Rapid City, SD to visit Ross

My daughter, Lanell and I flew to South Dakota to visit Ross.  It was our first look at the home he purchased in Box Elder, SD near Ellsworth AFB. We were delayed in Denver and didn’t arrive until after midnight.  

Ross fixed us dinner and we turned in.  During our visit we went on the base to see where he works and his squad room. We visited a Air Force museum with a B1B bomber on display with lots of other planes. 

Ross took us to Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and the Badlands, with a beautiful drive thru Custer State Park. We shopped for some things for his home, adding a little color to spruce it up!  

We walked around downtown Old Rapid City with all the bars and cute restaurants.  The area had been revitalized and was bursting with activity. 

We had a lovely dinner at Delmonico’s, with delicious entrees and a bottle of wine. For our final dinner Ross grilled some great ribeyes we got from his favorite butcher shop.  Lanell and I fixed salads and baked potatoes.

It was great to see him and share a few days with him!

Up, Up, and Away in Alburquerque!

Flew out to Alburquerque to join a group of gals to attend the 50th anniversary of the Alburquerque Balloon Festival. Checked into my room at the Hyatt Tayama Resort, had a early dinner with the group and called it a night!  Up early and off to the festival at 4:30 am only to sit in traffic a long time, we checked in to our VIP area.

I grabbed a bite of breakfast and headed out on the field to get an up close look at the balloons. 650 balloons participate in the event, filling the morning sky the mass ascension is quite a sight to behold.

Dinner that night was at Los Pablanos, a farm to table restaurant ranked by Bon Appetit as a Top 10 for food lovers in America.  It did not disappoint!

We were disappointed when weather cancelled the Glow Fireworks Show, winds were to high for the balloons. Off to Santa Fe the next day we had a walking tour with a local guide and then enjoyed some New Mexico mexican cuisine at Tomasita’s of Santa Fe.

Returned to the hotel for a early morning checkout and my flight to Austin.

Big Sky Country

Arriving in Bozeman we picked up our rental car and drove to our cabin to meet the owners.  It was a 150 year old historically restored cabin called the Bannack. It was tastefully decorated and felt very welcoming with all the comforts of home. The temps during our stay ranged from the upper 40’s to the mid 80’s. Ron, one of the owners was quite the character and a expert on almost all subjects.  We started most morning with a discussion with Ron on the front porch and learned a new Montana term, 

NAVIP- newly arrived very important person! Ron’s wife Kate was a talented quilter and her work filled the cabin.

During our week stay we celebrated Dale’s 79th birthday with a soak at Chios Hot Springs, a drive along the Yellowstone River, dinner and a yummy dessert in Livingston at Montana’s Rib & Chop. I did manage to get him to take some photos to remember this special day!

I especially enjoyed the early morning visits from a group of mule deer bucks.  They would arrive after daybreak and then right before sunset for a drink out of the lake!  We also had a few does with fawns visit during the day.

Other highlights of our trip were a visit to the Bleu Horses, a beautiful artist renditions of a group of wild horses enjoying the native grasses of Montana. The 39 horse sculptures are on a hillside outside Three Forks, Montana.  A special treat was a visit to the Sedan Cemetery, a rustic old cemetery with million dollar views.  Especially intriguing was a cowboy hat formed from old barbed wire hanging on the sign.  Just like a cowboy put it there before he had eternal peace and rest.

We decided to pay a visit to Ted Turners, 14,000 acre Flying D Ranch outside of Bozeman.  The National Park Service maintains a road through the ranch with a picnic area at the end.  We had hoped to see Turner’s massive herd of bison, but didn’t spot any!  Planning a picnic lunch, we found a table in the shade of some trees and spread our stuff out to enjoy.  I realized I forgot something in the car and headed to get it, when a bull bison walks out of the brush near our car.  It was just a perfect memory for our picnic.

Another stop was at the Soldiers Chapel near Big Sky, Montana, a beautiful little church with a large picture window behind the altar. The chapel was built to honor those that fought and died in WWII.

We had a great week in Montana, saw a million bales of hay, and loved the big blue sky country!

Clark’s Cay-Lady Go Diver trip

Lady Go Divers invade Clark’s Cay Guanaja

 21 ladies spent a week diving and being treated like royalty by the staff.

Planes, a van, ferry, and a boat to get to Clark’s Cay! A long day of travel.