Our day started out early -- 4:30 Central Daylight Time, to be exact. After loading up and finding that our motel (The Trade Winds) did not begin their complementary breakfast until 7:30, we decided to start out and, passing through downtown Valentine, saw Jordan's open, so stopped there for a frugal breakfast, the Special of the day, consisting of French Toast, one egg, two slices of bacon and a bottomless cup of coffee.
Today was to be a meandering tour through various parts of the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Sioux Indian reservations, much of which includes parts of the South Dakota Badlands. The Grand Mother had expressed her wish to visit some places here to try to rekindle old memories of a time when she visited the Reservation with her brother John. He had taken her to see and participate in a genuine Sioux pow-wow and feast. [I recall her telling of her brother being honored by being given the first dip into the stew and the special honor of being given a "dog's eye".]Bopop had warned of his and Monya's experience of getting lost on the unmarked Reservation roads. Grumpy thought to himself, confidently, "But I have GPS! I won't get lost." Well, in less time than it takes to tell this story, Grumpy turned north too soon off of US18. Once on the BIA system of highways (few are marked!), and after 3 or 4 forks in the gravel road, Grumpy found himself "well lost". The GPS would show these quaternary roads in a "zoomed-in" mode where one inch on the display represented about 1/4 mile! The main roads were "off the screen" and Grumpy could only tell where he was by zooming out to see the "big picture" where the primary, paved roads were visible. Eventually, he had to resort to locating a spot on the main road where he wanted to be and then asking the GPS to "go there". It dutifully obeyed -- directing us down new gravel roads and dirt roads -- and roads that didn't exist where Garmin had digitized them!!
However, we eventually hit the paved road and the GPS soon announced "Arriving at Destination"; Potato Creek. And that is all it was -- a creek! The Grand Mother laughed!!
Arriving in late morning in Kadoka, our destination for tonight, we contacted Betty Vandermay, a childhood friend of the Grand Mother's since the two were little 10 or 12 year-olds living in or near Midland SD. Betty seemed the same as ever, having undergone surgery to fuse three vertebrae in her lower back to correct the effects of fairly severe osteoporosis that had caused a lot of pain.
After a short visit in Betty's home in Kadoka, a date for dinner was made; we would meet in one of the two "best restaurants" in Kadoka. The two long-time friends happily gabbed away, remembering old mutual friends, many of whom have since passed away; and recounting their common joys in raising large families. The Grand Mother noted that, while Betty had had 12 birth children, including one set of twins born when she was 42, the Grand Mother had nurtured a few more than that, including two sets of twins. "But", she continued, "I got most of mine the easy way!"
Vowing to come back for another visit next summer, we bid each other "good night" and "safe driving".
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