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Travel

Rolling Through the Black Hills

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After catching up on some sleep this morning, we took the back roads up to Sturgis from Rapid City, ahead of the many thousands of bikers that will take over the place a few weeks from now. Frankly, you might think that the rally was going on now, given the sheer number of bikes in the region. Motorcycles are everywhere here, and I love it! (It’s like Memphis with SUVs.)

Deadwood was a bit of a bust, unless you like the tightest slots you’ve ever seen and a manicured Disney-esque Main Street. It is likely that Wild Bill would just keep on going through town, if he was passing through today.

Custer State Park proved to be the highlight of the day, providing the best collection of the different ecosystems of the Black Hills, as well as grazing bison and other animals plus easy ways to get away from the throngs of people stopping to look at animals.

We attended the nightly lighting event at Mount Rushmore, which was meaningful, but I’ve definitely taken my patriot pill for the month.

Categories
Travel

July 4th in Rapid City, SD

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Fireworks viewed off of the top of a downtown parking garage. We thought that would be the best place to enjoy the celebration, and apparently half of the town had the same idea.

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Travel

Kath in the Badlands

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After a day-and-a-half of traveling, kath and I have made it to the Badlands. A fascinating, quiet, dry place, the Badlands exist due to an ancient shallow sea and a lack of modern precipitation.

We are heading into Montana soon, trekking up to Glacier NP and then on to Yellowstone and points south.

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Travel

The Benziger Family Winery

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Kath and I are waiting for our tractor tour to start at the beautiful Benziger Family Winery, located just outside Glen Ellen, California.

The winery focuses on growing grapes and fermenting them in a biodiverse way, and the entire farm is constructed so that the sum of the flora and fauna is greater than its parts.

I’d bet the wine is pretty tasty, too. We will get to sample some after the tour.

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Travel

Morning in San Fran with Jeff

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Jeff noted that this robe was a gift when he was in high school.

We made it to SF without incident late last night. Jeff kindly picked us up at the BART station at midnight and fed us before turning in.

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Travel

Enjoying Hot Springs

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For Kath’s birthday, we decided to spend the weekend in Hot Springs, AR. After a few trips to the Arlington for baths, we are both feeling completely relaxed and looking forward to perfect fall evening and a scrumptious dinner.