Hello To All,
We have been enjoying the sights and sounds of beautiful South Dakota.

I must tell you all the official results of The Cow Pattie Tossing Contest! It was close, but Lance Won! Roscoe wanted picture's of Lance holding a cow pattie let alone tossing one, but "NO" a loud "NO" at that came from the winner. Even tough we are camped almost 6400' in The Black Hills there are cows, we have no clue who they belong to but they wonder through do their thing. So me being the nature girl wanted some fun before our wilderness shower's. Hey ya got to come up with entertainment! We laughed so hard or rather I did. We also had a discussion on wheather it is pattie or paddie. LOL. I have so corrupted Lance :).

We got home from a day out on The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Wounded Knee. Yes It is horrifying the way the Lakota Sioux were massacred. Of course The White Man tells of different story,which after seeing and reading it makes us realize that not a one of us is safe from that kind of treatment. I read Lance's Blog and cried as he writes of the fight of these people to this day. Good Night.

Break My Heart at Wounded Knee

Few things in the World will break your heart like the story of the destruction of the Lakota Sioux Nation. It is a story that rings with parallels today. You want to know why you, or anyone else for that matter, shouldn't trust your government? Read this story.

In 1874, George Armstrong Custer invaded Sioux territory with miners, geologists and 100 wagon loads of bad juju. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Badlands lie between I-90 and the Kansas border, and between Eastern Wyoming and Central South Dakota. A lot of it looks like this:

This shot is just west of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Visitors Center:

Wounded Knee is near the Southern border of the state in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

This monument sits atop the mass grave of 276 men, women and children massacred there.

Here is a National Archive photo (and by the way, calling it a "battle" is a prime example of the truth that the victor gets to write the history):

It wasn't the last straw, and several other fights took place after the massacre in several places in and around the Pine Ridge Reservation. But, it was pretty much the end of the Sioux Nation. In "Black Elk Speaks" Black Elk describes the Sioux Nation in terms of an endless hoop, in quarters --Black in the West, the home of the thunder beings; White in the North, source of the Cleansing Wind; Red in the East, the source of wisdom and the Morning Star; and Yellow in the South, the source of growth. When the Souix Nation was defeated, he says, the hoop was broken. The pieces of the broken hoop in the picture below are not an accident, or mischief, they are a statement:

And, I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't read the book.

I've got some catching up to do, so lets get started!

We left Matt & Rose's place on the 28th of August, bound for the Black Hills of South Dakota. The day started out misty...

But, by early afternoon had turned into a normal Summer day. We headed West and South to pick up 85 South, it was a nice ride through farm country. We hit the Badlands of North Dakota early in the afternoon, hazy, hot and humid:

We noticed a difference between the North and South Dakota Badlands --the North Dakota Badlands are much greener:

We stopped in Belle Fourche, SD, just North of Spearfish for the night.

We pressed into the Black Hills looking for a place to camp and finally landed at Deerfield Reservoir. Roscoe the Wonder Dog got to go for a swim:

That clump of flowers is pretty strange...

We were going to camp right there at the boat ramp, but decided to investigate a couple of other campgrounds in the area. We ended up at the "Dutchman" campground on the Southeast side of the lake. Nice place but expensive. It seems that the National Park Service has contracted out the management of the campgrounds to a private company --and the price went up, and they suck. Big surprise.

The good news is that we're not confined to the whim of the bureaucrats and moved to a dispersed campsite in the middle of nowhere:

It's a great place to hide and the best part is that it's free!

The Sun went down:

And the Moon came out to play:

On Tuesday, we did the tourist thing and visited Mount Rushmore:

Looks just like the postcard image right?

This is what the "bigger picture" looks like...

Still, it's a real feat of engineering... I just wish someone had remembered to take the friggin tripod off Teddy's head. O.K, it's really a way to get tools and other equipment up to the top, but they're done, so, take it down, the cable runs right in front of the monument. Idiots. Must have been liberals...

I did get a nice profile of George on the way out:

Since we were in the area, we decided to take in Custer State Park. On the way, we came across a lookout and found a great overview of the Black Hills looking North:

Custer State Park isn't anything like Carlene remembers from a previous visit. And I have to tell you, the lack of wildlife was spooky. We did eventually find some Antelope:

And some Bison:

But, for the most part, it was a waste of time and money, save yours if you ever head out this way.

I've spent the best part of the last couple of days reading and not much else. The book "Black Elk Speaks" by John G. Niehardt is worth the time and energy needed to read it. Tomorrow we're going to visit the cemetary at Wounded Knee... I hope the Lakota aren't still pissed...

It's very peaceful here and we're going to hate to pack up next week.

Hello All, We are still in The Black Hills of South Dakota.Very hot and sunny. We are enjoying ourselves. Very peaceful at our "Dispersed Camp site". FREE. We are out in the mountains at 6378' all alone with our entire camp set up. Would love to live there , but there are NO animals, we are not sure why and no one seems to have any answers. This is short as we are in a motel cafe using the free WiFi. Roscoe is in the air conditioned home (van). But want to get back to camp. Will write more later this week and wait till you see the incredible picture's Lance has taken!!!
Take care and Good Health to All. Gramp's hang in there, you are in our prayer's.
Love hugs and may Peace surround you all.
Carlene Lance and Roscoe (TWD).

On The Road

Good Morning To All,
We are now in The Wilds of South Dakota. Left Minot, N.D. yesterday. We had a wonderful restful time with Matt and Rose. Thank you so much for opening up your heart's and home to us. Looking forward to ice fishing in the winter.

We will be posting blogs most every day as we will be camping and seeing a lot of site's. South Dakota is just crazy with good sized grasshopper's and wasp's. The hopper's I can deal with the bee's, Wasp's make me nervous. LOL.

Happy Birthday to my Big brother Jim (20th) Our buddies Joe (24th) Kent (26th) Fred (29th). Glad you guys are home from Iraq. Hope I have not forgotten anyone.

This is short, we are heading out for a new place to camp. Love and Hugs. Peace "The Gypsies" Please leave comment's we love to hear from you all.

Scandinavian Heritage Center

Carlene & I paid a visit to the Scandinavian Heritage Center in Minot today. No charge for entry and a nice walk around the park. This is the Gol Stave Church, or rather, a replica of the 1212 version in Hallindal, Norway:

The woodwork is done by hand, particularly around the fron door --very cool:

More examples of great woodwork:

You can fine out more about the artists at Norsk Wood Works.

There are examples of early prairie life and the Scadinavians brought tools and techniques with them. Get a load of the dovetail joints in the side of the sauna:

Here are the same joints from the inside:

There are also confounding elements, like the contrast between the delicacy of the stained glass work in the sauna, and the small prairie home:

Here is a picture of the table:

It folds up against the wall too.

And then there is the Dala Horse, and Carlene!

Happy Birthday Howard!

We extended our stay to include Howard's Birthday (Rose's Dad), on August 19th. Carlene and I helped out with the cooking and picture taking:

What's a birthday without baloons:

A good time was had by all:

Matt and his brother Luke: Why is this girl looking so wary?

Rose was chasing her with an egg and evil intentions...

Hanging out in the hammock:

Climbing the tree:

Lugging benches around... otherwise known as Savana showing off...

And of course, Dancing!

And when all of that gets a little old, you play softball with the kids:

Dale (Rose's brother) and youngest daughter at second base:

The third base crew taking it easy:

Parker navigating the gates in the giant slalom

And, in the end, the dogs are feeling just a little left out and need some love:

The best part?

Presents!