We're Here! Custer, South Dakota

We arrived safe and sound in Custer, SD late Thursday afternoon.  The weather is a little chillier than we had hoped for.  We woke up to snow the next day.

Day 1 we did the wildlife loop in Custer State Park and Wind Cave and couldn't believe how many Buffalo we saw! 

Today they were on the side of the road - we hear that  some days they hang out in the road blocking traffic.

and they've started to have babies. 

We also saw some Prong Horns

While at Wind Cave National Park we did the free cave tour as part of the free National Parks Week

It is one of the few caves that contains "Boxwork"   Formations that are sort of a honeycomb effect that early cavers thought looked like Post Office Boxes.

Day 2 we drove up to Rapid City - the closest "Big City" to check it out.

We passed Crazy Horse Memorial

and of course Mount Rushmore 

We got to see a Mountain Goat by the side of the road.

We will save the paid entertainment for when we get out VIP Pass which entitles us to free or discounted admission to many of the area attractions.

Rapid City has a Dinosaur Park

And a first rate Geology Museum (Free!) 

 Took the Iron Mountain Road back home.  It is a narrow road full of twists and turns, narrow tunnels and wooden bridges.

and back to Custer State Park 

One of the Custer Park Resorts Lodges 

Our work place is not quite as impressive:

Motel Unit

Cabins up on the hill 

and a really short commute to the Office 

Easter Sunday we decide to go to Jewel Cave for one of their free tours.  Arrive at 10 a.m. and just miss a long tour - the next one is at 2:40 so to kill time we drive to Wyoming (another 23 miles)

We drove through the Jasper Fire of 2000 remains

On August 24, 2000 a local woman pulled off the highway onto a forest service road that leads to Jasper Cave. She lit a cigarette, dropped the burning match to the ground, watched the fire start and drove away. The fire spread rapidly due to the hot and dry conditions.  It consumed approximately 48,000 acres, the equivalent of about seven football fields a minute

 Size: 83,508 acres
Start date and time: August 24, 2000, 2:17 pm
Date and time contained: September 8, 2000, 6:00 pm
Janice Stevenson was sentenced July 23, 2001 to 10 years in a federal prison. She was also sentenced to 25 years on the state charges. I think she got off easy.


Back to Jewel Cave
It is the 2nd longest cave in the world.  They have mapped out 154 miles of cave tunnels and it is estimated that only 2% of the cave has been discovered.  It is 95 percent covered in calcite crystals which gives it it's name.

723 steps on the tour - guess we'll take it easy the rest of the day - start work tomorrow!

HAPPY EASTER!



Colorado - Garden of the Gods

Arrived in Colorado last night.  Stop over in Colorado Springs to see if there is anything to do.  There is a red square on the atlas indicating a point of interest called Garden of the Gods - so we go to investigate.

Wow!

Garden of the Gods is a City Park with beautiful red rock formations.

Here are the kissing camels 

Cathedral Spires 

This guy was kind enough to pose for me. 

The Three Graces 

Technical climbing with equipement is permitted you must obtain a permit at the Visitor's Center.

and the most popular Balanced Rock 

Santa Fe and Taos, NM

Santa Fe is a great little Town I wouldn't mind living here (if it was warmer in the winter).  There is so much to do and see in the area.

Old Town is full of little places to shop

All the turquoise and Indian jewelry you could want. 

Great Sculptures 

At the end of the Old Santa Fe Trail stands the Loretto Chapel.

 Inside the Gothic structure is the staircase referred to as miraculous, inexplicable, marvelous and is sometimes called St. Joseph’s Staircase. The stairway confounds architects, engineers and master craftsmen. It makes over two complete 360-degree turns, stands 20’ tall and has no center support. It rests solely on its base and against the choir loft. The risers of the 33 steps are all of the same height. Made of an apparently extinct wood species, it was constructed with only square wooden pegs without glue or nails.  It was built sometime between 1877 and 1881



The handrails were added at the request of the Nuns some 10 years after it was built.

The oldest Church in the US 

And the oldest house - dates back to the Analco Indians of 1200's then Spanish colonization in 1607.  They just don't build them like they used to.

Sadly our journey thru Santa Fe comes to an end 

From here a quick tour thru Taos - not a whole lot of interest - probably better during Ski Season.  Drove the "Enchanted Loop" for 68 miles but again not very enchanting this time of year.  Had we had it to do over I would have visited the Taos Pueblo - a Pueblo Indian village inhabited continuously for over 1,000 years.

San Francisco de Asisi Church built in 1850.  There is a painting of Christ which at night glows and shows the crucifix at night.  When the lights go out. The life-size image of Jesus standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee fades to a shadow as the wispy white clouds in pale blue sky and green water begin to glow around Him, as if all were bathed in moonlight. Soon the silhouette of Jesus grows three-dimensional and appears more like a dark statue than flat image. His robes seem to billow in a breeze. Over his left shoulder the shadow of a cross is distinct to most. Some can see a halo over his head and the bow of a small fishing boat .

A cool solar panel at the visitor's center

A view of the Rio Grande from the Bridge


And then there was the Earthship Biotecture Headquarters

A community built with natrual and recycled materials, thermal/solar heating and cooling, water by harvesting, cointained sewage treatment and Solar and Wind Electricity 

It is the worlld's largest self-sufficient residenial development. 
The Euro Earthship 3 BR/2BA $100/Yr utility bill for sale at $400,000

Meanwhile we keep on Trek'n

Later,

Melissa and Gary