Laura's Retirement Journey

The best thing about today is we shared it with our fantastic niece Jessica. Jessica is a member of the Arkansas Harveys. And she has grown into the most delightful, funny and insightful woman. Together we went to the Wind Cave National Park and toured a tiny part of one of the largest and most complex cave system in the world. Then we checked out the Mammoth Site which is simulaneously an archeological dig and a public education program.

Needle Highway in Custer State Park. Pictures from car don't capture the stunning views but I am posting a few anyway. Hulu Girl was with us the whole way I have a video going through this tunnel. My exactly words were, "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god."

It took us more than an hour to get through this herd of as many as a thousand bison. (I didn't count but they were everywhere.) They let us know who was in control. Right next to the car they milked and they mounted. They looked in the car window and stayed in the middle of the road.  My pictures didn't capture the density or so some of the mating rituals.

Really appreciate shade after 4 days without it. Sun is 97°F here in Custer State Park but because it's dry, it's quite comfortable in the shade. View from the our campsite. Evenings and early mornings drop to 65°F. Great sleeping weather.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/26/us/climate-change/extreme-heat-warning It is in the NYTimes so it must be true. We are and will be smack in the middle of the Heat Dome at least for the next week. Right now at Custer it is 91°F and extremely dry. Mornings are in the 70s so we hike then. Nights in the 60s so we can turn off the noisy air conditioner around 1 pm. I hear the heat is extremely unusual here.  So far we are having no problems as long as we are active in the a.m.

I knew better. Our plan was to hike early before the heat rolled in and the sun was high.  Keith brought water but not nearly enough. Django was happily sitting in the air conditioned trailer so we didn't have to worry about him. The hike was three miles in the wilderness on a well defined trail. It wasn't crowded but we weren't alone. Our mission was to see the Petrified Forest.  The hike was in the most desolate, arid countryside I have ever seen.  You could see the erosion at work. I saw one mud puddle. Found two little trees for shade. And saw a lot of evidence of bison, elk and deer (tracks and scat.) But half way back to the car I started to feel the effect of the heat and the sun. Nausea and dizziness. Made it back to the car and the airconditioning but it was a struggle. I was particularly grateful for this little piece of shade. Lesson learned. Tomorrow we will hike at 7 am. 

I wasn't prepared for the beauty and desolation of Teddy R's park. The Buttes are painted in orange, brick red and yellow. Across the horizon are strangely shaped projections that shift and change with the continuous erosion.  Sage, scub and cacti are the botanical life.  Bison are nearby. This grumpy guy came so close we evacuated to our car.