Day 20 - Denver to Pueblo, CO

Well, here it is, day 20 of "Ken and Sheila's Great Adventure", and it also just happened to be my 66th birthday. This was another nostalgic day for me, as we visited my Uncle Bob and Aunt Blanche in Denver. It was great to see Uncle Bob and Aunt Blanche and they were doing just great. We then headed for Golden, CO, where my grandmother and Grandfather Johnson had lived.

Their home had never seemed so small when I was growing up and had visited them from Nebraska. The home and yard were always immaculate, but times have changed, with the house becoming run down and re-painted a different color, the garage had been torn down, and the white picket fence in the front yard had been removed. There was a wire fence in the back yard, but it was filled with junk and a motorcycle. It almost brought tears to my eyes to see the place had changed so much after all these years.

I had used the GPS to get us to the house, but typically, the GPS either got us lost, or I knew more about the area than the GPS. The only one who managed to get me from place to place was Sheila, but of course, being a man and being a "Hand", I knew better. I must learn to listen to that woman!

We left Denver for Pueblo to see one of our dearest and oldest friends, Sam Valdez. For those who worked for Raytheon and knew Sam in the "Good Old Days", Sam may have aged a "little", but he sure hasn't changed! He is still the same ornery guy we have known all these years. He has had some medical problems, but that hasn't slowed him down a bit. Sam is 77 years old now, and is as fiesty as ever. We stayed over night with Sam, and then on to Taos, NM.

Before we headed from Pueblo from Denver, we drove up to the Red Rocks Amphitheater near Golden. What a beautiful area to visit and to take photos. Over a mile high in elevation, and we were starting to feel the effects of the altitude. Glad we have been driving to get used to the altitude in lieu of flying, as it was much easier than getting hit with the altitude change all at once.

By the way, don't piss my wife off for any reason. She is able to also leap tall buildings in a single bound!

The Vette is continuing to run great and we still are having a great time with it on the trip and nary a problem. Have been running high test gas since we have hit the higher altitudes, and are still averaging over 28 mpg, even with all of the road construction. K.

Ok I've got it in writing the man I'm married to will listen to me more and not P--- me off. It was great seeing Sam and Pueblo once more. Drove by 31 Chinook Lane once again, this is the first home we ever lived in as a married couple. It too seemed so small, but then again when we lived in it Ken and I were a lot smaller too. Red Rocks is such an awesome place, nice to see it again. Ken wanted to drive to the top of Lookout Mountain in Denver, a place I first saw as a new bride. I might add it's also a place I still get a cold sweat when I think of the narrow rode that takes us to the top, so I voted no. S

Day 19 - Denver

On Sunday, September 13th, we decided to cool our jets and we just took it easy in Denver. Managed to sleep in for a while, but didn't realize that the Comfort Inn was so close to the railroad and was awakened at 6:00 AM by train whistles. Managed to go back to sleep and just had a lazy morning - We really needed a day to relax after all of the driving. Drove around Denver just a little and then off to the southern part (I think) of Denver to have dinner with my cousin Sharon.

Had a wonderful time at her place and a great dinner and so good to get together again after all these years. Unfortunately, I forgot to take our cameras with us to Sharon's home. What a beautiful home she has, and would have loved to share photos of her home, but blame me for forgetting the cameras. K

Sorry it's been so long since we chatted,we had no internet service at one place. Well as Ken said had a nice time in Denver. It was so nice to go to Sharons for dinner. Meal was delicious and so nice to be in with such nice company to enjoy it. Next day from Ken S

Day 18 - On to Denver

Hi all,
This is a photo of Ken taken at the Borlund museum, he's standing next to Gutzon Borlund and his son Lincoln. On Gutzons death, Lincoln finished sculpting Mt. Rushmore.
Such tremendous talent both father and son.
Today we left South Dakota in a torrential rain, we had terrific weather the past few days but today temp 46 as Ken packed the car. Tonight we pulled into Denver in torrential rain, rain in Wyoming as well. Ken spoke to a farmer at one of our pit stops, the farmer said the rain was much needed as they had 20 days without any.
Wyoming is a beautiful state, many mountains that are flat topped, some areas arid, others are being farmed. I expected to see lots of wildlife but saw none. Still haven't seen the home were the deer and the antelope play so have no idea what they play, tag or poker.
We're staying in a nice hotel and apparently a western attire convention is in town. When we were riding down the elevator, two women wearing huge turquoise necklaces entered, boy I was wearing my new Indian necklace and felt like I was wearing childrens' jewelry. Everyone in the lobby is wearing beautiful leather cowboy boots, yours truly was wearing sandals. S

This was the view from our motel this morning just before we left Keystone, SD. As I hope you can see, it was raining and we were on quite a hill, overlooking Keystone. I had punched Denver into our GPS before we left, and before you know it, it was taking us on the wrong road AGAIN! The GPS put us on the mountain road that would have taken us through the wildlife area and would have taken us a couple of hours out of our way.

Finally managed to get the GPS straightened out and off we headed for Cheyenne, WY. We had planned to drive all the way to Denver today after checking the milage from Keystone to Cheyenne and Cheyenne to Denver. Google indicated we were about 300 miles from Denver, which was our desired limit. Well, Google must have made our GPS for this portion of the drive. We actually drove a little over 400 miles today, but we got caught in torrential down pours, construction, sunshine, and finally, 75 mph speed limits. At 75 mph, 400 miles came quickly. We arrived in Denver during another torrential downpour, which made driving the Vette a challenge. Thank God for the new tires.

South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado have such a wide variety of landscapes from rolling plains, buttes, crops, and farms. Really saw some beautiful scenes today, between rain storms. Lots of bicycle riders around Mt. Rushmore and out of South Dakota, and also lots of motorcycles. The motorcycle riders really had some tough riding in the rain and in the construction areas. One pair of bikers stopped right in the middle of the road in one of the torrential rains and I was lucky to even see them and not hit them.

Finally reached Denver in the rain and the GPS actually brought us directly to our Motel. Its always a challenge with this GPS. Checking into the motel, I thought I had landed in cowboy heaven. The convention has its share of guys and gals that like to party and the bar in the lobby was packed with western boots, clothes, and cowboy hats.



The scenery has been remarkable, and at one spot, I pointed out a butte with a cowboy on a horse overlooking the highway. It wasn't until we passed them that we realized they were only plywood cutouts. Oh well, it looked interesting from a distance.

Will see my cousin Sharon on Sunday and hopefully, my Aunt and Uncle too. Then on to Pueblo on Monday. The adventure continues... K

Day 17 - Still Mt. Rushmore

Here we are, Day 17, and still having one of the best times of our lives. Still in Keystone, SD. Why? Because we like it, that's why. Such a beautiful country we live in.

We had extended another day at the motel, but they couldn't accomodate us for a 4th night tonight, so moved motels to one across the street and up a heck of a hill. Beautiful view of rocks out our window, and only 20 feet away. Also quite a view of the air conditioning unit for this section of the building, but at least we have a room for the night.

We drove to Rapid City so I could pick up some antifreeze for the Vette. We were going up some serious hills yesterday and the engine started running hotter than normal, so didn't want to take any chances. Rapid City is only 20 miles away, but glad we stayed in Keystone due to the proximity of the monument.

This photo is what I like to call "My Full-Assed Photo". I was experimenting with my camera using the built-in timer that I've never used before, and this was one of my less professional photos. The other photos came out OK after several attempts.






This is the photo that I like to refer to as "Sheila's Half-Assed Photo". As we were passing some wild donkeys, Sheila snapped this "half-attractive" view of the north end of a south-bound donkey. A fine job if I do say so.

I also took a photo of a lonesome scrub pine tree up on a hill side that I thought would be a nice scene. Unfortunately, Sheila kept pointing out all of the other single trees on the countryside, having quite a chuckle at my expense. Little does she know, National Geographic (or maybe that was National Lampoon) wants that fabulous photo for their next cover.

Tomorrow (Saturday), we head for Denver. Checked the milage from Keystone to Denver, and it about 300 miles - Our planned limit for our typical day of driving. Oh Goody - I get to pack the back end of the Vette again. It is a challenge each time we leave a motel, but we look forward to our next stop each day we take off. We have now traveled about 3400 miles, starting from Salem at an elevation of approximately 180 feet, and have reached approximately 6000 feet above sea level at the Crazy Horse Monument. And we're probably only a third of the way through our trip. The saga continues... K

OK so now Ken thinks he's the Bernard Baruch of photos, just call for weddings and bar mitsvahs he'll try to work you in. I like to take photos as well it's not my fault the strong willed burro turned his least photogenic side to my camera.
Went to Rapid City today, brought back memories. When I graduated from nursing two of my friends joined the air force and were sent here, at that time I thought it was the end of the world. Now here I am and traveling further, it's a strange world Brother John. We toured a gold jewelry factory, learned all about Black Hills gold, how it started. It's supposed to bring good luck and good fortune to the wearer. Ken bought me a beautiful gold ring, now we'll have nothing but good fortune.
Drove back to Keystone and then toured the museum of Gunter Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore. Very interesting, such a very talented man, he started sculpting the presidents at age 60, when most people think of retiring he started this Herculean endeavor.
Tomorrow on the road again, it will be interesting to see the changes in Denver since we were here last 12 yrs ago. S

Day 16 - Mt. Rushmore tours

"Oh beautiful for spacious skies", the sky is such a beautiful shade of blue here and very few clouds. Today we went back to Mt. Rushmore to take a few more pictures this morning. After our photo shoot, took the Needle highway, so called due to the many rock formations. A few times we had to drive thru a tunnel, one lane only, honk your horn on the way thru. We went to Custer State Park, had lunch in a little grocery store. They had a lunch counter, made me a fresh green salad and Ken a fresh hamburger, Mickey D's eat your heart out.
We wanted to see the wild animals so took the wild animal loop, saw about six buffalo, then some antelope, some very friendly donkeys, one prairie dog and some wild turkeys. We were really high, altitude over 5400. Drove back to Keystone and went for a swim. It was 86 here today and hot. For dinner we went back to the restaurant we went to last night. Food again very good. After dinner went back to Mt. Rushmore for the evening ceremonies. Tomorrow have to change motels but was fortunate to find a great room for the same price at a nicer hotel. Haven't decided what we'll do for fun, but plan to start the day at the laundromat, whats nicer than clean clothes? S



























It was a great day for a drive around this area of the country. From granite hillsides, towering spires of granite, meadows, sandstone cliffs, forests, and red clay hills, it was quite a change of scenery during our sightseeing tour today. The tunnels cut through the granite spires were really narrow, and lots of paint scrapes in the interiors of the tunnels. Glad we didn't leave any Torch Red paint from the Vette.

We looked and looked for wildlife, and finally figured all the deer, antelope, and buffalo must have gone to New Hampshire on vacation, but suddenly as we came around a corner, there were six buffalo right beside the road. They weren't the least bit interested in us, thank God. They are huge. Later saw antelope along the road in several places and then saw wild donkeys in about six or seven places. The donkeys are very tame and people feed them all the time. They are always blocking the roads and try to get tourists to feed them.

The Needle Highway was really a narrow road with barely enough room for traffic going in opposite directions. Very sharp curves, and in a couple of areas, we crossed wooden bridges only to curve immediately under the bridge we just crossed. Very beautiful scenery and changing all the time. Finally back to Keystone to cool our jets for a while.

The presentation at the Mt. Rushmore amphitheater was very touching. A park ranger gave a speech and then they showed a movie when it got dark. When the movie was over, they illuminated the monument and everyone stood and sang the National Anthem. They then invited all veterans to go down to the stage and after they lowered the American flag, they had each veteran tell his name and branch of service. Very touching with a lot of Korean and Viet Nam vets, but also a couple of WWII vets too. K

Day 15 - Mt. Rushmore

If it's Wednesday, this must be Mt. Rushmore. Woke up this morning and headed for the monument. Nice drive thru Keystone, SD, and a quaint old western town (actually a little touristy) and then on to see the Presidents. Construction again just as we pulled into the monument area, but no delays.
The carvings are spectacular, Not something I had ever thought I would put in my "bucket list", but so glad we came. The monument and the park area were spectacular. How they ever decided on this particular piece of granite to be used as the site for the four presidents, I'll never know, but it is the perfect spot.
We also went to the Crazy Horse monument and when that is finished, it will be as spectacular as Mt Rushmore. Only the head of Crazy Horse has been carved and a hole through the mountain has been cut that will be enlarged for the statue's arm pointing over the horse's head. It will take years and years for this carving to be completed.

Ran into a lot of Corvettes today. One of the guys asked us if we had been on the "Run". Asked hin what "Run" he meant, and apparently there was a run to Bowling Green, KY, the Mecca and factory where all Corvettes are built. There's another trip to put in my "Bucket list".

This trip to the South Dakota area was worth every minute. We tried to extend our stay here for a couple of days, but can only get one more night here at this motel. We will look at other motels on our travels to see if we can find another vacancy. K

I agree with everything Ken has said, OK , so now and then I do. I thought I wouldn't be as moved but it was amazing. Went to a movie at the site telling all about the process of deciding on a site, choice of sculptor and crew. The sculptor chose only crew members who were part of a baseball team, guess he wanted team. In the bookstore met one of the original crew. He is well on in years and has written a book, his wife was with him, she appeared about 5 yrs younger than me. Tonight plan to go back to Mt. Rushmore for the closing ceremonies, they ask veterans to come up on the stage so Kens considering this. Now plan to go on the Needle Highway, see a lake and perhaps Custer State Park, where the deer and the antelope play, as well as buffalo, elks, and goats.
Went to a nice restaurant last night, food delicious, was a former bordello. Cowboy music played thru dinner, was Neil Diamond a cowboy? A gunfight is staged in the bar, we missed it but may catch it tonight.
Having a real problem with our cell phones working here, also some trouble with our blog. Spoke with a Native American yesterday at the Crazy Horse site, she said we were at 6,000 feet, maybe the problem. She also said that many people develop flu like symptoms when they first arrive here, they call it mountain sickness. So far Ken and I are fine, we did live in Colorado 40 yrs ago, maybe that's why. S

Day 14 - Mt. Rushmore, SD

Well, we finally made it to Keystone, SD, which is very near Mt. Rushmore. We left Kearney about 9:00 AM and arrived here about 6:00 PM, Mountain time. Yeah, we are now in the third time zone. Thought Mt. Rushmore was only about 300 miles from Kearney and thought the GPS had screwed up with an estimate of 428 miles. IT WAS RIGHT AFTER ALL! This was a long day's drive and it was good to finally get unpacked.
On the trip from Kearney to South Dakota, we saw flat land with corn, soy beans, and hay rolls, rolling hills with the same crops and cattle farms, and some fairly rough landscapes when we hit the Black Hills. What changes in scenery and landscapes. Really enjoyed the changes we saw.

These photos were taken on Labor Day. That is Norman's WWII Piper L14 that he restored - The only one in the entire world that is flying. I had ridden in that plane two times previously. Then we have Sheila sitting in the rear seat of the Ryan Navion, and Norman flying the Navion over the Pleasanton farmlands. Last, we have Rex with his 1928 John Deere tractor that was purchased new by his father. It runs like a charm. He has modified the seat to make it a little more comfortable and safer when he drives it in parades since he fell off the fender while someone else was driving it. Wish I had toys like these two brothers.

Driving from Kearney to Keystone, SD, Sheila and I had cousin withdrawal. We had had so much fun with my cousins and their families and we just kept retelling the stories and recalling our Pleasanton adventures. This has been the best part of the trip so far. Have a nice motel near Mt. Rushmore, but had the worst meal in years at the restaurant next to the motel. K

We is in the badlands. French Canadian trappers many years ago came across this country and called it the badlands. The Sioux had already called it Dakota (Badland). No time yet to sightsee but did stop into a jewelry store to have a look see at Black Hills Gold, made only in, you guessed it the Black Hills. Tomorrow plan to see Mt. Rushmore and CrazyHorse monument. It's kind of odd that here you have Custer State Park, and when finished the worlds largest monument to Crazy Horse who led the charge at Little Big Horn which was Custers demise. More to follow tomorrow. S