Buffalo Roundup, South Dakota

Ready for the 2008 Buffalo Roundup in Custer, South Dakota. We were there early to be among the crowd before they block off the road to the viewing area. These photos are great to see the South Dakota Plains.


















Notice how the Cowboys in the Dakotas are dressed like Cowboys of the wild west. It is legal to carry a side arm (gun.) As long as your gun is visible, it is legal. Was interesting to see the Cowboys in town with a big pistol strapped to them.
Was like being inside a movie scene.

See the buffalo coming over the hill?
This is the first video I have added. Click to see a few seconds of the Buffalo Roundup in South Dakota. It was like being inside a movie scene.

They are rounded up and headed out.

Now you see why the riders wear scarves...to keep from breathing all the dust that is kicked up in the stampede.

They round them up to thin the herd by selling some to whoever wants them in other parts of the country. They also are given their required shots.

They are such majestic creatures.

More photos to come.

June

Ohio Paintings ~Buildings are Canvas

Stopping for lunch somewhere off the Interstate in Ohio, we were in a sleepy little town.

Very few people were out and about this beautiful Sunday.

One bonus of the stop was the painted buildings.

VERY NICE!

There was one place open for lunch. Was a fast food stand.

It was there

with hotdog in hand, we found the NEXT BONUS~ The hotdog was totally over they top!

It was topped with heavy barbecue ...not sauce, but the real pork barbecue as if were a barbecue sandwich. Totally delicious and very hearty.

Now, take a look how it fits into the landscape.

The sky is real, the hotdog stand is real as are the umbrells.

Photo below is shot from car window of another building. Neat stop!

Circus Hall of Fame, Peru, Indiana

Road Trip from Virginia to South Dakota, unfolded many amazing adventures.
In Peru, Indiana was the first of many~

This interesting place is where Circuses of the past wintered until they left in the spring for a new circus season.
We spent a morning being the only visitors.

Sadly, the place is badly in need of work, more housing to display and of course, money.

The man who showed us around had once held many jobs with the Circus. He
once was a Ring Master. I could see him as a very handsome Ring Master in his younger day.
I loved his candid stories.
He recalled to us how he ran away with the Circus at age 34 as he had fallen in love with one of the trapeze
artists. He lamented he had lost the beauty to another circus man. He said "It still hurts."
He continued on to have a
string of romances but never married. While we were there another ex-juggler came in with old photos. All there seem to be happily living in the past.
Here are a few of the
animal showcases of yesteryear.
There were many, many there all too close together to photo and most were not as decorated. They held the stench of the big animals.


Outside on the grounds were antique Circus vehicles. The air was clean and day clear. There,
was totally fascinated with the
"Bull Dog" Truck. It was chain driven to push or pull anything. To me, it looked like the perfect big toy.
Notice the gear shift on the floor of the cab...
AND A big chain attached to the back wheels to make it quite powerful.














Back inside the second and last
very karge building was the bonus of the trip. There,
totally filled with interesting Circus memoribilla, was
Cinderella's coach which was seen in the movie.

We were the only people there on the beautiful late September day. The retired Ringmaster entertained us with many stories...he and my husband went back down the long sandy road to see records that were in the main office.

I lingered behind to look at all the pictures. It was neat of have all of that to be mine alone. I made a ton of photos.

I had worked my way to the back of the large building when I heard a woman talking. Since there were others there, I decided to leave.

Was suprised that no one was at the front of the building. Apparently they were outside.

Stepping through the doorway, the noon day sun was warm; a gust of wind picks up a loose awning and whips it about. A rope dangles from the roof. Looking right and left, and all about, there was no one there. A little tingle went down my back remembering the woman's clear voice.

Back at the office, my story prompted a call to the Paranormal Investigators of Indiana as my encounter wasn't the first. Others had heard many things among the collection of yeateryear. I can't wait to hear the outcome.

Blogs to be Continued

Sorry to have seemingly stopped the blogs. Have been away for 12 days exploring South Dakota. Will share photos and stories. Please return,
June

Vietnam~ Waiting Wives 1970 ~ Part 3

It is said that we glorify the past. I look back on that time as a time of personal growth. A test of strength and endurance. Maybe with that statement, there might some glorification of those 18 months. I remember vividly so many things that went wrong and the few that went well.

I remember the postman. I sat on the front steps each day, weather permitting, to watch for him. A letter meant my pilot husband was OK. and was a boost to my day.
We had no text messaging, no cell phones and no Internet for emails. Communication was strictly through the 'snail mail.'
Letters took 10-14 days, but on a daily basis, it seemed to be immediate contact.

Each day, the postman would by-pass other houses to bring the letters right up the steps to me as each day, I grew fatter with baby. He smiled as he walked up, just as if he had personally written the letter himself. The letters all had the red and white boarders and stood out from other mail.

The first day there was no letter, he was more concerned than I. With sincere apologies he broke the news..."I am so, so sorry, but I don't have a letter for you today."
The next day, two letters arrived. They arrived being waved in the air by one happy Postman.
Seeing how he worried, I explained the protocol ~the Air Force would have sent a black car with two officers to my door, had there been a tragedy.

After spending time with many people I had known before I married and moved away, it didn't take long to realize my life was totally different than my civilian friends. I realized I needed the company of other military wives.

The Air Force assisted me in locating 82 Waiting Wives in the City near were I lived. Soon, we established the Waiting Wives Club for that area.
We had a luncheon monthly. We swapped stories and it was good to hear others talk about the cities and remote locations in Vietnam.
By phone, news in the group traveled fast.
We only lost one member when her husbands plane was shot down. That stunned us into the reality that any day, we could have the same news.

Another loss of a different kind~
One of the husbands was a Military Doctor in Vietnam (a MASH Unit) met and fell in love with a nurse he met there in Vietnam. That was another reality of the war and separation.

Each day~ I wrote a letter with stories of the children and Trixie the dog. How I wish I had those letters to publish today.
cont...

Vietnam ~ Waiting Wives Part 2

The assignment was a long one...18 months. A year and half seemed forever. The decision was easy. With a new baby on the way, we would move back to my home town to be near family and support systems.
Our new house was sold immediately.

The first day of the 18 months began all too soon. Barely settled into a rental house...the day came. I planned not to dwell on the negative, however, Vietnam was a televised war and I knew my husband would be flying into danger each and every day. We casually talked about all possibilities and made plans. They were to write a letter every day. We planned for him to come home for the birth of the baby and later, meet half way, in Hawaii.

At the airport, we followed Air Force tradition. When a loved one is flying out, it is considered bad luck to watch the plane until it is out of sight. The children and I stood to see the plane into the sky and then turned to begin my duty of supporting him by taking care of the home front and being brave.
To be cont...

Events of a Kind Come In Three's

I commented on an old adage here

when

in one week,

three people in my

life, departed.

I thought of an old adage...

"Death's come in three's."

Seems to be some truth ~

however~

A friend of mine reminded me that good things comes in three's as well.
She said 'three' was the number used in Nursery Rythms.
The Three Little Pigs, The Three Bears, etc.

My personal loss this past week,

was shocking.

One person died as weas expected but the other two were very unexpected.

One was young, another in the prime of his life and the last was my life-long friend Ann.

Ann and I were best friends since age five. We walked to school together and sat next to each other for the first 3 years of school however, in

the 4th grade we had too much to talk about so the teacher separated us.

We lead very different lives but our friendship was always in place.

We never lost touch.

I will miss the comfort of her always being there.

After losing someone in our circle of life, we stop for awhile.
WE TAKE TIME and REEVALUATE OUR OWN LIVES.

June