Custer State Park

 Day 2, we knew was going to be a long one.  Custer State Park & also the Badlands were on our schedule which meant most of the day in the car.  A quick stop for Becky to see Mt. Rushmore came first. We stopped to get some pictures & met the gentleman below. He rides horseback around the county & blogs about it.  The license plate is from Iowa.  His horse died in Iowa and some one was kind enough to give him this one.  Wow.  There are so many good people around.  Rarely do we hear those stories.  I can't imagine doing this but I bet he meets a lot of interesting people. (Like some wild widows)

       The beauty of Mt Rushmore never gets old.  And I love the story of how they were chosen.  Sometimes you hear things and they don't sink in. This time it seemed to mean more.  Funny how things become more important as we age.  Not that I am of course.  This blog has some fun information.  http://blog.caravan.com/mount-rushmore-opresidents/ 

 Custer State Park is beautiful in itself.  Of course our highlight was the buffalo stampede.  And this one actually stopped for a pose.

  

           



         The Badlands were
              amazing!

Some very weary travelers and a night time view of Mt. Rushmore ended our day!

                                  

Mt Rushmore

Oh my the days come and go and we never posted out trip to Mt Rushmore.  So much fun.  Becky flew in from Tempe to join us.  Our destination was chosen because she had never seen it.  It was a wonderful time.  Enjoying the beauty of nature along the way and all through the trip.  We stopped at Crazy Horse on our way in.

 We were able to see some progress from the times we had been there before.  It's amazing what you pick up each time you visit.  One of the bits of information that stuck out the most was this monument has been built with absolutely no help from the government.  Their reason for this was the freedom to do as those chose and not to be under the government rules.

And we ended the days with a glass of wine, fruit, cheese and crackers, laughter and good company.  Sharing memories, hopes, dreams and sorrows. And of course tomorrows adventures.

Time for a short jaunt

We never know when the time is right for a trip.  Sometimes it doesn't need to be a big trip, maybe just a little get away.  So a one nighter to Fort Collins sounded good.  Widow Sue had never been on a tour of  Anheuser-Busch so we had a destination. Our entertainment.  Even though we never seem to want for that.  Just being together seems to be the balm that unites us.  We had a wonderful lunch at Hu-Hot.  Who would have know Mongolian food could taste so good? Then it was off for the tour.  We made this same trip in 2010-where have the years gone?  Our widows come and go but the beauty of the time spent with them is always there.  Our days always end up with an ice cream cone of course.  It's become a tradition.  This trip we ended up with two. You can never have too much ice cream, right?  Always think of my mama when we have out cones.  She enjoyed those cones.

Our Widows today

Our Widows in 2010. 

Ice cream from The Walrus so yummy

And to end our trip in true Widow style "ICE CREAM".

The Widows are Headed to Mt Rushmore

We are headed out.  Tomorrow is the big day.  My Rushmore is our destination.  Why Mt Rushmore? Becky widow # - we haven't given her a number yet, anyway she had mentioned a few years ago she had never seen it.  Everyone has to see Mt. Rushmore at least once right? Last time the widows went it was 10 below.  With a wind chill of -20. These widows were 86,  84 & 79.

The weather this weekend will be in the 50's. The widows this time are 88, 69, 67 and 60.  A little bit younger but just as adventurous.

Here's to the Wild Widows

San Fransisco

What a beautiful group.  If you
are wondering why I am always in front,
my phone was used for all the Selfies...

San Francisco 

Golden Gate Bridge

A tour of the city.

Cable cars were a must.

One of Sue's favorites.

Blue Angels such a treat.

And Ghirardelli's Oh my what a treat.  I had a
Salt Caramel Sundae that I didn't want to share with
anyone.

Tell Your Heart To Beat Again

Have you ever heard the song "Tell your heart to beat again" by Danny Gokey? I listened to it and thought of my widows when we first began our travels.  It was like their identity was gone.  A friend's mom lost her husband almost 2 years ago.  She doesn't leave her house.  To all my widow friends, when you loose your spouse, no matter how long it's been, I hope you will "Tell your heart to beat again". It's OK.

Tell Your Heart To Beat Again

You're Shattered

Like you've never been before

The life you knew

In a thousand pieces on the floor

And words fall short in times like these

When this world drives you to your knees

You think you're never gonna get back

To the you that used to be.

Tell your heart to beat again

Close your eyes and breathe it in

Let the shadows fall away

Step into the light of grace

Yesterday's a closing door

You don't live there anymore

Say goodbye to where you've been

Tell your heart to beat again

Beginning

Just let that word wash over you

It's alright now

Loves healing hands have pulled you through

So get back up, take step one

Leave the darkness, feel the sun

Cause your story's far from over

And your journey's just begun

Tell your heart to beat again

Close your eyes and breathe it in

Let the shadows fall away

Step into the light of grace

Yesterday's a closing door

You don't live there anymore

Say goodbye to where you've been

Let every heartbeat

And every scar

Be a picture that reminds you

Who has carried you this far

Cause love sees farther that you ever could

In this moment heaven's working 

Everything for your good

Tell your heart to beat again

Close your eyes and breathe it in

Let the shadows fall away

Step into the light of grace

Yesterday's a closing door

You don't live there anymore

Say goodbye to where you've been

And tell your heart to beat again

Plans were made!

Being in Oakland on the day the Broncos were playing the Raiders was just too good to be true.  John & Sue held season tickets for years, rarely missing a game. Even when going through a bone marrow transplant, they did their best to never miss a game.  So Sue blessed us with tickets - fourth row up, for the game.
Family & friends worried about us being in Raiders territory.  They needn't worry.  Although boisterous, the Raider fans were congenial & quite good at bantering.  They youngest one was probably 8-10 and gave us his RAIDER's chant as we went in for breakfast.  The Widows immediately returned our BRONCO's reply.  We had the most enjoyable time.  Interacting with both Bronco fans & Raider fans. We even found us a Bronco fan at the BART station.  The best part of course was that we won the game.  These widows are not only wild but also very brave!