A Brief Interlude for the Praying Mantis....

I made my husband chuckle and shake his head today. He does that with me a lot since I get the biggest pleasure out of the simplest things.

You see, today I was working on my daily task of watering the back lawn. While it is coming in and only partly patchy now, it is still a new lawn and in need of a lot of water. Anyway, I was nearly finished and had only 2 more "stations" to complete. I crouched down to set the sprinkler in its spot and was greeted by 2 itty bitty praying mantis babies. I let out with a very loud "oh YAY!!!!" Now you know why my husband came to see what was going on.








I told him, then got even more excited when I realized the entire corner of the lawn was crawling with these tiny bugs. That's when he giggled at me, shook his head, and walked away. He's so used to it.

Earlier in May I had ordered two praying mantis cacoons. I had been able to buy about 3000 ladybugs locally, but I had to order the praying mantis. Some might be thinking right about now that I'm crazy, and you'd be right. In this case, however, it makes sense. These are two of the friendliest insect species to have in your yard....as long as you're not another bug. They eat all sorts of other bugs!

Since ladybugs are around here in fairly decent numbers, I had wanted just to pad the population in my yard. Praying mantis are more scarce. I've seen them in areas not far from here, but none in Pueblo West. So, as mentioned previously, I ordered a couple of cacoons. They arrived in late May and I promptly placed them in two of my potted plants on the back porch. Just yesterday I was thinking I should order a couple more and hatch them out in paper bags so I could actually see the buggers. Then I could release them.

Silly me questioning the way nature works! I am happy to report that there are at least a hundred little praying mantis babies scurrying about in my back lawn at this very moment. May they grow big, strong, eat tons of bad bugs, and continue to populate the area with their interesting bodies......

A Quick Run Down....

The first day back we took the time to do some laundry and just relax a bit. It was one of those wonderfully boring days.

Wednesday saw us to the grocery store. Exciting, right? Well, groceries are a must to eat! Though I also pulled some spinach from the garden to add to our salads. Grampa played in Luke's tent with him for a little while, a task not taken lightly in this household. Luke loves his tent and it brings him great joy to share it with everyone. The problem for adults is that it is very much a child's tent, it's staticy, and it gets hot. My dad is such a good sport!

Thursday we made the trek to Cripple Creek. Normally this is a fairly basic task, but today we encountered a thunderstorm with baseball-sized hail. I was able to get stopped, pull off the freeway in a very illegal move (along with just about everyone else), hide under the one-lane overpass for a few moments, then hightail it to the truck stop to take refuge. Thank goodness the hail was still soft and didn't dent the heck out of my 4Runner!! I learned later from neighbors that it also hit here at the house, but no damage. Thank heavens!!

Back on the road we had an easy trip. No signs of wildlife today, but it's a pretty drive, anyway. We skipped the Pikes Peak Heritage Center and just went down to a couple of museums in town. They have a couple of places set like 19th century homes, an assay office, a beautifully restored 19th century train car, and the train station. The train station is mainly a gift shop, but was built in the 1890's and moved twice, once elsewhere in town, once to its current location.

Luke heard the train whistle and immediately grabbed his grandfather's hand to go stake out a better vantage point. He ended up on my dad's shoulders and had a great view. Each time the train whistled we'd get a little smile. The longer the whistle, the bigger the smile. My little man just loves his old trains! Grampa had a couple pictures taken with his boy in front of one of the trains, Luke gathered his first squished pennies, and we just enjoyed the day.

No trip to Cripple Creek is complete without looking for the wild donkeys, though. The gold mines used to use donkeys to haul equipment in and ore out. Some mines closed, some updated their techniques, none needed the donkeys any longer. They were released to roam the town and surrounding areas. Their descendants remain today and are loved by everyone.

My mom is not exactly unafraid of horses and related equines. She was brave enough to get out of the vehicle and take some pictures of me feeding the fuzzy beasts. Two of the younger donkeys saw her, thought she had treats, and started around the car for her. I mentioned I saw them coming and that she might want to head back toward her seat. Those donkeys were quick and my mom was suddenly trapped at the front of the vehicle! Seriously, it was only a matter of seconds! I was trying to talk her calm, figure out how to help her, but was giggling. You see, I had the power-end of a donkey right with me and wasn't sure how he'd react if I pushed him out of the way. Meanwhile, my dad was still in his seat and was laughing hard enough to produce tears, making my dear mom quite angry. He did finally get out and help me carefully push the donkey bum out of the way so we could help mom to a "safe" place. Wild, or not, the donkeys are around humans enough that they aren't concerned about us, despite trying to munch on the camera in mom's hands, so I now know I can move around them with little fear of getting kicked into the next county. (of course, now that I think about it, many donkeys are victims of abuse because they actually WON'T move when you try to force them...therefore they receive a beating...and still won't move. A sad situation, but also a testament to their gentle nature, even when feral and not just wild)

The kicker about that story? None of us managed to get the other camera out and take a picture of my mom surrounded by wild donkeys!! Oh well, it's still a good story.

We didn't just leave town after our visit with the donkeys. We drove around a little bit. Literally over hill and dale, then back down...all to look at the old houses, one of the last remaining for real original boardwalk sidewalks, and get a sense for the town. Bear in mind the entire length of the main street through town is a long row of casinos, but it's still something to see. The town was getting ready for the Donkey Derby Days and Chili Cookoff so we were able to see a couple of the sand sculptures. It's amazing how someone can be so artistic with an unstable and porous medium!

We took our time driving down the mountain. It was a fun day, but certainly time to head home. My man was waiting for us and we spent a delightful night laughing over silly stuff. Tomorrow was golf for the men, a trip to wander historic Pueblo for us. We were looking forward to it....

Nash Ranch Fire....

Lightning has been rampant lately, typical of summer in this part of the country. What isn't so typical is that no rain is accompanying this lightning. Sadly, fires are rampant this year, too.

Maybe it isn't such a sad thing from the aspect that wildfires are Mother Nature's way of cleaning up and replenishing the land. But, no, it's still sad. One only has to look at what Northern California is dealing with to understand that.

A dry thunderstorm moved over last night and sparked more than a dozen small grass fires in the Eastern part of my county and the one North. They were extinguished overnight. Another dry thunderstorm moved over the mountain areas this afternoon. There is now a wildfire of approximately 400 acres (at this moment...it was only 40-50 acres 6 hours ago) burning about 15 miles West of Cripple Creek.

I thought I'd have a little giggle at myself and look for smoke earlier this evening. What I saw really shocked me. I can't believe that I am this far away and the smoke plume is so visible! Large, extremely noticeable, and menacing. I grabbed the camera because you all know how big a dork I am and had to share. To give an idea, Pikes Peak is just out of view to the right of the photos.




I have walked out to see if I can spot a glow now that's it's beyond dark, but that is not there. I think it's a good thing because that would mean this fire is a massive one. As it stands there are 125 people evacuated with a fair number more on alert tonight. Nearly all of the state's resources, including two C-130 tankers from Peterson AFB (Colorado Springs) are in California, so the firefighters are stretched thin. They've already stated it's going to take about a week to even get control of this thing. Wow. But it did make for an incredible sunset (which I did not get pictures of) since the fire is due West and right where the sun set over the mountains. Red at night, sailor's delight.....

Footnotes....

There are so many things about the trip to South Dakota that I didn't even mention. Sometimes you have to figure out what, exactly, to share when you have only a few thousand words to utilize. Anything more and it would be a full book. But who really wants to read a book about my travels in this nation?

Some of the things I didn't mention were the tour of the Keystone School. Built in 1900, it was used continuously until it was closed down in 1988 when the student body numbers fell to something ridiculous like 8 students. The kids in town are now bussed the 20'ish miles to Hill City. The building is fabulously preserved, and the original one-room schoolhouse is on the same (tiny) property. It is about the same size as my guest bedroom and was moved to its current location from about 50 yards away.

The Ingalls were a presence in Keystone. The Ingalls, as in "Little House on the Prairie." Carrie, the daughter born after Laura, lived there. She managed the newspaper there. She married there. She died there after 35 years in 1946. Mary, the oldest girl and referred to in an old newspaper article as "Blind Mary," moved to live with Carrie after Ma and Pa Ingalls passed away. The house was preserved and placed on the historical list in 1976. It then burned to the ground and was lost forever in 1977. So sad, but at least the stories and memories of this well-known and very common (as in not even close to wealthy) family remain.

The drives through the mining district neighborhoods were amazing. I've lived in a mining town. My house was built by my next door neighbor's father over 100 years ago (she is now deceased) for the company. It was a typical old coal mine row house. These homes in Keystone were much cuter, much tougher, and told stories that had to be amazing. I gazed at them and wondered how many were still owned by the original family. And a gold mine was still operating about a stone's throw away (though it is also a huge tourist attraction, complete with tours into the mine).

All around are reminders of previous days. The buildings are old, or made to look that way, the way of life is still a bit rough and tumble, the native souls of the land are obviously one with the area, the towns all hide from each other's view but are interconnected. It's just a fantastic area. So much so that I literally could write a book about it.

Our vacation didn't stop when we arrived back in the Colorado desert, though. I'll touch on that, but not now. Instead, I'll leave all to the peace of the summer night and collect a better thought....

The trip home...

What a way to start the day! The whole house was shaken awake by a thunderstorm. The lightning flash was what woke me, but the thunder is what got all 4 of us out from our sheets. It wasn't only loud, it was echoing off the rock walls all around us! It was so cool!

The wise wonder that I am, I decided Luke and I could wait to shower until the morning. Now I was realizing I wasn't very bright. Lightning was dancing all around. There was even enough rain falling that the wash in front of the house was full. The water rinsing from the road was a raging, muddy waterfall into the wash. Quite the sight, actually! None of us thought to get a picture, oh well. It sounded like hail was falling, too, but we couldn't actually see it.

I did manage to grab a quick shower when the thunder had quieted for a bit, so that was very good. But it was hard to finish packing up the stuff used for the morning and load the mini-van.

We checked out, strapped ourselves in, and headed down the road. To the Crazy Horse memorial. I had asked my parents to run us there on the way out because there were some books I wanted to pick up from a vendor. I wasn't able the other day. Besides, it was on the way, so it was easy. It gave us a chance to use our re-admit pass, too!

We were struck with a sight along the road and in the Hills as we traveled. It looked like snow!! Seriously? The storm we had this late June morning brought snow to the Black Hills! Wow...we knew it was coldish again, but dang! We pulled into the memorial and saw piles of the white stuff all around, slowly melting.

Guess what? It wasn't snow. It was hail! The gate guard said it was 33 degrees during the storm and the hail was about 6 inches deep in areas. Wow! Granted, it was mostly melted by the time we saw it, but it's still impressive. I guess the area was sad we were leaving, too, and just let loose (I can dream, can't I?).

I think we spent more time at Crazy Horse than we intended, but we again had the chance to speak to some fascinating people and learn more things. But, alas, the time came to make the journey home.

We had a fairly uneventful, but much warmer trip this leg, despite how the morning began. We did hit some construction traffic....twice. In Colorado (I can't stand CDOT). But we were able to make it to see daddy before he had to get very busy at work, then home at a fairly reasonable hour. It was great to see my husband, then later my pets, but I was already missing all the trees, rocks, and glory we had experienced. It was strange to have so much open land around me!

The day done, we four weary travelers climbed into our respective beds and were soon engulfed in the dreams of the night. I think we were all touched by our travels, but we were also glad for the respite a quiet and comfortable home provides....

The Black Hills....Day six, Custer State Park

After having been in the area for the better part of a week, I now had a better idea of what Custer State Park is and was excited. It's a wildlife sanctuary with a strong emphasis on conservation. Right up my ally! The people we met at Crazy Horse, the ones with the kids who played with Luke, had been there earlier that same day (that would be Friday, remember?). They shared the pictures of the big horn sheep, buffalo, antelope, and rattlesnake they came across. That made me know, without a doubt, that we'd be seeing some very cool things.

Dad was excited about this day, too. Mom kept snickering at us, "why are you two SO excited?" She knew, of course, but wanted to have a little fun teasing us.

So, after breakfast we set out on our way. We had mapped the way last night, a way that would offer more of the spectacular scenery without scaring mom half to death. She's a little afraid of heights, so some of the mountain roads concern her. Kind of funny considering she lives in a mountain valley. Anyway, we loaded ourselves into the mini-van and took off. In the wrong direction.

Silly us, since we mapped it out last night we didn't bother to look at the map again this morning. Everyone on the face of the earth is fully aware that's a fool's move. Oh well. What we did do was take the longer route. I'd say scenic, but in this land, EVERYTHING is scenic! Instead of going straight down into Custer (not to be confused here with the town of Custer, but I'll abbreviate it the same), we headed into Rapid City. Not far, but just enough to get some fuel and make our junction South. Funny thing about it, though? I went into the gas station to make sure we were correct in our route when a fellow customer asked where we were staying. I told her and she gushed about a particular restaurant with skinny fries that were "to die for!" Then made her way out to hit the road to Billings. I found it rather comical.

Back on our way we set. Another 20 minutes and we were there! Yippee! It's strange how animals seem to know when they're in safe haven. We rounded a curve and came nearly face-to-face with a couple of antelope bucks. Now, we have antelope in Pueblo West, but they're small, light-boned, and don't carry much meat. These antelope were stunning! The size of a small white-tailed deer, nice, thick coats (still in winter fur), and so very fat that it would be unhealthy for a domestic animal. I love it!

After gawking at an animal we see on a fairly regular basis (Utah, too...even near Salt Lake), we moved on. Rounding another bend we saw cars stopped on the road. Surely another beast! Oh my, yes, it was! A magnificent herd of eight bison! All bulls. As they were right on the road and the park service (that would be South Dakota, not national) was using bull whips and trucks to move them back, we figured the rangers were concerned about people getting their cars smashed. What was funny was the buffalo were obviously unconcerned and very slowly lumbered back away from the road at about...oh...maybe a half mph.

This was also right in front of the visitor center, so we pulled in. It is the place to get all the information one could want, you know. It was also a good place to have a closer look, at a safe distance, of the buffalo. At this point, Luke was just happy to have a romp in the grass. Good for him to listen to momma when she said to watch out for buffalo chips! Makes me proud!

We learned the reason the bison were being moved was because of a ranger conducting a session on panning for gold. Never one to turn down a challenge, I said I wanted to go have a try. Bless my mom, she was babysitter while dad and I grabbed our pans, filled them with dirt, and plopped into the creek. If anyone has paid attention, my son absolutely loves water, so my dear mother had her hands full.

There was one young girl who did actually find some gold dust, rousing a round of cheers from all of us. Good for her! Too bad she doesn't get to keep it! The rest of us found...rocks and mica. But it was still fun! When I was finished with my panning, I took Luke from my mom and let him splash around in the creek. Good thing we had a spare set of clothes in the car! Oh, if you haven't figured out by now, it was a lovely and warm day. Otherwise Luke wouldn't have been allowed near the water.

Back at the mini-van I changed Luke's clothes and we piled into our seats. We stopped for a bite at one of the lodges (that's right, there are hotels, cabin lodges, and camping sites in this park), then headed for the road called the "wildlife loop." Our first encounter was with a couple of turkeys and an antelope doe with her baby. The turkey is of significance because these particular ones are said to be shy and not spotted very often. The baby antelope was just cute. For quite a while these are the types of animals we saw...along with military convoy vehicles. Those are animals, too, you know (chuckle).

Then we crested a ridge and were greeted with the magnificent sight of over 400 buffalo cows with their babies. I've never seen such a beautiful sight! Pictures in history books are the only rival. I could have sat there all day and listened to the grunts, watched the interactions, and reveled in the peace. Not to mention the thousands of pictures I could have taken. For someone who is a little afraid of cows (what??? No, really, I'll fish with a black bear in the river, but a few cows show up and I hightail it) and isn't overly fond of them (not to say I'm not fond of them, they're just not my favorite thing in this world..Jersey cows excepted because they're so pretty), I'm completely taken with these H U G E bovine beasts!

Back on the road and we kept our eyes peeled for more wildlife. Here and there were more small herds of bison cows and calves. Quite a few more of those oh-so-healthy antelope, numbers of deer (both whitetail and mule), marmots, a coyote, more turkey, a bull snake, plenty of birds. No sheep.

I was hoping to see the big horn, but that wasn't in the cards. The original species was the Audubon Bighorn, but they're extinct. The Rocky Mountain Big Horn was introduced in the last century to help equalize the ecosystem. But there are only about 35 of them in the region, and they're nomadic. So, while they were there somewhere, they weren't showing up today. Two days prior three rams made their way through the park down one of the main roads. Darn!

But the one thing I was expressly hoping to have a visit with? The burros (donkeys). Yes, yes, I'm a dork. But the burros are just adorable, and I have a special affinity for them. These particular ones were used for packing tourists to the fire tower at the top of one of the peaks. When that attraction shut down, the burros were released. They have remained. There might be one or two that are from that actual attraction, but the rest are most clearly the descendants. There is a very steep fine for feeding the wildlife, but the burros are kind of exempt. They see a vehicle stopped and come up to beg. It's just how it is. So, we were given a couple carrots from a neighboring vehicle and pulled out some granola bars to feed our visitors. Can you believe that I, of all people, actually didn't even think to bring some treats for these creatures?? Word to the wise, if you visit an area with wild burros and are allowed to feed them, stop at the feed store and pick up a small bag of horse treats before you head out. Seriously! They're inexpensive (as in you can find them for around $5), won't harm the creatures, other wildlife can feed on what's dropped, and you don't have to worry about how to store them!

It broke my heart to leave the one little painted donkey. She was so adorable, and old. I'd guess she was in her thirties, just looking at her body structure and feet. The most gentle little equine I've ever experienced feeding. And she seemed to enjoy her face being stroked. When it was time to leave, I had to shove her head out the door. Then the poor little dear trotted next to us for a bit before giving up. I wanted to cry!! I turned and watched her sad little face watching us. I'll never forget her.

We finished our little drive by circling back to where we began. The bulls were still there, but moving again. One of them started across the road, but the car he was going in front of was watching the other bulls and either startled this guy, or bumped him. Thank goodness we were all going about 3-5 mph!! Anyway, it prompted him to pick up a canter and scoot across the road. Wow! Just wow! The father and two boys playing a game of catch on the side he crossed to had no idea. I hollered out the window a heads-up and they scooted up the hill rather quickly, though realizing their backpacks were between themselves and the buffalo. At that time a ranger came out of the visitor center and shuttled them a little further up the hill and away from the bison. The bags could wait. Big bull sauntered into a stand of trees and past a wallow, but he left a big impression on us all.

We decided to head back to Keystone via the route with the tunnels. The same from the other day. That would be our best chance for seeing the sheep. We didn't see any, but I saw a fox that I couldn't point out in time, we saw two more young donkeys, many more antelope, and another number of buffalo. It is such a beautiful drive.

We chose to eat at the restaurant recommended by the fellow tourist in Rapid City. We knew of it, and the time seemed right. She was correct, the fries were fantastic. If ever you get the chance to visit, the food at the Gold Stone is worth the stop.

And it saddened me to think tomorrow we would be going home. I love my home, and I was anxious to get there and see my remaining family; to hug my husband and pets. But this place did something to me that only one other place has done, only bigger. It completely stole my heart and soul. It is now a very, very special part of my life, my favorite place on earth, and where I hope to live my days at some point. If it's the Good Lord's will.

There is a line in "Dances With Wolves" where Kevin Costner's character, John Dunbar, says about the Black Hills and South Dakota plains: "It seems everyday ends with a miracle here, and whatever God may be, I thank God for this day."

I couldn't say it any better.....

The Black Hills....Day five, Mount Rushmore

Finally, a day that shirt sleeves were just the perfect thing! The sky was a sparkling blue, the heater never kicked on, I wasn't hacking quite as much, and we were raring to go!

Today was our "spend the whole day at Mount Rushmore" day. We were excited! We started our trip by stopping at the profile view again. It was a nice day and we didn't spend much time there previously. I was hoping to spot more goats for my mom, and we wanted to let Luke get a good look.

It was a fun stop! Luke climbed some of the rocks, pointed things out to me, actually stood still for some pictures, and generally seemed to enjoy himself. Meanwhile, a group of three Army Guardsmen stopped with us. They were all in ATU's (All Terrain Uniforms, previously known as BDU's, or Battle Dress Uniforms...more commonly referred to as cammie's), so they were quite obvious. My dad and I, being the overly friendly people and veterans that we are, struck up conversation. They were actually a taking a bit of a break before heading home to...uhh, Illinois, I think. Just in time to be called right back to Active Duty for flood duty. But they were having a great time, both during their time in the multi-national exercise being conducted in the Black Hills this month, and during their down time playing tourist (albeit in uniform). Great big thanks to those guys!

There were no goats today. They were there somewhere, just not where we could spot them. Oh well, such is life. Still, there were plenty of rocks to climb, things to spot, and sights to enjoy. Back into the mini-van to backtrack to Rushmore.

It's just such a cool feeling to enter the Avenue of Flags and see the Shrine of Democracy just peering out from the face of a mountain above you! The nighttime visit and this particular one just gave a chilling feeling. Gutzon Borglum certainly was a talented sculptor with a penchant for making his work very life-like. It's a shame that this particular masterpiece was never finished, despite promises to his family that it would be completed.

Mount Rushmore is a National Memorial, meaning it is run by the National Park service. Why is that important? Because it means you get all sorts of cool history about the entire sight! For example, the mountain was named Rushmore for a New York City lawyer who asked what the name of this mountain was while on a surveying trip. Up until that moment it had no name. From that moment on it has been called Rushmore. Thomas Jefferson's bust was originally to the right of George Washington (our left), but needed to be blasted off and reset in its present position. He now appears to be eyeing the heavens. Teddy Roosevelt's inclusion on the memorial was very controversial. Lincoln's left hand is resting on his jacket breast, but his face is unfinished. Washington? Well, he's nearly flawless.

We grabbed a bite to eat in the cafe, which more resembled the short-order side of a mess hall...chow hall...err, dining facility (yes, yes, the military has become politically correct in way too many areas). And talk about expensive!!! Holy moses! But it filled our tummies, which is all that mattered. We chose to dine in the fine outdoor weather and take in the scenery. We were joined by a handful of chipmunks, robins, and sparrows. It was after lunch that I saw the signs not to feed the wildlife...whoops. Well, there are a few small creatures who helped me eat my fries that day. As fat as they were, I'm sure I'm not the only one who didn't see the sign....or, for some, chose to ignore it.

Luke discovered the binoculars. Bugger saw me peering through them and had to have a look. He thought that was way cool and begged for them a number of times after his first view.

After lunch it was time to have a little workout. There's a walking trail that loops from the amphitheater to the base of the mountain. Half of the trail is stairs, the other is flat ground...sort of. A park ranger conducts a walking tour on the flat side. The fact we actually had and were using the stroller today made the decision beyond easy. There's a ton of information on this walk, and some fantastic vantage points. While there are some people, myself included, who would love to have access to the actual mountain, a great hike to the top of the heads, it is a wise decision to place a terrace on the rubble pile at the base and not let the general public go hog wild.

Our walk concluded, we ventured back toward the gift and ice cream shops. Sometime during all of this the Army band showed up. We aren't sure why, but we did have some lovely musical entertainment while chowing down on our ice cream. The masses of visitors gave them the respect they deserve and flocked to listen. Luke was just enjoying pushing the stroller and trying to peer through the tourist binocular things. So tenacious! But, alas, it was time for us to head back to town. Or so we thought...

One of the highways into and out of town takes you on a series of what are called "pigtail bridges," and through three tunnels that provide extremely interesting views of Mount Rushmore. We knew about it, but we couldn't find it. That is, until the moment we left the memorial. For some odd reason.

Figuring that we were losing daylight and wanted to drive the length of this leg of highway the next day, we only went part of the way. When dad turned around and came back to the second tunnel (in the direction to actually get a picture of the memorial), I asked him to stop so I could get a good, clear shot through the tunnel for a picture. Someone else had a similar idea, only half of their group was on top of the tunnel. Well, you know me. Much to my poor mom's chagrin, I grabbed the parent's camera (it was small and fit in my pocket) and took off for an impromptu hike...in Merrell sandals. They have good traction and I'm sure-footed. My poor mom, she was not real happy with me! Forgive the one picture my dad took, I didn't realize I was standing with my tongue out. Anyway, I wandered to the other side and was treated to a truly magnificent view! See, mom? If I hadn't scrambled up to the top of the tunnel and took a little hike, you wouldn't have those grand pictures!! (insert big, goofy, "I'm an innocent angel" grin here).

Then it was back to town for dinner and a few more souvenirs. Vacations make for great Christmas shopping, you know. It was late when we got back to the house, but it was worth it. We were all done in, but it was just another wonderful day in the beauty of the Black Hills....