Saturday, August 23, 2014

Reserve Grand Champion

My very first "Reserve Grand Champion" for photography...Thanks for being my model Lauren!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Biker Education


Growing up riding to Middle School on I bike, I thought I understood something about motorcycles. There are a few terms my dad never used in front of me or that I simply did not pay attention-allow me to educate you on some common biker terms:

Trike: a three wheel motorcycle for those too old to climb on a regular motorcycle
 Turtle shell-a helmet that looks like a turtle shell and not unlike what the Germans wore in "Hogan's Heroes"

Ape hanger: a motorcycle where the driver has to reach up to the handle bars and dangle like a monkey as he/she drives. In Arkansas, the legal limit is 15 inches. I don't think the people driving Ape hangers even care.

 
Fat boy: a reference to the tire on the motorcycle not the person driving it
 

Sunday, August 17, 2014

and on the third day

The third day of vacation took us...you might not recognize it here because this was taken twenty miles out in the rain.

Now this should look a little more familiar


The Devil's Tower in the sun


And cute little prairie dogs that really bark when you get close or try to catch them



Can't stand the cuteness

But the hubster wouldn't help me catch one and something about it not fitting on the bike so we headed to Spearfish Canyon to get a gander at the Bridal Veil falls:

and then back to the Broken Spoke for an evening beer.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Making the rounds Day 2

The second day of vacation landed us in the motorcycle capital of the world.

Once there I had a list of sights all bikers are required to see



and then we hit the road (don't worry we just ate breakfast at the Full Throttle Bar).

Road trip through the Hills

We took off early Saturday morning to see as much of the Black Hills as we could. First major road was "Iron Mountain". Lots of tunnels and you can see Mount Rushmore from various points on the road.


Mount Rushmore is behind me.
Then it was on to Needles Highway.


This is the "eye of the needle"
It shouldn't surprise anyone that we took a little over twelve hundred pictures.

Monday, August 11, 2014

First day of Vacation August 1


Yes, this post is ten days late, but most of the time we were gone-I didn't have access to the internet.
July 31st was as my sisters call it "an ugly cry day". First, Lee posted a blog that made me cry because I could feel her pain or it was just too beautifully written. I had almost dried those tears when the other sister posted a video of Mom's voice. The first time I listened, I cried so hard I couldn't make out anything. The second time I listened to the words and made out what she was saying. The third time, I listened just because it was so good to hear her voice. So very good to hear that voice. So the first day of vacation, I was leaving that all behind me. Running from Mom, but she caught up with me at our very first stop. The Badlands. My mom and the Badlands don't appear to have anything in common.  The Badlands are hot and dry. Pictures don't do the land justice. The colors pop. The air is warm, but there's always a little breeze blowing. There's a wonderful smell of wildflowers and cedar. Yes, cedar. We were traveling through "Cedar Pass" and I heard a familiar whisper. It took me a second to place that sound, but there were "popular" trees in Cedar Pass. The trees are very scrawny and have heart shaped leaves that when blown together make a whispering sound. I grew up listening to that sound. Mom had a popular tree planted by the driveway. How she loved that stupid, scrawny tree. I spent many days on the front porch with my head in a book listening to that tree. Listening to that sound took me back to that front porch, smelling dinner. Listening for the sound of my dad's motorcycle and hearing that tree. It made me smile. Then I listened to the trees some more and they took on Mom's voice. She said things would get better soon, she loved us, that I should hang on tight, and take lots of pictures. I know it was all in my head, but it made me smile anyway. I know I will never really run away from Mom. Her blood runs deep in me. Little by little, I'm beginning to understand that just because she isn't here physically doesn't mean she's not here. She'll always with me even in the most unlikely places.