Saturday, August 30, 2025 A Do-Nothing Day to Cheat on my Sister

 Saturday, August 30, 2025 A Do Nothing Day

My humans let me out.  I sniffed, I rolled, and when they came looking for me, I hid.  But they found me.  They brought me back and put me on a leash.  Sheesh… can’t a feline have any fun?

Since it is a Saturday on a holiday weekend, we scheduled nothing.  Wait, I did have a hair appointment.  I will be cheating on my sister who has been doing my hair for decades, but I can’t wait any longer for coifing attention!

Skies are threatening, but we are beginning to ignore them.  We take our morning walk through the neighborhood.  We have been coming in from the main street onto Jolly Ln.  So we decided to go in the other direction and check things out.

There is an Elks community of homes.  The Elks must have owned the property at one time.  The houses weave around the back nine of the golf course.  Some are duplexes, mainly joined at the garage.  Others are independent.  All of them look quite nice.  The street names are all golf related: Pebble Beach Ct., Mulligan, etc.  Many of the homes have huge fir trees looking like Christmas trees.  We were told that they are ponderosa and spruce firs.  There are trails for the golf carts so you can bring your own from home.  And you see some pretty fancy custom carts.  No fences.  It is nice and clean and feels safe.  Jolly Ln. goes about a mile down before it dead ends into the plains.

Back at camp, Spouse did some cleaning.  I went to the salon for some updating.  Today is dedicated to reading and relaxing.  There is a golf tournament going on at the course, so there are lots of people and lots of activity.  We will lay low today.  And Spouse can leave the door open and let in more flies… little bastards!

Clouds have been threatening rain all day, but so far, only a few raindrops.    

Friday, August 29, 2025 A Spur of the Moment Kind of Day

 

Friday, August 29, 2025 Spur of the Moment

I have trained my humans all from the power of my stare.  If I stare at my food bowl, they feed me.  If I stare at the windows, they lift the covers.  I have learned to use this power for many things.  Humans can be so easy!

With the forecast calling for rain, we did not make any plans for the day.  When we woke up and it wasn’t raining, hmmm…. Maybe we can get 9 holes of golf in.  I ran up to the pro shop and they gave us 20 minutes to get ready and on the tee.  So, on the spur of the moment, we did it.  Spouse felt rushed the entire game.  We hadn’t even had much coffee.  It was barely 7 am.  I felt rushed the first hole, then was able to adjust my brain.  We played with a father/son duo.  And the son had some horrible shots, so we felt quite comfortable with them!  They were our people!

The Elks golf course is a nice course with lots of strategy.  Trees hang over stupid places, water weaves its ways all through the course, and they have some bunkers that are challenging to avoid.  The greens lied.  My evil twin was out at first, but then I showed up and momentarily vanquished her.  She popped up a few times through the 9 holes.  Course knowledge is always helpful, but I gotta say, the best hole I had I totally botched every shot, and because I didn’t know what I was doing, it worked.  We were on a 97 yard par 3.  You have to hit over a stream and up a hill.  I can do this… but I didn’t…I am such a spazz!  I hit over the stream, hit the hill and ricocheted into the rough.  My chip shot was terrible, pulling it and leaving me in the rough.  My next chip shot was even worse!  I totally hit the wrong side of the green, the ball was moving too fast… but wait… the ball went almost all the way up the hill, did a slow uturn, and rolled to within 1 inch from the hole. I don’t think I could have done this if I knew the course… And, by the way… I sunk the putt!

On the 7^th hole, we felt our first raindrops.  It was light, but we didn’t know how bad this was going to get.  On the 8^th hole, it rained a little harder for just about 2 minutes, then stopped, allowing us to finish the round.

When we got back to Artie, our neighbor in the RV park gave us his pass to Custer State Park.  We have been there before and really liked it, so on the spur of the moment, we headed that way. The skies were ominous, but we will be in the truck, so no big deal.

We ended up coming through the east entrance, which we hadn’t done before.  Like the bike trail, you see things differently when you go the other direction.  We stopped at Summer White House for Calvin Coolidge.  It is a lodge, and it was nearing 11 am and we hadn’t eaten. Cool place with some interesting architectural features.  Then exploring the park, down one road, up the next.  We see an occasional lone buffalo.  We decide to take a dirt road (Red Valley Rd.).  There is a prairied dog town so we stopped. 

Prairie dogs are the cutest critters on the planet.  They have a very complex society.  We sat in silence listening to them ‘eep eep eep’ each other.  Then one would do this hi 5 yippee flip and I wanted to kiss their little faces off. 

We head through the rolling hills and find a herd of buffalo.  They really control the buffalo population so that the grasses are not overgrazed.  I guess that explains the buffalo chili and buffalo stew at the restaurant!  They are massive creatures, and it is nice to see them on their home turf after mankind nearly wiped them out.  If it wasn’t for some zoology center in New York who rescued some of the original herd more than 100 years ago, they would be extinct.  They donated 14 buffalo to the state park to grow a native population.  Based on DNA tests, there is teensy tiny bit of cattle in them, but they are basically the same as their ancestors.

As we weave through the dirt road, we cross into Wind Cave National Park.  More prairie dogs, and some rain drops.  Lots of them.  Lightening… and now it is pouring!  The prairie dogs jump into their cozy burrows, and we head onto the main road.  The visitor center at Wind Cave is quite nice.  Wind Cave is full of corridors and rooms.  It has yet to be fully explored as it is too big.  All tours for the cave were booked, so we couldn’t go in.  We walked to the entrance and the rain started, so back we went. 

We weaved our way though Custer, and Hill City, then headed home.  Rain drops here and there.  And lots of people coming into the area for the holiday weekend.  LOTS OF PEOPLE!

We stopped at a store for groceries…  LOTS OF PEOPLE!  Glad we are hunkered down at the elks for the holiday.

Thursday, August 28, 2025 Biking the Mickelsen Trail

 

Thursday, August 28, 2025 The Mickelsen Trail

I caught a fly!  I caught a fly!  MEOWT!  I got to roll.  I like it here!  I want to explore but my humans won’t let me.  I will claw the door so they will let me out.

This morning, instead of doing a walk, we readied the bikes and headed for the Mickelsen Trail.  We were thinking of picking up the trail in Hill City and going south to Custer, but after talking to ladies at the visitor center, they recommended going the other way up to Mystic.  The ride up to Hill City is pretty.  Rugged mountains covered in pines and aspens hug the roadside.  We see lots of deer; most of them alive.

The Mickelsen Trail is one of the many rail to trail bike roads throughout the country.  Old rail lines are converted to recreational use trails.  In this case, the trail is hard dirt based, with tiny sand gravel covering, giving you grip.  It costs $5 a day for the use (or ($20) for an annual pass, and there are kiosks at the trailheads for you to pay.  You are somewhat on your honor, but we would gladly contribute to the maintenance of this trail.  The trail runs abut 108 miles from Edgemont to Deadwood.  There are companies that will shuttle you around so you can do a part, and they bring you back.   Spouse tried to call about 5 of them yesterday and did not get one live person, so we figured we would just do it ourselves and ride both ways.  I actually prefer that.  You might not get to go as far, but seeing the countryside from different angles is always fun for me.  It is kind of cloudy, and warm if you are standing still, but quite cool when you are moving.

As we leave Hill City, the trail takes us through peoples’ backyards.  There are a variety of large properties from horse ranches to guest ranches, to ordinary people spaces.  As we get away from the town, there are various bridges crossing over streams, ponds, gullies and roads. Soon, we are surrounded with black hills rocky crags.  A variety of pine trees and aspens line the trail.  Various wildflowers pop up through the grasses and out of rocks: yellows, purples and whites.  We pass by some cows resting in their field.  All of them are black except for one beige mama and her young’un.  There are streams and ponds with their reeds and cattails. At one point, a white tailed doe bounced across our trail.

Continuing on, we pass through two tunnels that were blasted in 1890 and 1891.  They are supported with wood ties that look like they are almost new.  One of the tunnels was arctic.  I put on my new windbreaker!  The trail is interesting in that it looks level, but it really isn’t.  We use our ebikes kind of like mountain bikes.  We pedal.  We use the pedal assist, but only to a point that we are not dying.  We get a good resistance, and maintain that for our ride.  If we get a good hill, we might use the throttle to help us go up.  But to go down… no pedal assist and we coast, which is what I did for miles.  But remember, for all the coasting you do on the way there, you will be working it on the way back.

The skies are threatening.  Originally, there was no call for rain, but I am not feeling that.  We got to the Mystic Trailhead.  Spouse was hoping for a snack but there isn’t anything there but a bathroom and a ‘train station’, which was a covered patio with a picnic table and a bench.  Normally, we have snacks with us, but that slipped through our cracks!  The next trailhead is 8 miles up and there is food there, but looking at those skies…  naw… we have already gone over 15 miles, we better head back.

You really do see things when you go in a different direction.  There were little valleys nestled in the hills, some nice views of a snaky river. With about 3 miles to go, I felt the first rain drops.  I had been coasting for awhile, and started pedaling.  I could hear the drops on my helmet.  It wasn’t pouring, but it was time to put the ebikes to good use and up the pedal assist for the last mile. 

As we got to the truck, it was raining a little harder.  We got the bikes up just in time for a few more rain drops.  The rain pretty much stopped in about 2 minutes.  So we went up the road and saw lots of commerce. Time to eat.

The one thing I don’t like about the Black Hills…  they sooooo overdo the tourist thing.  Bazillions of souvenir shops and tchotchke shops.  One restaurant we looked at wanted $30 for a burger.  Are you kidding?  Is it lined with gold?  We did find a gem of a German restaurant.  This was nice and it was reasonable.  I would actually go back if I was in the area

When we got back to Artie, Rudy let us know that he WANTED out!  He started clawing the screen door.  Really?  Discipline first…   and THEN we let him out.  The little bastard caught a fly... gotta reward him...

Wednesday, August 27, 2025 On to Rapid City

 

Wednesday, August 27, 2025 Rapid City

My humans told me I could go outside.  But I heard all those noises, I know there are bad things out there. I will only go if they are with me.  But I really want to sniff things out.

After the dazzling display of the night sky last night, the morning sunrise did not disappoint.  The sun started popping up across the plains, with all the right colors.  Campers lined up along the bluff to photograph it.  Well worth the early rising!

I heard coyotes in the distance, and cows mooing, and birds chirping.  Rudy wanted out, kind of.  We would open the door and he would sit there… letting in the flies.  We finally nudged him out.  One of us was with him at all times, but he was very leery of all the smells, and he didn’t last long before he wanted inside.

Spouse and I took our walk on what use to be a jeep trail.  It is evident that it is there, but it is covered with plains grasses.  We walked along the bluffs till we hit a fence.  We could see antelope way in the distance, and a buffalo was resting.  And the views are stunning. 

We walked back, and readied Artie to leave.  We headed up to the town of Wall.  For a gazillion miles, The Wall Drug store is advertised on billboards.  It is a tourist thing.  We were there many years ago and weren’t planning on going there, but they advertise their café, and we were hungry.  So we figured they do a lot of business so it must be decent food, right?  Let’s just say they don’t cater to repeat customers… 

Another billboard:  Exercise makes you look better.  So does Tequila.

We are staying at the Elks in Rapid City.  This is the gateway to the Black Hills, which is some of the prettiest scenery in the country.  We plan on waiting out the Labor Day weekend here.  We have water and electricity, but no sewer, so we have to watch our water usage.  We can use the toilets in the Golf Pro shop if we want to.  They are clean, and they have real toilet paper.  Let’s face it… RV toilet paper is kind of crappy…  pun intended!

Rain is expected Friday and Saturday.  So we will bike part of the Mickelson Trail tomorrow.  The RV park is part of a golf course.  Maybe we can figure out how to get 9 in around the weather.  We shall see…

Tuesday, August 26, 2025 Badlands: We are Bluffing

 

Tuesday, August 26, 2025 Badlands: We are Bluffing

I have trained my humans.  Most times, they now let me walk from the little house that moves to the big house that moves all by myself.  I get to sniff things, so I know if I am gonna like it here.  Sometimes, they carry me.  I whine when they do that.

Woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the plains.  It is cool, but not cold.  No extra blanket was needed.  We took our walk around the park.  Really, not much to see here, but we still managed to get some steps in.

We got on I90 west, heading towards Rapid City, via the Badlands.  There are lots of billboards, some of them quite funny.  Most are for wineries or breweries, but not all.  Here are a few quips:

-Husband Babysitting Services

-We are like a cult with better cool-aid.

-Wine:  better than therapy

-Mexican food so good even Donald Trump wouldn’t build a wall around it.

Quite entertaining!  We get off at exit 131, and see a Minuteman Missile museum.  Off we go.  Here, the history of atomic bombs, and the accumulation of missiles is on full display.  There have been a whole lot of missile silos throughout the Midwest.  A defunct silo is across the street.   

But, back to our itinerary… let’s go through the Badlands.  The Badlands is a national park.  For miles you have the plains, then you have a bunch of sand colored rock formations jutting up from the floor.  The formations are very soft – you can easily dig on them with your bare hands.  At the visitor center, they have a fossil room, where paleontologists are cleaning prehistoric fossils.  This place is loaded with them.  To be honest, it kind of reminds me of Grimes Canyon by our house…  Shh… don’t tell anybody I said that!

We tour through the park, stopping at viewpoints.  There are hiking trails… kind of…  You can walk atop the crest of the formations if you have small feet, good balance, and no fear of heights.  You could see where other walk, but the trails are soft, with loose pebbles.  Your footing could easily be lost.  Then when you get to the end, you have to do a pirouette, maintaining your balance.  Well, I am NO Simone Biles…  The crests I climbed were narrow, but big enough for both of my big feet at all times!  

We stopped at a prairie dog town.  They tear up the landscape, but they are so cute.  They have a very complex social structure.  I brought them blueberries… they told me to f* off!  I guess they are camera shy.  We have had others eating of our hands, but these guys – NO!  Through binoculars, we saw antelope and a coyote.  As we drove on, we saw a deer.  As we exited the park, roaming buffalo.  This was their original home before we killed them off, so it is nice to see them enjoying their neighborhood. 

Right outside the park, there is an area the National Park Service has dubbed dispersed camping. Spouse saw this on YouTube and really wanted to stay here.  We found a spot – terribly unlevel.  We used three blocks to level it and we are still a wee bit off.  No biggie… it is only for one night.  No electricity, water or sewer.  The day is comfortably warm, but there is a breeze with a coolness to it.  With our windows open, it is quite comfortable.  It is first come, first serve, and it is free… right up Spouse’s alley!  And we are perched on top of an amazing bluff overlooking the Badland rock formations. We have a beautiful view of the plains behind us and to the side. This is really quite nice.

We have had some incredible night skies, but this plays tops them all, by far!  Oh my!!!!

Monday, August 25, 2025 Moving On

 

Monday, August 25, 2025 Moving On

Psst, human…  can you hear my purr box?  I am cold.  Human, wake up so you can let me snuggle with you.  Purrrr…  feel my paw?  I knew it would work!

Another cold morning, in the low 40s.  A fog hangs over the lake, with the sun shining above the fog.  I walked solo this morning, and head through the campground, and across the highway where I found a fishermans’s trail.  (I know this as there was a sign that said ‘Fisherman’s Trail!).  I walked down the dirt road – not a soul in sight.  The trail took me down to the water, which is actually quite warm.  The have picnic tables and bathrooms.  We have been watching the fish jumping from our campsite, so we know they are in there.  (Spouse’s fishing pole is resting comfortably in Artie’s garage…  I am so glad he brought it…). 

I have been testing my inner Sacajawea here.  In our campsite, is a tree with some berries on it.  We tested one.  Kind of sweet and sour with a pit.  I found a tree near the fishing trail with some type of fruit on it.   It looked like an apple, but the size of a grape, and it has a pit.  It was kind of sweet.  But not knowing if these fruits were going to kill me, I limited myself to just a taste.  Across the lake is the Sioux reservation.  I am sure they would know how to use these fruits.

We readied Artie for departure.  It is 10am, the lake is TOTALLY glassed out and there is not one boat out there.  As a water skier, I am totally whining.

We took hwy. 1804 south through the breathtaking farm country till near Mobridge, then turned east on 12, which took us to 83.  Hwy 83 is a bit wider, and has room to pull over, but not a lot of commerce.  More agriculture all the way to the capital city of Pierre.  The highway has no offramps.  It just deposits you in a residential area, and you navigate surface streets till you can pick up the highway again.  We stopped for lunch and fuel, then headed down hwy. 83.  This is prairie land.  A little farming, but mainly just open prairie.  At I90, we headed west.  We are heading to Rapid City, probably with a detour through the badlands.  Not sure about internet access along the way.  We shall see.

Did you hear that?  That was us crossing over to mountain time.  We just gained an hour.  But we are tired, and stopped at an RV park in the town of Midland.  Technically it is in the town of Midland, but the reality is it is in the middle of nowhere!  But it works for us.  A river snakes behind the campground, and there is hardly anybody here. 

All through the great plains, there have been breezes and winds that are messing with my sinuses.  Or could it be malaria?  Dengue fever?  ACHOO!

Sunday, August 24, 2025 Exploring the Missouri River (a la Lewis and Clark!)

 

Sunday, August 24, 2025 Exploring the Missouri River

Let me explain the anatomy of my humans.  They have four legs.  The lower two they use for walking.  The upper two are smaller, and they use them to give me food.  Don’t ask me why they don’t walk on all four of their legs.  On their lower legs, they have paws that they always cover.  I don’t know how they get a feel for where they are walking, but they all seem to do it.  Their upper legs have paws with dangling things.  These are really quite amazing as they can give me food, clean my potty box, and let me outside quite easy.  I am sure they could bat a ball or catch a mouse with those paws.  Their lower legs go to their hiney, where, hard to believe… they DON’T have a tail!  There must be communication issues with this.  Even more, their head has two ears, but they are not on top!  They really can’t move them.  They are stuck on the side of their heads, go figure. I don’t know how they hear anything, but they seem to be able to.   So when I snuggle at night, I like to lay on their lower legs, between their lower paws and their hiney.

It was quite cold this morning, in the 40’s.  Back home, there is a heat wave.  Not so here.  We actually turned on the heater for a wee while.  Bundled up, we did our walk around the campground.  There is hardly anybody here, on this beautiful lake.  We see very few boats, but we have been  told that they never put out the boat docks this season, so it would be tricky to launch.  The launch ramp by our site doesn’t quite make it to the water, so it could be used for a kayak, or something of that nature, but not a boat. 

I have a running battle with Spouse, as he keeps leaving the doors open.  It’s like an engraved invitation for the flies to come in.  And they go after me. Our fly swatter is getting a real work out.  Spouse is ruthless, except when he is driving…  Let me get this little bastard right now… He is on my laptop so who knows what might come out on this blog when I smack the keyboard…

Today, we did some exploring on hwy 1804.  Originally, I looked at the map and thought this may be a nice route down from I94, from Bismarck.  But it looked pretty small, and when you are towing, it may not be the best idea.  Well, today we found out it would have been just fine! You need to be prepared to be on this road, as there is no fuel, and no turnouts, but it is a beautiful road.

Here is Artie from across the bay.  Sweet campsite!

1804 has rolling green hills.  Some of the hills are open prairie, other parts are agriculture:  the usual corn, soy, and my favorite smiling sunflowers.  The sky is blue with lots of big white puffy clouds.  It feels so crisp and clean.  The road goes up, then goes down.  It follows the Missouri River, but you don’t see it too much.  There are a couple of roads that will take you to the river should you choose.  We headed north and before we knew it, we were in Bismarck.  Hadn’t planned on that.  So we made it worth our while by picking up a few things at the store, and having lunch.  We went to a Chinese buffet (NOT MY FAVORITE but Spouse loved it).  Spouse gorged himself.  I had some veggies and some salmon.  A buffet was pretty much wasted on me. 

After fueling, we went through a carwash for a quickie.  From that point on, Spouse was a whiner.  We headed back and I wanted to go on a dirt road.  Not with my clean truck!!  Could you see my eyes roll to the back of my head?  REALLY?  Ok wittle whiner…

At camp, the lake is still (it needs to have skiers on it!) and there are no boats!  We let Rudy out.  He chased grasshoppers and dragonflies.  He likes it here.

Oh great… fly guts on my keyboard…  little bastards!

Saturday, August 23, 2025 All Part of the Adventure

 

Saturday, August 23, 2025 All Part of the Adventure

I like to look out windows.  Sometimes, they are covered and I have to stare at my humans to uncover them.  There are two of my people running around.  They don’t appear to have their own humans.  I will not allow them to muscle in on my humans.

It got quite chilly last night.  I actually needed a blanket.  It is breezy and cloudy, much like yesterday morning.  We did our morning walk up at Frontier Village.  It is only a few hundred steps from our campground.  They advertise the worlds largest buffalo.  This came about in 1959.  They had just finished I94 and wanted something to draw attention.  Thus, Big Thunder was developed.  A huge monstrosity of a bison that you can see from the freeway.  There are live buffalo roaming, we saw them yesterday from the freeway.  But from the village where they are touted, we never did see them.  They have lots of warning signs about the beasts.

We readied Artie for her next adventure.  Looking at the map, we thought we would explore areas around the Missouri River.  We are headed to the area around Lentin, which is about 60 miles south of Bismarck.  This is where we set out for the other day, before the Great Blow Job Sequel of 2025, so we will try again.  It is only 130 miles so it should be easy… till it isn’t.

Taking I94 west was fine, till we got to the exit to hwy. 83 south.  There was all sorts of major construction, the overpass was closed.  The detour signs were extremely confusing and we must have missed the most important one… We ended up on a farm road… going north… with nowhere to turn around.  Crap…  Looking at the map, we are going to have to go 20 miles north, then turn east for 18 miles, then south again 20 miles, then east on I94 to Hwy 3.  So, roughly a 60 mile detour.  At least, the countryside was beautiful.

If you have never been to the Midwest, it may be difficult to recognize the enormity of our agriculture.  Bazillions of miles of crops that not only feed our country, but people around the world.  For me, these farmers are my heroes.  What they do dwarfs all other industries.  With the blue skies and puffy clouds, the crop fields look stunning.  It is so green, except for my sunflowers!

Zigzagging right and left, we finally end up in Lentin.  We stop to fuel up, and a man runs up to us telling us we are dragging something under the rig.  Yep… for who knows how long, the tube that holds (correction… held) one of our sewer hoses had dropped on one end and was dragging.  It knocked our exhaust pipe loose, but did not break it.  Spouse to the rescue…  he cut away the damaged tube, and did a zip tie/metal hanger repair of the exhaust pipe.  Will it ever end?  Fortunately, we have another sewer hose so no need to panic.

Can we finally get to where we are going?  We know of an RV park towards the Missouri River, but it turned out to be for seasonal rentals only – no overnighters.  But they recommended a spot down the hill…  Oh my this was a fabulous recommendation!  We pull into Beaver Creek Recreation Area.  It is on Lake Oahe, which is a large lake fed by the Missouri River. Oh how I wish we had a boat to explore this area.   The Camp Host said there were sites available, but we have to book online…  Reservation Hell once again.  It is really hard to get online when there is no internet service.  He told us of some hot spots and we were able to get a fabulous site overlooking the lake.  It has electricity.  The sites along the lake here are odd.  The electricity box is on the wrong side of the site.  We pulled in the wrong way so we could best enjoy the view.  And there is hardly anybody here!  The camp host said Labor Day is totally booked tho.

So we will spend two nights here ($22 total for 2 nights with electricity).  Killer views… We don’t do much research when we travel.  We essentially look at a map and say ‘let’s go there.’  This place is a sure winner!

Friday, August 22, 2025 Tired Out so Let's Golf

 

Friday, August 22, 2025 Tired Out so Let’s Golf

My humans are sleeping.  I can crawl over this human, and wedge myself in between them.  I don’t quite fit, so I have to hang over one of them.  I will bathe my paws until I wake one of them and they can move a little.

Our morning walk took us to Frontier Town.  This is a tourist frontier town dedicated to the buffalo.  There is a buffalo museum, some live buffalo that may show their faces, a huge statue of a buffalo – billed as the largest buffalo in the country.  The town has a saloon, Louis L’Amour writers shack, train depot, sheriff station and the usual crapola you might find on a western movie set.  It is very hokey, but I am sure kids love it. 

We then walked through some of the neighborhoods.  Lots of people have boats and RVs.  The homes are nice, middle class homes with lawns, flowers and fabulous enormous trees.

Since we weren’t sure when our tires would come in, we booked another night here.  As it turns out, our tires were in by 10 am.  We were in and out of there by noon.  We replaced the spare tire we used as it was old, and we also got a new spare.  We should be good to go.

Well, since it was early, we decided to golf North Dakota.  We got to the Hillcrest Golf Club, and readied ourselves for 9 holes.  The winds were kicking up.  Spouse was whining.  I figured it was all part of the adventure.  It is an OK course.  The layout is decent.  It has the usual hazards of bunkers, and water here and there.  What I didn’t like about it was that the fairway grass was way too long.  You could hit a perfect ball, and it would still sink in the grass.  So between the winds and the deep fairway grass, you really had to use more club than you would normally.  And the greens were diabolical!  Barely touching the ball could send it to another time zone!  The winds really came up on the last 3 holes.  We wanted to finish before a tornado formed!  HOLY MOLY it is windy!

We decided to go to a Mexican restaurant.  And… I did something I have never done, and knew I shouldn’t have, but couldn’t help myself…  It looked like a mom, grandma and 2 kids about 7 and 9 came in.  One kid had some gaming device.  While the others were talking, the kid could not pull himself away from the device. He played, he played, he played.   Even when his food came, he barely touched it while he gamed.  He would game with one hand.  Take a quick bite then game some more.  Everyone is trying to engage him… but he just gamed…  When we left, I walked up to him and told him that he was lucky to have his mother, because if he were my kid, he would NEVER be allowed to have an electronic device, since he couldn’t put it down long enough to spend time with his family.  The mother looked stunned.  I couldn’t help it!  She wasn’t doing her job!  Ahhhh… none of my business, I know, but it sure felt good!

Speaking of feeling good… you know how when you get a bug bite, and you know you shouldn’t scratch it, but you do scratch it.  Then it itches more, and you scratch more, and it feels good and you keep scratching till you work your way through your skin to your bones…  I am getting fewer bites now, and my Benadryl is a miracle cream!

Tomorrow, we think we are going to head down along the Missouri River.  At least, that is the plan as of this minute.

HOLY MOLY it is windy!!!!!

Thursday, August 21, 2025 The Great Blow Job of 2025: The Sequel

 Thursday, August 21, 2025  The Great Blow Job of 2025:  The Sequel

Every day, my human cradles me and pokes my paw.  I don’t like it, but I let her do it.  I don’t know why she does it, but it isn’t all that bad.

Last night, I sat in the comfort of my easy chair, with windows open so I could feel the breeze.  My tea was beside me, and I was so comfortable.  Spouse sat outside…  And when he came in, he boasted of his fly swatting prowess.  He got 34 flies, at least…  they were still clamoring to get inside…  I like my way better!  Rudy's diabetes numbers have been good. We still test him morning and night.

Our morning walk took us along the rural road along the lake.  Spouse came for a while, then I was on my own.  Some of the houses on the lake are rentals, others are summer homes, and some people live here full time.  They decorate their dock areas with flowers and benches.  Ducks use the docks as their resting grounds.  We have seen lots of swans on the lakes.  They look beautiful, but I hear they can be nasty critters.

When I got back to Artie, Spouse had breakfast ready.  After cleaning up, we readied Artie for her next leg.  Our intent is to take a little highway just south of I94.  If we like it, we will stay, otherwise we will head up to I94.  We have no idea where we will be staying.

We head south on 59, to 34 then west.  We are in farm country.  Corn, beets, potatoes, and the incredibly delightful sunflowers, with their big, smiling faces pointing to the sun.  Lots of lakes… For every lake, there must be 5 resorts.  Every other road has a sign pointing to ‘resorts’.  They don’t say which resort, guess you have to figure it out. 

We came upon a detour… a strange one.  Here we are heading west, the detour signs point south.  So we turn left.  Then the signs say end of detour…  wait… We are going south.  How can this be the end of the detour?  Shouldn’t there be another road going west?  We followed our gps a few miles till she turned us west.  Good thing we had her and she was in a good mood!

We cross back in to North Dakota and pick up highway 46.  It is a farm road… it is flat… it is straight…  the scenery is pretty, but this is real flat and real straight.  There were no gas stations, and Spouse was concerned that if we had an emergency, there was absolutely nowhere to pull out.  So, after about 50 miles, we picked up hwy 32 north, to I94.  We weren’t on I94 for 5 miles before we had that emergency:  a blowout on one of Artie’s rear tires!  We pulled to the side of the road, and where we were, there was an extra stretch where we could pull over even further!  How fortuitous!  We would have been totally screwed if this had happened on the farm road we had been on. 

That’s the easy part.  We have RV service on our AAA coverage…  Thus we called…  You don’t have RV coverage… Yes we do!  I am looking at my current ID card and it says it has Classic RV.  Where are you?  We are in North Dakota.  I hear talking in the background… No you idiots… North Dakota is NOT a territory but a state!  We have to call your office in California…  While I wrestled with AAA, Spouse got out and changed the darn tire.  I was on the phone for well over an hour before they finally agreed that we have RV coverage, for whatever that is worth!  But they were really backed up…  They will get a zero on their satisfaction survey!  Poor Spouse was pretty beat up after doing ‘the deed’.  He proved… he’s still got it!

We found a tire shop in Jamestown, about 35 miles up the road that has the tires Spouse wants.  The tires should be here tomorrow, so we got an RV spot at Frontier Fort.  We hadn’t had a drink in a few days…  we did tonite!

We might end up staying here for the weekend.  We’ll see.