December Daze...

Where does the time go?  Being "stationary", it seems like time flies faster than when we are "on the road"!  Last blog, we just got back from Hawaii, and now, here we are at the end of December already!  What have we been doing?

After we painted the wall, and hung some of the art, it was time to "update" our couch.  It just didn't fit in with our new look!  I wanted it to be a plain (off) white.  I've gotten into Pinterest lately, so turned to it, and found a number of blogs on how to reupholster using cotton drop cloths.  Sounded easy enough.  So, two drop cloths, a bunch of Velcro, seam binding, and two weeks later...a "new couch"!   I have a love of 1950's tablecloths, and have collected a number of them to use in sewing projects.  I used several for the arm rests and pillows (reversible), and will again on seat cushions for my dining chairs when I tackle that project (soon).  It's not perfect, but we like it, and it beats spending hundreds of dollars on a new couch!  ;-) 

Thanksgiving brought my older sister Bette out to visit us for a week.  What a treat that was to have her here, even if only for a short time.  We invited another couple to join us for our very small feast and had a lovely Thanksgiving for our first one in our new tiny home.  I was so busy being the hostess, I forgot to take pictures!  But the day was lovely and we all had a great time!

 She and I went flower and plant shopping and had a ball!  She loves plants as much as I do, so I was saving that trip for when she was here.  I have a ton of pots & containers that needed filling, so, off we went to the store to gather up soil and various goodies to fill them.  Oh what fun we had!  Ran out of money before we ran out of ideas...

The week went by way to fast, the sun was shining brightly and each day I took her out and showed her our great park and tried to entice her to move here from rainy, cloudy, cold Washington...hee hee..

December brought the chance to sell some of our stuff!  Twice a year Happy Trails has a Yard Sale!  So...we drug out all our goodies and did our best to sell, sell, sell!  Well, I think the Goodwill did better than we did!  We did manage to sell some (about $100 worth) but not as much as I sure would have liked, but, what we didn't, we mostly hauled off.  My friend Delores has introduced me to "Swip Swap" and others, it's an online selling app that I've been pretty successful with.  I only use it for the larger pieces, as it's not worth it for me to to take pictures and then meet up with someone for items less than $25 (in my opinion).  I've sold about half my items this way...sure wish the other half would go, as I need the space!!  ;-)   It's fun though and you get to meet some nice folks too.  I've also held on to the cloths I'm selling as we have a big clothing sale in January and I'll give that a try next.  What the heck?  Right?

Did I tell you I joined the Theater Group here?  Well, we've started getting ready for the 2019 production.  The theme for it is "Starry, Starry, Night".  I'm in 4 spots.  At our holiday party, our costume designer was talking with each of us, then was asking around if anyone knew how to sew?  Of course my hand went up...next thing I know, I'm helping with reversible satin, 2 color vests!  Oh boy!  As my daughter laughingly reminded me, I have a tendency to "jump right in" and then the next thing I know is I'm in charge!  Oops!
Told her, "Oh no, not this time, I don't know enough about this stuff to ever be in charge, no thank you!"

We've still been working on projects.  The latest is my craft chest.  I inherited my Mother's amour.  She had it for many years, and I've had it for about 50 years.  It was a nice cedar one, but it's been kicked around from house to house and suffered a lot of heat and cold and abuse, and showed it.  It needed a lot of repair work.  Jack always was ready to get rid of it, but it's the only thing I have of hers.  I asked him to fix it, and to put shelves inside and thus, turn it into a craft chest for me.  He did a great job.  I then sanded the whole thing and then painted the outside and voila!  New craft chest!   I was then able to unload two very large boxes into the chest.  Now I can see, and get to all my wonderful crafts easily and joyfully!  Yea!  The only thing left is I want to decoupage a design on the front.  I just haven't found the right one yet. 

Being "alone" this year, it hasn't felt much like Christmas to me, but we did do one thing that was very special.  Our friends told us about a Christmas show called the Celebration of Christmas done at a church in Phoenix.  It has flying angels, live animals, singing, great costumes, etc.  I had shared that I had always wanted to go to the one in Garden Grove CA at the Crystal Cathedral and never made it (and now it's gone).  So, they organized a small group of us, and got tickets and we all went there and then afterwards all went to dinner.  What a great night and wonderful show!  The theme is, people are stuck at the airport on Christmas Eve, with all the flights cancelled due to weather...and various stories with various couples...ending of course with the story of Christmas.  Just beautiful.

We finally did put up a couple of decorations outside.  That's it for this year though, we will do more next year.  2019 will be a better year, for us and for everyone!  Cheers!

Marie

Vacation!

Yes, even people who spend their time “leasurely traveling” around need a vacation!  For us, it means getting away from the RV and camping - so we hop on a plane and stay in one of our time share places.  This time, it was a week in Maui. 

A week isn’t very long (for us) but we took some friends along with us, and booked two suites.  Our friends had never been to the islands before, and when we heard that, we couldn’t resist taking them along!  It’s so much more fun to share the adventure with others.  It was also Jack’s 75th birthday, so that added to the celebration.

Having been before, we were excited to show John and Delores all around.  The weather was glorious, and we didn’t waste a moment after we arrived.  First stop, downtown Lahaina!  Lunch at Bubba Gump’s for fresh sea food and a “toast” to celebrate our stay.  A nice walk around town, taking in all the lovely views.  It didn’t take Delores long to buy her first souvenir either!

High on our list of “to do’s” was a luau, and that was booked before we left.  I had talked with someone from the time share and set it all up and got us VIP seating for the best one on the island, The Old Lahaina Luau.   I had read about it, and was excited to see it.  We had done one in Kauai, but not in Maui, so this would be new for us as well.

The night of the luau, our hosts met us and we all got our pictures taken, then were escorted to the luau and were greeted with orchid leis and cocktails.  We had our own server throughout the evening that never left our side.  Our seats were the BEST!  The only ones in front of us, were the ones sitting on the floor (no thanks, to old for that!).  The entertainment, the food, the drinks, the atmosphere, everything, was just wonderful.  We really lucked out on the weather too, as it was right on the beach, and we didn’t even need our light sweaters we brought.  Such a great night.

The following day, we took them on the road to Hana.  I don’t think they liked it as much as we did.  Delores isn’t much for winding roads - even if the scenery is beautiful.  I thought that if we took it slow, and stopped a lot, she would be okay, but, not really.  Oh well…we still loved seeing it (again).  It’s some of the prettiest part of the island, I think.   We did stop at one new place this time, and that was at MauiWine.  Delores, John and I did wine tasting.  We all agreed…pineapple wine is not for us.  Oh well, it was fun trying it.

Jack wanted to celebrate his birthday at Slappy Cakes a pancake house.  So, that’s what we did!  It’s a unique restaurant where you can make your own pancakes on a griddle in the middle of the table and/or order pancakes as you do at other places.  While we ordered ours, Jack made his.  He had fun playing with the shapes of his pancakes, making faces, and his “age”, etc.  He may be 75, but he’s still a kid at heart!

The week went by way to fast.  Beautiful days with lovely sunrises and sunsets and even a rainbow or two.  But, all good things have to come to an end (or so they say)…so on the plane we came home, once again. 

We are now back in Arizona, nose deep in settling in to this new tiny house of ours.  Still finding things we’d forgotten we had, wondering where we are going to put it now, or do we get rid of it…and in between it all, planning our next adventure!


…kicking back in Arizona,  Marie


If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Catching Up...

Well, they say "after three days fish and family begin to smell"...I wonder what one says about two weeks?  We camped alongside my niece's home in "exchange" for cooking a few meals...pretty good deal, and the company was nice too!  ;-)  Being Tacoma, the weather wasn't half bad either (most of the time).  The rain pretty much kept to the evenings, and gave us mild sun during the days.  We spent most of our time seeing doctors, catching up with family and helping out my nieces finish up my sister's place.  They are all still struggling with her passing last month and I was here to see if I could help in any way.  I mostly listened...and hugged.  Loosing a sister is tough, but loosing a mom is tougher...no matter what age you are.

It was finally time to go, and head on back to Arizona.  Our plan was to spend a couple of days camping at Mt. Rainer...if the weather cooperated, that is.  We've never been able to do it before because we've always been here in the dead of winter, but since it was only September, there was a slight chance it might not be raining (at least for a couple of days), we thought we would chance it, so off we went!

Well, the gods weren't with us...the sun was out when we left, but the closer we got, the worse it got, and by the time we got to the mountain, ugh.  Rain, rain, rain!  So, we kept right on going...until we ended up in Baker City OR.  It turned out to be quite a cute little town with some interesting things to see...so we extended our stay!

Baker City has a great historical downtown with some wonderful old buildings (they even have a visitor's brochure for you), but my favorite was their 1940 theater.

Everyone there kept telling us about their Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, and what a "must see" it was to visit...so, we did!  They were right...a super great museum, and outside even had an actual piece of the ruts left from the trail itself.  Very cool.

We have all heard so much about the Oregon Trail, with so many movies, art, and our travels, etc. but a lot of it wasn't like that.  For instance...

*  They didn't travel in a long line like we've seen in pictures & in the movies, they traveled across from each other or bunched up because they didn't want to breath each other's dust (makes sense)
*  They didn't all ride in the wagons, the women and children, etc walked the whole way.  The only ones "riding" were the ones driving the wagon.  The wagons were full of provisions, and very uncomfortable too
*  Horses didn't pull the wagons, they were mostly pulled by oxen or mules because of the weight
*  The wagons didn't have springs in them, they were special built prairie schoone wagons
*  Not all Indian situations were bad.  Early emigrants were grateful for the cooperation and generosity of the Indians they met on the Trail.  They were guides and were strong swimmers who herded frightened cattle and horses across rivers and were willing to trade salmon, vegetables and fruit for stock, clothing, tools and utensils.  Many more emigrants would have died on the Trail if not for the Tribe's help

I often wondered "why?" and "what possessed these people to travel almost 2000 miles to a place they had never really seen?"  The museum answered it for me...

"Oregon fever" struck in hundreds of ways - emigrants moved away from home and hearth for different reasons.  A national depression, falling crop prices, and disease-ridden city environment encouraged some.  Others, running from debt, or from the local sheriff.  Still others hoped for good farming, or as one character put it, "Just to get where I ain't".  Most who came West were farmers, with them came merchants, preachers, and eventually the military.  Women and children followed ambitious men, waving farewells to families and friends left behind.    Many imagined Oregon as rich, well-watered paradise, with good soil, few bugs and fewer people. 

All I can say, is that these were some strong, brave folks.  To endure what they did, for six long months, is far more than most of us do in a life time.  Pretty amazing...

The Oregon Trail rut

The Oregon Trail is more than just an old dirt road.  It represents the hopes and dreams of a growing nation, individuals and groups, heartache and hardship, lasting friendships and new homes.  It symbolizes a tradition of movement and change, the willingness to start over, and the search for opportunity.  It also represents less heroic elements of the emigrant movement, such as the irreversible cultural and social changes brought as Native peoples were pushed off their homelands.

Baker City is also surrounded by historic ghost towns, so we took an afternoon drive out to the country to see "what we could see"!  The only one that had much left was the
mining town of Sumpter.

As you drive into the Sumpter Valley, you see piles & piles of gravel...everywhere!  We later found out they are called "tailings" - refuse left behind by people's quest for gold....and one of the tools used to dig up the valley floor is the Sumpter Valley Dredge State Heritage Park's centerpiece - a monument to human ingenuity surrounded by the restorative wonders of nature.  The tool used to plow up most of what was once pasture and open meadows along the Powder River is a five-story vessel known as the Sumpter Valley Dredge.  Wider than a large riverboat, the dredge is now grounded where it stopped operating in 1954.  It is one of the nation's oldest surviving gold-digging dredge, weighing 1240 tons with a 52' wide hull.

It managed to navigate the Sumpter Valley in a pond of its own creation, scooping up its 72 buckets (each weighing one ton) at the rate of 280,000 cubic yards per month.  In 41 years, Sumpter Valley Dredge works extracted $4.5 million in gold.

The town was kind of cute too, with it's old buildings and history.  We even got a great glimpse of an eagle as we drove out of town on our way home!  All in all, it was a fun visit!

Well, we are back "home" again in Arizona.  Trying to get things unpacked and turn this tiny house into a home...weeding through boxes and figuring out what treasures we keep and what we can part with...oh the joys of "downsizing" once again!  But, turning white walls into pretty blue ones, and seeing all our favorite art work once again displayed has it's upside!  It's nice to see our friends again and to be in the sunshine too!  We are looking forward to the activities here, and settling in a bit before our next "big trip" in the spring.

Until then, we have one "vacation" planned to Hawaii, then it will be quiet on the travel front for us for awhile...

...kicking back in Arizona,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Hanging around...

We've been hanging around for the last couple of weeks in the small town of Warden, just outside of Moses Lake Washington.  Just killing time, over the Labor Day Holiday, visiting all the small communities around here...even learning a bit of "local farming"!

This area seems to be THE area for onions, potatoes, corn and wheat, sunflowers and then just down the road a bit you've got apples, apples and more apples!  We had fun one day just watching the tractors first digging up the onions, then the trucks hauling them from the fields over to the processing plants and dumping them and off they go again!  The smell was so strong just watching them, my eyes were watering!  What an education though!

Another day trip was over to see Palouse Falls in Franklin.  They drop 198 feet!  Even in late August they had a great deal of water, which I was delighted to see.  They are considered the "official waterfall of Washington".   Carved more than 13,000 years ago, Palouse Falls is among the last active waterfalls on the Ice Age floods path.  It was a nice trip!

We did a day's driving loop and wound up stopping at the Ginko Petrified Forest State Park in Ellensburg.  Interesting place, with a number of petrified logs on display of a variety of trees.  A nice museum with a video explaining how they get petrified (volcano & floods and centuries of time).  Pretty cool, actually.

The cutest town we visited (twice) was Ritzville.  It had a number of great old buildings for me to photograph as well as some wonderful metal sculptures that their local artist created for them.  They are intended to have historical connection to the city, its forefathers and the agricultural industry that surrounds the city.  They were pretty unique, I thought.

Plus a funny one outside an art studio!

They also had a really cool Railroad Depot Museum that not only kept many of it's own original pieces like the 1910 Ticket Office, terrazzo floors.  It also houses wonderful turn of the century artifacts and memorabilia like a horse drawn hearse, and an old sleigh, trunks, etc.  They also have a beautiful restored Northern Pacific Railway Caboose (c1970).

Our second trip to Ritzville was to attend their Wheatland Communities' Fair!  A four-day event over the Labor Day Holiday.  It's always fun to see local community fairs, and as I've shared, they are all different!  We thought, being that this was a multi-community, it could be bigger than the last one (and it charged an entrance fee), it would be bigger than the last one we went to...but, no, it was actually smaller!  Prettier setting, more spread out, in a park setting and nice metal barns, with a rodeo later in the evening (which we didn't stay for), but less to see and do.  More kid's activities tho, "good food" vs "junk food".  Far fewer entries in the Arts and Crafts section, which I was really surprised at.  We did stay and watch the the animal auction though, which was fun!  Amazing to watch young kids herding in thousand pound cows like city kids pulling on a dog.  ;-)

I loved that the judges made comments on the photo contests!

All in all, it's been a fun experience being out here in the farmland of central Washington - good for "city folk" to experience it!  Time for us to move on to Tacoma and be with family for awhile now...

...kicking back in Washington,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Fun at the Fair!

One of the fun things we like to do is attend the "local fairs" when we can.  It's always fun to see what an area's "County Fair" is like...each is so different!  Over the years we've wandered into everything from banjo contests to tri-state 4H competitions, to tiny little fairs that we could hardly even find to great big ones.  You just never know what your going to find, that's why I like them!

So, when I saw the ad for the "Idaho County Fair" I got excited!  "Oh boy", I told Jack, "Lets go and see what it's all about!" so, off we went on opening day!

The first thing I noticed that was different, was...no admission charge!  ;-)  The first tent we went into was the Arts & Crafts competition...my favorite!  Right as we entered was the Best of Show quilts - beautiful!!  Now, I have to say, we've seen some beautiful quilts over the years, but wow, (the one on the left) I would have actually bought this one, it was so beautiful!  My picture does not do it justice.

Then on around the room we went, enjoying the rest of the quilts, and needlework, flower arrangements, and then, my favorite (of course) the photography.  Always fun to see what the "judges" think should be the 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners.  I've never figured out their reasoning...have you?  Anyway, all fun!

Now it was time to try out the local food!  Hm mm what to try first?  One of the fun things to do at a fair is to go crazy and eat what "this year's fad is", right?  Well, I walked up and down and read the menus, and it seemed that the "savory" was a mashed potato cup with tons of cheese along with onions, bacon and some other things I can't remember...what ever it was, it was to much for me (and that's saying a lot) - so I passed it up.  The "sweet" was deep fried Oreo cookies (to sweet for me too).  I opted for "steak bites & fries", not bad, and then had a Huckleberry Ice Cream cone for dessert!!  Yum!

Next up, the entertainment!  It was fiddle players, and pretty good too!  At one point a grandmother brought her young grandson up with his and encouraged him to play one song for us, very sweet.  All along the sides in the the background you could just hear the auctioneer selling off the 4 H kids animals, and watch them as they brought them in and out of the barns, getting them ready to sell.

Its so fun to watch all the children at these family oriented, small fairs.  There were no rides or carnival games.  It was all about the animals, the arts and crafts and local talent.  It was about family, friends and time together.  Old fashioned and nice.

After we left there, there was one more stop I wanted to make en route back to our campsite and that was a visit to the The Monastery of St Gertrude in Cottonwood.

This is an active monastery of Benedictine sisters who live here and operate a B & B and a Spirit Center Retreat Center.  It was founded by 3 sisters who arrived in 1882 from a cloister in Sarnen Switzerland.  In their long history they established 14 schools and 2 hospitals.

The Monastery is not open to the public but they have a history museum and a beautiful chapel that is.  We visited both and had a delightful conversation with one of the sisters in the history museum.  What a unique place.  I'm so glad we stopped.

What a nice way to end our visit of Idaho, now we are off to Washington!  Over the hills and through the fields we go...

...on the road,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

A little bit of heaven...

After leaving Ft. Pierre, we did spend a few days in Spearfish SD and had a blast walking the streets of Sturgis gawking at all the various motorcycles along with all the paraphernalia that one could buy to go along with them!  What a blast these people were going to have the next week at this rally!  They had all kinds of entertainment lined up for them, from big name bands to races.  Good for them!  Our campsite was already booked with 90% riders coming in ahead to enjoy the countryside and side trips.  The weather was great, they were all in for a wonderful week ahead!  We were there three days, long enough to enjoy the sights and buy some "souvenirs", then on to Montana to meet up with some friends...

We settled into our campground in Montana that we were to meet up with our friends, only to find out that it wasn't going to happen.  Unfortunately, family problems occurred and they couldn't meet up with us.  Life happens.  So, the luxury of having your home with you, you just check your map, and the weather, and reroute yourself!  I made a couple of calls and found out that some of our other friends were camped not to far from us in Idaho, so, we headed over to them!

We had a nice, albeit short visit with our friends before they had to scoot to Oregon for a prescheduled appointment to have some work done on their rig.  We decided that since we were in Idaho, we would spend some time driving around the areas we haven't seen in our previous visits here!  One of the nice things Jack does is keep a "Master Map" of every route we've taken through the years.  That way we can see which roads we've been on and which roads we haven't yet.  Jack found a great scenic route for us right through the middle of Idaho that looked really good for this trip, so that's what we decided to take for the next couple of weeks...making a  s l o w  e a s y  route up to Washington.  Nice.

Making my reservations for the first couple of stops, I found out that the area we were heading through over the weekend, that they were celebrating a "Huckleberry Festival" and were booked solid everywhere I checked!  Oh my..."who knew?"  Well, I ended up going a little further north (to Riggins) than we had planned and ended up at a very small campground called Riverside RV Park.  The reviews seemed nice, but there were only a couple...but I was getting desperate.  I called them and the lady seemed really nice, checked and yes, they had a spot big enough for us, and ...yes, someone just cancelled, so we could even come in on Thursday, making it 3 nights.  Yea.  I had no idea what to expect, but we could handle anything for 3 nights.  No problem.

Well, it wasn't anything like I expected...IT WAS PARADISE!!  OMG!!  I Wish we could have stayed there for a week or more!!  Pure heaven...Our sweet spot was a pull through right alongside lush green grass with a nice picnic table and all of it over-looked the Salmon River!  There were even steps down to the river, so, if you were a fisherman, or just even liked to go and sit on the rocks below and put your feet in the water, you could - right there at your campsite!  All this right under the the most beautiful, full canopied tree you could ask for.  Beautiful, peaceful, and all for $30. a night.  Amazing.  Bob, the owner was such a sweet guy too, you would see him here and there moving the sprinkler, chatting with people, etc.

Just up the road a bit, we enjoyed watching rafters spend some time on the river and wished we were with them!  ...maybe we will do that next week when we are in Grangeville.

Such a nice surprise to find a bit of heaven along our little adventure in Idaho!  It will be fun to see what else is in store for us as we travel along our "scenic route"!

...on the road in Idaho,  Marie

Swinging through South Dakota!

First stop on our way through South Dakota, Sioux Falls!  With a quick read in our trusty AAA Book, I learned that the best place to start was at the Falls Park Visitor Center because they had a two-story viewing tower that looked out over the falls!  No matter how big or small those were, that sounded like the best place to get some good pictures and find out what, if anything, there was to see in this small town in our short stay here, so off we went!

Beautiful little park, and great tower!  The falls weren't tall, but spread out, so seeing them via the tower was really the best way to go.  They reminded me a lot of the falls in downtown Idaho Falls ID, only I think these are actually a lot longer.  Either way, their beautiful and have a lovely park surrounding them.

That done, we headed downtown.  They have what's called "SculptureWalk", an extensive outdoor exhibit, consisting of sculptures displayed throughout their downtown area year-round.  Each May, new sculptures are placed on display and observers may vote for their favorite sculpture during summer.  I don't know if they have a winner or not, nothing said so.  We had a lot of fun walking up and down the streets looking (and taking lots of pictures) at the various  ones.  All different, some whimsical, some serious.  Here are a few of my favorite ones...

"Amelia always had an adventuresome spirit and motherhood wasn't going to slow her down.  Most jet packs have just two jets.  With a little barn yard engineering she determined that more lift was required.  She settled on five heavy thrust Harley Davidson jets."by Dale Lewis

"Red Legged Frog" - "I love the challenge of depicting the correct anatomical details of these endangered animals in my unique style by giving them human characteristics that bring them to life in an engaging, playful manner." By Pokey Park

"This sculpture of a stylized Mourning Dove in flight was originally commissioned by my Alma mater.  The College of William and Mary in 2010, where it is the centerpiece in their Memorial Grove." By David Turner

"Dignity" of Earth and Sky by Dale Claude Lamphere

As we were driving, we stopped at a unique Rest Stop  in Chamberlain - it paid homage to Lewis and Clark (as we were about to cross the Missouri River as well as the indigenous people.  A beautiful, 50' statue of an Native woman gracefully wears a quilt featuring 128 stainless steel blue diamond shapes designed to flutter in the wind.   During the day, her star quilt-a representation of respect, honor and admiration in Native American culture-glitters in the sun with pieces that change color depending on the amount of light.  At night, LED lights cause the diamonds to glow in the night sky, casting a peaceful presence easily visible from the Interstate.

"Standing at a crossroads, Dignity echoes the interaction of earth, sky and people. She brings to light the beauty and promise of the indigenous peoples and cultures that still thrive on this land. My intent is to have the sculpture stand as an enduring symbol of our shared belief that all here are sacred, and in a sacred place"

Then, alongside was a building that had Lewis and Clark exhibits with a 55' replica of their keel boat and supplies with tents etc.  Nice. 

After leaving Sioux Falls, we headed to the Capitol of South Dakota, Pierre to add to my every growing list.  That gives us 25, so we are half way there!  Boy, if we had started doing this when we first started out, we would probably be (almost) done by now...but, then what would I have to collect?  ;-)  I've already completed all the state signs (some day I'm going to create a poster of all of them, won't that be cool?).

Pierre and Ft. Pierre are tiny towns, with not much going for them except for the Capitol!  It's a nice one, but no guide this time, but a good booklet with detailed information, thank goodness!

We started off our day early at their Capitol Farmer's Market...that took all of three minutes to peruse and see that it didn't really have much, so we tootled across the street for breakfast.  We were just about the only ones venturing into the Capitol it seemed today, no surprise there, so we took our time.

Outside were a couple of nice monuments as well...

 This monument depicts the images of Washington, Franklin, Madison and Hamilton signing the Constitution of the US.  What I liked about this was they also stated below..."It is our hope that this monument will not just honor the past but endeavor to give inspiration to the youth who come to visit our capitol, as it is the youth of today who will determine the future and destiny of tomorrow..."

South Dakota WWII Warriors Memorial on Capitol Lake

...and then a peek at the Governor's Residence...

As we were cruising through town, we saw statues of
"gentlemen" on just about every corner! All a little different, it finally peeked my curiosity enough to finally get out of the car and go read the small plaque next to a couple...it turned out that they were all past governors!  Cute! 












...on the road,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/