How I Spent My 4th of July Weekend: part III

After dinner we drove to town and parked. Lizelda parted ways with us then, as her ride was elsewhere.

The fireworks were to start at dusk, so we found a good parking place in which to sit (which would also give us a decent getaway afterwards!) and settled in our new chairs (thank you Nancy for making me go!) to wait for the spectacle ...
and we waited...
...and we waited
...and we WAITED!

it got cold!!! lol!


Finally, at 10 PM they started!















































...and––


It was a great day, a fun night, and we even got out of the parking lot in 5 minutes!!! Yay!

How I Spent My 4th of July Weekend: Part II

On Saturday, July 4th, after our earlier cavorting in the waves above the ground, we made plans to travel beneath the surface of it!

Our destination (Nancy, 'Lizbeth, Lizelda and me) was Wind Cave. We traveled through Custer State Park (please people!!! find another name for this beautiful place!) It was a stormy day, (had quite a rainstorm to drive through on our way to the cave) but we were in high spirits nevertheless. The inhabitants of this place were in high spirits, too, as you can see from the photo.

A sacred site to the Lakota, their ancestors emerged from this place in ancient days, following their relative Tatanka through the door and to the surface on what is now their ancestral lands.



The cave itself is pleasantly cool. It was the first time for me to be in a cave, and I wondered how I would feel. I was fine, but the oddest feeling of incredible weight bearing down on my head! Though I took many photos, it was too dark to get good pics with my cell phone. Here is the best of the bunch.

Hundreds of miles of cave are contained within a 1 mile square, with approximately 5 new miles discovered by volunteers every year.

We were underground for about 1.25 hours, and at the deepest point we were 22 feet underground.
Upon leaving the cave we came upon a huge herd of buffalo, who kindly posed for a spontaneous photo opp! We traveled back north to my place for grilled buffalo burghers (did I just say- buffalo? sorry guys!) and chips.

How I Spent My 4th of July Weekend

Since it's been about half a year since I have posted anything here, I figured it was about time!

My 4th weekend started a bit early, when my friend Nancy and her daughter 'Lizbeth (who is 12) persuaded me away from website design work for a day, to go to Angostura Dam for some sun and swimming.

Angostura Dam is a lovely hour's drive south to the southern-most tip of the Black Hills. It is a popular destination for all in the general area for swimming, boating and fishing. The water is a beautiful emerald green from a distance. The color is caused by the minerals from the Hot Springs that bubble up from the small sleepy town of– you guessed it– Hot Springs.

We decided to drive the scenic route through the Black Hills, which took us through Custer State Park as well as Wind Cave National Park. We saw lots of wildlife- antelope playing (well, what did you expect!), lots of buffalo- many chestnut-colored babies deer and prairie dogs.

When we got to Hot Springs we made a side tour to the stream that flows through the town so that Nancy could show 'Lizbeth where she used to play when visiting her Aunt Sandy as a little girl. The spring-heated stream is about the temperature of tepid bath water, the stream bottom soft sand. After paddling around for a few minutes we traveled on to Angostura.

The weather was in the mid-80's, and the lake water just right! After I had paddled around for a few minutes I noticed that my body was extra buoyant, which I attribute to the mineral content of the lake. The water has a slightly milky character which reminds me of bathwater with mineral salts added.

For someone who grew up by the ocean, it is a slightly odd sensation to be swimming with such a lovely hills surrounding the lake. They remind me of the Scottish Highlands, and so that makes me feel right at home!

I was surprised to see sea gulls here, but I guess they have now made their way to all parts of the US, whether sea side or inland. These were not quite the same looking as the herring gulls I was used to in New England. These are a bit smaller and have a different cry as well.

They are just as hungry as the NE gulls, though, as 'Lizabeth found out when she decided to see if they liked crackers! (The feet are Nancy's)