Before leaving on our Midwest trip, we had to celebrate Stella's third birthday. All it took to have a great birthday was a cupcake with 3 candles, singing Happy Birthday, a few presents, and a lot of attention paid to the birthday girl.
Everybody needs someone to love!
This is so good Grandmomma!
We spent 2 nights with Joyce and Nick Koropchak in Northfield, Minn. Nick was the doctor on the nuclear submarine USS Alexander Hamilton SSBN 617 Gold with me for two patrols. We had not seen each other in 25 years.
Joyce was a superb hostess. Her meals were delightful. They had just moved from Nevada to Minn.
Two old Navy buddies. I was in Nick's first wedding.
In Bloomington, MN, we had lunch with Jan's nephew Tony and his two children.
We started our Road Scholar trip of South Dakota in Keystone, SD. We were there from Sunday to Saturday. Every day we boarded the bus and visited the most interesting places. In the evenings we had excellent lectures about the Black Bills, Lakota Indians, the Badlands, bisons, and Mount Rushmore. This is a recreation of buffalos being run off a cliff by the Indians. The riders and buffalos are made out of brass. Kevin Costner was the big contributor to this monument to the buffalo. We had lunch at his casino in Deadwood, SD.
There were 40 of us older folks on this tour. We had a great time with some really nice people.
Here we are in Leeds, SD at the largest gold mine in the US. The mine went down 8000 ft. The mine is now out of business. The mine is now used as a government research facility.
Here we are in the Black Hills at Sylvan Lake. The rock formations are beautiful.
A beautiful day in SD.
In the Black Hills
Mount Rushmore - This is quit a sight..
The amphitheater at Mt Rushmore. This is where the patriotic celebration is held at night.
We made it. This is worth the coast of the trip.
Another view.
Jan is resting.
Two tire folks.
WE are in Rapid City, SD talking to President John Adams.
In Rapid City, there is a stature of each president on one of the street corners
This is called the "eye of the needle". In the Black Hills, the area with the tall and skinny rock formations is called the needles.
My lovely bride.
We were able to see the right profile of George Washington at Mt. Rushmore.
This young Lakota lad danced for us one evening.
This is an authentic prairie sod house used by early pioneers to the Bad Lands.
The Bad Lands are marvelous.
The mountains are slowly wearing down. In another 100 million years, this will be flat land!
The Goodman's in the Bad Lands.
We are at the world famous Wall Drugs.
We are in the dinosaur museum in Hill City, SD. These are the original bones of a dinosaur found in SD. They have made a cast of each of the bones and made 54 replicas for museums around the world.
This is the head of one of my ancestors! Below is the house that we have bought in Rock Hill. SC. We move on October 1, 2014
