Westward, Ho! Then angle North a bit, too.

Did you know this was in Nebraska?  Toadstool Geologic Park, reached by our little touring group yesterday.  Take son out of the picture, in your mind and just appreciate the alien landscape with the weather sky... awesome.

Their target for Friday is Wind Cave, which is in South Dakota, hoping to get tickets on site for the cave tour.  Don't know how that's working these days, but I do hope they get them.  It's been nearly 60 years since I toured Wind Cave, but it's worth the trip!

Am I just a tad jealous of their road trip?  Um... yes, but... I'm comfy having canine time, too.  I need a traveling companion to go do the grand tour myself, as I'm not thinking I want to do it solo.  

Once upon a time, it was Kevin and I who did these things together as brother and sister.  I remember one trip when we were in our 20's, where we stopped and helped a fellow motorist cool off his radiator, a trick Kevin had recently learned, working as a parts runner at a local repair shop.  We were young and immortal, practicing what the kids these days call "adulting

I love this photo my son got of his fiancé. 
She is in her element, a working artist.

Friday evening I had a pick up grocery order, and I promised Carl a car ride to go get the goods.  

I wasn't sure how well he'd do, so I made him wear his vest, and kept some treats with me to keep his attention while they loaded the small order in the hatch.

When we got home and I told him what a good boy he was, I let him out in the yard in his "working vest".  It is needed for leash walks and car rides.  It's a rule at Grandma's house, Carl, where the Daddy who can bench press you easily isn't present.

Friday night Carl got grandma up at 1:30 again, and then he was having some trouble with his ears, shaking his head, and shaking his head.  I turned off the TV which I tend to leave on while I fall asleep, and he settled down fine.  Maybe Grandma will learn a thing or two from Carl this week.

The touring group did a LOT on Friday.  Besides getting to Wind Cave and hiking around, they made it to the Crazy Horse mountain monument, still under construction.  It's further along than when I saw it 60 and then 40 years back (approximately).

When I first saw the work on this mountain, I was a child, and all you could see was the hole under the arm, no definition of the sculpture at all.  You could see the statues at the viewing area and watch the films, and try to envision what it would eventually look like.  Now, you can see the definition of the face.

I understand that this carving up of a mountain is controversial, and am curious about it.  The Black Hills in general are considered sacred ground by some indigenous tribes, and I would like to know their positions on the memorializing of Chief Crazy Horse in this way.

On a more whimsical note, the dinosaur park in Rapid City was a huge draw for Lacey.  She's been a fan since she herself visited as a child.

Saturday morning I stole these photos from her facebook postings.  And Carl and I went on a trip to the smaller dog park not too far from here.  While there, Carl encountered some people who know his "mama", who were there exercising their own pups.  It was one of those funny encounters.  I was talking to Carl telling him to not go far while I picked up the poop he'd just dropped when these folks came along and read his collar, which is plainly labeled with his name.  

They mentioned that Lacey had posted his photos, but they'd never met him in real life.  I asked their names so I could tell her who I met.

The really amazing part of this story is that I remembered the names long enough to post them in a description of a photo I took there, which happened to capture one of their dogs.  Furthermore, Lacey's dad tagged the friend, who confirmed that was she, and the dog at Carl's feet was her Freddie.  Dogs bond people!  Connections to connections... that's FB.

Carl got his zoomies in, Grandma feels she did OK with him, and now we have only 4 sleeps to go to keep him safe and well for his regular humans!

Life is good.  Spark on!

🔥✨💖