Here it is... the final post of this latest adventure.  I'm actually sitting in the Denver airport at the moment waiting for my flight to Burbank.  For those of you here just for the pictures, here are the last two.  We did a quick drive by Mt. Rushmore this morning before we went to the airport.  This is really just a side view, but you get the idea.

Overall it was a lovely, exhausting, frustrating and fun time with the family.  I'm so glad that I came but it definitely makes me remember why I live in a big city.  The hardest part of the trip was leaving my Mamaw, not knowing when I'll see her again.  At 94 she's pretty amazing.  So here's to grandmothers everywhere.

For those of you looking forward to the next installment, I'm guessing it will be in Hong Kong towards the beginning of December.  After that, look forward to a longish trip to London, York and Edinburgh at the end of January.  And for those of you planning trips on your own or looking for a little inspiration... drop me a note if you need any help planning!

Safe travels all!

Today was just a relaxing, nothing going on, kind of day.  First exciting thing was a trip to Wal-Mart.  Yes, you read that right, I went to Wal-Mart.  Welcome to small town living!  Even got a bonus trip to K-Mart.  The whole afternoon was spent playing spades with my Mamaw.  Even at 94 she can kick my ass at cards.  I know how much she really enjoys playing cards with us, so I'll be sad to leave her tomorrow.  After a dinner where everything on the table was fried, we hit the slots.  What I can never learn is to quit when I'm ahead.  LOL  so yes, I lost some money playing slots, but I was able to watch my aunt win about $400.   Luckiest woman I've ever met in my entire life.  So tomorrow we're headed to Mt. Rushmore so I'll try to post some pictures while I'm in the airport waiting for my flight.  Night everyone!

So something we thought was going to be a short little trip turned into the whole day.  We drove out to Keystone, a little town near Mt. Rushmore.  On the way there we stopped just to take a quick photo op of this lake.

People were out on the lake swimming, skiing and generally just having a good time.  You can't see it, but people were out sunbathing on the rock you see there in the middle of the lake.  After a brief stop it was on to Keystone.

Just lots of restaurants and tourist shopping, but they also have a train called the 1880 train.  The whole train is original and is part of the train that brought miners to different parts of the Black Hills. 

Waiting for the train, this is my brother Robert, my Aunt Cookie and my Mamaw, who will be 95 in Feb.  Still out and about and ALWAYS manages to put on lipstick when she's going out.  So for the rest... our train and some more of the amazing scenery around the Black Hills.

 Not our engine, but this one was used in several films.

Out here, trees are so stubborn, they grow right out of the rock.  This is just one of many that makes a living right out of the mountain.

Greetings from Deadwood!  I arrived safely in Rapid City yesterday and met up with my brother Rob who flew in from Houston. Our Aunt Cookie and her best friend Linda picked us up and after a huge lunch we made the drive into Deadwood itself.  We didn't do too much, just a little gambling and a little sitting on the porch.  Today also wasn't too eventful, but we got up early and had some Southern style breakfast courtesy of Linda.  Then it was time for some sightseeing. So off we go through the other tiny towns, along the back roads, motorcycles passing every which way.  The route?  The hour or so drive from Deadwood through Lead and up through Spearfish Canyon.   As much as I love to travel through the biggest cities in the world, there is something to be said about the awesome vistas of American nature.   Here is a small sample of the sights we saw.  Just creeks and trees and mountains.  Enjoy the guest appearance of Rob as we tried not to fall in the creek!