Life is a journey, take time to enjoy every step.......

This year for our family trip we decided to make it a big one. All 12 of us made our way to Custer South Dakota for 5 days. It was so fun watching the joy on the grandkids face as they experienced all the new things.

                     We managed to get one picture of all of us while we were at Mount Rushmore.

We stayed at Fort Welikit campgrounds It is right outside of Custer. It is a great campground and I would recommend it to anyone camping in the area.

They had a great dog park for the dogs. Otis loved being able to run without the leash on. He got along great with the other dogs at the park.

 
We spend the first day at Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park. It is a beautiful area. We did some hiking, swimming and kayaking. We all got a little sunburned :)

The next day we hiked up to Black Elk Peak, previously knows as Harney Peak It is a 8 mile round trip that is not an easy hike. I was super impressed by the kids, especially Eli and Oliver since they are only 5 years old.

 Break Time!

Christa, Jese and Oliver had left about an hour before us so they waited at the top for us.

                             On the way down, which sometimes meant going back up!

                                                Almost to the end of the trail

                                This is what you look like after hiking 8.23 miles and 21,184 steps!

Wild life loop ended up being a little bit of a disappointment. The buffalo were no where to be found! We did get to see the wild burros. The kids loved feeding them and being able to get close up to them.

          We of course had to try and take selfies with them....they did not really like that so much :)

We took the kids to downtown Custer to do a little shopping and have lunch. Since Rick and I have been there before we knew about the bakery. They have the best cinnamon and caramel rolls around. Really that is the reason we wanted to go back to Custer....

                                 Rick and Amy were of course the first in line for treats at the bakery.

                                                                   Say Cheese Larina!

                                           The last day we all went to Mount Rushmore.

Larina was not impressed with  Mount Rushmore and just wanted to go to sleep.

After Mount Rushmore Rick and I took Amy and kids to Mount Coolidge. We got to drive to it, no hiking

                                   The last thing we did is drive Needles Highway.

Rick and I love the Custer area and often talk about retiring out in the area....This is our third trip to the Custer area in the last 6 years. We never seemed to have enough time to see all we want to see. We love the hiking, biking and the weather....Maybe someday

On the way home we got a flat tire on the camper! Since we have two tires on each side we did not even know it until a truck pull up to us and told us. Good thing we have tow coverage on our insurance. We called them up and 30 minutes later the tow truck came and changed the tire. We were lucky that we had a spare that was good.

It was a great trip and we loved spending the time with the kids and grandkids.  We made lots of memories.....

Sharon

How Come I Never Knew This Existed......

I have never liked to eat cherries because I hate dealing with the pit. Who wants to eat something that when you are done you have to spit out a pit. If you ask me it is gross.  So I would never eat cherries....

But then I discovered the best thing in the world! I don't know how I never knew it existed! Yes I am talking about a cherry pitter! It is pretty much the best invention known to human kind, Okay maybe that is an overstatement, but it sure has made me happy. I can now eat fresh cherries to my heart's content.

I have been happily pitting cherries since it arrived at my house from Amazon.

It's the little things in life that make your day.....
Sharon

Banning State Park.......

This past weekend we got to take the camper out for its first trip of the year. We have been trying to get into Banning State Park for a couple years and it is always full on the weekend we want to go. It is a very popular park. So in March I decided to look to see what was open and was happy to see I could get in. We also invited Jane, Paul and Hannah, Larry and Connie and Tim and Julie to come. They got the last three electric sites that were open.

We could not have asked for a better weekend, the weather was perfect.  We were surprised  at how quiet the park was even with all the people there.  We loved the park. The hiking trails were great. We managed to drag the dogs along on several hikes. They were pretty much exhausted by the end of the weekend. We also took the kayak on the river. We only did a calm part, but we were told the rapids are a lot of fun if you know what you are doing. Since we do not we did not try them.

I would recommend checking Banning State Park   out if you get a chance. If you don't want an electric site you will have an easier time getting in.

                                                                 The Kettle River

                 
                         Hannah giving Julie and Tim some instructions for their fist ever kayaking trip

                                             
                                                     The view down the river from our kayak

                                       
                                                                Tim and Hannah

                                                                       
                                                                   Julie and Tim

 

                   
                                       One of the many hiking trails we took the dogs on.

                                 
                                          Otis needed a rest so we tied him down :)

                                                             
                                                                 Wolf Creek

                 I released Otis from his hitching post and let him cuddle with me.

                                        We meet up with Connie, Larry and Spike on the trail.

It was a great weekend. It was nice to have the camper out and spend time with friends enjoying nature at its best.

Sharon

She Let It Go.....

She let go.

Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of fear. She let go of the judgments.

She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.

She let go of the committee of indecision within her.

She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons. Wholly and completely,

without hesitation or worry, she just let go.

She didn’t ask anyone for advice. She didn’t read a

book on how to let go… She didn’t search the scriptures.

She just let go.

She let go of all of the memories that held her back.

She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.

She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.

She didn’t promise to let go.

She didn’t journal about it.

She didn’t write the projected date in her day-timer.

She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.

She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.

She just let go.

She didn’t analyse whether she should let go.

She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.

She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.

She didn’t call the prayer line.

She didn’t utter one word. She just let go.

No one was around when it happened.

There was no applause or congratulations.

No one thanked her or praised her.

No one noticed a thing.

Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.

There was no effort. There was no struggle.

It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.

It was what it was, and it is just that.

In the space of letting go, she let it all be.

A small smile came over her face.

A light breeze blew through her.

And the sun and the moon shone forevermore.

— Reverend Safire Rose

"A dog will teach you unconditional love. If you can have that in your life, things won't be too bad."- Robert Wagner

' Today is my birthday. Every year I tell Rick not to get me anything and I mean it. But this year he broke the rule and got me a very special gift.

All you  long term blog readers know that in January of 2015 I had to put my dog Dexter to sleep. For those of you who are not here is the link
It was one of the hardest things I have every had to do and to this day I still cannot forgive myself even if I know it was the right thing to do.

So a month or so ago Rick and I went to the Waseca Art Center to see an exhibit by a young man that has been in the archery class Rick teaches.

Kevin Chen is a 14 year old that has unbelievable talent. I was so impressed with his art. I wanted to buy several of his works. I said in passing as we were admiring his work that I wonder if he would do a drawing of Dexter for me. I knew exactly which picture I would have him look at. Of course life got busy and I forgot about it.

Rick did not forget and even knew which picture of Dexter I was talking about.

Kevin did this wonderful charcoal picture for me of Dexter.

This is the picture that Kevin used as a model for his work. It is my favorite picture of Dexter. It was the last time he was truly happy and pain free.

I know Dexter was just a dog but he was my dog and I was his person and I still miss him. This was such a thoughtful and loving gift. It means the world to me.

Sharon