Rapid City

One thing nice about this retired life is the ability to up and go without working like a dog (at work) to clear your desk before leaving and then working like a dog when you come back, just to catch up. So without all the planning that goes into time off a rather quick, spontaneous trip emerged to the Black Hills, to meet up with my brother Tom and his family.

The plan was to drive down spend two nights and a day and come home. Ron said the only way he's going is if we fly. I hate to fly. A thousand things go through my mind: What if the weather turns bad and we can't get home - ever!; what if you (Ron) have a heart attack and I have to land the plane (I would spend my entire time saying "What?" to the tower, only after I figured out the frequency, because they talk too fast); what if we run out of gas in the air?; what if, what if... an endless bevy of reasons. I would rather drive 7.5 hours than fly. But I did it. My mantra was, "if Evie can fly coast to coast in a Cessna, so can I."

Three hours from Pietsch's front yard airstrip (the summer haunts for the plane, then it moves into Minot for the winter) to Rapid City, with a headwind! It went just fine, except Lacy threw up four times and we landed with a fierce side wind, again while Lacy was barfing. I was cool, sort of.

So the first thing Ron does, after I mentally kissed terra firma, is rent a car. A 2010 Camaro. With daily fees and insurance it got rather pricey, but the Ronson had a brush with his teen years or some stupid thing. It was the absolute dumbest car ever. He even agreed, after rubbing his head on the low roof, and climbing in and out of the low seats too many times. The only fun came when we were in the hills exceeding the speed limit. Goes to show at 62 you still can act 16.





My brother lives in Chicago with his wife, Nancy and their three children. David-10Elizabeth-5 and Will-4. Close friends know that I started my family way too soon, and my brother started his family way too late. But we are all happy and that is what counts. We wouldn't have it any other way!!!

We stayed at the Rushmore Plaza in Rapid City as Elizabeth had a dire request for a pool to swim in. Those very words were chanted by her Aunt Mary Liz so many years ago, when the Snyders would embark on a road trip. In my day most motels were "motor inns" with outdoor pools a tad bigger than a hot tub. Only big city stays had indoor accommodations. Anyway it was a short visit but fun.


David


Elizabeth after some beloved pool time.


Will - the tail that wags the dogs.

As expected Lacy was a smashing hit with the kids; a rock star in their world.









The last time we were together was when Mom died in January of '09, so we were overdue for time together. They had a full week planned in the Black Hills, including their four days on the road. We, as a group, did Reptile Gardens and Mount Rushmore. It was hot and plenty of foot work for us. The evening cocktails went down way too fast!










The following picture is where,nine years ago, Lacy also threw up. She was four and it was our first road trip as a family. We went to Laramie, Wyo. for Billy's graduation. En route we took in the Black Hills and down to Estes Park. Lacy only remembers throwing up at Mount Mushmore as she called it, way back when.



Well we made it passed the check-in window without any mishap this time. I just has to point out the spot as we drove through.












Fun is fun, but we all have our limits.

Less than 48 hours later we loaded back in the plane and headed home. Not without another headwind (worse) and skirting around rain showers - just what nervous Nellie needed 5000 ft above the ground. Lacy had Dramamine onboard so her coffee can sat idle while she slept.

While we were gone Velva had a thunderstorm with hail. One tomato got wopped in my garden and Ron's pickup did have some hail damage sitting at Pietsch's but unbeknown to us. It took facebook (pictures of hail) to learn about the storm night before.