Rushmore and Custer

 Way back in July, I left you in Rapid City, South Dakota.  Another place that pleasantly surprised me.  We drove in very late to a historic hotel in the middle of town.  What a cute, quaint downtown.  The hotel was the Alex Johnson and it was old, classic, historic and therefore also had small, old rooms with lots of charm.  We managed 2 nights there.  We "stored" our bikes with the desk and hoped they would still be there upon checkout and they were.  The other highlight, while I'm apparently doing a hotel review, was the rooftop restaurant and bar.  I had told TJ that one place we would not be going on this Covid trip was to any bar.  I was lured by sunset and the fact that it was a rooftop bar...outdoors.  We claimed our table in the corner of the patio and stayed for a drink and the sunset and it was lovely.  If you ever find yourself in Rapid City, SD, stay at the Alex Johnson.

Goodnight Rapid City

Rapid City is the launching grounds for what was an iconic American West day.  We began with Mount Rushmore....something I have always wanted to see.  It was as awesome as I expected!  What a marvel.  We counted our blessings as we drove right into the parking lot and walked a short distance right up to the main entrance stopping at the state flags of Louisiana, Wisconsin and Texas for our family members.  It is bigger and brighter than I even dreamed it would be.  So impressive!  We were able to sit and just look for a while and then we followed a path around the base which gave us views of each face from its best angle.  I am sure my photos do not do it justice but never the less, I took about a hundred.  What a huge endeavor!

"I see it!"  Getting closer!

Up close and personal with Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln.

And from the other side.

A little background information for those who are interested, like me.

We came, we saw, and we continued on to Custer State Park.  Back and forth, up and down through one of the most lovely state parks I've seen.  Custer was steep, full of switchbacks, one lane tunnels and a few bison.  Custer State Park was like the icing on the cake.  It was beautiful and full of adventure!  I knew nothing of it before our trip but we visited at the recommendation of our daughter, Rachel who said it was one of her favorites.  I must agree!

Driving through one of the natural bridges this was the view!

Wildlife traffic jam

Yes, that is my inspection sticker on my windshield looking at that beast!

The wonders of Custer State Park

I love this park!

Drive through, Custer State Park style

Waiting in line for the drive through

It even has a water feature!

Back in Rapid City, we had dinner with President Reagan, none of us wore a mask 
but we are pretty sure we didn't infect each other.

One other cool feature in Rapid City is they have a statue for each president in their own unique poses, just like the one above, all through the downtown area.  It is definitely a presidential hot spot!  We sure have seen a lot of presidents on this trip so far!  Love 'em or hate 'em, there have only been 45 of them in over 230 years.  It seems a perfect year to visit some of them and put history in perspective in this election year.  

Plan B is Pretty Good so Far

When it became very obvious that summer in Nova Scotia was not going to happen this year, TJ and I began making Plan B.  There have always been parts of the U.S. we have wanted to see but never put forth the effort to see.  If I think about it carefully, I have been to all but 7 states.  Those states, other than Alaska, are concentrated in the north central west part of the states.  There are places we needed/wanted to experience.  Also, thanks to some friends, or friends of my kids, the National Parks suddenly seem like places I need to see before it gets too late, if you know what I mean.  Plan B was shaping up nicely.  We figured since we were so far north visiting our kids and grand kids in Wisconsin, why not continue the road trip and visit a few new states, national parks and long lost friends while avoiding summer in Houston.  All plans, of course, with appropriate care and caution to keep our social distance and stay healthy.  Never in our wildest dreams did we expect to visit these places for the reasons we ended up visiting them.  Thank you Covid for making us think outside of the box and allowing us to experience some of the most breathtaking spaces in our country.

Badlands National Park

We left Madison, Wisconsin and the grand kids and headed west on July 20th.  We drove to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  To get to Sioux Falls we had to drive through Minnesota which checked off a new state for me.  We crossed the Mississippi River up north which I found interesting having been raised only miles from it in the state of Louisiana.  It is a mighty river for sure. 

The mighty Mississippi, welcome to Minnesota

We continued on to Sioux Falls and were pleasantly surprised.  It was only an overnight stop but we managed a lovely dinner and a post dinner walk to see "the falls".  South Dakota so far is winning me over with its beauty.  Driving long distances lost its allure to me many moons ago after 40 something drives to and from Nova Scotia.  I am totally over long distance driving, so the fact that I was more than willing to take on this adventure was proof enough that desperate times require desperate measures.  Funny thing though, driving through new places that just happen to be beautiful did not feel as mind numbing as the 40 something drives over the same highways through the same states year after year.  Thank you Covid.

Downtown Sioux Falls

"The" Falls

Our minds are not numb yet!

 The next morning we headed to a rest stop of all places!  I had read about this sculpture of a Native American woman and just had to see it for myself.  The name of the sculpture is Dignity.  It is magnificent!  She stands 50 feet tall and is framed by the Missouri River in the background.  The rest stop is also one of the stops for Lewis and Clark on their westward expedition.  I felt like I was walking on history.  Best rest stop EVER!

She is magnificant!

A sacred stop and well worth the trip.

This was not mind numbing at all!  Look at how blue the sky is....
how green the grass is....
how straight the road is....you can see forever!

Our goal for the day was Badlands National Park.  We/I wanted to arrive with plenty of time to see the park and then take a break for dinner and go back for sunset.  I am very lucky to have a willing co-pilot!  He is the best partner a wanna-be photographer could have on a road trip.  If I want to stop for a photo, he pulls over and off we go.  If I want to break for dinner and go back to the park and sit and wait for sunset, he is more than willing.  There are not many people who would do that.  We stopped a lot of times in the Badlands!  The park was surreal!  What an amazing geologic phenomena.  I could sit and look in wonder for hours.  How does a place like this just pop up after miles of green grass and flat land?  We stopped, we hiked, I took lots of photos and we sat with our mouths wide open in awe.  South Dakota for the win!

I go out on the edge and he documents it.

Lifetime Senior National Park pass.
Totally worth admitting I am 63.

Yellow Mounds

Everywhere you look the colors and formations amaze.

Jagged and smooth

Wall Drug...the "See Rock City" of the west!

I wish I knew this family so I could send them this great 
photo of their picnic dinner.  I love it!

Thank you TJ for partaking of the golden hour with me!

Not spectacular but still memorable.

We left after sunset and drove another hour to Rapid City, South Dakota.  Yes, we were tired.  It was a day full of visual delight.  If you ever think of going to see the Badlands, do not hesitate.  I still look back and thank God for the opportunity to see such an incredible place.  I can only imagine what the native Americans thought when they came upon that "land bad".  What do you do with such a place but sit in awe?  It was the first time we got to use my National Park lifetime pass and I already felt like I got my money's worth.  

Last night, coincidentally, we watched a PBS show about the National Parks narrated by Ken Burns.  I highly recommend it.  I had tears in my eyes by the end because the beauty that has been preserved by the National Park system is a national treasure worth saving.  Having only seen a small portion of the parks I look forward to another and another.  After only two days of our westward adventure, I can say I am so glad we took a leap and did this.  I will take a break here in Rapid City, South Dakota because it deserves its own post to be written on another day.  Stay tuned.

Presidents and Grandsons

Life on the road in the times of Covid are a balancing act.  It is very easy to shut off the outside world and follow the open road.  The problem is, once you stop you have a few new extra steps that are a constant reminder that these times, although sometimes they feel normal, are not normal at all.  To get out of the car first you put on your mask, then you assess the situation.  Are there too many people between you and your goal?  If so, move on.  If not, get out of the car and head to your goal (usually the bathroom).  Be sure to try your best not to touch any surfaces with your hands, if you must, make a mental note to keep your hand far away from your face!  Once your goal has been achieved, wash your hands like you are doing surgery on your favorite person, dry them, keep a paper towel in your hand to open the door if needed and proceed cautiously to your cabin of safety, aka your car.  Yes, life on the road is not as glamorous as it may look in my pictures but it is still proving to be better than melting away in Houston while we long for our beloved Nova Scotia.  

We left Houston almost 3 weeks ago.  TJ researched hot spots for Covid and spots of low infection rates.  We chose to stay in the low infection spots and it turns out the two stops on our way to Madison, Wisconsin were presidential birthplaces.  We stayed in Hope, Arkansas, birthplace of Bill Clinton and Springfield, Illinois, birthplace of Lincoln.  We were able to drive by Clinton's house in Hope and fully explore Lincoln land.  Turns out the best time to visit downtown Springfield is on a Sunday morning at 8:30 in the middle of a pandemic.  We were the only people walking around the capital, the Lincoln Museum and the Lincoln Library.  None of them were open but the statues were lovely and the buildings were even more beautiful!

We were here in Hope, Arkansas

Illinois State Capital

The Old State Capital

The only other bodies out that day were inanimate.

Sunday morning and not a soul on the streets.

We made it safely to Madison on our third day and were greeted with open arms, with masks on our faces and heads turned away we hugged our grandsons!   The day after we arrived we all packed up and drove 3 more hours to one of the cutest areas I have ever visited.  Door County is between Green Bay and Lake Michigan on a peninsula.  We rented the perfect house for a week.  I could have moved there for the rest of the summer and been perfectly happy.  The cherries were in season, the water was surprisingly blue and clear, the air was crisp and clear and I truly felt like we had escaped.  The grandsons took it on as their job to swim at as many different beaches as possible in 6 days.  Turns out they still had a few more beaches to visit!

A nice place to get away from reality!

Pebble Beach, aptly named.  They could have kept throwing
until there were no more rocks on that beach!

Cherry season!

Two boys cliff jumping with Grampy!

3 heads pop up...whew!

We played many Clue games, rode bikes, went for long walks along Lake Michigan, explored a different beach every day, had a couple of bonfires complete with s'mores, and enjoyed out time together.  You have not lived until you have played five consecutive Clue games with the Lee boys...or one particular Lee boy!   John, age 7, was a Clue master.  He would play any time, any day!  I made the mistake once of letting him set the game up while I made some tea in the kitchen.  We began our game and it was over in one turn with John nailing the culprit, weapon and location.  Hmmmm, might he have set me up?  I was a bit more cautious after that.  He loves that game and we loved playing it with him.  We also got to spend time with TJ's brother and his family who have a place up there, thus the attraction to visiting Door County.   I think we all needed some fresh air and a change of scenery.  It is amazing how those two things can affect your psyche.  We went back to Madison refreshed and ready for the second half of summer 2020 as we know it.

Had lunch on the way home outside Lambeau Field in Green Bay

Christopher wanted to jump into one more body of water...

And I went on my bi-annual boat ride....

It was time to move on after a little more than a week.  We were revived and maybe a bit exhausted from all of the fun but in a good way.  Mister Green, with the wrench in the Conservatory!

We Have Opened Pandora's Box

I have a new respect for bloggers who are able to write while on the road.  I have such good intentions but somehow never seem to get it done.  This was written a couple of weeks ago.  The fine tuning had not been done until tonight.  At this point it is old news, my apologies.  Still, I figure why not set it free into the blog sphere, it does have some exciting news if you give it some time! 

Because we all need a break in this pandemic to pretend that life is normal I bring you this post.  If you are like me, you will read this and wish you too lived in a house near the ocean with blue skies and peaceful waters.  Unless you already do and then lucky you.  Before we went to California a couple of weeks ago, I had the occasional pity party looking out the same windows at the same trees and the same sidewalks while I just knew there were people in the world who get to live in places that look like postcards.  I mean if you have to self isolate wouldn't it be nicer to do it in a house on a hill with a view of the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other?  Just saying.

If I lived here this would be the view from my closet window.

Enter youngest daughter and husband.  They moved back to the states from Berlin the day before the international border was closed in March.  It was good timing on their part.  They moved to his parents' house in California, quarantined for 2 weeks, and both started looking for new jobs....amidst a growing pandemic.  Not so perfect timing.  Fast  Slow forward to June, they needed a change of air.  I volunteered to rent a house, near the ocean, and give them some "space" for a week.  It was not a totally altruistic offer.  We also needed to change the air which meant they would be trading one set of parents for another.  Win some, lose some.

On June 20th we risked flying and headed to sunny California for a week.  It was surreal.  Aside from the whole flying thing, being in California felt indulgent....and so nice.  I cannot tell a lie, it was a real escape.  An escape from just making it from one day to the next.  It was an escape from the past 3 months.  It was and escape for my senses, visually, emotionally and physically.  To feel the dry, cool air and breathe it in was heavenly.  Unless you live in the south... you have no idea how oppressive the summer air can be, not just for a week here and there but for months and months with no respite.  I soaked up the California air for that week.

We hiked up to this lookout on our second day
and were treated to whale sightings and this view.

For a whole week, our days were spent exploring nature.  What else does one do when trying to distance from other people?  We hiked, we played golf, we took scenic drives to places we had only read about.  We did our best to stay to ourselves and we were perfectly happy.  One day we drove to Carmel by the Sea.  TJ and I left on our honeymoon 42 years ago in my parents station wagon pulling a pop up camper and were heading to California.  I wanted to see Carmel by the Sea.  We had high hopes....and a low sense of reality.  We made it to Colorado Springs and once we parked that camper next to the lake at the campground and I tasted the ice cold Coors beer, we decided to just "stay on".  We never made it to Carmel so I decided we really needed to check that box now.

Our expert tour guide aka our son-in-law, gave us a great tour, we saw Carmel (worthy) and then Pebble Beach golf course and drove the 17 mile drive.  All in a lovely day.  We also walked around Monterrey, which in non COVID times I would love to visit again!

The water in Monterrey

That is our table for lunch in Carmel.  Perfect!

Apparently the wind from the ocean does this to the trees.  Very cool!

After our trip I promptly went home and planted my own bougainvillea !
They are just beautiful!

along the 17 mile drive

We all really enjoyed our break from reality.  Sometimes in order to maintain sanity, you just have to shut off the news, grab your mask, go for a hike or a walk and try to put things in perspective.  We were so glad we had this opportunity.  One other driving motivation to make this trip was to see our daughter and son-in-law and congratulate them and celebrate the fact that they are expecting a baby in January!!!  I have waited several long months to be able to share this exciting news!  Everyone is so happy for them!  In the midst of Covid and the challenges facing our country, the promise of new life is a true blessing!

We flew back to Texas and stayed home for a couple of weeks just to be on the safe side.  After our trip to California though, our travel appetites have been stimulated.  Two weeks together at home can be dangerous.  Stay tuned for stories of life on the road in the times of Covid.

My Moving Meditation

Every morning there are a few precious moments between sleep and wakening when everything is peaceful and good.   Those are the best moments of the day sometimes. Then I wake up and realize we are still in a pandemic.  Life should not be lived best in a semi conscious sleep state.  I miss so much!  Please tell me we won't forget the things of living our lives fully and together . 

How time flies when you are experiencing a pandemic.  At this point I would like it to fly to a time where we are not in a pandemic any longer and while I'm asking maybe we could fly right to the point where we all live in peaceful harmony?  Not necessarily back where we used to live but far beyond and better.  Asking too much?  As my Mother always said, "You never know unless you ask.".   Unfortunately, I think we will have to do more than ask this time.

Has anyone else looked at how their life and mindset have changed since March?  What have you done since March?  What have you NOT done?  For me, March is the line between "then" and "now".  We had no idea the first day of March that in June or July we would be in the middle (?) of a pandemic.  We stayed home.  We did puzzles.  We spent weeks upon weeks avoiding physical contact with anyone, to our best ability.  We have not hugged a person other than the one(s) we live with for MONTHS!  How wrong is that?  I do hope that someday hugging makes a comeback.  I have never been know as a hugger but damn, I want to hug people when I say hello and goodbye sometimes.

We have settled into a routine of predictability.  TJ works from the home office every day, except weekends.  He rides his bike a few days a week for many, many miles!  He is working on his golf game and on every fix-it project that has been neglected for years.  I have been playing golf like it is my job!  If you consult my handicap entries, I averaged 15-17 rounds of golf a month since March.  Thanks to the unbelievable weather for the first few months of Covid-19.  Golf covered all of the bases.  Socially distant but still social.  Outdoors in the sunshine and the fresh air.  It also used up about 4 hours a day... one step closer to passing another day in the pandemic and coming out the other side.  A sad way to live your life if you think about it. 

In addition to golf, I have logged more miles walking or running than probably in any other 3 or 4 month period in my life.  "Walking is a moving meditation"... a quote I read recently in a book and it definitely hit home.  I have found sanity in my walks.  When I am tired of "filling" time doing busy work at home or even productive work at home, I take a walk.  I listen to books, podcasts, Mass, music or nothing.  My eyes search for beauty.  My mind searches for peace and reason.  I pray when I walk.  I think when I walk.  The repetitive movement provides a perfect meditation.  My mind responds when it feels my body walking.  If I go more than one day without a walk I get agitated and restless.  Walking...Covid sanity.  (no such thing)
Scenes from my walks....

Where I found my sanity in Covid.

Good morning glory!

Last week we left our cocoon of predictability and safety.  We boarded an airplane and flew to California to visit our daughter and her husband.  At some point we weighed the risk and the reward and decided to fly.  Armed with our masks, our sanitizing wipes, our own water and snacks and our best "leave me alone" faces we boarded a plane and tried not to breathe.  I admit that the week before the flight I found myself a bit anxious.  Having not flown since February and in this uncertain time, I was hesitant. 

One good thing...
Plenty of overhead storage available these days.

Walking through an empty airport makes a person think.  The closed down kiosks, the saran wrapped restaurants, the closed shops, the absence of travelers all felt a bit apocalyptic.  It also made me think about all of the lives that have been affected by this pandemic.  Think of the people who are not working at those shops and restaurants.  The people not manning the gates for the flights and the ones not working on the flights that are not flying.  The people not loading or unloading bags.  The people not directing air traffic.  The people not traveling for work.  The families not taking vacations.  The list goes on and on and in one respect, yes, they are all home being safe ( we can assume) and in another respect so many are unemployed and the wheels of the world are not turning.  After 63 years maybe one would think they have seen it all... not even close!  The airport is just one microcosm of our world and in every part of our world this scenario is being played out over and over.  The lives and livelihoods changed by this are mind boggling. 

You can't sit here, eat here or work here.

Our flight was very calm.  Every middle seat was vacant.  They passed out prepackaged snacks and water.  People behaved very well if you ask me.  There was very little up and down or walking the aisles.  And on a four hour flight, very few people even got up to use the bathroom.  Everyone stayed in their seat and minded their own business.  Very civilized.  I think we were all in the same mind set, get me there quickly and safely, I'll stay in my space and you stay in yours.  It is still very hard to maintain your distance when on an airplane though and after all these months being that close to that many people is a bit unsettling.  It has been one week since we returned and every time I feel anything the least bit "off" or even sneeze I wonder if I caught "it".   I find myself making sure I taste and smell everything possible just to make sure my senses are still intact.  Six more days and I will rest easy.  Was it worth it?  Ask me in six more days but as of today, yes it was. 

I hope this wasn't too much of a downer post but lately it seems that is just how life goes.  We keep putting one foot in front of the other and make the best of a challenging situation but sometimes you just get down.  Is it all bad?  No!  Stay tuned for the good stuff!  I'm going to go take a walk!