I was all alone on Thursday (Randi had a doctor’s appointment and Nick was upstairs on the computer) so I snuck some pictures in the basement. I had Friday off as well since Randi gets every other Friday off.
Thursday evening was lovely....got to catch up on some reading, choreograph some dance stuff, watched the Prince of Persia, then slept in Friday morning. Kay, Jon, Molly and Jackson were arriving a little later than planned, but I got to fudge the day cleaning the apartment and doing nothing very important. Left about 2:00 to meet them them in Keystone, where I parked my car at the Travelodge so we would only have to pay for one car load. Rushmore was very fun because I hadn’t been there in 10 years or so, Kay hadn’t been there in....longer, and Molly and Jackson had never seen it. Took some really fun pictures (including a jumping shot!) and walked the boardwalk at the base of the mountain....of course the entire time Jackson and I were debating the inaccuracies of National Treasure II. Don't even get me started!
When we got back to Keystone, Molly got in the car with me and we all caravanned to Deadwood for dinner. A very nice little town but we couldn’t figure out why it was so busy and crowded. We went to a huge new building that was supposed to be a restaurant, but was apparently also a hotel and casino. It was PACKED! So we walked 3 or 4 blocks to this little hole-in-the-wall bar to get some dinner and then we saw the huge sign advertising the Big and Rich and Gretchen Wilson concert at the casino downtown. Ahh. That explains a few things.
Because of the concert, the bar was really backed up on food orders, but we didn’t mind the hour wait for our food because the bar was also a hotel and a 3-story antique shop. Molly, Jackson, and I had a great time ‘treasure book’ hunting....and found some really great old texts. I found a 500 page history of England, France, and Germany from 1715-1789. Only $9 so I HAD to have it. Jackson found an old chemistry text book for $4 and I bet he could make a bomb out of it. Hahahaha! Molly found one of the old Great Illustrated Classics copies of Little Women. Without going into too much detail, there is a huge historic relationship between my childhood and that exact book, so I bought it for her. Gosh she reminds me of me.....she didn’t put it down until she finished it about 11:30 last night!
We took a different road back to Spearfish that was VERY scenic. Molly read her new book out loud to me and took some great pictures while I drove. Once we were back at the apartment, it was WONDERFUL to have people in it! It was almost crowded with all 5 of us. We crashed on the couch with some brownies and cookies Grandma had sent with them and chilled until we all fell asleep.
Breakfast was exciting this morning. Kay and I were about the only 2 that could fit in the kitchen and we made eggs to order, bacon, and toast for everyone. Trying to find enough plates, silverware, and glasses for the 5 of us was a challenge, but made the morning interesting....along with trying to get us all through one bathroom.
I showed them around the Hatchery after breakfast. Everything was open except the office where I work, but we got to see the grounds, the ponds, and the museum. Plus it was a gorgeous day! About 11:00 they all piled into their car and headed out. A sad goodbye, but goodness I got to see my cousins three weekends in a row without even being home! I’m feeling pretty blessed to have such an awesome family.I’m really thankful for they’re willingness to come and see me and fill my little apartment with the sound of people.
In the park, there was a wedding in the gazebo and two different family reunions in pavilions. My own Schumacher family reunion is currently underway back home at the lake this weekend, and I realized this was only the 2nd Schumacher Reunion I’ve ever missed. The first was 4 years ago when I went on my first trip abroad to England as a sophomore in high school. Feeling a tad more courageous than usual, I approached some of the ladies cutting up watermelon under the pavilion and asked whose family reunion they were hosting. They responded “Novey....are you a Novey?” Must be a big family. I answered that no I was not, but I was a Schumacher, and I told them about missing my own reunion back home. I felt kind of awkward because I teared up a little when I mentioned home. I think they understood where I was coming from because they kindly invited me to join them for their reunion. “After all,” one of them said, “Only half of us our Noveys, the rest are Deiber’s, which is just as German as Schumacher so we’re practically related!” It was a kind offer, but it was just too much and I couldn’t accept. I wished them a wonderful day and they wished me a blessed last week here in Spearfish....and I’m pretty sure it will be. :)
Not much else to do with the day, so I decided to drive through Spearfish Canyon. I didn’t really know anything about it except that there are signs for it everywhere and it’s somewhere on highway 14A. Turns out, the Canyon is a 20 mile scenic drive through the Black Hills down 14A....and the speed limit is 35 mph. Adding in a stop every 3 or 4 miles for a photo opportunity and some hiking, and my drive to the other end took about an hour and a half. At the end of the 20 miles, there was a sign for the filming location for Dances With Wolves....so naturally I kept going. Found some really cool gravel roads that took me about 3 miles up into the Hills and right past some amazing waterfalls. Locked the car and started on a hike, but about a half mile in, a sneaky little snake slithered across the path in front of me. No rattle on the end, but it did remind me that rattlesnakes are not uncommon out here, and I’d rather have someone with me, or at least within 100 yards of me, if I’m going to hike through rocky terrain with snakes. Yes, I had my knife with me, but a knife in your hand doesn’t do you much good when a rattler gets you in the ankle.
The drive back to town went by much faster than the drive out of town. Went back to the city park and parked myself on a bench with my book for awhile. About the time my skin started to turn too red for comfort, I began hearing the faint calling of my apartment’s air conditioning, so I decided to head back to my little cave and share some of my weekend adventures with you. :) Happy Weekend ya'll!
.....God's already been there.
Casey -
ReplyDeleteWow! Again! Your posts have been so thoughtful. I am actually going to email you with some thoughts. It will be great when we can discern what might be next for you in person.
Shari