All roads lead to home

DAY 15

Got up, ate breakfast and got on the road. As we were getting in the van an extremely loud, obviously jet engine noise disrupted the air waves. Up above a military jet was probably practicing or training and I saw one very extreme dive. (Again with the crazy people!)

So now we are heading home. We’ve timed our trip so that hopefully we will hit Chicago very late or very early, as before. Our ETA is around 7am. We’ll see.

I’ve seen deer, turkey and a flock of what might be swans flying overhead.

Minnesota seems to be at the forefront of windmill farming.

As I drove Animal read aloud “THE POWER OF HABIT”, by Charles Duhigg. (I highly recommend it for those who want to make change.) At intervals we would then discuss how to apply the information to our own lives. Very helpful.

Forward!

Oh, and btw, remember Dan, the lost hiker? We found out that he was found dead, not far from his car. Don't know details but he was, apparently, an experienced hiker. And why they didn't find him sooner with the crew they had out looking for him is also a mystery. Will keep checking, 'cuz I'm curious.

DAY 16

We drove through the night, stopping only for food (Subway), gas, and to change drivers. Made it through Chi-town around midnight. Yay.

Got back to Animals house around 9am. While she secured the peeps, I went up to the spare bedroom and crashed for a few hours. Around 2pm we collected the girls from Sherry’s house and then Animal took me home.

So now I’m back where I started physically, although the girls are giving me the cold shoulder, more, I think, for the car ride than the absence. They’ll get over it (I hope.)

…

AND IN CONCLUSION…

After a trip of that scope I find that there is a definite, positive shift in my mental health. Yes, there was death on the trip (RIP peeps). I also heard about the Aurora massacre but refused to listen to details, (and still don’t want to know ‘cuz it’s so horrific), and the fires on the plains, though destructive, are a natural part of the renewal in that part of the country.

On the other hand, I witnessed some of the true wonders of nature, including both living (bison, prairie dogs, etc.) and scenic (the ND Badlands, Big Horn Mountains, Devils Tower, etc.)

I had fun working with Animal and felt the love and wonder of children and adults, both.

How can one see and experience any of those things and not be changed?

I’ve taken somewhere in the neighborhood of 800+ pics. I’m going to be awhile working on them, but I’ll share, and maybe you can get some idea of what I saw.

And so ends this Great Adventure. May there be many more.

In (and around) the shining water

DAY 14

Awakened by the noise of tourists; radios, gunning motors, loud talking. Philistines!

Our next destination is the South Dakota Badlands, but we’re not set in stone as to where exactly we’re going there.

I will now sing the praises of GPS; there are incredibly long stretches of no interests (unless you’re into black angus ranches) along this route. The GPS actually gave me hope that there was something on the end of this by letting me know that in () miles there would actually be something.

Animal spotted a pronghorn. Kewl!

Sadly we’ve lot yet another quail. He died in my hands. RIP dude.

The scenery has changed again, and we can see, far off in the distance what is unmistakably smoke from a massive fire.

 ...

We have now reached the park area and have been told that the smoke we saw is near Pringle, and it is not contained, at all.

I was about to drive past Sylvan Lake which is man made, but Animal wanted to go swimming. So we parked, changed into our suits and walked over to where there were loads of families with screaming children, barbeque grills, and beer. Despite signs clearly stating that jumping from the rocks was strictly prohibited kids and adults were doing it anyway. (Tourists! Feh!!)

Dropping towels and shoes on the shore we went in.

OMG! That water was COLD!!! It actually took my breath away. But I got used to it (kinda) and started to swim. Then I decided I needed to see so went back to get my glasses, went back in the water and just did breast or side strokes to the little rock island several yards off shore.

Animal is part mermaid and did a lot more swimming than I did. I swam back to a different part of shore and started investigating the rocks. When she got out we spontaneously started following the path that led around the lake (it’s a small lake). 

Every few feet I would find a rock I just Had to pick up. I’m a sucker for quartz, and it was everywhere. There were also flakes of mica on the ground and in the water and the sun hitting it would just gleam. Fortunately I had brought my binocular case (sans binocular). I needed it.

Along our hike we ran into a group of (cute) boy hikers that alerted us to the fact that there was tourmaline in certain areas. We found several good specimens although finding an intact spear was rare. Mostly got chunks embedded in the quartz.

My bag was almost completely full by the time we got back to the van.

As usual we went (still on the trail but away from the majority of other hikers) looking for places where others were not and found some incredibly beautiful little out of the way places.

I will reiterate that I’ve got massive amounts of pictures.

We got a look at the actual dam that created the lake. It’s a small thing, mostly just a concrete wall between two very tall boulders, but it’s enough to create the lake, and unlike some this one was an improvement for the area.

So despite my lack of expectation, Sylvan Lake was another incredible adventure.

Into the car again we headed up the road to the Needles. They are an incredible rock formation (please – what isn’t around here) but more exciting was the one-lane tunnel you had to drive through to get to them. Hard to describe so I’ll insert what’s in the brochure. “As part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, the Needles Highway stretches 14 miles through granite structures and pine covered mountains. Needle’s Eye is one of the most memorable granite needles along the drive, with its signature ‘eye’ formed by countless years of rain, ice and wind.”

On the way down spotted the fire smoke again. We could actually smell and see the smoke, even though it was miles away. (It had a nice mesquite scent. Would’ve been enjoyable but for the reality of people endangering their lives putting the fire out. Btw, I actually thanked a few of the firefighters who were on break for their work.)

When we stopped at the information center we were told this was the Myrtle fire and it was, maybe 5 percent contained. Also, there was an extreme thunderstorm warning out for the area we were in.

The day was getting prematurely gray and the storm was chasing us as we came back out on the prairie. The road we got on ran perpendicular and I can honestly say I’ve never seen clouds like that before. The rain angled downward and it looked like a giant mushroom. The lightning was incredible. Since we were on flat plain you could see everything for miles and the bolts were striking downward, sideways, and even coming from a cloud and jumping to another in a jagged ‘w’.

To my right as I watched I actually saw smoke starting to rise in two places. The longer I watched the bigger the smoke plume. At one point I actually saw the orange flames. They were HUGE! But happily I think the storm put the fire out before it got completely out of control. I saw the smoke die down and dissipate. Whew.

I forgot to mention that at the info center Animal and I decided that we were both “full” and that it was now time to start home, even though there was still plenty that we could’ve done. But both of us had had some extremely profound experiences that needed processing and we were ready.

We drove as far as we could (to Sioux Falls) then got a hotel and crashed.

All the peeps left are still with us. YAY!

The Mountain, the Birds, and the Stars

DAY 13

Got out of the hotel around 9:30am heading for Devils Tower. Along the way we lost another quail. <sigh>

This part of the country is rolling hills, sure, but ultimately boring.

Coal mining here.

Just got into Moorcroft, which is the biggest town near DT. I feel like I’m making a pilgrimage. This one feels powerful even from a distance.

Just saw a pronghorn grazing by the side of the road. Kewl!

A lot of dead trees; evidence of old forest fires. The fire hazard scale is at its highest right now – in the red. Signs abound cautioning against throwing cigarettes or matches out of your car.

We see the tower off in the distance, a lone and very eccentric structure out here. There are other outcroppings but nothing quite like it.

…

Devil’s Tower is magnificent. It would be even more magnificent if there weren’t so many loudmouth tourists hanging around. Interestingly, there have, apparently, always been tourists here.  The natives visited and used it as a landmark, but didn’t hang around much. The white settlers even treated it (mostly) with respect. It has been, and will always be, a place to revere.

You can’t help but amazed at the sheer majesty of this piece of rock thrusting out of the ground. (It kind of looks like an incredibly large petrified tree stump.) While Yellowstone was our first national park, Devils Tower was our first natural national monument (thank you Teddy Roosevelt, again.)

 For those who don’t know, the geologic story is that there was an intrusion of magma from deep in the earth that never erupted (thus magma rather than lava). Over time the magma cooled and started fracturing.  The Belle Fourche River (pronounced ‘fish’ and meaning ‘beautiful fork’ in French) carved away at the landscape, slowly revealing what was to become the tower. There are very few of these types of geologic intrusions in the world.

Another amazing factoid is that the top of the tower used to be under miles of earth. Now it’s the tallest thing in sight.

No wonder the aliens in the movie used it as a landmark. Everyone else did. (And no, there have been no recorded sightings of UFO’s around the tower. What a shame L

Right now I’m sitting at the ladies latrine writing this while the battery is charging on the computer. About 5 feet away is a small bird sitting on the ground staring at me. At the campsite there was a robin sitting on the grill that didn’t move for at least 10 minutes, and I got within feet of it. In the tree above Animals’ bedding, a dove hung out for an extended time.

Only the prairie dogs seem to be skittish around people.

Btw, the little bird is apparently a new fledgling. He’s flown off now.

In the distance vultures are circling the tower. On the electric line above me the birds are blue (not sad - the color.) There are also some blackish birds with white spots. I’ll check out what they all are later.

Sad news; due to an unfortunate circumstance another quail has died, and we nearly lost another due to the heat. So now we are at five.

We are camping at the monument tonight; Animal outside and me in the van. (Yes, I’m still a wuss).

Even though there’s a good breeze we’re going to wait until after 8pm to do the hike. Hopefully most of the tourists will be gone.

Much as I’m glad we’ve come here, I’m sorry that it is one of the more popular destinations. The other places we’ve visited had very few people, and we were able to listen to nature rather than voices and machinery.

…

We did the right thing to wait. When we got to the parking lot only a few cars were there and very few people were setting off. We got to a split in the trail, and while everyone else went to the right we took the left-hand fork. On occasion we would run into people coming from the opposite direction and would nod in acknowledgement, but mostly it was quiet, which is what I was hoping for.

One other thing I had hoped for but had not known if it would be possible was a chance to actually touch the rock face. I got my opportunity, and I must say it was akin to a religious experience (another one! LOL)

(I cannot stress enough that if you are, at all, interested in nature, you MUST see this!)

Since we started so late we ended the hike at the very edge of full darkness, but the trail was clearly marked so no possibility of getting lost.

We drove back to the campsite and parked the van so I could see the mountain from inside. It was a moonless night but the sky was clear. The Milky Way was more evident than I’ve ever witnessed it before. We saw a few meteors zip by as well as a satellite or two. The mountain itself was a black silhouette, clearly outlined. And up on the face you could see the lights of crazy people who were ascending or descending in the dark. (Insanity – thy name is rock climber.)

Our campsite was only yards away from the Belle Fourche river. A. found her way to it and took a swim. I sat by it for a brief time but the mountain chill (I got cold!) finally drove me into the van. I went to sleep with the van door open watching the progression of the Big Dipper as it wheeled around the mountaintop.

Magic.

In the wind, typing as I go

DAY 12 - It just gets more amazing as we go

(Animal has a portable power cell, so I'm recording things as they occur.)

Our ultimate goal today is Medicine Wheel, WY, however since we are in Montana we stopped at Pictograph Cave Parkand spent several hours doing the trail there. 

I spotted a bunny hanging out under a bush. Hope the pictures come out. Magnificent sights, but a very sad story about vandalism and erroneous conservation practices. As a result, much of the cave art is obscured or has disappeared. Still, an awesome sight.

I managed to touch the rock face in an area that was without archaeological significance. Touching rock faces is important to me, so I try not to hurt anything.

Stopped at a Perkins for lunch in Billings and right now we are heading for Medicine Wheel. In the parking lot I saw a sticker that I must share with you – it said SSS – Shoot, Shovel, Shut Up. (!!!)

We’re now off the Interstate and passing through ranch country – horses, hay bales, railroad tracks, corn fields, cattle. And off in the distance are mountains with glimpses of possible glaciers.

Passing through Bridger. Wondering if it’s in relation to Jim Bridger? Will check later.

Just a small observation – Montana definitely looks different from North Dakota. Can’t tell you why, probably has something to do with vegetation, but very quickly after we crossed the state line it was very evident that there was a geologic difference. 

Huh.

I try to imagine passing through this area in a covered wagon. Slow going. I think I’d go nuts.

Just passed into Wyoming. Have passed several lime processing plants. Lots of that around here. Interestingly they don’t make a big impact on the land from what I can see from the road.

Another note – have seen very few dead animals by the road, or in it. Just sayin’.

Big Horn Mountains in sight. Wow!

Stopped at the Big Horn Visitors Center just for a moment. Renewed water bottles and got clarification of our route. Onward.

Btw, we are actually not that far from Yellowstone and we’ve been shadowing the river since yesterday,

however, that park is on my bucket list and deserves more than a flyby.

Passing over the Big Horn River. Very low. Drought. Last time we saw the temp gauge was 99 degrees, but it’s a dry heat. Have to put a towel over my arm to prevent sunburn.)

Going up into the Big Horn Mountains. Awesome!!

And yes, it,s that Jim Bridger.

(We now resume our regular narration.)

For some reason I thought Medicine Wheel was... y'know, I don't know what I thought. The actuality is that it's at 10,000 feet up in the mountains. We drove in on a cattle road (yes, there were actual cattle on the road). We then parked and hiked about a mile and a half to the site. The wheel is a formation laid out in stone that's been dated to several thousand years, and was/is used by several different tribes. There is little consensus on it's actual historical function, or at least all of its functions.

It is on a high plateau, and as we walked we spied Pica and Marmots (rodentia). At one point we heard what we believe was an elk bellowing. There was still snow ice in a couple of places and I dug down a few inches to get a clean clump to taste. (Tasted like snow.)

Then we got to the wheel.

There are posts around it with ropes to keep people from crossing in without permission. On the ropes strips of cloth are tied, as are medicine bags, among other things. Bones, rocks, shells, crystals, feathers and other offerings are placed along the edges of the circle and on the posts.

It is a place that inspires prayer and contemplation.

There are other structures there including a grove of trees where people have left more strips of cloth, bones and artifacts of importance.

Animal found her way to a structure I call the Battlements because it looks like a set of castle turrets. She also discovered a cave that was more like a slit in the earth.

Again, there is little I can say that would give you any idea of how amazing this place is. I took a lot of pictures as usual, so hopefully, when I can upload them you will get some small idea of the magic of this place.

We were almost the last people to leave, and the sun was setting as we hiked out. In one spot we were spoken severely to by a critter we never got to see (probably one of the rodentia), but it was chirping from its hole and the echos made it sound closer. Fun stuff.

We drove down the mountain stopping at intervals to take pictures of the incredible sunset until we finally ran out of light. Then it was down the rest of the mountain in the dark. Happily there were very few people on the road since it was decidedly serpentine in the descent and I was more often in the middle of the road than in my own lane.

We debated driving through the night to get to Devils Tower, but instead got a room at a Wyndham hotel (Animal got a really good rate and they have internet service so I can catch up on my postings.)

It is now almost 1am and I need to stop writing because we're getting up early. It's a 3-4 hour drive and we want time to do stuff along the way if available. The intention is also to camp out at the Tower. I am SO looking forward to this.

It will probably be a day or so before I can post again. 

You say buffalo, I say bison...

DAY 11 of the Great Adventure

Animal had a truly amazing adventure last night. She had her bedding out under the stars (I was in the van reading to put myself to sleep). The next thing I know she’s hissing my name. Then she’s at the door telling me that a bison had just passed by on the road, which was no more than 10 feet from her bed. When I got up to look there was only dark and the lights from the check-in station. I went back to bed. Shortly after she was back telling me that either the bison was back or another one had just passed by. Again I saw nothing, but this time I could hear the low huffing of a large animal breathing. Kewl.

I stayed awake for awhile, keeping my glasses on, just in case, but there was no repeat. Oh well.

In the morning light I got up before her and just took in the amazing sight that was this little section of N. Dak. We were actually in the Cottonwood camping ground with only a few other tenters, campers and trucks, most of whom had left by the time we were up, so it was quiet. More quiet than I can remember ever being for a campsite. After Animal got up we were repacking the van when along come two feral horses, one paint, the other a brown, both obviously male. They were very comfortably wandering the campgrounds, staying out of reach of the people who kept trying to touch them (not me – when I see a sign that says don’t bother the wild animals I take it to heart, and these were definitely not tame.) 

Once we were packed up we drove the scenic route around the park rather than just leaving. We took a very short hike to the Wind Canyon overlook (amazing). Off in the distance was a herd of bison, just chillin’. Further along we came upon another herd closer to the road, and even further was a herd of horses up on a bluff. Several times we stopped and just took pictures, and there were a couple more short hikes, including Coal Vein Trail, which led us to a place where lightning had started a coal seam on fire in the 50’s. It burned for until the 70’s before finally going out on its own.

I really can’t describe the scenery. My pictures may capture some of the grandeur, but words do nothing, so I won’t even try. I’ll just say that it’s something one should see if you are in the area.

Finally, we stopped in at the Visitor Center and watched the 17 minute film about Teddy Roosevelt, who started the whole National Parks deal. (Teddy, thank you. You have done the country, nay, the world a humongous favor.) 

There was an almost oops there – I nearly left my camera in the theater. That would’ve been BAAAD!

We then went into Medora, just outside the park, and had dinner at the Boots Bar and Grill. Animal persuaded me to try a bit of Prairie Oyster (chewy). Then we got on the road again heading for Medicine Wheel, Wyoming.

Along the way we passed through the edge of a very dramatic thunderstorm. At the rest stop we were right under the dark, bumpy looking clouds (scary).

We got to the outskirts of Billings around 10:30ish Mountain Time and found a Motel 6. After showering I fell into bed and conked.

By the way, somehow in the Cottonwood campground we lost a quail. I don’t mean it died, I mean it disappeared out of its box. So we were down to nine. Then on the drive we lost two more. So now there are seven. Yay, even in the midst of such beauty there is death. The bodies were interred along the way. Rest in peace, kids.

So much for Day 11.

Beyond Fargo

Day 10 of the Great Adventure

It took us awhile to get out of the hotel. We actually did get up at a reasonable hour, but organizing the van and took much longer than we assumed.

Oh, I forgot a very important thing from yesterday – Animal acquired a herd/pod/flock (?) of baby quail. Seven Buttons and four others that are larger but she can’t remember what type. They were given to her at the end of the Fair, since, apparently, there were masses of them available for sale during the Fair. They were actually hatching the damn things the whole time. These were leftovers, and as I said, they were given to her. It probably helped that she was dressed in her fairy costume when she expressed interest. (No one wants to disappoint a fairy.)

The Buttons are miniscule and oh, so fragile looking. Sadly we lost one before we even got going, so now there are 10.

We were further delayed because we had to stop and get a larger container (they spent the night in a USPS priority mail box), and some food for them. That done we finally got on the road heading for the <bison/buffalo museum/ home of a white bison named Miracle.

That was a quick trip – we came, we saw, we jumped in the van and headed for the next stop. (We did get a bunch of pics. Will post them sooner or later.)

Next stop was the Badlands and Teddy Roosevelt National Park. The place we went is off the beaten track. So far off that we were the only tourists there. We did meet two park ranger who requested that if we ran into someone named Dan to call them asap. Apparently Dan has been missing for at least a day.

We did a 3 mile hike into the area heading for the remains of a forest that was petrified in the long, long ago. There were some incredibly amazing terrain that we trekked through to get there. Part of the track is on private land, and there was evidence that fracking was taking place. (Sad.)

Lots of pictures were taken of the petrified stuff, rock formations and other geologic oddities. As we started back there was a plane quartering the area, obviously looking for Dan. Hope they find him. We did do our part by calling out at intervals for him to make some noise. The only thing we rousted was some kind of ruminant, perhaps a pronghorn, but probably just a deer with weird horns.

On the way out I did spot a buck with a reasonable rack and a doe.

Lots of pictures of sunsets taken.

Next goal was figuring out where we were going to stay. We checked a couple of motels and felt their prices were too exorbitant, so we found our way into the park and are camping out. I’m in the van, Animal is sleeping out under the trees and the stars. It is simply stunning out here. The sky is clear overhead, though cloudy on the edges (A. is bummed. She was still hoping to catch an Aurora of some kind, but it’s doubtful.) The campground has no showers so we had to wipe down as best we can in the ladies latrine (thank you SuZ for the soap thingies :-).

And that’s all the news that’s fit to print tonight. I’ll post when we get an internet connection.

Sunday the 15th was our Friday the 13th!

Day 9 of the Great Adventure, Performance Day 6 (final - thank goodness)

It started out so well too. We got to the Fair earlier: the plan being to do about an hour or two and then take a long break, then finish the gig more or less at the 4H tent where they were feeding people. But as soon as I started moving the cart I felt something was not quite right. We got over to the building where Kay's mom was working and I was struggling. So Shelly was parked and examined and it was discovered that she had a flat tire. Bummer!

We had to get her back to her building so we could fix her boo-boo, but how?

Well, leave it to AnimalX, the fairy queen. She rounded up two very fine specimens of Army pulchritude (they were both so tall!) and they basically carried Shelly to where she needed to go.

So, after getting A. out of her costume, we hopped in the van and went to Lowes where she found a usable replacement. (We also stopped at Dollar Tree where I was able to find my new addiction - Chili-lime coated peanuts. I'm hooked.)

We got back to the Fair, changed the tire, had lunch and got A. back into her costume. By then it was around 3pm - the hottest part of the day here as far as I'm concerned. We went out for awhile and enchanted the crowd as usual. We ran into Kay and her family again (they're EVERYWHERE!!!).

One thing that was a big problem again, only moreso than before - the wind. Several times I was in danger of going over, and I was certainly being pushed around. The most difficult part was when I was heading straight into it; I was pushing - it was pushing. It won, and then it would suddenly stop and I'd almost fall over. Then there was the tailwind which would push me faster than I wanted to go. I almost got run over from the inside.

Meanwhile, A. had a lovely encounter with a couple of boys who were children in adults bodies (Austen and Jay who were friends, and there with their mothers.) They were both very shy when she approached them but Austen quickly got over it and started talking to her, then came over and talked with Hoolia. Jay hung back a bit but then started interacting. When they took a picture with A., one on each side, both put their heads on her shoulders. Very cute. Then A. offered to give Jay a 'butterfly kiss' with her eyelashes (humongous things, as mentioned before). Jay drew back but then his mother reminded him that he liked butterfly kisses, so he let A. do it to him. After, he kissed the back of her hand. like a gallant knight. Very touching.

In our final run we had a little fun with the fairy riding a mower racing the turtle. Video was taken, and hopefully it will be posted somewhere soon.

Right at the end the wind got even more... windy, so we headed in. It took us several hours to break things down and pack the van. When we got back to the hotel I tried to finish my packing but my brain went on strike, so the intention is to get up relatively early, finish packing and get on the road as soon as possible.

At this point the intention is to drive about an hour and go to a bison refuge. Then our next goal is the N. Dak. Badlands, about 5 hours away.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to post a daily (nightly) blog. If I do I'll alert on Facebook to let you know, but I will be writing everyday regardless.

Oh, I almost forgot - the turquoise and pink conspiracy theory continues. As far as I could tell, 9 out of every 10 girls under the age of 10 were wearing those colors. Oh, and the majority of the children at the fair are blonde... Don't know if that has anything to do with anything, but no matter what the skin color was, the clothing color was generally either pink or turquoise.

It will be interesting to see if this trend is apparent in other parts of the state. If it is I will have to come to some conclusion. If not I will probably forget it fairly quickly.

Here's hoping for option #2.

Talk atcha later.

The pink and turquoise are getting to me!!

Day 8 of the Great Adventure, Performance Day 5

I really paid attention today, and my worst fears were confirmed: the majority of the children under a certain age in the West Fargo area are victims of a massive conspiracy. One that threatens the sanity of one helpless turtle pusher. As I trundle about the Fair all I see are pink tops, pink dresses, turquoise T-shirts and turquoise short sets. (Hoolia thinks it's kewl since those are her favorite colors, but Denice is getting paranoid.)

I have let the zombie conspiracy go since it's obviously influenced by too many zombie movies (none of which I watch, but since I live in this county I can't help but hear about). So the newest theory involves secret government mind control and ICBM's. Oh, and prairie dogs.

I'm still working on it.

Animal has added that she noticed a lot of purple and lilac. She suggests that the melding of colors is a sign of melting in the hot sun. (Melding/melting...)

Huh.

So, today.

Kay was back with us, this time accompanied by two sisters (both in pink!) We put wings on Kay and made her an assistant fairy. She chose the name Tulip. She also kept hugging Hoolia, partly because she knew she looked cute doing it and partly because when she hugged Hoolia the owl would tell her she loved her very much.

I have determined that I will not let Kay know the real person behind the curtain. Let her have her magic for a while longer.

We also ran into Wyatt for awhile.

We did two two-hour stints today. One earlier, took a long break and then the second after 5pm. We were trying to beat the heat, but I'm not sure we managed. I sweated up a storm. So much so that I was actually dripping. I don't drip! so you know it was hot. Thank goodness I wear a sweat band and have a mister (no, not that kind of mister - although Mr. Hugh Jackman would be most welcome!) so I can spray myself with cool water mixed with witch hazel. (I'm going to let the witch hazel joke just slide away.)

Got back to the hotel, jacuzzed (is that a word? Doesn't matter. It is now.) and ate dinner and am now blogging.

Btw, there's a chance to see Auroras tonight and possibly tomorrow. If you're experiencing some static on your phone or tv it's because the CME is reacting with the earths magnetic field. Hope it's clear where you are. If yes check and see if you have a chance to see the pretty colors in the sky.

Friday the 13th. in N. Dak. and Jason is nowhere in sight

Day 7 of the Great Adventure, Day 4 of performing

An interesting observation - they love to dress their girl children here in pinks and turquoise. The boys were wide spectrum, but the girls... sheesh. It's like there is a conspiracy or something, although it's a very harmless one apparently. However.... yes, within the fabrics are woven colored wires which, at a predetermined moment will emerge, embed themselves into the little girls eyeballs and turn them into ravening zombies who will turn on their families with razor sharp teeth and rend them into....

Can you tell I'm getting a little slap happy? Plus, I keep talking like Hoolia, even after I've climbed out of the wagon.  (Whooo whooo!)

So, we decided to do a late one today ending around 7:30pm. The reception was M.O.T.S. (more of the same), with children of all ages being enchanted by the Enchanted Wagon (trademark). Another interesting observation - people walking towards us who were not actually coming to see us would be drawn closer to the wagon as if there was a magnetic attraction. It was fun to watch the tweens and guys trying to be cool, and yet they could not help but pass closer than would seem reasonable for just walking by.

Magic rules!!

No Kay today, but Wyatt and another little girl from previous days, Gabrielle, came to see us and to be hugged. (Hoolia's got a fan club.)

Very cute guy flirted with the fairy. Hoolia was very jealous, but he wasn't into birds. <sigh>

Speaking of birds, Animal is contemplating adopting a button quail or two. I'll keep you posted.

Not a lot more to say - went to a great diner called Kroll's and then back to the hotel to get in a short jacuzzi (there are, apparently, no long jacuzzi's, but I digress) before coming back to the room, showering, blogging and then crashing like Evel Knieval.

Tomorrow is another day, and then there is one more after that, and then.... WHEEEEEEE!!!! again.

Btw, the "you betcha" count is at 6. Two were from one guy who just said it twice in a row.

Hee!

Oh, right. N.D. IS part of the U.S.!

Day 6 of the great adventure, Performance Day 3

I really must let go of some of my preconceived notions. For various reasons I had it in my head that N. Dakota is full of pink people who ranch, and brown people whose land got snatched by the pink people for ranches.

I'm sure there's that dynamic, but there are also a lot of Somali and Bosnian refugees, and not far from our motel (Howard Johnsons) is an Indian restaurant (not counting the Chinese restaurant), so the color spectrum is a lot wider than I've been assuming.

We see a lot of children in groups in matching t-shirts of  loud and obnoxious colors (screaming yellow is prevalent, followed by ORANGE!!!) and the children tend to be of the rainbow variety. YAY VARIETY!!

Now, on to the Fair.

It was a bit less windy today but the humidity was definitely higher. Not so bad earlier, but as the day went on the inside of the turtle would get downright stuffy if we were staying still. (When the turtle is moving there's usually a good circulation kicking up.)

We shared our building with a crew of beauty pageant kids and baton twirler types. I have definite opinions of that dynamic, but I'm going to stay mum, cuz it's none of my business.

So, todays heartwarming story involves our beloved fairy princess A. She made her way over to a family with a young girl who appeared to have ALS. As she interacted with her the child began to shake less and less, and even actually focused intently, particularly on Anima's eyelashes (which are humongous, I must say.) She was able to touch A with a fairly steady hand and laughed when she got butterfly kissed by those lashes. The grandmother told Anima that this was the only thing the girl had focused on all day. Good going, A.

A. also took the time to speak with the girls little brother about his big wheel bicycle. (It's a good thing to single out any siblings for special personal attention.) It was a great moment for the whole family. Lots of pictures were taken and they'll have this to remember in the days to come.

We also had a talk with Kay's mother, and DreamWeaver Productions (Animals company) may actually get some additional bookings out of that connection. YAY!

We started late today - partly because we wanted to be there later, but mostly because we slept in. We are contracted to do 4 hours daily, and we are able to make our own schedule. So we break up the time in chunks.

At one point we got asked to go over to one of the livestock barns because some girls wanted to 'fairy dust' one of the cowboys. I didn't get to see him but A. says he was cute and hunky and took it with good humor. While she was doing that the wagon stayed at the entrance to keep from panicking the cattle (scared cows bad!). An audience built up quite quickly, so Hoolia entertained them with her edition of 'She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain', only she changes the words to 'She'll Be Coming Round the Fairground', and 'She'll Be Driving a Big Turtle'. The audience was amused.

Pictures were taken with a combine and a tank. These will be posted to Facebook asap.

Hmmm, anything else? she mused to herself. Nope, can't think of anything in particular. Three days down. Three to go. And then further West we go. WHEEEE!

Okay, Hoolia. Go to sleep now.

{Okay!}

Everyone knows it's Windy! (Except us)

Day 5 - Performance Day #2

(Please forgive the rather disjointed meanderings here. I'm writing after getting out of a jacuzzi and my brain is somewhat parboiled, along with the rest of me.)

Our butts were dragging this morning. Unfortunately, we had to get to the fairgrounds relatively early since the building where we park the turtle was going to be used for Bingo (and these people LUUUV their Bingo!) So we had to move Shelly out of there and put her in front of the camper van the fair so graciously has available for our use (it's air-conditioned!!!).

We walked around the grounds, trying to scope out places to hide the turtle when we were on break. Then we sort of sat around like zombies for awhile before Animal started putting on her makeup.

The fair opens at 11am. We began strolling around 12:30pm and went for about an hour forty-five minutes, meeting the kids and their parents, freaking out the junior-high girls, fending off the boys... etc. We had loads of older women running up to the fairy and several females of various ages would just come up and get a hug.

There was an adolescent boy who was trying his best to peek in the windows, and he was actually getting a bit aggressive, so Hoolia went into panic mode and started screeching. He backed off rather quickly. Interestingly, he came back not long after and left a gift to the wagon. It was a little green alien. (I will never understand boys.)

Meanwhile, Hoolia decided that she needed to keep herself busy by singing Mozart (in owl).  Unfortunately, she gets rather enthusiastic on the high notes (and my voice is paying the price). But she is definitely a favorite.  There was also an owl mascot  roaming around named Owlie (how... quaint). Hoolia developed quite a crush but he had nothing to say to her. Oh well - she's young. She'll get over him, eventually.

An amusing thing- when we took a break past the rides where the carnival vendors were parked, we backed Shelly in with the big rigs. I'll try and post a picture tomorrow on Facebook.
One thing that was very different today - the wind. The wagon was either fighting a head wind, being pushed by a tail wind, or being buffeted from the sides. The Enchanted Wagon tried to turn into a prairie schooner a couple of times. It made for some interesting moments, and while I'm less mentally tired, I am more physically exhausted then yesterday.

We did our 4 hours in chunks (actually, I think we did more than that, but we forgot to note the times), and I think the Red River Valley Fair is getting their moneys worth.

No Kay today, and the rest of the story is as follows - she was given permission by her mother to go look at the kiddy rides, and since the rides were not supposed to be running she was expected to return immediately, except the rides Were running for the kids, and they were free.

Needless to say, when Kay returns this week her mother will be keeping her under tighter scrutiny (thank goodness. It only takes one...)

So there you have it. Nothing of real note. Animal is in the process of mapping our post-engagement expedition and it looks to be chock full, but it's not set yet. If anyone has any suggestions we are open.

Btw, I'm having fun. :-)

And Now, Ladies and Gentlemen...

Day 4 - Monday, July 10, 2012

First day of performing. Spent a lot of time making the turtle right, then it was into the frying pan. (Today was Daycare Day, so we had masses of kids.) I had to learn how to manipulate several puppets, maneuver the turtle and react to the kids.

Happily the kids were very forgiving of my newbie status and it was actually fairly easy to get into the swing of it - except for the maneuvering part. Getting a six foot puppet on wheels to go where you want to takes some doing. I got better as the day went on though. Didn't even run over anyone (yet).

The best part was Kay. Kay was a little blonde girl who, at first, was extremely shy but obviously attracted to Hoolia, the owl puppet. One of Hoolia's knock knock jokes ends with her asking for a hug. As soon as Kay got in her first hug she was hooked. From that point on she was never that far from the wagon, and particularly Hoolia. She and Hoolia became the bestest friends and Hoolia told her several times that she was the best hugger. There was a lot of interaction and Kay accompanied the wagon all over the fairgrounds. Slowly Animal and I began to realize that Kay was spending WAAY too much time with us with no adult in sight. Also, I had to take a break,which meant getting out of the turtle, something I did not want to do in front of an audience, particularly Kay. So she was sent back to her mother and I exited Shelly (the turtle) to get supplies.

But when I got back to the wagon there was Kay again. I had to wait until Animal found a way to get her to go off with a friend, then I scurried back into the turtle and we were off again. And here was Kay again, trying to teach Hoolia how to sing the alphabet and how to count. (Owls can't count because they don't have fingers, and also Hoolia is only TWOOOO.)

Eventually Kay was sent off by the fairy and we made it into the building they set aside for us when we are not traveling or performing. We spent the hour or so doing some repairs and then were getting ready to go look around the fair, when suddenly a knock on the door and the General Manager was there looking for her. We immediately joined in the search. Happily she was quickly found by state trooper and returned to her relatives. YAY!

Apparently Kay is here for the duration, so I expect there will be more tales to tell, although I also think her family is going to keep her on a short leash for the rest of the fair. Hope so. She was too cute and too trusting for her own good.

More to come, no doubt.

Oh, and by the way - They do speak like that here. No, really.
But the "you betcha" count is only at 1 so far, though we got 3 "you bets" out of one person in the space of 20 seconds.

I wait with bated breath for more.

It's been a long day and I'm beat.

Talk atcha later.

Into the West

Day 2 of the Great Adventure
We left Pittsburgh on Saturday, July 7 a little before 5pm. We figured that by leaving that late we'd miss the worst of the heat on the road and also the insanity that is Chicago.

As it stands I actually missed Chicago completely. Animal and I traded driving duties and I pooped out within a few miles of the Windy City. (She told me there was a lot of traffic, even at 1am. Quel surprise.)

We had sort of figured on getting past that hurdle and then finding a motel, but she got her second wind and kept going. We traded off at 7:30am (yes, I know. Me awake at that hour!) and we arrived at our hotel around 1-ish.

After eating and some light shopping (we found a Thrift Store!!!) we are both collapsed on our separate beds, messing with computers and unable to process much in the way of being productive. At some point we will go looking to see what can be seen, but for the moment we are burnt!

Tomorrow we head to the fair to set up. The performing starts on Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed for cool(er) weather.

Ta for now.

D

Facts about Stink bugs

1. They are an introduced species that have reached plague proportions in recent years

2. They destroy fruit crops
3. In the fall they invade structures (houses) and hibernate
4. They emit an oil when alarmed, thus earning the name
5. They are suicidal around me

I have told them repeatedly that if I see them they are shortly thereafter going to be dead. (I capture and eliminate by drowning in water with soap added.) No stinkbug that I can reach will escape me if I have anything to say about it.

I must insert here that I do not kill lightly or with malice aforethought - I dislike killing on principle, but it must be done. It's them or us, and I vote for us (this time).

THE GREAT ADVENTURE HAS BEGUN - SORTA

For those who don't know, I'm off on a grand adventure starting tomorrow. I'm going to N. Dakota to perform with my friend Animal X at the State Fair in Fargo. After we fulfill that obligation we're going to go looking for sacred sites in the rest of the state (i consider North and South Dakota to be the same place.) We may actually (depending on how much meandering we do) get to Devils Tower in Wyoming (Close Encounters, anyone?:-)

I intend to journal my trip, though probably not on a daily basis (we'll see). But for anyone interested - stay tuned.

Now, as to the sorta begun that's in the title - I consider the fact that the girls are doing a two week sleep over with my wonderful compadre, Sherry, the beginning of the adventure, mostly because I had to round them up, stuff them in cages and then drive them in this heat across as town part of the journey.

I'm sleeping alone tonight. I miss them. :-(

Meanwhile, after much ruminating, Animal and I have decided to leave tomorrow afternoon so that we will hit Chicago well after the main madness (although not all of the madness - it is Chicago after all) is over. We need to be in Fargo by Monday.

For those interested - you can go on Youtube and look for The Enchanted Wagon to see what we'll be doing.

Should be interesting.

I'm also planning to post some pictures if the technology cooperates.

I'm signing off for now.

Westward ho!

DE