The Wild (Mid)west Adventures of the Shushing Librarian - Part 4

After a night in a "hammock," it was time to get on the road again. Time to say good-bye to C’s family and head back to Omaha to repack the Harley for a week-long Road Trip to the Black Hills.
We divided the nine hour drive to the Black Hills into a two-day ride: five hours the first night, with an overnight stay in Valentine, NE; then onto the Black Hills.

We were excited to see the landscape change from the sandy, rolling hills of western Nebraska to the towering ponderosa pines that blanketed the Black Hills. Our private log cabin was located in Custer State Park, home to 1,500 free roaming buffalo. As we entered into the park, posted signs warned us not to feed the wildlife and that buffalo are dangerous. SERIOUSLY!B and C chose to stay at Blue Bell Lodge, one of the four resorts located in the state park.

Trivia note: President Calvin Coolidge made Custer State Park the “summer White House” in 1927.

B and C now understand why. The dirty Harley was happy to come to a rest after a long drive – and so was B. (I did offer to drive, but he didn't take me up on that offer, for some reason!)The cabin was especially cozy and contained a small kitchen, large king-sized bed, bath, sitting area and a fireplace (complete with traditional décor). But it was the unobstructed views of the Hills which B and C loved the most. (My friend C, the nature model!)

All was pretty peaceful in the Hills and everyone immediately fell into a relaxed pace. The mornings, however, proved to be a bit exciting. Every morning, around 6:00 a.m., the neighbors came over for breakfast.
Howdy neighbors!We celebrated our first night in Hills at the local restaurant and enjoyed some of the local cuisine. We just couldn’t resist “saddling up” to the bar.Over the leisurely dinner, we planned out the week, making sure to fill the itinerary with lots stops at all the historic sites and long rides on the Harley.

Stay tuned for the next installment of my Wild (Mid)West Adventures.

Summer Fridays/River/Road Trip 2010: Barnyard Bubbles

Now, I love my nieces, but everyone related to me, MIGHT understand why I find this stare-off quite hysterical. Genetics will out.
Let me set the scene: My last summer Friday off was while I was out West on the River/Road Trip, and I got to spend the morning with Christina and the kids. We headed out to spend a few hours at the local County Fair.

It's HOT out West in the daytime, so the fair action usually gets underway after dark. That does not work with three little kids and nap schedules, but it does work to keep the fair grounds pretty uncrowded. We were able to enjoy kid-friendly attractions like a bubble tower and the petting zoo without a lot of company.

There's nothing like sun, a breeze, and soapy water to entertain kids of all ages. Elle had a hard time keeping her shoes on while avoiding the bigger kids and mommies and aunties with cameras.

As for the animals at the petting zoo, it's totally understandable why even the draft horses were unusually grumpy. It was HOT! The pigs had the right idea. I'm not sure why they were the only ones to rate a wading pool. (That poor little buffalo calf. He looked so pathetically sad.)

Petting zoos aren't the easiest place to manuever with a baby buggy, so I let Christina take the girls through the hands-on activities, like butter churning, steer lassooing, and the favorite, and face painting. Nathan and I stayed near a fan and out of the hay! Was he ever happy to see Mama and get into the air conditioning!

Postcards from The Shushing Librarian: Road Trip 2010

Hi again - greetings from Custer State Park in the Black Hills. C & B got a great log cabin with a fireplace and amazing porch with open views of the Hills. We woke up this morning to buffalo grazing in our backyard. There are no fences so they are free to roam! Went to Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore and lots of beautiful scenic drives. Already put 1,200 miles on the Harley. So much fun.


[heart] S.L.

C & B took this picture ...

"Oh, give me a home

Where the Buffalo roam"

Grammar Oddity of the Week

The next in our almost weekly e-mail series, this time brought to you courtesy of bossdj.

This is a real sentence.

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.


I can't diagram it to save my life, so click here for the explanation.

See? I'm not making it up.