More Black Hills

 Good Monday morning to you, my friends and thank you for coming to visit me today. I have a LOT of photos for you today but it will finish off our Black Hills trip last week with Piper. I hope you enjoy them.

First is a view of some of the rock formations on the the Needles Highway. They are so impressive up close.

This one is a view at an overlook on the same highway. On a clear day you can see 50 miles away to the Badlands.

More Needles Highway views near The Cathedral Spires.

I meant to put this photo with last weeks post. As we went through one of the tunnels on the Iron Mountain Road there was a perfectly framed view of Mt. Rushmore which is miles away. A couple of the tunnels were designed with this view and it's pretty impressive, especially the first time you see it when you're not expecting it.

We went to dinner at the Ruby House saloon in Keystone one day. We took Mandy & Jamie well over 40 years ago and it looked exactly the same! It was built in the early 1900's and has the Ruby Saloon attached where there were "entertainment" girls back in the day. Today they have have reenactments of gunfights throughout the day. I just enjoyed looking at the photos on the walls and the antiques in the cabinets on on furniture around the restaurant.

I was able to show Piper the same exact table where we ate so many years ago.

One day Dennis and Piper hiked around the perimeter of Sylvan Lake and another day we drove up and they went kayaking in our double kayaking. They had a great time exploring the nooks and crannies of the rocks around the lake. My back was not cooperating for the majority of the trip so I did not get in the kayak at all. I would have never gotten back out without a crane! :-)

I sat in the truck and read my book and took pictures of them. They paddled closer to me and waved. 

Our campsite was only down the road a couple of miles from the lake and the lake is one of our favorite spots.

We drove the wildlife loop as always and although we didn't see nearly as many bison as usual, we found this one guy all by himself. We also saw a lot of prairie dogs.

There were lots of antelope scattered around the loop too. 

I thought this was a beautiful photo of the red rocks. This land borders Wind Cave National Park. 

I think I took this picture on the Wildlife Loop Road. Isn't she a sweetie? We sure do love this girl. When we got home, she asked Papa to leave the truck at her house for the afternoon. When we went back to get it, she had cleaned the entire inside. That was no easy task because Zoey's hair clings to everything. It's wiry and short and takes a LOT of effort to clean it out of cars.

This little kitty was at our last campsite on the way home. Dennis was outside hooking up the electricity and I was inside putting out the rugs, slides, etc. I kept hearing a cat and when I looked outside this little guy was on our picnic table watching me inside. I went out and sat down and he immediately climbed up on my lap and fell asleep. I sat there petting and snuggling him for almost an hour! I sure miss having a cat but Piper is very allergic to them. After he wandered off, I went in and showered and washed the clothes I was wearing so I wouldn't bring the allergens into the camper. When we were getting ready to leave the next morning, he came back to say goodbye. He must live there at the campground although we've never seen him before and we stay there on every trip westward.

I finished this blanket while we were gone. It's the Grace baby blanket which is free on Ravelry. I used 2 Mandala cakes in the Diagon Alley color way and an "H" hook. Zoey decided that her flamingo needed to be in the photo. :-)

I've also begun another Grace blanket using some scraps of white and a skein of variegated blue/green/white baby yarn that I have with no label. I like the way it's turning out.

I haven't been crocheting as much because my best friend Jenny from Spokane was here on Wednesday, just a couple of hours after we got home. She stayed until Saturday before leaving early in the morning and arriving in Maryland yesterday evening. She's on a 28 day road trip by herself that will have well over 9000 miles driven by the time she gets back home. She is visiting as many National Parks and relatives as she can fit in. Her southernmost point will be Key West, Florida before starting her journey back home to Spokane. She is quite an adventurer. She loves driving alone across the country. She retired last year and wanted to do this trip before she turns 70 next spring.

I hope you're all having a wonderful June so far. I apologize for such a long post but I wanted to finish off the Black Hills photos. Before we left there we made reservations for another week in August at the same campground and even the same site. We will go there on our way to Spokane for our annual visit. We'll also be stopping in Helena, MT for a few nights to see our son and grandkids there. Of course, all of this depends on whether diesel fuel is available for the truck. 

Our oldest granddaughter, Kyleigh, is flying to London next week to spend 10 days with our son's, (her uncle), family and meet her two youngest cousins. Kyleigh just finished her third year of college in Bozeman, MT. We're excited that she will meet our two youngest grandchildren and she is too.

I'll be back soon.

Blessings and hugs,

Betsy

JESUS LOVES EVEN ME

by:  Philip P. Bliss

1

I am so glad that our Father in heav’n
Tells of His love in the Book He has giv’n;
Wonderful things in the Bible I see:
This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.

 

I am so glad that Jesus loves me,
  Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me;
I am so glad that Jesus loves me,
    Jesus loves even me.

2

Though I forget Him and wander away,
Still He doth love me whenever I stray;
Back to His dear loving arms would I flee,
When I remember that Jesus loves me.

3

Oh, if there’s only one song I can sing,
When in His beauty I see the great King,
This shall my song in eternity be:
“Oh, what a wonder that Jesus loves me.”