9/2/13 - Sheridan to Cody

Day 3 - September 2, 2013 (We traveled approximately 260 miles. The temp in the a.m. was in the 50s which was CHILLY considering we were accustomed to much warmer temps. Later in the day, the temp rose to the low 90s but dipped back down to 75 when we arrived in Cody around 4 p.m.  Oh how I miss those warm temps!)

We started our day traveling to the site of the Little Big Horn Battlefield - visiting the actual site where Custer fell.  What an amazing sense of history as we toured the grounds.

 

 

 

We headed to Cody via the Bighorn Mountains after we left the Battlefield Memorial.  I believe, if my notes are correct, that this mountain range is a spur of the Rockies.

We were constantly at increasingly high elevations during our trip and this portion of the trip was no exception.

We stopped part way up the mountain at a scenic area to do the normal photo opp stuff.

When we got off the bus, there was a crowd of people at the rim of the look-out so of course everyone on the bus rushed over to check out the scene.

Much to our surprise, there were a couple of hang gliders waiting for the wind to pick up so they could jump off the edge of the mountain and fly like a bird.

 

Unfortunately, the wind was not blowing in the least.

As a result, no one was jumping off the side of the mountain!

Bummer!  That would have made for some really awesome photos!

We continued on our journey up the mountain, stopping for lunch at the Elk Mountain Lodge for a wonderful buffet.

The change in terrain was simply amazing - from completely flat, see-forever-in-the-distance to windy, rugged mountains with gorgeous waterfalls and trails seeming to appear out of nowhere.

The mountain ranges seemed endless at some points!

We had a great time stopping at Shell Creek Canyon for more photos.  This location proved to be one of the many beautiful stops in our quest for beautiful scenery as we traveled through God's beautiful country.

This is Mary, our awesome Tour Director for Globus.

If I haven't said it before, Mary did an outstanding job!

She's a total rock star as far as tour directors go!

Hi Mary, we miss you! ;-)

NEXT POST: 9/3/13 - Cody to Yellowstone

9/1/13 - Deadwood, Tatanka and Sheridan

Day 2 - September 1, 2013

This day on our trip was fairly low key.  We departed from our hotel in Rapid City, SD en-route to visit Tatanka and take a tour of Deadwood City, the location of Wild Bill Hickok's last poker game and eventually his demise.

Tatanka is a touristy spot that has a mini Native American village on display.  I believe, if my memory serves me correctly, that it came about with involvement from Kevin Costner who starred in Dances with Wolves which was filmed in South Dakota.   He lived in the state for several years after filming ended and became involved with the Native American people.  Tatanka means "buffalo" in Native American.  The buffalo was the main source of survival for the Lakota people.  It was not only used as a food source but shelter, clothing, tools, and many other things.

 

 DEADWOOD

Famous for Wild Bill Hickok's death over a game of poker.  He had a hand of all aces and eights which led to Jack McCall killing him.

Deadwood City is now a 'touristy' town filled with shops, casinos and restaurants.  One such restaurant, Midnight Star, is owned by Kevin Costner and is filled to the roof with movie memorabilia from many of his movie roles. 

 

After grabbing lunch at the Midnight Star, we traveled about 265 miles to Sheridan, WY, which would be the one of the very last times to make a last minute Walmart run.

You're probably thinking Walmart run??  

Yep, I forgot to bring my iPad SD card adapter so we jumped on the hotel shuttle and headed to Walmart shortly after arriving in Sheridan.  

While we were there, I insisted that we buy a backpack to attach to my wheelchair for the trip which was a real bone of contention at the time.  Bob INSISTED that we did NOT need a $20 backpack.  

I held my ground (I know, you're probably thinking highly unlike me, right?!)...something that later would prove to be a $100 savings.  

That story will be told later! 

NEXT POST:  9/2/13 - Sheridan to Cody 

8/31/13 - Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore...

We were awakened at 3:45 a.m. to the lovely but deafening sound (insert sarcasm here) of a train traveling through town (Rapid City) which really sounded like it was in the next room!  Later, we realized that our hotel practically sits on the railroad tracks...brilliant, just brilliant and I forgot to pack our earplugs. :-)
Our tour package included breakfast (in the form of a buffet) each morning and several dinners which was nice so that was one less thing we had to think about.  We made our way through the buffet line and sat at a table with two retired couples (of course!) on separate tours and ironically both couples had done their life work in the psychology field - didn't stay long at their table in fear they'd start analyzing us!

We departed the hotel at 9:00 a.m. sharp.  Our bus driver, Dale, turned out to be a pretty nice guy - loading and unloading all the luggage at each new destination; driving tirelessly for hours on end while maneuvering that big honkin' bus in and out of traffic; through windy, switch-back roads snaking up and down some seriously tall mountains.  We have a new respect for most truck/bus drivers!

Our tour director, Mary, was a veteran - she had conducted tours ALL.OVER.THE.COUNTRY!  If we drove by it, she knew all about it and proceeded to share the history along the way.  What an amazing woman!  She rocked!  Funny thing, Mary had previously traveled through our little county.  In fact, she said that our local Wegman's was her favorite - how ironic!  Hopefully she's in the area one of these day so I can buy her lunch!

First stop: Crazy Horse Memorial

A little history as shared by Mary (paraphrased, of course)... In the 1920s when Mount Rushmore was under construction in the Black Hills of SD, the Sioux Indians became quite outraged since the very land used in for the project was land that they had been swindled out of by, none other than our government.

The Sioux wanted their own memorial of significance and since Crazy Horse was their hero, they settled on a Crazy Horse memorial.  Ironically, the sculptor entrusted to work on the project had actually worked on Mount Rushmore but was fired.

Blasting of the mountain began in the 1940s by this one and only man.  Eventually, over time, others came to help with the project that still remains unfinished to this day.  The private leaders of this project have rejected assistance by the government on many occasions.  It is completely funded by private donations and funds from the visitors center that was built on site to handle the outpouring of national public interest.

This project remains a family run operation to this day with the descendants of the original sculptor.

 When people lose their heros, 

they lose their dreams.  

When dreams are lost, 

life is no longer good.

Second Stop: Mount Rushmore

Of course EVERYONE has seen photos of Mount Rushmore at some point in their life but to see it in person was quite amazing! 

Sculpting of the faces of Mount Rushmore began in the 1920's in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  

{Reasons these presidents were chosen...paraphrased and plenty of details missing!}

Washington - founding father of our country.  

Jefferson - expanded the new world with the Louisana purchase which doubled our land size.

Roosevelt - some said he was a "friend" of the scupltor; instrumental in the purchase and development of the land at the Panama Canal which opened up free trade; big advocate for workers - his policies lead to worker rights.

Lincoln - united the country in a time of divide with the civil war.

This is the view opposite of Mount Rushmore...

 We had the opportunity to go back to Mount Rushmore for the night show that they offer.  The Park Ranger provided a history of the monument and at the end of the evening, she invited all the veterans (or surviving family member) up on the stage for the retirement of the flag ceremony in recognition of their service given for our freedoms.  One of the gentlemen participating in the lowering of the flag happened to be on our tour...THANKS ED!

NEXT POST: 9/1/13 - Deadwood, Tatanka and Sheridan

8/30/13 - 20 Years and Counting...

Twenty years ago on this very date, September 18th, I married my best friend and "Love of a Lifetime" at a beautiful ceremony at the PA Grand Canyon.  I thank God each and every day that HE placed Bob in my life!

Back then, we were incredibly blessed to have honeymooned in Hawaii.  What an amazing dream come true for each of us!  Unfortunately as life happens, vacations sometimes take a backseat.  It's hard to imagine where the past 20 years have gone but looking back and considering the many medical obstacles we've gone through/overcome, it's no wonder that vacations weren't a priority.

About 3 years ago, Bob mentioned to me that he wanted to plan an "out west" trip for our 20th.  I appeased him (as any good wife would do) and said that if he'd make it happen, I'd go wherever he wanted to go - NEVER really thinking we'd actually go through with it!

When the time rolled around last September for us to actually meet with the travel agent and book the trip I have to admit, I was pretty shocked that Bob's "dream vacay out west" was on the verge of being realized! 

* * * * * * * * * * *

Fast forward to 8/30/13 -  8:00 a.m. departure out of Harrisburg International Airport (HIA), connecting through Chicago, IL to our final destination Rapid City, SD.

Over the course of our 15 day vacay we've jotted down notes and highlights and hope to share some of those memories here.  Today we start an adventure that will take us over 5000 miles, through at least 15 states (counting our flights) and encompass a 15 day vacation that has been a dream in the making for over 3 years!

2:30 a.m. - Let me just say, it should be illegal to get up at this hour in the morning! Even though you'd think we'd have plenty of time to finalize packing and get the car loaded, we scurried around trying to make sure we I didn't forget anything...

• bags packed - check
• personals packed - check
• meds packed - check
• wheelchair in the trunk - check
• dog/house sitter in place - check
• car packed - check
• ON THE ROAD at 4:15 a.m. - check

Approximately 5 miles into the trip, something popped into my mind that we I forgot to grab!  Back to the house we went for the grab and go-all-important medication that I knew I'd need for the trip!

Finally, we arrived safe and sound for an early check-in at HIA! Upon arrival at the airport, Bob realized that he left home without our ca$h!  Thankfully, there was a MAC machine in the airport...saved the day!

As we approached the check-in counter, I prayed all the way that my bag (a.k.a. "the volkeswagon") would NOT be over the weight limit of 50 lbs.  My bag barely squeaked through weighing in at 50.3 lbs!!  Thankfully, we didn't have to pay the $100 over-size bag fee!!

We had an easy flight into O'Hara but practically had to run/wheel through the airport dodging people and luggage all the way across what felt like the entire airport!  We finally reached the gate and had to walk/wheel out onto the tarmac to catch our connecting flight to Rapid City (yeah, unfortunately, it was one of those puddle jumper-type planes)!

We arrived in Rapid City, SD and settled into our hotel room then decided to head out and check out the town.  As we were cruising around (I was cruising in my wheelchair - Bob was pushing me), we decided to grab a bite to eat a a local eatery, The Firehouse Brewery, in the outdoor seating BUT thankfully under the roof part of the seating area.

Part way through our meal, the sky opened up and DUMPED on the city and surrounding area!  The storm threw down some serious hail AND a tornado even passed through nearby!  We ended up staying at the restaurant for about an hour after we finished our meal because the weather was so horrible.  We shared "cover" with some wonderful folks, Paul and Rowena, who were in the states on holiday from Scotland. 

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Sitting with our new friends chatting in complete amazement while watching the hail bounce off the roof of the building across the street - what a joyful way to begin our memory making journey!

NEXT POST: 8/31/13 - Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore

Reflections from the residents...

It's never easy to watch a loved one deteriorate at any age or any stage of life.  There's just something about observing the residents in a dementia unit that really smacks you in the face as you look around at all the patients. And if you let it, you're heart will remain in that pit of sadness.

It seems like every time when we visit Bob's dad in the nursing home where he lives, it never fails that as we enter with a very heavy heart, somehow through the grace of God, we leave with a smile on our faces, a lighter heart and even some laughter. 

Each time we visit, we take Quincy with us and you'd think some of the patients were kids again.  You can just see the joy gush from almost everyone.  They talk to him, pet him and thoroughly enjoy watching him scour the floor for food crumbs...as if he's never been fed.

I swear we should've named him Hoover!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'm going to digress for just a minute.  During our last visit, one of the sweetest little old women who we'll call "Mary", was parked in the middle of the hallway chatting with another resident.  "Mary" emphatically says to the other resident, "Did you see that man?!".  To which the other resident says, "no".  "Mary" exclaims, "WELL, HE was just about ready to EXPOSE himself!!  That's disgusting!".

We nearly cracked up as we over heard that conversation!  It was quite funny.

A little while later, some of the male residents were in the hallway gushing over Quincy.  One man in particular had squatted down so that he could reach Q to pet him.  Meanwhile, one other gentleman shuffled by us and let one RIP to the high heavens!!  Upon hearing that thunderous noise, the gentleman that was squatting yelled, "What the h*!! was THAT noise???  Must've been the dog!!"

Bob and I just about rolled on the floor laughing!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This time during our, we blended in with the group during activity time which was a huge step (of calm) for Bob's dad - can you say HALLELUIAH!  Suddenly, one of the residents became quite enamored with Bob, even interrupting the activities leader who was in the middle of a mini trivia game.  The gentleman spoke loudly and directly to Bob asking, "ARE YOU A FOOTBALL PLAYER??"  He said that if Bob was a football player, he certainly would never want to mess with him.

The man continued to ask Bob if he played football for Penn State and if Bob had made All American yet - this happened about every two minutes (sorry activities director).  As Bob was petting Quincy who was perched on his lap, the man continued to ask Bob if his nickname was the "Gentle Giant", with a deep, loud, boisterous laugh to follow!

We couldn't help but laugh each time because the man was dead serious!

A few minutes into the football player discussion, one of the residents needed a hand maneuvering her wheelchair.  So Bob being the kind soul that he is, assisted the woman and repositioned her chair.  Suddenly, the football gentleman spoke up and said to the resident, "YOU SHOULD BE HONORED, YOU'RE BEING PUSHED BY AN ALL-AMERICAN!!!"

Next, the same boisterous man asked, "ARE YOU OVER OR UNDER 300?"  We weren't sure what he meant for sure so we said under, thinking he was asking about Bob's weight!!   We think perhaps the man saw Bob as a "giant" compare to my small stature??

Again, we were nearly in stitches!

Suddenly, as we were enjoying a few moments of laughter, it occurred to us how easy it was to forget about our surroundings of the secure dementia unit.

Through this very difficult time in our family we have realized that each day is a precious gift from God and we hope that by sharing of these reflections it will provide some light in a very heavy world that we live in.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Try, try again...

A week or so before the big 4th of July celebrations in the area, I spent much time researching how to photograph fireworks. I think I read every tutorial and blog post there is and I was determined to master it with all my being.

We decided that we'd check out the fireworks at Camp Susque, thanks to our awesome friends Mike and Kristina Miosi (Camp Director and his head cook, wife)!  It seemed like a great place to test all that I learned over the course of the week leading up to the 4th.

Prior to arriving at Camp Susque, I had changed all the necessary settings on my camera and equipped myself with my remote shutter release and tripod.

We arrived in plenty of time to scope out a great place to set-up shop.  The setting was stunningly beautiful...directly on the opposite side of the Camp pond.  The anticipation was killer as we watched darkness fall upon us.  Soon all we could really see was a little reflection in the pond directly in front of us, literally about 10 feet away.  We even had some extra company while we waited...a couple of bullfrogs and a fish or two that entertained us.

Most memorable moment: our friends' kiddos where catching lightning bugs and accidentally smooshed one so they placed it at the edge of the pond as a form of burial.  Next, these little girls stood shoulder to shoulder and proceeded to sing Amazing Grace.  It was priceless!

What a great little display and FUN time with friends (Mike, Kristina, Isaac and Rachel and their kiddos!). 

Unfortunately, I discovered very quickly how important distance between me and the fireworks are when attempting to photograph them. 

Here's one shot I was able to sort of salvage from my first attempt (don't judge!)...

This location definitely has potential.  I love the reflection off the pond but undoubtedly realize that I need to readjust my distance from the fireworks.

Epic fail.  :-(

I had one last hope of capturing some fireworks...Saturday night at Jersey Shore!  Again, we packed up the car with all my gear, this time including my wheelchair so that we'd be mobile once we found a parking spot for the car which, by the way, took about 40 minutes!

I think we traveled every side street in Jersey Shore - it was total chaos not only because of the fireworks display but because of their annual 4th of July carnival that was going on!  We finally landed in the Arby's parking lot and my handy assistant (Bob) wheeled me to our unknown location.

We scouted a couple of spots as darkness fell upon us and finally just decided to park ourselves between two vehicles in a really odd location but it was the best we could do under the circumstances.

Here's my second attempt at photographing fireworks (for those of you who've already seen the display on FB, you can skip to the end.)...

I'm beyond thrilled with the results!  We had a terrible location but you'd never know it from the photos.  There was an obnoxious lamp post off to the left of the photo and the roof of a building at the bottom right just below my watermark.  I carefully positioned my camera between each so that I could capture as many clean shots as possible.

Now we'll at least have an idea of what we're doing for the next time around.

For anyone interested in knowing the "secrets", it's pretty basic and exactly like every tutorial says:

• Shoot in all manual mode, including manual focus.
• Change a few settings in your camera like long exposure noise reduction, smile/face detection and steady shot to OFF. 
• Set your manual focus to infinity (if it's a zoom lens like I used (24-70mm), zoom out as far as it will go.  This concept really seemed odd to me since I'm so used to "focusing" on the subject.  Trust me, as confusing as it seems, just go with it...it works!  Just be sure to aim your lens in the sky where the fireworks are in view and be prepared to make little adjustments along the way.
• Mount your camera on a tripod.
• Equip your camera with a remote shutter release.  This is critical so that you don't move the camera and cause blurring of your images.  You'll get the hang of "when" to press the remote shutter release.  Basically, when I saw liftoff of the fireworks, I'd press the button so that by the time it actually exploded, I captured the entire thing!  Hard to believe but it really works!
• Set your aperture to F8-F11.  You may have to play with this and the shutter speed a bit to find the sweet spot.
• Set your shutter speed to 2-4 seconds. I believe that most of the above photos were shot at F10 and a shutter speed of 2 to 4 seconds.  The grand finale will be extremely bright so whatever you do, remember to change your shutter speed to 1-2 seconds so that your photos aren't over-exposed like mine were.
• Set the ISO to 100.
• And lastly, chose a proper distance from the fireworks so you have great composition for your photograph, instead of the roof of a building or a lamp post!  :-)

I think one of the biggest questions each tutorial left me with was - how far from the fireworks display should you be.  We guesstimated that we were about a quarter of a mile from the fireworks display in the images above.  The key is to quickly fire off some test shots and preview them so you can make the necessary adjustments on the fly.

And lastly, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again!