SD Pheasant Hunt Cont.

I arrived back in Washington, IN Saturday evening after dropping Wayne and Diane off in West Lafayette. All told, it was a 15 hour trip. Fortunately, for the last 3 hours, the Purdue/Indiana football game was on the radio and the good guys won.

We hunted 6 days. I brought home the maximum birds allowed - 15. As previously mentioned, this was a good year for S.D. pheasants. But, when the corn is all harvested, the hunting will be much better. I'll share a couple of stories.

One day we took a road trip. Not that there were necessarily more pheasants where we went - just something different and an opportunity to see some different country. Ed, his friend, Al,Wayne and me drove northwest to the Gannvalley area - country where Ed and Al had hunted on previous occasions. There were a lot of pheasants. Although we shot several birds it was obvious that late afternoon was going to be the time to hunt because they were in the unharvested corn and would be moving to the ditches and CRP acres. Unfortunately, we had to head back so that Ed could attend the wake of a family friend. Wayne even shot a pheasant in a cemetery - must have meant to be! Ask him about it sometime.

We also received an offer from a local farmer that saved the very last of several short rows of corn for us to walk through. As he was finishing up, the pheasants kept flying back into the standing corn. We bagged 3 birds as they busted out the end when we walked through. The same farmer had a slough in the middle of a bean field that we noticed several birds flying into. As we walked through the slough 20-25 birds flushed. There was a lot of shooting but only a couple of birds down. All of this was a fitting end to a great day.

I also mentioned in the previous post about the splendid dog work. Cork performed well. A dog is a must. I'm sure that we would have lost 50% of the birds if not for the dogs. Cork made some unbelievable retrieves of dead and running birds, one time tracking and chasing one through a cattail slough with 12-18 inches of water/ice for over 10 minutes. Cork is a Pointing Lab and he made several nice points over pheasants. Even if he does not point, I can tell when he is tracking a bird about to flush.

S.D. allows what is called road hunting. Hunters are allowed to have a shotgun ready to load in their vehicle. When driving down the road, if you see a pheasant in the right-of-way, you can jump out and shoot it. Several birds met their fate in this fashion as we drove from field to field. I label these birds as the dumb ones - and I got a real dumb one the last day of hunting - having to chase it down the road and through a ditch to get it to fly.

Here are a few more pictures taken the last two days of hunting:






This is the dumb bird and the last one of this hunt.

South Dakota Pheasant Hunt - November '09

For the past 7 years I have made the trip to Parkston, S.D. to hunt pheasants with my Pointing Labrador Retriever, Cork. Humor me as I explain the connection to Parkston. My cousin, Wayne Singleton – retired professor of Animal Science at Purdue University, and his wife Diana – retired educator, live in West Lafayette, IN. They were like parents to me when I attended Purdue University and we have remained very close over the years. Wayne met Diana while he was in grad school in South Dakota. Members of her family live in Parkston and Sioux Falls, in particular her brothers Ed and Pat Bowar, who are avid fishermen and hunters. For several years her mother, Helen, would graciously allow me to stay at her house in Parkston. A couple of years ago Helen passed away and Wayne and Diana decided to purchase her house and have their own place during their frequent trips to Parkston. Diana’s brother, Pat has an insurance/real estate agency in the area and knows many farmers and landowners. We always have plenty of ground to hunt. There are also several state walk in areas nearby.

This year I drove to West Lafayette on Friday, Nov. 13 and spent the night with Wayne and Diana. We left the next morning at 4:30 for the uneventful (uneventful is good) 12 hour drive to Parkston.

The hunting has been good. The pheasant numbers are down slightly from last year but still the 4th best year in the past 40. Most of our hunting is in the immediate area but we have taken 2 road trips, west near the Missouri River and the other northwest of Mitchell. Wayne and I always enjoy seeing the South Dakota country.

Pat and Ed have taken off work on several occasions to hunt. The dog work has been great. Ed has a good German Shorthair that covers a lot of territory and I have my 8 year old Lab that likes to hunt close. They make a good pair to hunt behind. The weather has been outstanding – almost unseasonably warm. During hunting hours 10 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. the temps have been in the high 40’s – mid 50’s. South Dakota is much like Indiana – they have had a wet fall and the farmers are late getting the crops harvested. This makes for some tough hunting since the pheasant stay in the standing corn much of the time. The best hunting is yet to come as harvest will be completed in the next couple of weeks if the good weather holds.

There is much to be said about this annual trip – great hunting, good dog work, generous farmers that allow us to hunt, great accommodations at the Singleton Bed, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, but the most special part about coming here is the people. Diana’s brothers and their family and friends have been so kind and accepting of me. I have made some dear and lasting friendships.

Tonight (Friday) we are going to gather to show my pictures of the summer motorcycle trip. You might recall that Graham and I passed through Parkston this summer on our return trip home.

This is my last day of hunting. Cork is about spent. There is no way that I can completely prepare him for 5-6 days of hunting like we experience. The cover can be difficult and we hunt a lot of territory. I’m going to take it easy today and hunt some road ditches and give him a break. We have plenty of pheasants in the freezer. Perhaps I’ll have more pictures later and will share some hunting stories in the next couple of days. Until then – enjoy the pictures.

Cork after a long day in the field.



Wayne and Joe



Cork and his master or is it Joe and his master.






Cork buddying up to Wayne.

Taylor Park October Trip

Although I hadn't intended this to be a real vacation - it ended up being a much needed time away from work and all of the activities going on at home. Months ago I had made plans to travel to Colorado to assist my cousin, Brooks Harting in closing up his cabin in Taylor Park, Colorado for the winter. Many of you know that our daughter, Tara, son-in-law, Jess, and grandson, Jackson are moving from St. Louis back to Washington, IN and are building a new house. Only their excitement exceeds ours about them moving back home. We have been busy working on the house - painting, yard work, laying tile in the bathroom and putting down hardwood floors. The two weeks prior to the Colorado trip involved many late nights - so this Colorado trip came at a much needed time.

On Saturday, October 10 I caught a ride to St. Louis with Tara, Jess and Jack and flew to Denver, rented a car and drove to Colorado Springs. Brooks' friend, Pat Miller graciously put us up for the night and provided great food and accommodations. As can be typical of the Colorado weather - I got caught in a freezing rain just before entering Colorado Springs that caused the Interstate to be closed and delayed my arrival for about an hour.

Brooks and I left Colorado Springs mid morning on Oct. 11 and made the 3 hour trip to Taylor Park. The mountains were snow covered. They had several snows so far this fall but the temps have been getting high enough to melt any snow at the lower elevations. My main purpose for making the trip was to assist Brooks in closing up the cabin for the winter. We had decided to document the many steps for closure, take pictures and record them in a document for future reference - thus the use of the camera and laptop.

J.D., Rosie Hermann and family were at the cabin for several days hunting elk with other friends in Taylor Park. Unfortunately, they weren't able to shoot any this year. You might recall that Graham and I visited J.D. and Rosie as we passed through Montrose, CO in July on our motorcycle trip. They are dear friends of Brooks' and a real pleasure to visit with.

Our time was spent doing all the little things needed to prepare the property for the winter closing - organizing, loading of supplies and tools to return to Colorado Springs, covering vehicles, boarding up windows, draining water lines, cutting fire wood, etc., etc. Brooks recently purchased a small cabin in Tincup so we spent considerable time there organizing and preparing it for winter. This is a picture of the Tincup cabin - affectionately known as "The Outback" - because to use the bathroom you have to go out back.



The weather was outstanding for two days. We were able to accomplish all of our outdoor work during this time. The other two days we had mixed snow and rain off and on. I took several pictures of the snow covered mountains, early morning sunrise and our work efforts - enjoy.











We returned to Colorado Springs on Thurs., Oct.15. Although we didn't have any major difficulty, there was 8 in. of snow on top of Cottonwood Pass. I enjoyed another stay at Pat Miller's bed, breakfast,lunch and dinner and caught up on all of the baseball playoff games.

I returned back to St. Louis on Sat., Oct 17 and spent the night at Jess and Tara's. Suz had fall break on Friday so she drove over on Thurs. night to babysit and help finish packing. Tara and Jack will now be permanently in Washington and will be staying with us until the house is finished. Jess will graduate in December and will commute back and forth until mid December.

All in all it was a good trip. I always enjoy Taylor Park and spending time with Brooks. We got a lot accomplished, spent time with good friends and still had time to relax and enjoy the time away from work and house building.

The next post of Singleton Travels will be from Parkston, S.D. in mid November for my annual pheasant hunt.

Top Ten or Eleven

It was difficult to pick a top ten list from all the great experiences that we had. These are mine in chronological order:

1. Brooks’ cabin in Taylor Park, CO – We had great weather, great fishing, and a
good rest before the big push west. It is a special place and as an added bonus, Pat Miller was there to take care of us. Our family has been visiting Taylor Park since the early 70’s and Brooks is always such a gracious host. I will be returning to Taylor Park in October to visit again and help Brooks close up for the winter. I’m going to include the ride on Hwy 92 on the north side of the Black Canyon. This is a must do if you are ever on a motorcycle in the area.

2. U.S. 50 ride across Nevada - This highway is known as the “Loneliest Road In America”, and after what I read about this stretch, would have never believed that I would have enjoyed this ride. There were nine mountain summits with sweeping ascents and descents, and long straight valley stretches where we could put the hammer down. It wasn’t the most scenic ride we had on the trip but one of the most interesting. We had to really pay attention to our fuel levels because sometimes there were long stretches between cities.

3. Yosemite – Yosemite Valley is the most beautiful vista I have ever seen. The rest of the Park wasn’t much different than many of the other mountain areas we were in. I would like to go back and spend some time hiking and backpacking in Yosemite. This was one of only two parks (the other was Glacier) where we had to be concerned about bears in our camp. Fortunately there wasn’t a problem but we heeded the National Park Service requirements of food and toiletry storage in the bear boxes 24 hours.

4. California Coast – I had read and heard about the spectacular scenery along Hwy 1. We were not disappointed. We soon discovered that we shouldn’t get in a hurry and enjoy the coastal terrain and curves. I was surprised how cool and windy the coast was. There were a lot of motorcycles, convertibles and cyclist on this stretch of road. The fog was usually heavy in the mornings and would lift by late morning. Unfortunately, we had very heavy fog in northern California and all along the Oregon coast.

5. The breakdown at Cleone Campground near Ft. Bragg, CA - Why would a starter going bad on a Saturday evening rank in the Top Ten? Well….where do I start? Thanks to Rob for the ride to the motorcycle shop, Guy and Linda for finding the perfect camp sight. Dave and Lynne Soeth, Jon and Sherri Richter and their families for their visits, coffee, monkey bread and help. We made many new friends and hope that some day we can return the kindness that these folks showed us. And of course I can’t forget J.P. Mohn, owner of Ft. Bragg Cycle Supply who stayed late Sat. to haul my motorcycle in and do the diagnosis and working on it all day Sun. to get us back on the road. This experience reaffirmed my faith in humanity. Everyone was so kind, helpful and friendly. This could have easily been a very bad experience but the kind folks of northern California wouldn’t let it happen.

6. Columbia River Gorge - I was surprised on the size and beauty of the Columbia. We rode on both the north and south side of the gorge. We were amazed by the windsurfers, the shear cliffs, waterfalls and vistas of nearby Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens. Of all the campgrounds, Beacon Rock State Park was one of the nicest.

7. Glacier National Park - For me this was the most impressive National Park we visited. The helicopter ride was outstanding. I would love to spend a couple weeks in the park and do some hiking and backpacking – perhaps even going into Canada, but would wait until late summer or early fall. The ride through the park on the “Going To The Sun Road” was spectacular – if you could avoid the traffic. There was so much to see and do and so little time.

8. The visit with Lyle and Shelly Spence - Just a couple of weeks before we left, this was a “might do stop if we have time”. I am sure glad I took the time to contact Lyle and stop in for a visit. The dinner and hospitality was among the best we experienced the whole trip. It won’t be another 25 years before I have contact with Lyle.

9. Our 5 day stay in Jackson, WY - It was great that Suz could fly out and join us.
This is a picture of us sampling the local flavor:



What a great time we had with the Brocksmith clan – rafting, kayaking, biking, shopping, dining, rodeoing, tramming (are those actually words?), and taking in much of what the Jackson Hole area has to offer. Kent and Brenda were our guides and hosts and we can’t thank them enough for making this a special part of our trip. I’m sure Graham is going to list the downhill mountain biking as the highlight of his trip.

10. Sturgis – I can’t leave off the Sturgis experience. It had been 15 years since I had been to Sturgis and it will probably be 15 more before I return. The highlight of our stay was the George Thoroughgood concert and the evening at the Buffalo Chip. You might recall that Aerosmith was there just a couple of nights later and Steven Tyler fell of the stage and was injured. If we were big partiers and liked roaring motorcycles all the time and enjoyed crowded riding we would have stayed longer and had a better time. It was obvious that we have been spoiled with the open country and solitude riding that we have experienced.

I said there was going to be a Top Ten List – well I was wrong – there are eleven.

11. Our Parkston Stay – Staying in Parkston, SD is like being home. Wayne and Diana Singleton really took care of us. Diana’s family, Pat and Cathy Bowar and Michael, Audrey and Grady Bowar visited us both nights and it is always a real joy to be included in the family gatherings. We rested and prepared for the final leg to home. I hope to return in November for some pheasant hunting, which has become an annual tradition for my Pointing Labrador, Cork and myself. We have had some unbelievable hunting. This is one of my favorite pictures of Cork and I.



I am trying to get Graham to complete his list - stay posted. For those interested, I will keep the blog site open for future travels. If my employees will let me, I hope to travel to Colorado and South Dakota later this year. Thanks for following our motorcycle trip. I had no idea that there were so many people keeping up with our travels. It was a great trip and we're so thankful that we returned safe and had so many great experiences.

Day 32

We are home!!! Graham and I left Jess, Tara and Jack’s place and arrived back in Washington at 1:30 p.m. Graham was anxious to get home – so anxious that after we fueled up for the last time in Mt. Vernon, IL – he went off and left me. Suz, Tara and Jack will be leaving St. Louis to return to Washington later this afternoon, after Jack’s doctor’s appointment. Tara and Jess are going to build a home in Washington and she is coming back to work out details on beginning that process.

I had not paid much attention to our total mileage traveled and was surprised to find that we logged 8,016, I had anticipated somewhere between 7,000 and 7,500. Below is a map of our route and mileage along the way.



Stay tuned – in the next couple of days we will post our top ten experiences for both Graham and I. It was a great trip with a lifetime of experiences, but most importantly we arrived home safely and are grateful for God’s watchful care. I will spend Saturday cleaning the bikes and unpacking the trailer, and playing with Jack.

Day 31

We were up and moving by 5 a.m. Graham was right – I only had to wake him once – I guess the incentive to get home and see family and his girlfriend is all he needed. Wayne and Diana were up to see us off. We had our rain gear on as we rode the bikes out of the garage into a steady rain – the first real rain we have had all trip. It is approximately 100 miles to the Interstate 29 and we were in varying degrees of rain the whole time. We had planned to ride to St. Louis and join Suz and spend the night with Tara, Jess and Jack. Since we had 670 miles to travel we decided to take a direct route to St. Louis via interstates. We went down I 29 to Kansas City and across I 70 to near St. Louis. We arrived at Jess and Tara’s apartment at 5 p.m. It was a non-eventful trip (the way we like it).

One of the more interesting things that occurs while we are traveling is the opportunity to visit with other bikers when we stop for gas or eats. Today we visited with a couple that had been on the road for 20 days and were riding back to their home in Madison, IN. Another couple was returning to Louisiana and had been in Jackson, WY when we were there and took the same route to Sturgis. All the bikers that we talked to had the same experience in Sturgis – too crowded and a big hassle – 2 days is all they could handle.

Suz had fixed a great meal and Graham and I enjoyed getting reacquainted with Jack. You might recall that we missed Jack’s birthday, so this was our birthday dinner. He is such a great kid and joy to be around. If interested, you can check him out on Tara’s blog: http://jessandtarabrower.blogspot.com/

This was my present to Jack - a moose puppet that I found in Jackson, WY:



It was good to be back with the family. We missed out on a lot of family happenings while we were gone so there was considerable catching up to do. Graham and I will complete the trip tomorrow when we arrive back home in Washington. Only 200 miles left.

Day 30

This was a day of rest and taking it easy. Graham slept in the basement bedroom where it was cool, dark, isolated and had a TV. He loved it and didn’t show his face until after noon. Wayne took me to the library so I could post Day 28. The library was closed but we could get a good wireless signal while in the pickup and Wayne patiently waited while I downloaded the text and pictures.

We also visited with Mike Braley, Esquire – a good friend of Diana’s family. I have hunted with Mike and really enjoy his wit, stories and experiences.

After lunch, Wayne and I made the trip to Cabela’s in Mitchell. This is a regular pilgrimage for me when I come to South Dakota. No purchases for me – just a lot of looking.

Later in the afternoon, Graham and I washed the bikes. Pat and Cathy joined us for dinner and Audrey, Grady and Michael came later. The evening before, I promised Audrey a ride on my motorcycle so we took a nice 20 mile ride to Dimock and back. Graham and I packed all that we could so we would be prepared for an early start. During the whole trip, I had considerable difficulty getting him up and moving in the mornings. He has promised me tomorrow will be different since we are headed home – he is ready to get back.

Day 29

We were up, broke camp and were on the road by 8 a.m. Our campground was nothing but a pasture/hay field that has been converted. The tent camping area didn’t have any electric, water or hookups. We did drag a picnic table from another unused site. The showers/restrooms were about a ¼ mile away – very nice and clean. It was hard to tell how many total campers were in this campground but I would guess several hundred. They had an open pavilion bar/restaurant and a convenience store on site. This was just one of a hundred +/- private campgrounds near Sturgis to accommodate the rally crowds. It has been estimated that 700,000 people will visit Sturgis during this rally. This is a picture of the campground just before we pulled out.



We had made the decision last night to leave Sturgis a day earlier than originally planned. After some unbelievable, uncrowded, open riding so far in our trip – there was only so much of the traffic and crowds in and around Sturgis that we could stand. We had reached our limit. We headed towards Rapid City and again stopped at the Black Hills Harley Davidson to kill a little time and see some of the vendors that we didn’t have a chance to visit yesterday. This is a picture of a portion of the parking lot at the dealer in Rapid City.



Our ride took us southwest of Rapid City through the Badlands and Indian reservations until we hit Hwy 44 at Winner, SD. We crossed the Missouri River at Platte and in another hour we arrived at our destination in Parkston, SD. For the next two nights we will be spending time with Wayne and Diana Singleton, they live near Lafayette, IN. Wayne is a cousin and is a retired animal science professor at Purdue University and Diana is a retired high school teacher. They were my parents away from home while at was at Purdue. Diana is originally from Parkston and has family here. A couple of years ago her mother passed away and they purchased her home in Parkston. They make several trips a year to visit family and they scheduled a visit to coincide with our trip – and we’re thankful they did! It will be a nice relaxing evening and day tomorrow before our big push to St. Louis. Also, the bed, shower, laundry and excellent vittles will be much appreciated. For the past 6 years I have been coming to Parkston in November to pheasant hunt and have developed some dear friendships with her family and always look forward to visiting. Here is one of my favorite hunting pictures of Wayne and I after a great day in the field:



Diana cooked an excellent dinner for us and invited Pat (Diana’s brother) and his wife, Cathy. Pat has an insurance/real estate business and when I am out for pheasant hunting, he has plenty of places to hunt lined up for us. Later, Pat and Cathy’s son, Michael, daughter-in-law Audrey and grandson, Grady stopped by to visit. Grady is just a couple of days older than our grandson, Jackson.

Tomorrow will be a relaxing day – we’re looking forward to it.

Day 28

Somehow I convinced Graham to get up early. We grabbed a bowl of cereal and headed to Rapid City. We had not planned to stop at the Black Hills Harley Davidson dealer but we could tell there was quite an event going on. It was like a small Sturgis - lots of booths, vendors and bikes.



We purchased a few items and headed to the Civic Center where Harley Davidson has their headquarter. The new 2010's are out and there are some new models.

Our ultimate destination was Mt. Rushmore. I have been there on two other occasions and Graham was there when he was 4. It was a steady stream of motorcycle traffic to and from Mt. Rushmore. We watched the 15 minute film, took some pictures and left the crowds.



The hour drive back to Sturgis was literally bike after bike after bike. Not the kind of open country riding we have been accustomed to.

When we arrived back in Sturgis, Graham walked the streets and I headed to the library to access the internet so I could catch up on the postings. We are going to leave Sturgis tomorrow (day earlier than planned) and head to Parkston, S.D. to visit Wayne and Diana Singleton. This is a short posting because they are ready to lock up the library and I have to sign off.

Day 27

We packed up, broke camp and were on the road by 8 a.m. It was a beautiful ride through the Bighorns over Powder River Pass (9,666 ft.) and into Buffalo, WY. Initially, I thought about giving Joe Tiller, retired Purdue Football Head Coach, a call and drop in and visit since he lives in near Buffalo. Not that I know Coach Tiller well – just that when he retired he gave an open invitation to Boiler fans to stop and visit. Since it was early on a Sunday morning, I used my better judgment and decided to keep on riding. We stopped in Gillette, WY for groceries and supplies and arrived in Sturgis around 1:30 p.m. I had selected a campground called Shady Valley, about 8 miles northeast of Sturgis. We checked in and found a nice campsite, set up camp and headed into town.

The actual start to the Sturgis Bike Week isn’t until tomorrow, but you can’t tell it by the number of bikes and people in town. It takes us almost ½ hour to drive through town. I think Graham used the term “overwhelming”.



We immediately found a Lucas Oil dealer that had set up shop and had our oil changed, then walked several blocks of the main drag to look at bikes, dealers wares, and shops of all kinds. In one pavilion they were going to judge the “World’s Best Bike”. There were some amazing bikes.







We returned to the camp for dinner – treating ourselves to T-bone steaks.



After cleaning up we headed back towards town to the famous Buffalo Chip. The Buffalo Chip is a huge campground/bar/entertainment center/concert venue/shopping complex just a couple of miles outside of Sturgis. Tonight the headliner for their concert was George Thoroughgood and the Destroyers. The opening act was Credence Clearwater Revisted. CCR had two original members of the four man Credence Clearwater Revival that was formed 41 years ago. They played all of their old favorites and Graham even recognized a lot of their songs. George Thoroughgood was good. I have seen many concerts in my younger days and I’m not sure that there is anybody that can rock like him from the start to the finish of a show. We went with Craig and Tonya Scott to Deer Creek 15+ year ago to see him in concert. You may recognize his songs, i.e. Bad to the Bone, One Bourbon – One Scotch – and One Beer, Get a Haircut and Get a Good Job. The concert area was like nothing I had ever seen. If you got there early enough, you could ride your bike right up to the front of the stage. There was a huge crowd. In between acts they had motocross stunt riders perform in an area in the middle of the main complex. It was hard to estimate, but there had to be 30,000 people there. Graham enjoyed the music but mentioned that it was worth it if only to see the place and the crowd. Here are some pictures from the Thoroughgood concert.







We crawled into our tent late to the rumbling of motorcycles entering the campground.

Day 26

This morning the Singleton family packed – Suz for St. Louis and Graham and me for a two day trip to Sturgis. We said our goodbyes and Graham and I were on the road by 9:30 a.m. After the road construction near and in Yellowstone, we decided on a more southern route – through Dubois, Riverton, Thermopolis and Worland. Kent and Brenda had warned us of road construction before Dubois – about 10 miles – but not as bad as some we have experienced. It was good to get back on the bikes. This was an easy day – only 280 miles,

We stopped at a rest area before Riverton for a quick sandwich and in Riverton for some basic grocery items for the night. We arrived at the home of Lyle and Shelly Spence around 4 p.m. They have a very nice 15 acre spread just south of Worland, WY. Lyle hasn’t changed much since our Federal Land Bank days (25 years ago), very gracious and a real joy to visit. I joined the Federal Land Bank right out of college and had several six week training locations – one of which was in Rushville, IN, where Lyle was the President of that Association. As a trainee, they always sent you to the best locations in the state and the Lyle’s operation was one of those. We caught up on some of the folks that we used to work with and he shared some of the history and unique features of the valley surrounded by the three mountain ranges. We were invited for dinner and accepted – glad we did! Shelly is an outstanding cook. Everything we had (except the strip steaks that Lyle grilled) were out of their garden – potatoes, squash, lettuce, cucumbers, beats, onions and probably a lot more. This was without a doubt the best meal we have had since we left home. They love their horses and have a nice barn and stable area. It was a very enjoyable evening – thanks Lyle and Shelly for a memorable time. Before we left, Lyle suggested a private campsite just before we reached the Big Horns in a town called Ten Sleep – about 30 miles away. We arrived there around 7:30 and set up camp at this very reasonable and nice campground – they even had wireless service.

Sorry, no pictures today. Tomorrow we head for Sturgis to settle in for the next 3 nights

Day 25

There were no scheduled plans today. Suz and I decided to ride out to the new Teton National Park Visitor’s Center – highly recommend it if you pass through. Later in the day Kent and Brenda jumped on Graham’s bike and we headed north to Jackson Lake. Unfortunately we could see rain up the valley and decided to take an alternate route. We rode up to Spring Creek Ranch area. This area has a spectacular view of the west valley and the Tetons. There is an exclusive hotel there called the Amangani. We wandered around, looking more than a little out of place.

Graham slept in and strolled downtown - doing some shopping. I failed to get this picture posted - this was taken yesterday during one of his stops on the downhill runs:



I have mentioned before that Kent and Brenda have been our social/transportation/recreational/dining advisors and coordinators. Suz, Graham and I would like to thank them for making this past 5 days so special. We experienced many different things that we would not have done if it wasn’t for them. We also enjoyed the rest of the family – especially hanging out with Collin and Amy. You may have wondered how Kent and Brenda shuttled us around during this week. They have a really nice new Chevy Suburban. But that wasn’t good enough for Kent – he went all out as shown:





Brooks,you will appreciate this 62 Chevy Suburban - same year as the pickup you had that lasted so long.

We went to the south of town for dinner at the 49 North, ate outside on the patio and had a great view of the Snow King Ski Area and enjoyed a good meal.

Graham and I will pack up tomorrow morning and head toward Sturgis. We will stop at Worland, WY and visit with a Lyle Spence and his wife. Lyle was the President of the Federal Land Bank in Rushville when I began working for the Land Bank out of college. He still is employed with Farm Credit. I have talked with Lyle and he has invited Graham and I to his house. More about Lyle in the next post.

Suz will fly out this afternoon and go back to St. Louis where she will baby-sit our grandson, Jack for a week while Jack’s babysitter takes a week vacation. Collin and Amy will start their drive back to Indiana this morning also.

For those of you that are contemplating taking advantage of our Washington, IN home while we are gone – don’t. My nephew, Justin Singleton is house sitting and you don’t want to mess with him – he is armed and dangerous. Justin works for me at the warehouse and has a lot of responsibility while I am gone. He is supervising the overall operations and is also taking care of the house and Cork (my lab) while I am on this trip. I have called several times back to the business and they have had some very stressful, busy times. I as so thankful that I have a great group of employees. Thanks Justin and the rest of the gang!

I am not sure what the next 4 days hold for making entries because of internet service. We plan on being in a campground tonight and then in Sturgis for Sun., Mon, and Tues. at one of the campgrounds close to town. I’ll do my best to keep you up on our travels.

These past few days in Jackson have been special and it was great that Suz could join us. Thanks again to the Kent and Brenda, Collin, Amy, Carla, Joe, Bill, Joann, Baron, Shelby and Bridget for including us in all their activities.

Day 24

This was a great day to be in the Tetons. We went our separate ways today – Suz and Graham stayed at the motel and eased into the day. Later they went back to the pass so Graham could do some more mountain bike riding the down the trails. The bike rental company gave him two day, $45 rental for a bike that cost $5,000. He certainly got his money’s worth!!!! Graham buddied up with a couple of riders from Utah that race downhill competitively and he took some great photographs of them jumping and hopes to send some to them. Suz was the support crew and transport vehicle for the bikers to get back up the pass (Collin allowed her to use his pickup). They made 3 runs. Here is a sample of some of the action they had.





Kent, Brenda, Collin, Amy, Bill, Bridget, Carla and me loaded up cruising kayaks and headed into Teton National Park for some high mountain lake kayaking. We put in at Jenny Lake then portaged over to Leigh Lake. The scenery was spectacular with the Tetons as our backdrop and the weather was just as good. We packed a lunch and ate on a small island. We were hoping to see lots of wildlife – but not today. It was a great relaxing day on the water. The kayak rental company allowed us to use their trailer to haul our kayaks. On the return trip out of the park, the trailer started making screeching noises. In a matter of a couple of miles it was obvious the wheel bearings on one side were spent. We limped to a pull off and unhooked the trailer and called the company to come and get it. We were glad it was their trailer and not ours.





The kayaking crew met Suz, Graham, Joe (Carla’s) at the Village for a tram ride to the top of the ski area. It was really windy and cold, but a great view of the valley and the surrounding countryside.



The Village is where Bill’s family is staying. We all – first time the whole crew (15) of us went over the pass to Victor, ID for dinner at the Knotty Pine - great food and atmosphere at this popular local hangout. This is a group picture at the Knotty Pine.

Day 23

It was a quiet day for Suz and I. We strolled downtown and did some shopping. I didn’t last long and left her to do some running around on my own. Kent, Collin and Graham rented downhill bikes and went to Teton Pass and had an amazing time – making 3 runs. It was probably a good thing I didn’t go along because it was very technical riding and real dangerous. Just a couple of days ago on the same runs, a local was airlifted to Idaho with severe head injuries.

Kent, Brenda, Amy, Collin, Suz, Graham and I, went to a local favorite – Bubba’s for some Bar-b-que. Good meal! We joined Carla and Joe for the weekly Wed. night Jackson Hole Rodeo. It is just a small rodeo but a lot of fun. We were glad that it didn’t last too long – it really got cold. The low is supposed to be 35 degrees overnight. Afterwards, several of us walked down to the one of the local favorites – The Cowboy Bar to listen to the music and for a nightcap.

Most of you that follow this are aware that our daughter, Tara, son-in-law, Jess and grandson Jackson, live near St. Louis. Today, July 30, is Jack’s 1st birthday. Although we are disappointed that we won’t be there to celebrate on his birthday, we will make up for it when we pass through St. Louis on our way home. Jack – this is our birthday card to you – Happy 1st Birthday!

Day 22

Suz and I were up early and went to the grocery store to get provisions for the week – snacks, lunch and breakfast items. This was our rafting day. This is a regular event for the Brocksmith party so they know the river really well. It started out very cool – 55 degrees, but ended up being a great day.

Our crew – Kent, Brenda, Collin, Amy, Suz, Graham and I – met Bill, Bridget and Barron Brocksmith, Shelby Stevens (Barron’s friend) and Joe and Carla for the day of rafting. We rented our raft and equipment, just west of Jackson. We did two 8 mile trips down the Snake River. Suz, Carla and Brenda were our support and photography crew. We all had a really good time. Kent was our guide and Bridget was our vocal inspiration. There were some challenging rapids and some relaxing float time. There were 3 sightings of bald eagles. One was flying up the canyon with a fish flopping in its talons. The other two were perched in trees on the side of the river.

Collin, Shelby and I took a swim – unplanned. Graham, Collin and Bill did some rock jumping from the bank into the Snake. The water was cold, unofficially around 54 degrees but for most of the day we had plenty of sunshine. All in all, it was a great time. Here are some of the rafting pictures, compliments of Suz.







This is a picture of Graham on one of his jumps:



When we returned from rafting, Graham and I made a deal. I would clean the bikes, he would do the laundry. Fortunately, the motel owners let me use an outside hydrant and garden hose. I think – no I know – I got the best end of the deal because Kent and Collin helped me wash and wipe off the bikes. I couldn’t believe how dirty they were. We came through some chip and seal roads and have some tar on the bikes – that will have to wait until we get home.

Kent and I enjoyed an “adult beverage” on the balcony while Graham did laundry and Suz and Brenda walked downtown for some shopping and checking out the many shops and stores. We (Collin, Amy, Brenda, Kent, Suz, Graham and I) all met at the Brew Pub for dinner and ate outside on the patio. We sampled the local flavor and had a great meal.

The reason I have been delayed in posting to the blog – our WiFi is not working, so I’m at the grocery’s deli section making the last two day’s entries. Not sure what is on the agenda today – will have to wait and see what Kent and Brenda (our tour guides) have planned for us.

Day 21

We started out at 7 a.m. this morning, hoping that we would be able to meet Suz early afternoon – wrong. We couldn’t have anticipated all the construction and crowds before, in and after Yellowstone. Probably the most beautiful pass we have crossed was Beartooth between Red Lodge and the east entrance of Yellowstone – unfortunately – we didn’t get to see much of it. The low clouds and fog really limited the visibility. It was also the coldest we had been on the trip. We had plenty of clothes but don’t have winter gloves – our hands got really cold. We had a total of 5 construction delays on this day that must have totaled close to 2 hours. The signs at the construction areas say this is our “recovery money” at work. I suppose I’m happy the National Parks are getting some of my tax money, but I sure wish they would have waited until we got through with our trip! This isn’t a very exciting picture but it was typical of the day.



We did see some wildlife – Bison (up close and personal), elk off in the distant hillside and some deer. We stopped at the hot pool basins and Old Faithful. We had quite a variety of weather – sun, hail, rain, and wind. I had been to Yellowstone twice before – once when I was 15 and the other time during the winter 15 years ago when I came to Jackson Hole to ski with the Brocksmith Boys and crew. This was Graham’s first time and I hope the traffic and construction delays didn’t sour him. While we were waiting on Old Faithful, we went to the lodge to admire the old lady. We wondered around the lodge and took several pictures.







We entered the park around 10 a.m. and didn’t get to the motel in Jackson until 6 p.m. Suz had arrived around noon and Kent and Brenda Brocksmith picked her and Carla and Joe (Carla is Kent’s cousin, who just happened to be on the same flight) from the airport and gave them a tour around the valley. After cleaning up we joined Kent, Brenda, Collin Tiek, and Amy Neal for dinner for a Mexican meal. Collin, son of Dale and Jane Tiek and nephew of Kent, has been in Jackson for month, interning with a real estate firm. Amy, Collin’s girlfriend, rode out with Kent and Brenda and will be returning back to Indiana with Collin at the end of the week.

The motorcycles are the dirtiest they have ever been. We didn’t feel like tackling this cleaning job tonight – they will just have to be dirty until tomorrow

Day 20

We went to bed early, as as soon as we did a thunderstorm rolled in and it rained for about 30 min. We stayed dry in our tent. I haven't said much about our camping equipment but this may be the time. We have come prepared. Our tent, tarp, bags, pads, stove, pots, pans, dishes, etc. have served us well.

We woke up early and packed the tent and gear and were off by 6:30 a.m. It sprinkled/light rain on us until we got out of the east end of the park. Soon after leaving the park we out ran another storm. The ride southeast through the Flathead Range foothills, into Great Falls and down to Billings was scenic and fast. The speed limit is 70 mph and for the most part, we could run at that speed. At a little town called Harlowton, MT we stopped for gas and met another biker from Martinsville, IN. He had trailered his bike to Sturgis and was doing some riding around Montana until the rally begins in a little over a week. Just west of Harlowton we rode through an area where there was a grasshopper plague. Our bikes, boots, pants and helmets took a beating. It must have been a biblical plague of some kind - probably punishing us for not going to church this morning!

I called home to see how Jack's birthday party was going. Suz said there was a good crowd and that the weather was great. Suz, Jess, Tara and Jack will be headed to St. Louis later this afternoon. Suz will fly out very early tomorrow.

We arrived in Billings around 3 p.m. and got a motel room at a small local motel - nothing special - but it does have two clean beds, shower and Wi-Fi - which permitted me to catch up on my postings. We had no internet service in Glacier and had to drive to the entrance to even have phone service. So.....that is why there are three postings today (Sun.). Sorry, no pictures this day. We will head out early tomorrow morning to Yellowstone and on to Jackson to meet Suz and the Brocksmith Party.

Day 19

We weren’t in a big hurry to get going this morning and Graham knew that – so he waited until the last minute to get up and get ready. Our helicopter trip began at 9:30 but they wanted us there a ½ hour early. It is about 17 miles to the park entrance and Glacier Heli Tours is just a mile from West Glacier. We were really impressed with the professionalism – everything top notch. I have to admit it was pricey but worth it, we had a great time. Graham got to sit next to the pilot in the front and I sat with a family of four – two little girls and their mom and dad. We flew east, circled the center of the park, saw numerous glaciers and lakes, and crossed the Continental Divide. I took lots of pictures, here are but a few.














Upon returning to camp and eating a bite, Graham decided it was time for a nap. I can remember when I was his age I slept a lot too – Craig Scott, my roommate at Purdue and a good friend always told me that I was “sleeping my life away”. Graham decided to “sleep his life away” while I took a hike. I drove up to Logan Pass at the Continental Divide and hiked the Hidden Lake Trail. The park is really crowded; there were lots of vehicles on the road and lots of hikers on the trail. The hike was great, about 5 miles total – some spectacular vistas of the park and wildlife. I took these pictures of a marmot and mountain goats and some of the scenery along the way.











I also took a couple of pictures of a wildflower meadow. Susie, my wife, loves the mountain wildflowers. So these pictures are for her.





I haven’t mentioned much about Susie except that she will be meeting Graham and I at Jackson, WY on Monday – can’t wait. She is home holding things together. Tomorrow (Sunday) they will be celebrating Jack’s (grandson) first birthday. Actually, it is not for another week, but with Tara, Jess and Jack home for a wedding this weekend and us being gone, it was the only time to get both families together. It takes a special relationship between a husband and wife that will allow a partner to be gone for 31 days. Thanks Suz for letting Graham and I take this amazing trip.

When I returned to camp, Graham grabbed the camera and took a picture of this buck behind our camp that he had been watching for almost an hour.



Now, it was my time for a power nap. Graham made the trip to phone reception territory while I cleaned up and prepared for dinner. On the menu tonight are hamburgers and assorted veggies. We intend to get an early start tomorrow get within 3 hours or so of Yellowstone. Total mileage to Jackson, WY is 700 miles. Also, a big thanks to Kent and Brenda Brocksmith of Freelandville for volunteering to pick up Suz at the Jackson Hole Airport.