hope that REAL travel gets back to normal and we will have many more adventures to share!!

Mary