Well... That's Over

When I looked at the calendar today and saw it is the official start of autumn,  I felt cheated. I just didn't feel like I had a summer. Am I the only one?

Part of it was the fact that we were still wearing winter hats and gloves at baseball games through May, and were quite bundled up at a few in June, too. The "feeling" of summer got started so late I didn't get a chance to embrace it before it was hoodie time.

Not that I don't love hoodie time... or colorful trees... or bonfires with friends...

I just want a little more time in the sun. Mr. Deck Chair does, too.

I do like Maxine's concept that leg shaving season is over. But I would be willing to extend that season with no whining. I'm just that dedicated. Truly.

They do say time flies when you are having fun so perhaps the cool and crappy weather wasn't the only reason summer felt like a fleeting moment. We packed a lot into it. Heck, I was everywhere from Wyoming to Cincinnati. And that included a handful of trips north of Highway 8. Throw in a couple weddings and birthdays, and we were busy.

Guess maybe if I would have taken time to sit and relax and enjoy summer, parting wouldn't be such sweet sorrow.

I can still make some of it up. Mr. Deck Chair and me, well, we are just that dedicated.

Truly.

Devils Tower Tour

If you've ever flown to Las Vegas, you know the approach to the runway is unique. Here you are flying across a flat desert when suddenly a city pops up like one of those 3-D children's books.

That's how Devil's Tower is in Wyoming.

I heard the song Devil Woman on the radio today and it triggered a reminder that I never did share my Devils Tower photos from my Dakota vacation. So here is your personal tour of the Tower, America's first National Landmark.

Coming into the area, it was like turning a corner on the Wyoming highway and boom, there it is, looming in the distance.

It is hard to grasp that it has taken millions of years to erode the surface to create what it is now. I wonder what it first looked like?

As you get closer, you realize why you can see if from miles and miles away. It's huge!

As with most of the landmarks we visited, we are reminded why they are "landmarks." They have special, sacred meaning to the Native Americans.

My sister Rachel and I decided to venture around the tower. It was only 1.5 miles but took over an hour since we stopped to take photos at every angle. And, if you were looking up, you had to stop because you really had to look down – and watch your step – while walking.

Seeing those full-grown trees up there at the base gives you an idea of its size.

Ruffles have ridges... and so does Devils Tower. I do not understand the process of erosion that creates these vertical lines. So cool. Reminds me of Planet Krypton in Superman movies.

How is it trees can grow out of rocks but I can't grow anything out of soil?!

Interesting how some of the rocks start curving at the bottom.

Met up with a couple from Australia who took our photo. At this angle, you might think the tower is only twice our height (or 10-feet tall. ha).

Sometimes we were so close to it, we couldn't see the top.

It's like the erosion makes up half the height. I was a little concerned rocks could fall off the sides at any moment. But surprisingly, there were no such warning signs on the path.

Fascinated by the curvature and color variants.

Final salute to the National Monument!

Oh wait, I forgot to mention the aliens!! OK, now you know why it's a little bit famous. Whether you saw the 1977 movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" or not (I didn't), the merchants in the area are quick to remind you. And try to sell you some outer-space trinket. I didn't buy anything but may have to rent the movie – now that my tower tour is over and I won't freak out having a close encounter with it!

Warm Fuzzies

If you ever feel like this on a Monday, you are not alone.

This is one of my furry friends from the Wild West. No matter how much you want to hide in a hole when Monday comes around with its alarm clock and pile of work and weekend emails to wade through, you can't help but smile when you think of playful prairie dogs bobbing up and down like a Whack-A-Mole game!

A few the warm fuzzies from the Devil's Tower area...

Did that relieve any stress for you? It sure made me smile but not as big as the pictures I received via email this afternoon.

Our boy Lukas just returned to Germany after a windsurfing vacation in Italy. He appreciated our care package awaiting him at home and had many photos and good tidings to share.

Love that he remembered his American mom loves lighthouses! That made my day! Nice warm fuzzy!

Here's an overall photo of their beach and the windsurfing action. I want to jump right in... right now!

Lukas going to shore after a ride. Glad he finally got to enjoy nice weather after our cold American spring!

We enjoyed summery weather at the ballpark tonight. Had to travel way up to Colby by Abbotsford to play. The good news is we had ice cream before the game...

 Oh and Carter served as catcher for the first time this season. Did Ok...

Oh, and he was hot at bat, going 2 for 3 and scoring 2 of our 6 runs.

The bad news is that the other team scored 11 runs. So we take a loss but had nice weather and good ice cream.

That's worth a final warm fuzzy for the day, right?

Random Acts of Monday-ness

Cross-Waddle: Who doesn't mind getting "goosed" on a Monday morning? Sure gets you going for the work week. Today I had to stop for Canada geese and goslings jaywalking across the highway, ignoring the crosswalk, er waddle, signs. I didn't think the "I'm late for work due to the feathered foreigners" excuse was gonna fly. But I have photographic evidence you have to bill-lieve.

Wish You Were Here: Carter got the Mount Rushmore postcard TODAY I sent him last Tuesday from Wyoming. I had no idea the Pony Express was still active, but that has to be the reason for such slow service, doncha think?

When Dad told him he got a postcard that started out with "Hi Sweetie," I'm pretty sure the 16-year-old was hoping for a postmark from Germany. Maybe next time, Sweetie!

Web MD: I'm not a doctor but I play one on TV... Or the Internet... In this day and age, it's pretty convenient (and probably ill-advised) to self-diagnose our ailments from "authentic" medical websites on the Internet. I've done it before and I'll do it again. There's always an outside chance your symptoms will match up with the actual ailment instead of giving you 1,367 possible matches. I got lucky – if you call it luck...

Last week during vacation, I woke up one morning with major pains in my left wrist. I kind of had the twingy pains where it felt like a sprained wrist. Since it wasn't constant, I didn't give it too much thought. It has, however, kept recurring and was getting more painful yesterday when I moved my left hand in certain angles – like for driving, holding a camera and typing on a keyboard. Nothing major, right? That's when I noticed a lump on my wrist. After some pretty advanced search words, it came up immediately (with photos to match my wrist) that it was likely a ganglion cyst. (Sounds disgusting and it is. Do NOT google images unless want to see surgery. Yuck!)

I waited 'til after work to go to the clinic and, like I called it, it's a ganglion cyst. They can't cure it and they don't know what causes it so they can't prevent it. Ahh, modern medicine. If it gets larger or causes much more or constant pain, they could surgically remove it. For now, I caught it too soon (strange as that sounds) and there's nothing they can do.

It has put an '80s song in my head (no surprise). Remember when Hall & Oates sang "Kiss is on my List." Instead of singing, "Your kiss, your kiss, is on my list," I am now singing, "A cyst, a cyst, is on my wrist.."

In case you were wondering what "Monday-ness" is, now you know! Sorry. There's no cure for that either.

Wild West :: Part Four

I could almost call today's blog entry "Living on the Edge." That might apply to living on the edge of living and breathing, on the edge of the law, on the edge of the state line....

Since we saw all the local major sites yesterday I wanted to see -- Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and the Black Hills park -- today we decided to venture further west to Wyoming.

Before we even got out of Rapid City, we were nearly T-boned by a truck that blew a red light at a high rate of speed. We were in the right as we had a green light. Rayna thankfully has awesome new brakes on her vehicle so we could stop within inches of death. Not really an exaggeration. We didn't even need coffee to get our hearts going this morning!

Made it safely to Wyoming, though! Another state crossed off my list!

Sometime not long after, we made a quick stop (as we often did) to take a scenic photo.This time is was an old barn that looked like it was part of an abandoned farm.So we pull in, take some shots and were just about to leave when we spotted a herd of antelope. So we took a few more photos naturally.

As we were exiting the driveway, another car was signaling to turn in. We figured they were pulling off to turn around in the driveway. In reality, they were tailing us just long enough to get vehicle make and model and license plate number.

Since we made two legitimate scenic overlook stops after that, it didn't take long for the long arm of the law to catch up to us.

Not kidding.

To our credit, he said we didn't look like the type of people who would steal something from an old farm, even if we were trespassing. He still was obligated to run Rayna's license through the system just in case.

Oh life is never dull in the wild west!

Made no more illegal stops and made our way to the infamous Devil's Tower, the first national monument in the U.S. What an impressive sight.

My sister Rachel and I hiked around (not up) the entire tower, about 1 1/2 miles so I literally have photos from every angle to share at some point. It was another glorious summer day, close to 80 I think, and wonderfully summery!

On our way out of the park, we shot a bunch of prairie dogs -- shot with cameras, that is, not guns! Photos to come. Also stopped at a trading post, where I found a rustic cowgirl to teach me how to shoot straight!

From there, it was back to home base in Rapid City, stopping at Tim and Tawnie's house.

Had.to take a farewell photo with our sweet nephew Timmy, play with the boys, then go out to eat one more time with them before our departure in the morning. After a fun meal at Texas Roadhouse, we said goodbye to the T gang and raced out to our vehicles in the pouring rain (which held off all day for us).

Felt so lucky and privileged to receive hugs and kisses from Tyler and Tyson. We are gonna miss those charming characters! Really hope to get back out here some time.

I'll just watch for speed limit and trespassing signs, remember not to look down from high places, and drink plenty of caffeine to keep up with small, energetic boys!

So much to love about the Wild West... our version of it anyway!