Progress,,,,Finally !

Wednesday morning, shortly after I had published my Blog, the cabinet installers came and began unboxing everything.

Soon the FIRST cabinet was installed.

By quitting time, they had them all installed.

Then on Friday, the floor installers came bright and early and it didn’t take them long to get started.

Two installers were going at it hot and heavy. One in the front living area and the other (above) in our Bedroom.

By early afternoon, they had it all completed.  It really looks good. We are a little concerned with the way the piece of paneling looks on the front of the peninsula. There will be an extended counter top there for an eating area and later there will be bar stools in front of it.  We don't know how that will change the appearance so we will wait until the counter tops are installed before we make a decision. If we don't like the way it looks, we may change that panel.  In my opinion, it just doesn’t look right and it sort of jumps out at you but we will see.

The tile in the kitchen and bathroom look great. The colors worked well together. The pictures don’t bring out the exact coloring but again Ms. Pat did an excellent job.

This is the bedroom and is now ready for the mirrored doors to be installed on the closet.

Meanwhile, we had to get the baseboards all painted and ready for the finishers to install....so we had a painting party! With the super help of Ron and Barb, we had that accomplished in short order. Now we are on hold again until the counter tops are completed and the finishers come back, which we hope is in the not too distant future. But it seems the only ones in a hurry are us!!

Another project we have had going on all this time was a little dirt moving along the West side of our building.

It dawned on Pat and I one day that this would be a great place to level so we could park our Motorhome and maybe later even put a roof over it. The hail storms we have up here in the summer are a worry. We have been lucky with some close calls the last few summers. This isn’t something we will do right away but we wanted the groundwork laid in preparation for some future plans.

There, now we can let it settle and give it more attention later.

So that’s about it from our little place on the Hill in the Black Hill’s of South Dakota. The head is healing fine and I want to thank everyone for the emails and comments. Much appreciated! I have gotten used to the staples in my head; however, I will go back in on Friday and have them removed. I don't think I want them as a permanent fixture. Fortunately it hasn’t bothered me in the least.  I told Ms. Pat that it’s a good thing it was my head cause I don’t use that much anyway!!

Update:  Rollie and Gina (now known as Pops and Gigi) have a new addition to their family.   Little Abigail Faith Thurston arrived on July 27.  Mother Ashley and Little Abigail are doing fine.  There are lots pictures on Rollie and Gina's blog and I'm sure there will be lots more to come.

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer and your travels are all safe! Thanks for stopping by.  If you're in the area, stop by and see our "work in progress".

We are truly blessed and we continue to thank our Heavenly Father for his bountiful blessings.  Without Him, none of this would be possible.

It was a GREAT WEEK!!!!

Mike

This Blog is Published every Sunday and Wednesday..

A Trip to the Emergency Room.....

Monday morning started off with a BANG!! 

At 6:30 we took off for the Park for our morning walk which took about an hour and then rushed home as we had several things going on. The floor installers soon arrived and began prepping the floor for installation of the new floor. Ron and I moved the Refrigerator and the Washing Machine out of the way.  Shortly after that, the Dirt Movers arrived and began leveling the West side of the "toy barn". Remember in my last Blog, I showed you a picture of the West side of the Toy Barn and said "Stay Tuned".  Well, there's still more to come but it will have to wait for another time. 

Everybody was asking questions and discussing how things could be done....we were running in a vicious circle.  About the time we thought we had everything lined out, the floor guys told us they had a problem! A BIG problem. The floor covering we had selected wouldn’t work.  WHAT???  Won’t work?? It seems the floor had some unlevel areas and Joe, the installer, said it was impossible for him to install that type of covering on our floor.  He told us he knew we wouldn’t be happy with it. I don’t know why the folks that came out and measured and inspected the floor several weeks ago didn’t tell us that??  WOW!  So we have to start all over again.   Have I told you that I just love building stuff!! Ms. Pat and I had to go to Rapid City and pick out another type of Flooring.

Quickly, before I did anything, Ron’s tanks needed dumping. I had purchased a new Macerator and100’ of 3/4” hose so I could easily dump our visitor's tanks. I hadn’t used it before and Ron and I began hooking things up. It worked perfectly and did a superb job. Suddenly I jumped up to run over to the sewer hook up and inspect the discharge, when BANG!!! I smacked into the Bedroom slide out.  WOW, that staggered me for a second but I continued on over to the sewer connection rubbing the new knot on my head and muttering some not so nice words like “darn” and a few others. I thought to myself, "Boy that’s quite a knot!!"  Then suddenly I noticed blood running through my fingers and down the side of my face. It was really bleeding. I asked Ron to take a look and if it was much of a gash?  OH DEAR....yes, it was quite a large cut. I hollered at Ms. Pat and asked her if it needed sutures. She said, "Yes, indeed it does!!"  She ran for a cold cloth and some ice. Shoot, I knew I was destined for the Custer Hospital Emergency Room and off we went with Ms. Pat driving.

A little over an hour later I was home with 4 new clamps in my skull…. Good as new!  It really didn’t hurt much and the cold ice felt good. They didn’t have to use any pain killer on me when they put the staples in. That smarted a little but not bad.  I was totally perturbed at myself for such a dumb trick.  Gee Whiz, I have been working around these slides for over 15 years now and I’ve bumped my head many times.  Doesn’t a guy ever learn?? Like my dear mother used to tell me, “You need to slow down!"   I heard that!!

Barb said she would go to town with Ms. Pat so she could pick out new floor covering and they left me home to supervise the land leveling job. When they got home, they had samples of the new flooring and I believe Ms. Pat was happier with it than she was with the original choice. So, things usually do happen for the better….

Yesterday, the Kitchen Cabinets arrived and today the installers will be out to install them. So we may not have a floor but we HOPE to have cabinets, TODAY!!  Then Thursday the Floor may even get installed.  Remember what I said a couple weeks ago....."NEVER WEAKEN". We will get ‘er done!!  Lord Willin'.

We had a "going away" Happy Hour and dinner with Bill and Kathie last evening.  Today, they're headed for Deadwood!!  That should be lots of fun!  Travel Safe guys and hurry back to see us.

It is a GREAT WEEK!!!!

Travel Safe Everyone and God Bless You All!

Mike

This Blog is Published every Wednesday and Sunday..

Hey, You Know What?

SURPRISE!!  The Floor Installers say they will be here tomorrow!! Hurray....maybe by tomorrow night we will have a FLOOR in our Cabin.. I hate to get too excited because I’ve been disappointed before but I’m sure looking forward to getting it installed. Then Tuesday the Truck is supposed to be here to deliver our Kitchen Cabinets. That will be a miracle too. It just seems we have been waiting forever for all this to happen.

After our walk in the Park this morning, Ms. Pat and I will remove the few things we have in the Cabin and be ready for the Floor installers, just in case they really do show up..  We don’t have much in there, so that won’t take long. I’ll keep you posted on how this progresses. I sure would like to show you a picture of the completed floor next Sunday, and “maybe” even the cabinets.


Ron and Barb Berquest have been here visiting us the last week.  They been busy taking tours of the area and getting a few things done that traveling RV’ers have to do.

Yesterday, old friends Bill and Kathie Bevington arrived to visit our beautiful Black Hills for a few days and we all got together for our “infamous” Happy Hour last night.  It was great seeing them again.  Now we have two residents from Retama Village in Texas visiting us.  Ms. Pat cooked BUFFALO Burgers for us all and some of her delicious "southern" Baked Beans.  It was, you guessed it,  “Delicious”!!

The Buffalo Meat market has really gone crazy this year. We always buy a lot of it when we arrive in the summer because we love it so much and it is so much better for you than any other meat or poultry. However when we went to the local stores to buy some, we found it was $7.50 a lb..……WOW!!! Last year it was $4.49 a lb.…… Quite an increase!!

We got in touch with our old friend Chad Kramer. Chad is the Head Herdsman out in Custer State Park and oversees the Parks herd of approximately 1500 head of Buffalo. Above is a picture of Chad and his Son Isaac, as they stopped by our place with some frozen Buffalo meat from his private stock. Chad has developed his own private heard of over 40 head of Buffalo and usually has a little extra in his freezer.. Man isn't it great to have friends!!! Thanks Chad, we know your buffalo meat will be much better than that “store bought” stuff they always add a little who knows what to!  It tasted GREAT last night at out little cook out, I believe all the guests will attest to that!!

Now this morning we are headed up to hike in the Sylvan Lake area of the Park with the Bevingtons and the Bergquists.  This will be our Sunday morning" inspirational" hike.  We were re-baptized at Sylvan Lake a few years ago. Here is a link to that wonderful day:  Baptism

This is a picture of the West side of our Toy Barn. You will be hearing more about this area in the future, what are we up to now? Stay tuned!

It was a GREAT WEEK!!!!

Thanks for stopping by.  Travel safe everybody and God Bless!!

OH, I almost forgot to mention, Ms. Pat and I have decided we are going to the ESCAPADE !! It's happening on Aug 28TH right over here in Gillette, WY. That’s only 110 miles from us and we need a little travel. Hope to see ya'll there!!  JerrieLea and Art talked me into it.  We will not be Vendor’s....just want to enjoy a Rally without “working” for a change!

Mike

This Blog is Published every Sunday and Wednesday..

I Finally Did It!

Ms Pat’s phone was 4 years old and she needed a replacement. Mine was 2 years old but that’s OK because I never use it anyhow. I’ve never cared for phones much.  I had all I ever wanted to do with them at work. Plus, I have a hard time hearing and understanding on these cell phones.  We knew JRoger had been using a DROID for a long time and he liked it real well. So we made the dreaded trip to the Verizon store. WOW!!!  What a ZOO!!!  We spent 45 minutes just looking at all the phones.  The place was extra busy and no one had time to wait on us. I told Ms Pat “Let’s get out of here, our phones are fine!”

After JRoger and Susan got here we talked more about their Droids and they showed us a lot of applications. So back to the Verizon store we went. We decided to get there early, like just when they open. Hmmm....we find out they didn’t open until 10:00am. We arrived at 9:45 and soon there was a line of people at the door waiting for them to open.  Not a second before 10 but a few seconds after, the door opened and we were the first ones in line and of course, got waited on right away. A nice young fellow spent considerable time with us and guess what, we both walked out with a new DROID X2…….

Now I always wondered what all these people were doing when I saw them hammering on their phones! Wow....what these things won’t do! Here I am studying it and asking JRoger lots of questions.  Don’t we look like a couple old kids playing? I wasn’t playing a game….I haven’t stooped to that level YET! However, the things I can do with it are amazing if, and that’s a BIG IF, I can figure it out…

It’s real handy to have someone like JRoger around to show me how to do something but 5 minutes after he is gone I’m flabbergasted…

Here is Ms Pat studying and setting up hers.  These things take a little study. She is learning it a lot faster than I am! (of course)  Actually though, we are enjoying them very much.  Now I want all you DROID users to let us know about those FREE applications that are so neat and you just can’t live without……..OK?  

It’s getting a little warm here in the Hills and dry. Two days in a row its been up to 90*. That doesn’t happen much here in Custer but thankfully, we are on this little hill and get a nice breeze that makes it easier to handle. Besides it’s a Dry Heat….right?

Welcome to our latest FOLLOWER’S:

1001 T.R.I.P Brazil
Jammin’  Along
Michael Ultra

We are so glad to have you stop by our neck of the wood’s. Hope you will stop by often.

I would like to advise everyone that has been asking about Rollie and Gina that Rollie published a Blog yesterday. It's nice to have them back in Blogger Land, even once in a while. Like us all, they have a lot going on in their lives right now.  Love you kids!

It is a GREAT WEEK!!!!

Travel Safe!

Mike

This Blog is Published every Wednesday and Sunday..

That was quick!!

This 1991 Chevy pickup belonged to my Dad. He bought it back in 1991 when it was like new. He and Mom loved this little truck. In 1998 when Dad had to stop driving, Pat and I bought it from them. That same year, we bought this Palomino Pop-up Camper. It sure has been handy to have over the years.  We took it to Yellowstone one Fall and spent 10 days there. A few overnight Fishing trips and a nice place to stay when Dad was in the Hospital in Scottsbluf.  It's been a fun unit.

The other day we drove it out to the Park for our morning walk, when I mentioned to Ms. Pat how well it ran and drove. It’s one thing I have left from Mom and Dad’s era that I just can’t give up. Ms. Pat said that we don’t use the Camper anymore and that we should sell it. That way we could use the pickup a little more and haul stuff easier. Gee, I thought, Hey, that’s a good idea. That evening I put an ad and a couple pictures on Craigslist.

WOW, not 10 minutes and that ad was already getting results, Ms. Pat’s phone rang and she said “It’s a call on the Camper” and handed me the phone.  What, I couldn't believe it.That was just the start.....more calls and several emails later a gentleman from Billings, MT and another from Sheridan, WY wanted it. So we jumped up the next morning and began taking our stuff out of it and cleaning it up a little. That took several hours but we already had people headed our way to look at it. Gosh it cleaned up well.  This camper is in excellent shape. Do we really want to sell it? Woops,...too late! The folks from Sheridan, WY jumped in their truck and headed this way. He told me “I’m almost sure we will take it so please hold it."  Pat and I sat down for a couple minutes for a little rest, as we were both exhausted and this just happened to be the hottest day so far this summer.

Shortly after Larry and Anita arrived from Sheridan, WY. which is about 200 miles away, they looked it over and handed us the CASH!  So, I unbolted it from my Truck and we began installing the brackets on his truck.   Meanwhile, people were calling from far and near to see if it was sold yet.


Soon it was ready to back under and bolt it down..

Off they go headed back to Sheridan.....HAPPY CAMPERS!!!  Larry and Anita were neat folks and fun to work with. Hope you guys enjoy the little camper as much as we did……….

There it goes,,,,,,another part of our life. I do get a little sentimentally attached to stuff, especially in my old age, and it's always a little bit sad for me to see things go.

I bet the little ole Pickup misses it's old friend too.  They've been buddies for 13 years!!  It sure looks strange without the camper but a lot more usable!  MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

Meanwhile, during all this "hullabaloo", our good friends Ron and Barb arrived. Ron was a real trooper and was a great help in getting the mounts removed from my truck and installed on Larry's truck. Here is their nice rig all settled in on our spot #1.  We are looking forward to spending some time with them. Like right now, we are off for our walk in the PARK!!

It was a GREAT WEEK!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and please come on back Wednesday and see what other mischief we can find to get into here on our little spot on the mountain.  We continue to thank our Heavenly Father for his bountiful blessings.

Travel safe !! God Bless!!

Mike

This Blog is Published every Sunday and Wednesday..

4-Wheelin’, Marksmanship and Rock Hunting……

Monday it was back to the National Grasslands with the ATVs so we could get further back into this vast, beautiful area. We loaded one Polaris on the back of JRoger's truck.

We loaded the other one into my trailer and at sun up we were on our way.

We arrived at the staging area. There is a small campground, no hookups. The French Creek runs right through it.


Soon we had everything all unloaded and it was time to explore! We had two areas to check out. The Grasslands and the large Agate Beds that make this area so well known to Rock Collectors. This is the Home of the famous “Fairburn Agate”.

Here we go way back into the National Grasslands. Ah, this is the way to travel this area. The terrain is no challenge for these Polaris’s.

Above is one of the many creeks we crossed and one of the smaller ones.

This is one of the larger ones. These machines never even sputtered and plowed right on through..

Here we are all set up on a nice lookout. JRoger is spotting and I’m scoping! What a beautiful day!

JRoger and I are both scouring the area. JRoger has excellent equipment!

Here is Ms. Pat as the gunner. She loves to shoot and believe me she is an excellent shot!

Meanwhile, while we were shooting, guess what Susan was doing? Although, she is also an excellent shot and loves to shoot, she has another great interest.

It appears we have another “Rock Hound” here. While we were shooting, Susan was collecting Rocks! When I saw this collection all piled up for us to load, I immediately thought of my daughter.....Gina!! 

We proceeded on over several more miles to the Agate beds. Susan was in Heaven!

Wow, look at those Agate beds in the background. I had heard of this place but never explored it until today….. Outstanding!

Just look at these Rock Beds,,,,,,,,,,I have to bring Gina here!! 

When we we all worn to a frazzle, we loaded everything back up again and headed for home. I was sure glad JRoger was driving, cause I dozed off a couple times……..  When we got home and unloaded everything, it was, of course, HAPPY HOUR!! 

JRoger is also an excellent cook and loves BBQ'ing and I love to let him!  He says to tell everyone he's cooking "Prairie Dog" steaks.  :-)

Awe..... now this makes a great way to end a beautiful day!!

It is a GREAT WEEK as we continue to thank our Heavenly Father for all he provides for us!!

This morning JRoger and Susan will be hooking up and heading back home to Tallahassee, Fl. We have sure enjoyed having them with us and wish they could stay longer. What wonderful friends!  We will miss them so much!! Have a safe trip guys and please HURRY BACK!!

Thanks for stopping by and I’m sorry this Blog is so long, but I just had so many exciting things to show you.

Mike

This Blog is Published every Wednesday and Sunday..