Black Hills

How could we begin with anything but the Mt. Rushmore "faces". We went to the evening lighting ceremony with Brian, Donna, Rachel, Jon and Lori. What a fun evening that was. We had an opportunity to walk the grounds a little before the lighting which can only be held at dusk. The ceremony begins with a question and answer game held with the audience. Then a 10 minute talk by a ranger and she was very good at giving details of the area. Then a 20 minute video with short vignettes on each of the 4 past presidents. That was very insightful as it gave incidents that we don't usually think of, it was more the general philosophy of each person.

The recent renovation of the Rushmore area makes a visit there turn minds to patrotism and pride for those who have given of themselves to make this country a better place to live. The flags add to the emotion of pride.

After the lights were put on the faces and after the video a group of Boy Scouts lowered the flag and folded it according to protacal. All in the audience who had served or where still serving in some branch of the military were invited up to the stage for recognition. Dad of course went up along with many, many other men and women. Then the ranger took the flag and walked past the people lined up on the stage, had them touch the flag and they each gave their name and branch of service they had served in. The audience was totally quiet during the ceremony. It was so good to witness the respect the audience had for our Country and for those who had served.

Not on the same level but an expected event in the Black Hills is seeing some of the wild animals and we really lucked out on that.

We took the Custer State Park loop and saw hundreds of buffalo. There were many adult buffalo, some huge beasts, but many young born this spring. They could not have been less concerned that there were dozens of cars stopped to take their picture. At least they ignored the cars. A little farther along there were many dozens of donkeys. They did not ignore but walked up to the vehicles, stuck their heads in the windows if open and expected a treat of some kind. Then farther along the road were what we thought were antelope. I really like the long range optical zoom on the new camera in cases like this with animals. No need for long range zoom with donkeys however.

Saturday we drove to Deadwood to see the parade celebrating their Days of '76. The parade was mostly horses, naturally, with a few community bands, old cars, etc. Deadwood is an old town but has been restored so that the buildings look very neat. However, we did notice that about every other building down town was either a casino or pub. The bikers have begun gathering in the Stugis area already so they could be heard revving up their cycles in Deadwood and most every little town around here. I would not care to be in the area when the "race" is actually held. I believe it is Aug. 3-9 this year. There are many good bikers and the church we attended this morning in Rapid City was organizing their congregation to have a tent up for 3 days and offer food, spiritual food and other amenities for the bikers. Some of them were staying in homes near the church and they have reached out to the bikers for several years.

I think the picture at the left was my favorite entry in the parade. Of course the Native American was a big part of this State's history and the people have not forgotten it.

We have enjoyed the many components of what make this place special We enjoy the history and have made new friends while getting this education.

Tuesday we head to Sioux Falls, spend the night there with two girls who are excited to spend a night in the RV with us and then on to Sioux Center and the activities of visiting family and the wedding on the 7th. Don't know if I will faithfully blog the next couple of weeks but we leave again in Sept. for an RVICS project in Kansas so will try to keep you updated on that and successive projects, the Lord willing.
Love and best wishes to you all,

Mom and Dad, Marilyn and Wilmer

The "Barn" and more

This week was spent in Jackson, WY. We will be leaving here tomorrow, Monday, and spend next week in Hart Ranch at Rapid City, SD. We plan to be home July 28.

As I said before we enjoy the Grant Tetons more then Yellowstone National Park although we did spend time in each. The picture to the left has probably changed our picture taking for all time - and then again probably not. While site seeing on Saturday we met this couple who were both great photographers. This barn has been the object of many professional photographers for many years. This man we met told us that while the picture was great at any time that at sun rise it was really special. So can you imagine we got up at 5:oo this morning to get a picture of the barn? Well, not a picture but many pictures as the sun was coming up. We did not get the "best" as it was partially cloudy this morning but we got several that still qualify, in our book, as good pictures. The mountains in the background are the Tetons. There is a Grand, Medium and South Teton peak. If interested in how they got their name, this is the story. When the Native Americans were in this area they naturally gave them a name in their language. Seems that name, when translated, means three breasts, which translated means Tetons. Now you know the rest of the story!

This picture was not taken at 5:30 in the morning - it was taken yesterday by the same man who told us he would take a picture worthy of a Christmas card. So if we do that you have a sneak preview of what it will be.

We have had just gorgeous weather. There is such a wide range of temperatures. During the night we put the portable heater on for awhile and in the day we keep peeling layers of clothing off as the temperature rises. We aren't complaining, it still never gets any where near 112 degrees but probably more like into the 80's. Perfect weather for roaming around outside as we have been doing.

Jackson is a unique town. It was founded by the LDS church and that is quite evident and pleasantly so. The town is old but it is clean and neat. Potted plants hang in front of every store which makes for a beautiful street. One day we walked from the campground to the downtown just to get a feel of the town and converse with people. It was really interesting. Many store workers were willing to share aspects of their town. For us, knowing about the town and the people is an important part of traveling like we do. While down town we took a break at the park. A man and woman were sitting across from us on a bench. Suddenly the man started clawing and falling all over the woman and the bench. We didn't know if they were together and they were having a fight because the woman seemed to be helping and fighting back at the same time. Soon the EMTs were called and they took him away. In talking with the woman we discovered she did not know the man and that he suddenly went into a seizure. He could not stand or even sit on his own so she was trying to keep him from falling. She related that the man was lonely, had diabetes and had been hospitalized earlier in the week as well , this she knew from her conversation with him before the seizure. She suspected a diabetic seizure. She works in a school with students that have compromised health so she knew what to do and how to do it. I am afraid we would have been very inept in helping him.

Our day in Yellowstone turned out to be more time on the road then sight seeing. Road construction delayed us a great deal. Three hours to Yellowstone, 3 hours of being at the Park and then three hours back. But we were faithful in our quest to see Old Faithful spout off. We were amazed, as always, at the phenomenon of seeing the geyser and hearing the story about it. The geyser spews out 3700-8400 gallons with each eruption depending on the length of time it erupts which can range from 1 1/2 minutes to 5 minutes. Its height ranges from 106 feet to more than 180 feet with an average height of 130 feet. When it spews the water temperature at the vent is 204 degrees. The Yellowstone Park experiences about 2000 earthquakes a year but most of them are not felt above ground. Earthquakes are a necessary part of maintaining the natural "plumbing" system open. Interesting that there were 4 more geysers that were active that day and they kept spewing out for longer than Old faithful and were almost as high. We could see 4 geysers at the same time.

This is a wannabe. It was almost as spectacular but it only goes off once in 12 hours and the time is not nearly as predictable as Old Faithful. Old Faithful goes off every hour and a half so that is FAITHFUL.

The next picture is not beautiful but it is interesting to see these bubbly springs. I won't bore you with details but the springs can erupt at any place so caution is necessary as one foot could collapse the ground and a spring would bubble forth and the person could get burned badly. Seems like when we were at Yellowstone before that we could walk closer but now there are board walkways all around the area. Good idea. The springs can be most any color and some bubbly constantly. Makes one wonder just what is going on under the ground in that area. I don't think this happens any other place in the world or at least not many places.
Hope this finds you all well. So good to talk to so many of you on a regular basis or through email. So many great events as well as challenging times in our family. We uphold each one of you in prayer and will continue to believe that God will guide and give you direction as you face whatever the day brings.

Love to all, Mom and Dad/ Grandpa and Grandma/ Wilmer and Marilyn - whatever fits.

Roots!

Monday we left Sparks, NV, continued to travel on Tuesday until we got to Salt Lake City, Utah. The drive was marked with mountains in a distance which were interesting but not close enough to the road to make driving difficult. We had purposely made Salt Lake City a destination we wanted to stay at for a few days so we could spend time at the Genealogy Library. It must have been close to 20 years since we had been at the library but our memory of it was still keen - a goldmine for those who like to dig up information on their family tree. We were not disappointed in what we found, we filled some empty spots on our charts and expanded our chart in other areas. We spent Wednesday and Thursday and most of Friday "digging in the dust." One of you kids said they would rather be put in time out in a corner than hunt up genealogy, good thing we are all different. I can appreciate that feeling but I must admit the hunting and finding intrigues us. It is kind of like a puzzle when you are looking for a particular piece. you know the color and size but need to find just the right piece. Same with genealogy. We try various "trails" before we find the right one. When we do it is fun.

As you followed us in our travels the past year you know that we have worshipped in churches of various denominations. This week we spent time on Temple Square which is the center for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The reason we spent time there is that the Genealogy Library is on the Square. The Square is beautiful as you will see in the pictures coming up. This morning, Sunday morning, we went to the Music and The Spoken Word service. The Service is mostly the Morman Tabernacle Choir with a very short inspirational story. We had been taking a shuttle to the Square each day. This Church really operates mostly on volunteers so volunteers run a shuttle from the KOA where we are staying and the Square. We went to the 9:30 service but were shuttled already at 8:10. That gave us the opportunity of listening to the choir rehearse for 30 minutes and then heard them for 30 minutes at the service. The program is broadcast in 100's of stations across the world. The Choir was fabulous, we have several CD's of them and always like their music. It is non-denominational and many aspects of it are very Calvinistic. Of course we go in different directions at some point in our doctrine.

The photo above is the one where the service was held this morning. It is beautiful. The choir is volunteer but it is a long process to get in. Must be 25 years old or older, must go through various training programs and then hope you get invited to join the choir. You can be in 20 years and must retire at 60. Once in it is a tremendous commitment but their music is indeed professional sounding. The choir has 260 members. The Conference Center seats 21,000. Seven thousand on the main floor, 7,000 on the next level and then 7,000 in the balcony. The services use to be in the Tabernacle but that only holds 4,000 so that was not adequate for their conferences, etc. The picture to the left shows the Tabernacle. It is a oval dome. The story is that the then-president was wondering how to make a unique but beautiful building and while he was having breakfast he looked at his boiled egg and thought "that is the shape for the tabernacle". The grounds are just beautiful with flowers.

We had a tour guide who showed us around, she is doing this as part of her missionary service that most members of the church do for 1 or 2 years. She took us to the roof of the conference Center to show us the gardens on the roof. Plants and trees grow in artificial ground, a substance that is lighter than ground. The one side of the gardens is suppose to look like the view of the land for the benefit of the settlers who lived in the East. The other side has greenery that would look like the other side of the state. Seems this was to give the people a sense of belonging and having their background memorialized . It was interesting.

This is the Temple (Holy of Holies, my title). We remember from the past that only certain people (apostles) were allowed to worship there, they actually did say it was open to all today but we did not go.

No, I am not making a statement about the Church of Latter Day Saints but wanted to share some of the beauty and devotion the members of the church have for the present generation but also for those who have gone on before. The reason the genealogy library was started was for the members to find relatives that might be "lost" and this way they can find them and pray for them. (into a higher level) I think it evolved far beyond their wildest imagination and now is open and free to all. They have people who annually come from foreign countries to search the library records. They have a volunteer staff that is very friendly and helpful. If the country you are researching is in the Netherlands they find a person who speaks dutch so that when you find something they will read what you "found". the Netherlands was very good at keeping records and that helps. Now if they wouldn't have insisted in writing in such a scrolling manner it would be easier but it would not be nearly as fancy looking.

Everyone at the library will agree this searching is addictive. I knew that the last time we were there and now when both of us were there we had a hard time leaving before we had found just one more piece to the puzzle. Many of you remember hearing about the 3 Rensink brothers who came to the US. It always puzzled me that the father was 40 before he fathered his first child and after having been married for 15 at least. Well we found out he had 4 other children before the 3 mentioned, they just didn't come to the US. Another puzzle piece.

Just to think we know nothing else than 'digging" I took this picture to show that all RV parking spots are not tight and hard to get in. This was in Sparks, NV and a fairly new park so the trees were all small. I do recall we did have to back up just once to get on the exact spot we wanted even though it was a pull through site.

We will be here yet tomorrow and will see some new developments downtown. Then on to Jackson, WY to see the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.

Hope you are all doing well. Love to you all,

Dad and Mom/Wilmer and Marilyn

Ups and Downs

Monday we spent the evening with Kim and Harlan and family in Ridgecrest. Maddie is going to Dordt in the fall so we picked up a couple of boxes for her as we had room in the RV and could easily take them to Sioux Center for her. It was a busy night for them as Bible School was going on each evening of that week from 5:30-8:30. Kim was teaching but she took us through the IMC to see the way the rooms and halls were all decorated in the theme of the week. Looked great.

The ups and downs in the title is referring to the altitude, not the emotions. After leaving Ridgecrest we made our way to a campground at Bridgeport, CA. While there we spent 2 days at Yosemite National Park. We had been there before but that was quite a few years ago. At the Ranger station the above sign was posted. Yes, it is really 9945 feet elevation. The scenery of the park really awed us once again. It has a lot of diversity as there are granite mountain, meadows, snow covered mountains, huge Sequoia trees and waterfalls. Each one unique and beautiful in its own way. As always we had to hike a few trails but most of them had such ups and downs that we didn't try to do the long distance ones. If the total distance was less than 2 miles we could handle that. I think the high altitude didn't help our endurance any either. While Tioga pass was a high the campground at Brigdport could be thought of as a low as far as elevation and other things were concerned. The people were extremely friendly and helpful. However the camping spots were meant for the days when RVs were shorter and didn't have slide-outs. Another masterful maneuver on Wilmer's part but he got it parked very well without going over the cliff behind our RV and into the water. People stood and looked to see how he could get into that spot. Thank goodness the spot opposite ours was empty at the time so he could overlap into it when getting into ours. Also they did not have cell phone service which really makes us feel like we have lost our connection with the world. Internet worked well so that was a good substitute. The towns and areas around the campground were like a picture out of an old western movie. I don't think our tastes are so high but we decided this was a little more rustic than we would like to live. But the scenery was still wonderful. We sat outside and watched the sun set and I thought it ironic that in the midst of all the splendor of nature this old rickety boat was sitting on the shore with the name of the campground - Paradise Shores. It is all in one's perspective I guess. We did enjoy the warm hospitality of the owner and his wife, and that makes so much difference.

Lest you think everything we see is beautiful I show you the picture of a bear that was close to our hiking path. He looked straggly but didn't seem to have any interest in humans at the time so we were glad for that.

The snow on the mountains was thawing at a pretty good rate so the water falls had lots of water coming down them and since the meadows have snow until sometime in June the meadows were wet and just beginning to break out in blossom. We saw many flowers just about to pop open, another few days and the color would have been fantastic. Then in August the water stops running and the ground drys up again and everything goes dormant until the snow comes again soon. We went in the Eastern gate of the Park and that road is only open for 4 months during the summer. The snow is too much of a problem for them to try to keep it open all year.
It is hard to do justice to a water fall on a picture but since someone asked to take our picture we went for it. At places like this in the US we often feel like we are in the minority speaking English and that is okay. The American dollar's low value really makes it attractive for people from other countries to come now. And I realize there are many people in our country that also speak other than English. Another interesting aspect of traveling is hearing all this diversity and knowing we all marvel at the same wonders of nature, hope and pray they discern Who created and maintains this universe.

The second day of visiting the park we had taken our picnic lunch along. A picnic table was just to the right of this tree and scene. With Wilmer grilling hamburgers and I laying out the other goodies we sat and ate our dinner looking at this view. This tree is unique in that all the branches are on the south side of the tree and come slightly around on the 2 sides. The north side hasn't a hint of a branch even attempting to come out. What a mighty force the wind is.

The first day at Yosemite there was no wind so the water was perfectly calm. Of course, you know how much I like to see reflections in the water so here is one more. There were many more places where this scene was repeated.
Friday we moved to Sparks, Nevada. No special reason to be in Sparks other than it fit into our plan for the coming week. We have enjoyed our campground here very much. The whole court is like a manicured resort. The laundry is spotless and the restrooms are unbelievably clean. This area of Sparks has been developed in the last couple of years and everything is done up in great style. The casinos, I am sure, help bring in the money and the people. We were across a little lake from the Casino and they put on a big show of fireworks so we got to see them last night. A totally new shopping mall has been built recently and they spared no dollars in building it. Didn't shop in it but imagine it was a little pricey. They have a Scheels Sporting Goods store that boasts of being the biggest sports store in the country. It has an aquarium that bridges a walkway in the store. a display of many wild animals as many of the Cabala's have and then it has a ferris wheel in the center of the store. Can't imagine people spend enough on sports gear to make that pay but I am sure someone has it figured out.

We are doing well and have enjoyed spending time with 4 of our kids and their families. What a treat. Have been blessed with good weather and good health. Appreciate the phone calls and emails, what would we do without that communication? And, yes, the computers are busy most evenings. Have to keep up with the news from home and work on our "hobbys". Facebook keeps me up a little on what the younger set are doing, I enjoy reading their comments. Tomorrow we go to Elko, Nevada and then to Salt Lake City for a few days to catch up on some genealogy.

Love you and pray you are doing well. Until next Sunday,

Dad and Mom/Marilyn and Wilmer