5/30/08

I only gaine .2 this week. Not bad after spending almost 3 days riding.

The trip -
We left Norfolk shortly after 6 am Friday. We drove in rain, thunder and lightening almost all the way to Grand Island where we met Tammie, Randy, Cindy and Kendra. Cindy and Kendra moved from Tammie's Escape to our van and we continued. Our first stop was Paxton and Big Ole's Bar and Grill. Big Ole was a big game hunter and the Bar is filled with his trophies. Right inside the front door is a Polar bear in a glass case. There are all kinds of animal heads on the walls, including an elephant and a giraffe. A lot of these animals would be considered endangered today. The next stop was Chimney Rock. The rain had stopped when we arrived there, but the wind was really blowing. We didn't take the time or spend the $3.00 each to go through the museum. We took a few pictures and stopped at a "trading post" to get the required momentos. The rest of the stops were for gas, meals and bathrooms. It continued to rain off and on all day. At one point in Wyoming I drove through the worst rain/wind storm I had ever driven in. Being on the interstate there was no where to pull off. Thank God we made it through safely. We arrived in Billings around 11:30 or 12 and went right to bed.

Saturday we left Billings for Butte around 9 am. It was still raining off and on.
We met George's family and friends and at Christina's cafe and drove to Harrison Lake. It was about 45 minutes from Butte. The last few miles were gravel/mud with a lot of water puddles to drive through. Everyone made it ok. It stopped raining long enough for the ceremony. At the lake-Cindy's pastor had given her some scriptures and words to say for the scattering of ashes. After she said the appropriate words, she poured some of the ashes into the lake, then invited anyone else who wanted to participate to do the same. She then poured the rest into the lake. We said the Lord's prayer, exchanged hugs, etc. We then went back to Butte for lunch/dinner at 5 at the cafe. We visited with George's family and friends and left to return to Billings around 7.
There was a second reason for going to Montana. Years ago Jerry hauled a lot of cattle out of Montana. He told me then that I should see Montana. This trip was to make good on his promise to take me "someday".
Sunday morning we left Billings for Spearfish, SD. Our first stop was to be the Roo Zoo which is a relativly new attraction. They have kangaroos, wallabys and wallaroos. The tour took about 20 minutes and then Randy wanted a picture with a Joey. If one in the group paid for a picture, all of us could hold the Joey and take our own pictures. On the way to the zoo we took a wrong turn and instead of going directly to the zoo, we took "The scenic route" through a forest on a very winding road. This lead us through Lead and Deadwood. After leaving the zoo, we went to Mt Rushmore. We had planned to stay to see it lit up after dark, but when we saw all the people come for the show, we decided to leave before the crowd.
It was about an hour back to Spearfish and our motel. No rain on Sunday
Monday am Jerry, Cindy and I took off for Lincoln and Tammie, Randy and Kendra took in some more sights. We got back to Lincoln around 7 and home to Norfolk about 10.

When we got back the rain gauge showed 4 1/2 inches and we have had at least 2 more since then. The sun is shining today and I hope it dries up enough to get the lawn mowed.