In keeping with our annual tradition of seeing the Autumn colors, this year Ted and I headed to Rapid City, South Dakota this last weekend.
This was our second attempt - you see, the first one didn't go very well. About two weeks prior, our little jet tried to land twice - descent, landing gear down, lower, lower, lower - - then back up again. The clouds were too low and we couldn't land. We ended up in Gillette, Wyoming and sat on the plane while about two-thirds of the plane's passengers got off - not wanting to end up back in Salt Lake or in Denver. We tried to land again and same thing. We turned around and went back to Salt Lake. I was a bit cranky and Ted always is the target of my cranky. Sorry, honey!!
This time, we were successful. We went straight to Mount Rushmore - enjoying the scenery as we went. The memorial is about 25 miles from Rapid City. After spending time, having some lunch and doing some shopping in the little tourist town of Keystone, we headed back to Rapid City. I had been battling a cold and kept getting progressively worse. We ended up spending the rest of the time in the hotel, at the hot tub and pool and eating at the little pizza joint attached to the hotel. I took Nyquil and was gone for many hours!
The next day we got up, had breakfast and headed to the airport to take the car back and get on a plane. I didn't check the standby list before heading out - the night before there were plenty of seats and we were at the top of the list. After going through security, and grabbing a snack, I sat down and finally looked. I realized we weren't getting on the plane. There were nine seats and Ted and I sat at #10 and #11. We ended up sitting in the airport, at the little snack shop, for about six hours. We watched football and played on our electronic devices. When it was time to head to the gate to get on the flight, we were given our seat numbers and I told Ted I needed to go to the bathroom. I left everything there by him and headed towards the bathroom. I got right there and looked up and there were about five men standing there. One of them was Ozzy Osbourne. I turned around and told Ted and then went in the snack shop to my new friend and told her. Did not even think to grab my camera or my phone!! All the sudden, a bunch of people ran up to him and started bugging him for pictures. When I got done in the bathroom, he was heading out of the airport. Missed opportunity.
Anyway - pictures!!!!
I'm not sure where our tradition will take us next year. Hopefully something on the eastern coat, New England or something like that. This trip actually was mostly evergreens, but I enjoyed it so very much!!!
This was our second attempt - you see, the first one didn't go very well. About two weeks prior, our little jet tried to land twice - descent, landing gear down, lower, lower, lower - - then back up again. The clouds were too low and we couldn't land. We ended up in Gillette, Wyoming and sat on the plane while about two-thirds of the plane's passengers got off - not wanting to end up back in Salt Lake or in Denver. We tried to land again and same thing. We turned around and went back to Salt Lake. I was a bit cranky and Ted always is the target of my cranky. Sorry, honey!!
This time, we were successful. We went straight to Mount Rushmore - enjoying the scenery as we went. The memorial is about 25 miles from Rapid City. After spending time, having some lunch and doing some shopping in the little tourist town of Keystone, we headed back to Rapid City. I had been battling a cold and kept getting progressively worse. We ended up spending the rest of the time in the hotel, at the hot tub and pool and eating at the little pizza joint attached to the hotel. I took Nyquil and was gone for many hours!
The next day we got up, had breakfast and headed to the airport to take the car back and get on a plane. I didn't check the standby list before heading out - the night before there were plenty of seats and we were at the top of the list. After going through security, and grabbing a snack, I sat down and finally looked. I realized we weren't getting on the plane. There were nine seats and Ted and I sat at #10 and #11. We ended up sitting in the airport, at the little snack shop, for about six hours. We watched football and played on our electronic devices. When it was time to head to the gate to get on the flight, we were given our seat numbers and I told Ted I needed to go to the bathroom. I left everything there by him and headed towards the bathroom. I got right there and looked up and there were about five men standing there. One of them was Ozzy Osbourne. I turned around and told Ted and then went in the snack shop to my new friend and told her. Did not even think to grab my camera or my phone!! All the sudden, a bunch of people ran up to him and started bugging him for pictures. When I got done in the bathroom, he was heading out of the airport. Missed opportunity.
Anyway - pictures!!!!
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| Through the entrance |
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| Taking a break |
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| Two crazy old farts having fun |
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| Such an amazing sight |
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| Looking at the memorial |
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| Thomas Jefferson answering questions |
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| A little perspective |
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| I found this interesting. It explains why the specific presidents were chosen. |
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| The original plan - ran out of money Roosevelt was supposed to be on the other side of Washington or Lincoln. |
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| Lunch at the memorial, on the patio, watching the squirrels and with a beautiful background |
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| From the patio with the trees |
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| Little touristy town, Keystone. Most of the businesses and hotels are closed down for the off-season. |
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| The tunnel |
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| Just some greenery |
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| Where the highway splits. |
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| Thought it was a church. It's actually a replica of Independence Hall. |
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| What every gas station needs - a casino attached. If you don't have enough money to buy your gas, you can try to win some extra |
I'm not sure where our tradition will take us next year. Hopefully something on the eastern coat, New England or something like that. This trip actually was mostly evergreens, but I enjoyed it so very much!!!
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