Headed West!

Well, first we had to go north, up the middle of Arkansas,

through the Ozarks,

a stop in Independence, MO, and a chance to visit with Jean, Paul, Melissa and Mallory, during which time the only picture I got was of Jeans's apartment :( Too busy talking.

and up the west side of Iowa.

In South Dakota we really turned west and spent the night at a rest area.
The day included a stop to find and fix a fuel leak after we started smelling diesel, a messy, smelly endeavor. We got an early start on Sunday (3:30 am) and were rudely interrupted by a flashing red light on the dash and the sickly sweet smell of antifreeze at 5:30, right after passing a rest stop exit. But we were able to get off on the shoulder enough to not be a road hazard and after another messy, smelly hour and a half George got the water hose replaced and we were on the road again.

We made a stop in Sturgis, SD, to take in the sights of the final day of the big motorcycle rally. I've never seen so many bikes in one place and most of the people had already left. We enjoyed looking at and listening to the motorcycles, however the general atmosphere wasn't all that great for the most part.

If you click on this photo to enlarge it you can see a pretty awesome paint job.

I liked this one, too.

Enlarge and notice the logo on the back of this man's shirt.

My favorite photo. Don't you love it?

And then to Spearfish, 20 miles from Sturgis, where the reality of the bike rally's impact on the surrounding area's economy hit us when the RV park owner said the cost to stay the night at this less than impressive campground was $60! I would guess that the rest of the year it would be between $20 and $30. But it was close to the mill and had a nice laundry room where I was able to get 6 loads done in good time.

Around Felsenthal, AR

Even though there's not anything particularly interesting to share, here are a few pictures of where we've spent the last two weeks. This is an area where people come to fish, frog,and hunt (ducks, deer and razorbacks) and there's not a large full time population. Definitely rural living!

Tracks Inn, the local motel made from old rail cars.

One of many hunting camps. This was a nice one. Note the large fans. We saw people in their yards with fans on, a first for me, but I can see how it would help if there was no air conditioning!

My fascination with the cypress trees continues, even when they're not in the water.

The woods, where the razorback live. Scary sounding beasts. A guy at the mill recently killed a 600 pounder, small by some standards!

The crane with the broken boom at the mill. They got it fixed and running while George was there.
Some of the repairmen were staying in the campground where we are.

Trying to stay cool while waiting for the laundry to finish. It was 106 and it sure felt good to get back to AC!

These honeysuckle show up along the road, climbing trees, fences, houses, anything that gets in their path... so pretty.

And the sunsets continue to be wonderful.

George just got back from the mill, where he got his equipment loaded so we are ready to move on!! The plan was to go to a mill near Houston, TX, but in light of the fact that a hurricane/tropical storm was passing through as he was speaking to the contact person today, it was decided to postpone the job until next year. I must admit my feelings were not hurt over it. No more scheduling work down here in the summer. Onward!