Fifth of July -- A Birthday, A Farewell Breakfast and a Warning for Next Year

5 July 2013; Around Rapid --

Ranch Headquarters on the Cottonwood

This day was my cousin Bitsy's birthday. She entertained her brothers Larry E. and Jimmy E, and sister Kay E as well as Larry's and Jimmy's wives, and Grumpy. We all had a good visit together; Kay N. gave me a 8.5" by 11" colored photo of their ranch down on Cottonwood dated sometime in the early 1940's. It brought back fond memories for me, as I used to treasure the families'  big get-together's (there were five of us kids, three or four Bailey's and at least seven kids in the host family that would be present!) when my Aunt Laura would host a huge three-family luncheon or dinner. As kids, we used to enjoy playing in the hay loft of the barn, or hiking along the creek that flowed just behind the house.

I finished off the day in Rapid, with a dinner and visit with Frances, Larry N., Kay N., and Gary & Cindy. Having failed to test my new water weapon on the intended and persistent "Victim", Grandson of Gary & Cindy, I was reduced to merely passing on, via his Great Grandma Frances and his Grandpa Gary, the veiled damp threat that, "... just wait until next year!" I also disclosed, with the admonition to keep it a secret, the fact that I had "cold-soaked" the  loaded water gun -- chock full of water! -- in the refrigerator overnight. Just in case!!

On my return trip to my cabin on Spearfish Creek, I got to witness this South Dakota sunset as the last day of this visit to my Cousins and friends in the Black Hills ended. Tomorrow I would begin my two-day journey back to Grumpy's Castle. 

Old Friends Meet for Lunch and a Visit

1 July 2013; Sturgis in the wind --

One of my very good friends from my High School days is Roy A. He was missed yesterday from the Dupree Picnic and Reunion. Today Grumpy tracked him down.

Roy and I played basketball together in Dupree H.S. in the early '40's. He was about 6' 1" and I was about 6" even. A taller and much more skilled player was Dean V. at 6' 3" or 4", so Roy and I played forwards, often on the floor at the same time. I left Dupree in 1944 and moved to Philip where I became a member of the Scotties basketball team. One of our first preseason games was against Dupree; this was the first time that Roy and I played as opposing Centers. Philip won the game 13-12, as I recall; a very sloppy, poorly played game on the part of both teams.

Roy married the eldest daughter of my oldest cousin [Grumpy's second cousin?], so Roy and I sort of became related. Shirley died about 6 years ago, so both Roy and Grumpy have had to depend solely on our

own poor memories to get done what needs to be done -- and when it needs to be done.

Both Roy and I have "shrunk" some in our old ages [he is more than a year younger than I, but graduated the same year]. But he is still the gangly, easy-going Norskie that he was in High School. Some day we may both decide to grow up! Grumpy enjoyed seeing Roy again and looks forward to a few more get-togethers with him before each of us cash in our chips.

A Memorable Picnic in the Park

30 June 2013; Spearfish City Park --
The annual "Dupree Reunion & Picnic" was held today in Salem Park. Grumpy had looked forward to this possible meeting with old friends that he remembered from the years he had lived in Dupree: from March 1936 to June 1944. Especially he looked forward to seeing his South Dakota cousins another year.

The first anticipation was satisfied when he saw his old basketball teammate dating back to the South Dakota Class B District tournament of 1942 in Mobridge. Grumpy remembered how that teammate, at 6' 3", was confronted with playing center position opposite a 6' 5" or 6" player from Mobridge. Knowing he couldn't prevent this taller guy from making a basket if he got the ball, Dean instead "fronted" the guy and waved his hands in front of his face to making it as difficult as possible for the guy to get the ball in the first place. Grumpy, at barely 6', emulated Dean's strategy when he played center opposite a 6' 5" player from Fort Pierre in a gamethat the Philip coach had virtually conceded we would lose. Grumpy succeeded in preventing the taller guy from getting a single point while Grumpy was high-point man for our team. Admittedly the Fort Pierre guy was not agile, nor was he a good ball handler. Grumpy stole a number of balls in the duel. Philip won the game.

The day was capped with this gathering of the Cousins of the "Zimmerman Clan"; only Katy S was missing, and Roy A., who joined this clan by marriage to the eldest daughter of the recently-deceased oldest of this batch of cousins, "Rainey". From the left: Larry, Irene, Grumpy, Jack, Joan, Jimmy (behind), and Ann.

Tomorrow's adventure: Undecided as Grumpy lays his sleepy head down on the pillow tonight.

Alaska Adventure; Part Twelve

17 June 2013; In and Around Skagway --

This day, the 65^th Anniversary of my marriage to The First Wife (the One and Only), began with sunshine and warmth; a beautiful day to remember our wedding day and the joy of the more than 63 and half happy years we had together.

It was also a beautiful day to ride the White Pass and Yukon Railroad out of Skagway to the top of White Pass, with views of blue-sky outlined mountains along the way. We climbed aboard the antique, but restored and upgraded, passenger cars of the late 1890’s and inched along behind a modern diesel-electric locomotive toward White Pass.

The narrow-gauge railway went past the Gold Rush cemetery that we had visited the previous afternoon, so we heard again of the local legend of “Soapy” Smith and Skagway hero Frank Reid.


We saw numerous impressive waterfalls teeming with melt-water from snow fields – and a few glaciers – lounging on the hillsides and valleys a thousand feet or more above us. Along one stretch of the way we were on a man-made ledge with a vertical (or even overhanging!) wall on the uphill side and a near-vertical cliff on the downhill side.

A narrator on board this excursion train told of the sad tale of the greedy entrepreneur who used a massive number of horses as pack animals to carry prospectors’ supplies from Skagway up and over White Pass. Each prospector had to have at least 2,000 pounds of supplies in order to be permitted into Canada by the Northwest Mounted Police. The horses were usually overloaded, underfed and generally treated cruelly. As a consequence, many – in fact, most! – eventually died along the rocky trail that preceded the railroad. Many stumbled and fell to their death; others, unable to go on, were simply pushed over the cliff and left there to suffer and die, their bodies ultimately to rot and decay; the area was called “Dead Horse Canyon”.
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A Surprised-to-be-seen Brother Ahead

We crossed a couple of picturesque trestle bridges, each of which incorporated a curve such that those of us in the foremost car could photograph the rear cars of our train. Some people stood on the platform between the cars to capture the views fore and aft. Two tunnels entertained us with the presence of near-total darkness as these ancient passenger cars had no interior lights of any kind.

White Pass marks the boundary between Canada and the United States. Shortly after crossing the Pass and the border, we stopped and waited in our rail car while the engine was disconnected from our end and reattached to the opposite end; we thus became the “caboose” for the return trip back to Skagway.  Because none of us on the excursion train were allowed to get off the train, we did not have to have passports.

Grumpy was fascinated with this abandoned, old wooden trestle, a remnant of the road bed completed in 1899. Its dilapidated condition reminds us of how fortunate we are to be living in the age when steel-structure had replaced these wooden, decay-prone bridges.

When we returned to 82 degree Skagway, some of us enjoyed the shade of a handy tree to savor the local ice cream. Our ferry to Bellingham had a 1700 departure, so our stay in Skagway ended and our voyage down the "Inside Passage" began as the  Southeast Alaskan sunset bade us "goodbye" and "bon voyage".

Tomorrow morning we will wake up as the ferry leaves Auke terminal (Juneau).

Reflections on the Great Prairie Safari

·         15 May 2013; Fort Bale WA –

Awakening to a new day, sobered by a good night’s sleep, and mollified by a delicious breakfast of pancake and sausage served by none other than the left-handed, vegetarian Swede, Grumpy began to reflect on his recently-completed safari back to his native prairie. 

Extracting Wild Onions from the hard clay

The original purpose of this trip was to awaken – at 0500 – to smell the Spring prairie flowers Grumpy remembers from his youth. A secondary purpose, since two Great Grandsons and their Mother decided to accompany me, was to provide these two boys an opportunity for some first-hand, hands-on education about the geography, wild life and plants, historical events and places, and country lore from their Great Grandfather’s childhood life.

A proud Great Grandfather and his Great Grandsons

The primary purpose was not achieved because Grumpy failed to do sufficient research to find the optimum time (day or week – not the hour!) to coincide with the appearance of the prairie wild flowers. We were about two or three weeks too early. The entire trip would have been a waste had it not been for the fortuitous decision by Grumpy to include the Great Grandsons on this trip; Secondary purpose was still possible and thus became the Primary purpose.

Aerodynamically-loaded Subaru & Driver

There were even benefits of having the Great Grandsons’ Mother in the Safari Party:

•  Her all-wheel drive Subaru alleviated Grumpy’s concern of getting stuck in mud, snow or sand that we might encounter out in the prairie wilderness.
•  She would be able to provide a relief-driver function so we could make the trip to the prairie in one day.
•  She prepared a large cache of edibles – even some non-tofu based!
•  Being a woman, she could do all of the cooking and cleaning up.
•  She could provide comic relief with her left-handed, “girlie’, Swedish ways.

Well, while she did not fulfill Grumpy’s expectations regarding #2 and #4, she more than compensated with the superb job she did on #5.

Parboiled Great Grandsons in hot tub

A short, informal and very un-scientific poll was conducted by Grumpy this morning, using the question, “What are your highlight memories of this trip?” The results were astounding, if not surprising. Grumpy categorized the responses into two groups: Boys only, and Adults only. The boys ranked “Hot Springs” as their top memory [not a big surprise, since they spent a total of about 12 hours being parboiled in the two hot springs (and two motels with pools) we visited], with Wall Drug as their #2 memory highlight.

Considering what to say -- or not

Caught with mouth open -- again

The Adult category might be misleading in that the participants were a Senior Citizen and a barely dry-behind the ears Swede. However, in the interests of Non-science, Grumpy reports that the #1 consensus of this disparate group was “Enjoying the Repartee of Each Other”. For sure, the Queen Mother’s jibing of her Grandfather-in-law left his memories of this trip a barrel of laughs.

What could be better?

·        

The Great Prairie Safari -- Day Fourteen

14 May 2013; The Trail Home, Last Stretch --

Getting "rained out" the night before, was deflating to the male ego's; we "men" would have liked to have shown the Queen Mother what rugged individualists we were. But, alas, she out-voted us 3:1 to forego the rain-soaked existence and stay at a motel instead. Early the next morning [as was his habit!], Grumpy ventured out to scan the Eastern horizon; the mass representing the Blue Mountains loomed up -- numerous clouds hovering over them like mother hens over her chicks. Yep, it was probably still raining up there! Grumpy muttered a "Thank God" [for the wisdom -- er, intuition of the female member of our party] for allowing us the comfort of Super 8 this last night on the trail.

As we rode along [captive of the social-law minded Swede driver!] we came upon a huge array of wind turbines that spanned the horizon. Queen Mother uttered an unforgettable phrase that must be included in this post: "Look at the wind-turbine forest, boys!" The concept of a "forest" of wind-turbines fascinated the mind of Grumpy, so here is the essence of what we saw:

 

As we entered the Columbia River Gorge, we began looking for the exit that would bring us to Multnomah Falls, a sight that Grumpy had forgotten on our way East. Somewhat confusing at the time, but making sense later was a sign that directed us off the freeway with one word: "Falls". As we drove along this side road (Historic US-30) we came upon a falls labelled, "Horsetail Falls". A beautiful falls, indeed and worthy of a stop.

But we were looking for Multnomah Falls, which Grumpy remembered seeing with The Great Grandmother. It was huge!! So, driving further along this historic (and very scenic, still!) we came to a very congested -- and full! -- parking lot; Multnomah Falls. After a short -- but cruelly uphill -- hike, we encountered this view of these historic falls.

Grumpy prefers scenes like this with people in them -- to give the scene "perspective" -- and color. Anyway, rather than go up to that footbridge himself and take a photo of the other three standing down where he stood to take the photo on the left, he cleverly enticed them to go up to the footbridge so he didn't have to!

Still not satisfied that this did justice to both the Falls and the Queen and her Court, Grumpy called them all back down [from their "high horse"] and took this picture (right):

A few miles further along the "Historic Highway", promised yet another water falls. This one called, "Bridal Veil Falls" (left). The hike down and up to get to it was a challenge that the old fogey (Grumpy) was barely able to overcome. But German determination and "bull-headedness" overcame these obstacles like all other challenges in his past. These photos are evidence of his never-say-die spirit.

Again, Grumpy wanted some people in his pictures, so he cajoled [ha! ha! ha!!] the two GGSon's to venture out onto a rock down below the Falls where the boys could be pictured with the Falls in the background. From this perspective the reader may correctly perceive that this water fall is quite large.

This last stretch of highway on this Safari was a happy-sad day. Happy to get back to Fort Bale -- and sleeping in a familiar bed after being gone for two weeks; sad because this is the end of the most memorable and enjoyable road trip that this old Great Grumpy has experienced in many a Moon. The opportunity to travel and camp with these two Great Grandsons -- yes, even with their Mother, too! -- brought great peals of laughter at times, and tears of joy at other times when Grumpy found himself the subject of touching words or actions by the Great Grandsons. And enduring the Left-handed, "Arises at 10 o'clock", stubborn Swede who was the Queen Mother, was a strain that only a tough old determined German like Grumpy could put up with.

The Great Prairie Safari -- Day Eight

8 May 2013; Through the Badlands, East to West, Wall Drug and Camp --

Having hurried through the Badlands from West to East as the sun went down a few days ago, we were now experiencing the same topography going the opposite direction -- after a good rain -- as the sun came up!

A mandatory stop was the in situ fossil exhibit self-guided walk. Also deemed mandatory by Grumpy, was the stern warning about the possibility of Rattlesnakes. Grumpy also talked about the proper way to react when you hear the "Gentleman" Rattler's warning sound: freeze, locate and retreat. [This advice was followed by Grumpy's admitting that, instead of freezing, he always went straight up upon hearing the first two or three rattlers of the season.]

Exiting the Badlands via the Wall entrance, a demand was made to visit the infamous Wall Drug Store while it was open. An hour and half was alloted for this tourist trap -- and Grumpy enjoyed it as much as the youngsters! One of Grumpy's biggest "thrills" was when GGson I opened a small envelope labeled, "Rattlesnake Eggs". Grumpy was not paying attention at the moment, but at the familiar sound, he jumped about a foot off the floor and nearly collapsed of heart palpitations!

After a much-needed stint at a laundromat in Rapid, we continued on up to Spearfish to camp and have supper with Cousins Joan and Jimmy. On our way back to camp, Grumpy drove the route he used to get to the maternity home where the GGsons' Grandfather was born.

Don't go away for too long! There's more!!

The Great Prairie Safari -- Day Seven

7 May 2013; In South Dakota Badlands –

Hearing coyotes last night convinced the Safari Party to stay two nights here in the comfort of this National Park campground. But what to do during the day?

The Swede opined that her family could use a refill of genuine, unfiltered, South Dakota yellow sweet clover honey, a sample of which Grumpy had given them from Summer 2012. So our first stop was in the near-ghost town of Belvedere SD [the home of Tom Berry, South Dakota’s “Cowboy Governor”, and someone who was personally-known by both The Grand Mother and Grumpy]. By inquiring of the town Postmistress, Grumpy was able to go to the home of the lady who, with her husband gather and process the “best honey in the world”.

Leaving with our "bootie” of honey, we headed North to the little town of Midland where The Great Grandmother lived as a young girl (and when she first met Grumpy). Grumpy pointed out the site of this childhood home in Midland. It was sold to another family after Great-Great Grandpa N came to live with Great Grandmother and Grumpy, and subsequently burned down, leaving only the little house in which the Grandmother of The Great Grandmother lived.

Turning West, we came upon the old Ray E. Noble garage. Stopping here for a look around (and a photo or two) Grumpy pointed out the concrete floor under which the pet badger ("Fuzzy") hibernated his first year after becoming the pet of the little girl who later became The Great Grandmother.

We looked but could not find the 3’ x 5’ slab of concrete that formed the porch of the house that The Great Grandmother lived in as a little girl until she was about 8 or 10 years old, when they moved into Midland. That slab contained the imprint of that little girl when she was about 5 or 6 years old. It has either been uprooted or covered over by current fixtures.

Grumpy pointed out the headstones in the Nowlin cemetery, marking where the boys’ Great-Great Grandmother and Great-Great Grandfather N’s bodies were buried. As we entered Philip, where both The Great Grandmother and Grumpy graduated from High School [though two years apart], Grumpy drove by the gravesites of Great-Great Grandfather and Great-Great Grandmother Z.

In the town of Philip, we visited the site of the “Earth House” that Great-Great Grandmother Z had built in the side-hill of the odd-lot acreage that Great-Great Grandfather Z had purchased many years previously. The house is completely buried in native soil except for one side facing the Southeast. The roof area is planted with native “Cedar” [actually a form of Juniper] trees.

Leaving Philip, we drove back to our campsite in the Badlands. Grumpy was hoping to hear the Coyotes howling – the Swede claimed that she had heard them the previous night. As we were finishing our supper, a thunderstorm -- with hail! -- besot our camp. The survivors took shelter in one small tent -- ludicrously labeled "BUCKINGHAM PALACE" -- while the hailstones peppered the sides, including any boys' head that might be too close!

 A stiff wind accompanied the hail-storm. With the MAN tent securely anchored and the WOMAN tent firmly held down by the four bodies inside [who were engaged in a card game of some sort that the GGson's were always able to win!], our tents remained in place -- others' were not so fortunate.

The devastation in our camp was viewed later by the brave soul (a MAN), who ventured out while the last drops of rain were still falling. This petrified hailstone (right) was all that Grumpy could find after the storm had passed. 

The wind persisted after the rain and hail ended; the self-exiled travelers dare come out of their lair. The wind brought a bonus for the Swede, who had previously inquired about "Tumble Weeds", at first asking if those sage brushes might be the fabled tumble weed.

Lo and behold, through our campsite rolled a fine example of the fabled Tumble Weed.

The boys took turns running after it, bringing it back and letting it go again.

Besides "Beggar's Lice", one of the interesting plant life that Grumpy wanted the boys to experience was "Wild Onions". Grumpy remembers the long-lasting and near-deadly smell of the breath of any young boy who ate "a few" wild onions on his way to school. The first and second grade teacher would summarily call "Anthony" up to her desk and quietly but firmly admonish him to stop eating wild onions before coming to school, and then excuse him for the day. 

GGson I was the first to spot the wily onion; and then, amazingly, it was the Queen Mother who located another patch, and then a large "plantation" of them right next to our camp! Grumpy was instrumental in showing how to extract this delicious (??) morsel from the sun-baked clay here in the Badlands.

Later, after soaking the hard-caked mud from the roots, Grumpy demonstrated the final cleaning and eating of this delicacy of the desert. [Subsequent tooth brushing and breath mints were ineffective in diminishing the potent odor of those who partook.]

More adventure on Day 8!

The Great Prairie Safari -- Day One

1 May 2013; Farewell Bend State Park, OR --

This first day found the mixture of young and old, left-handed and right-handed, German and Swedish
embarking on what promised to be a never-ending contest of wills and determination.

We departed Fort Bale promptly at 0500, (as edicted by the Great Grumpy) -- (plus about four hours as over-ruled by the Lemon Pie Baker). Our first scheduled sight was old highway 30 along the cliffs of the Mighty Columbia. Grumpy had forgotten (one of many, many things that will be revealed in this and future BLOG entries.)

We turned off on the invitation of a sign which directed us to “Old Historic Highway 30”. Grumpy took the bait and we drove half a dozen miles (including several miles past sings announcing, “Road Closed Ahead”), finally arriving at a truly blocked highway, with a flagging crew announcing the reason for the blockage: The road ahead was undergoing extensive repairs and would be closed until 25 May.

Backtracking to the freeway, we continued on our way for a few more miles when another sign announced “Scenic, Historic Old Highway 30”. Well, this was the one that Grumpy had intended for us to take in the first place. After winding up a 5% grade to the top, we found “Rowena  Crest View Point”, the exact spot on which Grumpy had taken Great Grandma’s photo just a couple of years ago.

Great Grandson II (GGsonII) inquired about the road down below. Grumpy assured him that “we will soon see”. And we did, as we progressed on East on this truly scenic, historic section of “Historic Old Highway 30” in Oregon.

Good-natured teasing (about left-handedness vs right-handedness, Swedishness vs Germanisch, and Shortness vs Tall-Enoughness, etc) continued unabatedly as we neared our day’s objective: Farewell Bend State Park, where we hoped to camp for the night. Sure enough, camping was allowed. And what luxurious campsites! Running water at the site! and electricity, if only the Swede had thought to bring the electric coffee maker.

With the “Woman Tent” properly adorned with a pink and black sign announcing “Queen, AKA H.R.H.”, it was time to bring out the sign for the Man tent, which stated: “MAN TENT, God’s original design; Then HE said, ‘It is good!’ “. There followed a lively discussion concerning God’s subsequent forming of Woman [“ … because He said He could do better!”

Grumpy got his second "come-uppance" the next morning when he saw the new sign on Woman Tent: "Do Not Disturb; Beauty Sleep in Progress"

In the interest of informing these two Great Grandson’s of a bit of trivia as to why God called her “Wo-Man”, Grumpy was upstaged by GGson I with this little gem that had Great Grumpy doubled over in laughter:

     When God formed Woman from Man’s rib, He took one look and said, “Wo-oo!! Man!!”

Unbelievably, GGson I went swimming in the icy cold Snake River in the cool evening (the Sun was very low in the western sky).

Keep tuned for tomorrow’s adventure!

Wonder Where Ward is Wandering this Week?

27 June - 7 July 2012; My Annual Midwest Auto Tour, First Half --
Wednesday, Day Zero; Seattle to Deerlodge MT: As usual, I got up early and started out. I took a picture of the Eastern sky -- Venus was visible, but I apparently shook the camera too hard [Actually, that is about how my bleary eyes saw things, too!], so it will not be included.

I crested Snoqualmie Pass at about 0500 and was in Montana by noon. I arrived in Deerlodge with the gas-trip Odometer reading 566 miles (yes, as this photo of the "A" odometer -- the one I reset when I get fuel -- taken a ways out of Missoula shows, setting the cruise control at 65 really pays off in high mileage per tankful!)  TOTAL MILES FOR THE DAY: 565.1

Thursday, Day One; Deerlodge to Wyoming: I found my Uncle Leonard Zierlein and his ex-wife, my Aunt Carol, in north-central WY. They live across the County Road (lane 39) from each other and seem to get along pretty well. We went to lunch in Greybull WY, where I had to buy a new tire; also reserved a room for the night.

 Their oldest, son Louis, was at Uncle Leonard's and I was happy to get to see him and Leonard's oldest daughter, Glenda again. [I first met him when he drove his Dad and two sisters to IA for Grandma Nettie's memorial.]

I also got to meet, for the first time, their youngest son August ("Augie" -- named after our Great Grandfather Zierlein). TOTAL MILES FOR DAY: 506.2

FRIDAY, Day Two; Greybull to Big Horn Range in WY: I had wanted to go over Powder River Pass (on the South end of the Big Horns), but I didn't remember its proper name, and wound up going US 14 over Granite Pass (into Sheridan WY) instead. As it turns out, there is a lot of spectacular scenery over this more-Northern pass. One of the most interesting was this, the Shell Creek Falls.

After going over Granite Pass down into Sheridan, I continued on South to Buffalo and then re-ascended the Big Horns toward Powder River Pass. I wanted to get Sunset and Sunrise photos from this area, because I had remembered that it looked easterly with the Black Hills on the horizon in the distance. To get the Sunrise view, I had to sleep up there -- in the cold (45 degr F!) -- and I thought I was going to freeze to death!  TOTAL MILES FOR THE DAY: 188.3

SATURDAY, Day Three; 8500-foot level of Big Horns to Spearfish Creek Cabins: Arising at about 0300 -- mainly because I was cold, but also so I could capture the first glimpse of the Sun as it arose -- I realized that I had not the slightest idea where the Sun would make its appearance! I made an educated guess and turned out to have it in the lower right corner of my view; rather artistic if I do say so myself.

After getting my Sunrise shot, I dropped down out of the altitude, basking in the warmth from the car heater, and drove the short distance into Spearfish for an early breakfast at the Cedar House restaurant. Then I checked into my motel (Spearfish Creek Cabins) where I would headquarter for the next three days.  TOTAL MILES FOR THE DAY: 102.1

SUNDAY, Day Four; In and Around Spearfish: After a "visiting" breakfast with Cousin Joan (Bitsy), I joined her at her church service. Then I dropped in to see Cousin Jimmy Eddy and his wife, Shirley, who still live on the old dairy farm where Uncle John and Aunt Laura brought up about six of the eight Eddy kids. TOTAL MILES FOR THE DAY: 5.9

MONDAY, Day Five; A Pilgrimage back to our Roots:  With Bitsy driving and two more girl cousins (Kay and Lorraine) joining us, we first went down South of Dupree, to the site of my birth where a covey of grouse spooked from the remains of the cellar that was under the frame part of the house. A few pieces of rotted logs from the log cabin part was also in evidence to the East of where the house used to sit.

Then we drove the 2 or 3 miles over to where the Eddy girls grew up. The present owner is the son of the first guy I beat up (a third grader) when I started 2nd grade at Sunnybrook, the little country school.

Next we meandered cross-country up to where our Zimmerman Grandparents lived; also where their graves are. Lorraine (and my sister Donagene) were born in my Grandparents' house, in a room upstairs where that little window is, above Lorraine's head.

After a long day, we returned to Spearfish. TOTAL MILES FOR THE DAY: None for me!

TUESDAY, Day Six; Visiting Cousins and Old Friends:  My first stop in Rapid City was to have coffee with my Cousin Ann and her husband Jack. I presented him with the usual "Care Package" brought from Seattle; but also, I had found a delicacy along the road called "Moose Drool", which I gingerly passed over to him, telling him that my curiosity had led me to want to share a taste of it with him. We split a bottle, both declaring it "not bad" for something put together in Missoula, Montana originally as a joke! [Kind of reminded me of a certain "Zeta Brew" cooked up by none other than two of my Grandsons.]

I met Cousin Ethel for lunch, as Mother and I had done the year before. However, this time Ethel insisted that she buy me lunch and to enjoy it with her son and his wife who would be there visiting soon. [And, of course, I can't remember the son's name!! Or his lovely wife's either!]

On the way back for the night in Spearfish, I met my old school classmate, Roy, in Sturgis. He and I had played basketball in Dupree as teammates, then when I was a Senior at Philip, we were adversaries in a non-league game played in Dupree. Roy took me to a "biker's bar and grill" where we both ordered the "Kiddie's Sirloin Bits", a filling meal for each of us! TOTAL MILES FOR THE DAY: 117.5

WEDNESDAY, Day Seven; Fourth of July Backyard Barbecue and Water Fight:  Last year, when Mother and I attended this event-to-end-all-events, a young Great Nephew named Brandon "somehow" got me wet during the afternoon's "wet"-stive goings-on. As I left that day, I committed to Brandon that "next year" I would bring a "machine water gun".

But when I arrived this year and Brandon asked to see my "machine water gun", I explained that "as long as (he) didn't cause any trouble, I would not bring it out." Well, he found where I had stashed it and later challenged me to a water gun duel. Of course I had to accept [didn't I??!], so at twenty paces, we turned and "watered" our weapons. Since mine was capable of short, repeated blasts of water and his emitted a single, long [and with great volume!], my water gun outlasted his and he began to run. These kinds of things are half the fun of going to this event each year.

Gary and Cindy put this on mostly by themselves, but other relatives and friends pitch in with some of the goodies. Larry was ill this day and did not make it this year; Kay and Bob stayed in Colorado in case their home was endangered by the forest fires. Aunt Frances was the Belle of the Ball as usual; she will be 92 this December [if I am not mistaken]. TOTAL MILES FOR THE DAY: 68.4

THURSDAY, Day Eight; Travel to Aunt Hazel's:  Arising from my bed before dark, and after an earlier than usual complimentary breakfast with my complimentary Day's Inn room, I ventured forth toward Iowa; the Sunrise occurred as I was speeding [at 65 miles per hour, thank you!] over the flat country of Eastern South Dakota.

In the "Olden Days", this would have been a push-over for me. But this day I wisely took a couple of respites along the way, spending half hour or so each, at the Chamberlain rest-stop, and at the Sgt Floyd Memorial rest-stop in Iowa. Even then, I was exhausted by the time I got to my reserved motel in Indianola. TOTAL MILES FOR THE DAY: 649.5

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, Days Nine & Ten; Visiting Aunt Hazel:  Hazel and I had spent a few days together in late March, witnessing the spectacle of the Sandhill Cranes in their annual migration to the Platte River valley in Central NE. We had previously confirmed that we are still of opposite politics and religious beliefs, so we were able to get serious about visiting -- and picking peaches.

Ex-brother-in-law, Tom, has a peach tree that tempted even this Old Man to stand on the top of the six-foot step ladder to try to reach the most luscious looking peaches that had benefited the most and longest in the Iowa sunshine. TOTAL MILES FOR THESE TWO DAYS: 21.9
TOTAL MILES FOR THIS HALF OF THE TRIP: 2,222.3

Stay tuned, after I pick up Cousin Bill, for the last half of this Auto Tour; the return trip West.