Oct. 26 - 29th Sedona to Santa Fe

Bell Rock in Sedona

     "On the road again, just can't wait to git on the road again...".  Thanks Willie.  Once again I am writing from poolside. This time at the lovely Inn of the Governors in  Santa Fe where it is sunny, beautiful and 66. I confess I have all my clothes on plus a jacket as its a "dry heat" don't you know and chilly.  I'm taking a break from looking at turquoise bracelets. Its like coming up for air. But I'm getting ahead in my story. Let me catch you up.
     Last Tuesday (Oct. 26th) I drove from Palm Spgs. to the the Phoenix airport and picked up  my two high school buddies, Lynn Murray and Harriet Averill (to be referred to as Hats from here on).  We've known each other for ever and back at Nottingham HS in Syracuse we were members of "Sub Deb", a high school sorority. Nothing like sharing in the hazing and loss of self esteem one gains by joining a high school sorority to form a life time bond among us. We have a nice group of "subdeb" pals we get together with frequently...heres a shout out to Susie M. , Susie B, Kristin D. and Linda M. We wish you were all here.

     Our first night was spent in Sedona followed by an early rising and 3 mile hike around Bell Rock. If you have never seen Sedona, it is just a spectacular place with canyons of "red rock." So, hike, take a picture, move on.  We drove up thru Oak Creek Canyon towards Flagstaff and then east to Winslow, AZ. Its good this town was right on the way because if I'd detoured even 2 miles I think I would have felt duped. Other than standing on a corner in Winslow, AZ the only other option is to have lunch in the Turquoise Room of the La Posada Hotel. It was built in 1920 by a famous hotelier named Fred Harvey at this location as it was the headquarters of the Santa Fe Railroad. (Judy Garland starred in movie "The Harvey Girls. Call netflix). The trains literally pass by 30 feet out the backdoor. Its full of memorabilia of all the stars that stayed there. See the link if you want more info.
     We were hoping to drive down Rte. 66 but had a little trouble finding it. It runs parallel to Interstate 40 but tends to turn into dead ends frequently so we pretty much stayed on 40. Our destination was Gallup, NM and the ....drumroll please...historic El Rancho Hotel. Gallup is not a pretty place. Nor was the El Rancho. I've been trying to go native when I could but this was one historic hotel too many. We were given the key to the "Marx Bros." room (quickly arguing amongst ourselves over who was Groucho, Harpo and Zeppo.) The decision to move on was made when Hats referred to the bedspreads as slimy.  We stayed at the boring Best Western without bedbugs or slimy bedspreads.

     Our spirits recovered yesterday after breakfast at the El Cafecito somewhere in New Mexico where I did have the huevos rancheros.

Rt 66 motel....hmmm

This was also near the Continental Divide which I last passed going west thru Yellowstone. After a couple more false turns and dead ends we did manage to travel down Rte 66 for quite a few miles. We passed many a hotel that was down on its luck. The pink flamingos had lost their luster. We were humming along to the theme from the old TV show on my ipod. It was fun. Out in the middle of nowhere, we could see for miles, mountain ranges off in the distance. All we needed was a corvette and Tod and Buzz in the car with us.  As I  took the picture of the train headed east from an overpass, the engineer waved and blew his whistle. Cool.

     A small aside here. I always assumed there were three mountain ranges in the U.S. The Adirondack, the Catskills, and the Rockies. There are mountains EVERYWHERE !! This is a beautiful country.
We took the "Turquoise Road" from Albuquerque to Santa Fe passing thru some funky and fun towns. Stopped for refreshments at the Mineshaft Tavern and arrived here in Santa Fe late afternoon. Lynn has spent some time here before so she is playing alpha dog for this part of the trip. Her choice of hotel and restaurants has been supurb and if there is any screwup, I can blame her. Off to Taos tomorrow.

PS Still accepting entries for mileage contest until Nov. 1. Then I'll post my distance updates. And stop asking what the prize is.

The Turquoise Room "Rte. 66 Cadillac Margherita!"

Oct. 21- 25 Santa Monica

          Its official. I touched the Pacific or at least it touched me, now I can turn around and drive home!    The ocean was in sight for most of this week but I felt I needed to stick my toes in before I could head back East. The last few days have been spent with Betsy and Andy (and Scout and Journey, their two dachshunds) in Santa Monica. The time here felt like I was home. Time to relax and stay put for awhile.

Kids and dogs

We walked the Santa Monica boardwalk and beach, shopped a little for house stuff, nice dinners, and generally did what moms do when they are lucky enough to spend a little time with their adult children. Its the best. We had family over for a barbecue one night....Betsys cousins Ben Cady  (who teaches  nearby) and his sister Janie Pirtle and family (last seen several weeks and postings ago back in Edina, MN. Where will they show up next? Sort of a "Wheres Waldo!").  I did a little R&R work on the car. It was starting to look like a homeless person had been camped out in it.  Got the "check oil " lamp turned off, the car cleaned, and shipped my sleeping bag, etc.  home that I've been carting around since the "rez." All set for the trek home.

Spooky palms

     The time flew by there and after a final dog walk, Betsy and I headed out to Palm Springs yesterday (Oct.24th). Its only about a 2 hour drive east thru some urban sprawl. But then you're in the desert and boom, green lawns and golf courses. We're are staying at the Colony Palm Hotel which I guess used to be a hangout for the "rat pack." Definitely no rats here now. Its a delightful little spot where we've treated ourselves to facials and massages. To clear our guilty consciences from this decadent lifestyle, we drove out of town this morning to Indian Canyon and did a little hiking. Once again a beautiful day and we went about 4 miles.  Pretty little  "oases" of  towering palms in the midst of a canyon surrounded by mountains. Can you beat that?

My only goal was to be poolside by 1pm  and we missed it by a few minutes. At the moment we are both in our spa robes, sitting by the outdoor fireplace (once the sun starts to set it gets chilly quickly) enjoying a glass of wine and playing with our computers. I have tried to upload a picture of us but it ain't cooperating. Will add it if I get a chance. Sadly Betsy is flying off tomorrow to home and work and I am off to the Phoenix airport. Talk to you from Santa Fe. 

     

              

    

Oct. 18-20th Palo Alto and South...

Near Half Moon Bay CA

     Isn't that a beautiful shot? It tells you all about my drive on Monday (Oct. 18) from San Francisco to Palo Alto.  Minnie the Mooch spent the next two days with Steph and Bob Wagoner, another dear friend (notice I don't use the word "old" any more) from Skidmore and her husband.  Prof. Bob is retired from teaching at Stanford.... a theoretical astrophysicist. Needless to say he and I talked into the wee hours discussing the black hole.  Steph and I did not discuss astrophysics but we covered just about everything else while hiking the "dish", a landmark  set in the Stanford foothills. Its abut 3 1/2 miles but very up and down and I'd like to brag, quite the aerobic workout. Did it once before when Betsy and Andy were in school here.  After all this driving a little exercise was a good thing. The humorist Dave Barry wrote " we eat a lot on long trips because we feel our bodies are less likely to become bored if they can pass the time converting food into fat." Amen to that.
     Bob took Steph and I to the practice range at Stanford that afternoon to hone our golf skills. Cathy and Lou, I didn't see Sam there so can only assume he was in the library. What a lovely place to live. Palo Alto and Stanford are beautiful themselves and then you have San Fran to the north and Carmel, etc. to the south. The Wagoners condo is super.  And of course earthquakes, but we didn't enjoy any of them this visit.

     We had a great dinner at the nearby "Fish Market." Delicious but  not as tasty as Stephs BLT's with avocado.
          On the road again yesterday (Oct. 20) down the INLAND highway 101 thru our nations "vegetable drawer" or is it "salad bowl?" Anyway, the valley between the mtns. is bursting with fields of green, lush veggies.  I did a U turn down a dirt road to snap pictures of the workers "picking." I was channeling John Steinbeck. I even took the exit to Salinas to check it out but it was depressing..full of credit unions, liquor stores and the John Steinbeck museum.

picking strawberries

     Now I'm in Santa Monica.  I didn't purposely map it out this way but after 26 days of traveling I am not only halfway done timewise, but also in distance. I went west as far as I could, south to Betsy and Andys. Next...eastward bound.  Songs of the week...you choose, they're kind of cheesy: California Dreamin, Ventura Highway or All I Wanna Do (is have some fun when the sun comes up over Santa Monica Blvd.!)

Oct. 17th The Roadtrip to San Fran

     Yesterday epitomized what I envisioned when planning this trip. Connie and I left Healdsburg, took a few wrong turns just trying to get out of town, and had the best adventure driving to the coast and down to San Francisco. What is the most fun on this trip is setting off in a direction and not knowing what lies ahead.

Russian River

     We took a little winding road westward through seemingly remote vineyards along the Russian River. Probably not so remote if you live there but its a long way from Greenwich.  It was misty and beautiful. There are a few little resort towns along the river such as Rio Villa with cottages nestled along the river. It reminded me a little of the Adirondacks in upstate New York. Except for the redwoods!
           Just as the river joins the Pacific Ocean we turned south on California One. The landscape changed to more rolling hills and farmland for awhile until we neared Bodega Bay. Then we had the classic California coast with bluffs overlooking beaches. We didn't meet Tippi Hedren or Rod Taylor while checking out the locales for
Hitchcocks classic movie "The Birds" but did recognize a few buildings. The birds must have gone back to Hollywood because we couldn't spot a single one.

Only Bodega birds are stuffed!

    

 Asked for directions but they just kept barking

  
      Next we came upon Tomales Bay, an estuary about 40 miles NW of San Francisco known for its oysters. Lunch at Nicks Cove on the water. Perfect. Fire in the fireplace, bloody mary. Crabcakes (I know, I should have had oysters but...) More info...check my "links."







  

     So, to wrap it up, onward towards San Fran passing thru little beach towns on our way. . Then...as my brother Al might describe the situation.... Mr. Toads Wild Ride began. Hairpin turns with dropoffs to the Pacific on our right with of course no guardrails. You may recall from my crossing of the Bighorn Mtns. back in Wyoming that this is not my idea of fun. The white knuckle express lasted about 30 minutes until we FINALLY came out of it with the Golden Gate Bridge in front of us. I guess the area we drove thru is called the Mt. Tamalpais State Park but I can't be sure because I never took my eyes off the road ahead. Connie had her eyes shut and was mumbling prayers so she was no help.

     Connie treated me to a night at the very chic Hotel Vitale and a great dinner at Zuni Cafe. Of course we played tourist and had the obligatory glass of wine at the Top of the Mark. Sadly Connie left this morning for home and I'm off to Palo Alto.

Oct. 13- Oct, 16 The Wine Country

Racing a train westward across Utah

       Greetings fellow oenophiles.  Its Saturday afternoon (Oct. 16th) and we've just returned from a day of winetasting around Sonoma so this is being written through a bit of a red wine haze. Many miles have been crossed since we last talked in Salt Lake City.  Connie and I hit the road fairly early (8am) last Wed. and drove approximately 560 miles west across Utah, Nevada and into California. The longest segment yet for me but having company and another driver made it pass quickly. So did driving 80mph. Our favorite road song was "God is good, beer is great, people are crazy." Really, on the local station.

      We circled our wagons in Truckee, California which is a rustic sort of resort town just north of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mtns. We had driven across hundreds of miles of "alkaline" flats, occasional low mountain ranges, and as soon as we crossed into California the terrain was pine covered and beautiful. Truckee is a funny little place where the train literally goes smack thru town ( or maybe smack thru our hotel by the number of very loud toots during the night.) We decided to go native and chose the "historic" Truckee Hotel. The town is located just before the infamous Donner Pass where the the pioneer group known as the Donner Party were trapped one winter, many died, and well, you know the rest of the story. I was a little nervous at dinner when Connie eyed me with a knife and fork in hand. If you don't know what I'm talking about, skip ahead!

     It was just a quick 3 hour drive to the wine country on Thursday morning. We've spent the last three days eating, shopping and drinking wine throughout Napa and Sonoma. This is not the hardest part of my trip. I do all these things well.  Let me play Fodors Guide for a minute. For you gourmands, we had lovely lunches at Bouchon and Tra Vigne in Napa.  We're staying in a little apt. over the best bakery in town, Costeaux (voted best bakery in country in 2009, really). connected with the Camellia Inn in Healdsburg in Sonoma.   Great town with shops, restaurants, etc. Dinner Thurs. at the very hip "Cyrus" next door.

lunch at Tra Vigne

 Top wineries we visited: Hess Vineyards in Napa with fabulous art collection of Mr. Donald Hess upstairs. Francis Ford Coppola's place is a little theatrical not surprisingly but we had another great terrace lunch. My favorite was the "J" vineyard nearby, mostly because I like the initial, my kids and I discovered it a few years ago while on a girls trip out here, and they were nice people ! That said, they had me wrapped around there little finger with generous "tastings" and I joined their wine club! Hmm. Maybe they'll adopt  me.
         So, upon leaving there, Connie to my surprise suggested we needed a few more stops. I acquiesced willingly and then we came back for a little "toes up" time as my friend Lucy likes to describe rest period.  Now we're ready for our last evening in town and off to San Francisco tomorrow.

Oct 10 -12 Yellowstone and My Day With the "Bearman"

     I'm at that point in the trip where I can't quite remember what I've written or where I am. Well, I just checked and I'm in Salt Lake City tonight with my friend Connie Cowen. We had a great dinner at a little Italian restaurant after touring the Mormon "temple'"area (which we don't quite get, am I allowed to say that?) and I will fill in what I've been up to since we last talked. Last Sunday I drove up from Cody, WY to the east entrance to Yellowstone. Being the city slicker that I am  I thought once I was in the park I'd be almost there. But no, Old Faithful Snow Lodge was another 2 hour drive. I found my way there in time to see Old Faithful erupt on time at 5:09.

     Monday was my day with Kevin "the bearman" Sanders. I am trying to upload as many pictures as I can because they say it all. We saw a grizzly bear and her cubs, a wolf, lots of elk and buffalo. Kevin is a fascinating guy and if one can see Yellowstone in a day, he is the guy to do it with. He said I'd seen "90%" of what was worth seeing. He was just being nice. You could spend weeks there. Here are the fun facts about him. After visiting the falls area it finally came to me who he looked like..."you look just like..." and he responded...."Larry Bird." Right. They are distant relatives. And, when probing about where he lived and why he had a 2 hr. drive everyday to the park and didn't move closer, he mentioned "did you ever see the movie  A River Runs Through It?" Sure. "Well, that's my front yard. That rock where Brad Pitt is fly fishing, I can see that from my living room. " He lives between Big Sky and Bozeman, Montana. I guess he should stay where he is.

     He is known throughout the park as the "bearman." He's written a couple books about bear safety, and that sort of thing. Lots of great stories. So, we were out on a trail, he said " so, you can hike 1.8 mi. down this path, I'll get the van, move it to the other end, and hike back and meet you. Okay? What I wanted to do was throw my arms around his waist and beg him not to desert me, but I pretended to weigh the idea for a moment and said perhaps it best if I didn't do that. I asked if I might encounter any bears along route and he said sure, but you'll be okay. We'll never know what might have happened because I trotted right along behind him back to the van.

Bear people?

The Old Faithful Snow Lodge was rustic and full of character and characters. This morning it was 18 out and frost covered my car. Such a surprise. Beautiful sunny day as I drove out of West Yellowstone, thru Idaho and down to Salt Lake City.

geothermic whatever

old faithful

mama grizzly

bear butts..mama and babies

lower fall on Yellowstone river

elk

crossing the river

and more buffalo

mule tailed deer

Oct.8- Oct. 9 Bison or Bust

     After much hugging and kissing, exchanging of emails and promises to keep in touch with our new friends,  Dale and I left Pine Ridge about 8am Friday morning and set off to explore them thar' hills...those are the Black Hills of SD called so because they look "black" from a distance due to  the thick covering of pine trees. I proclaimed I wasn't going to be happy until I'd seen a real buffalo up close and personal. Suddenly Dale hooted and I looked to the right and there were 3 bull buffalo trotting along heading right for us and the road. Perfect!
     We drove around Custer State Park on the "wildlife loop"  and didn't see much to shout about for most of the drive but when we did, it was like Animal Planet. We saw more and more buffalo..in fact a herd was wandering up the road and passed all around us. Dale was hanging out of the sun roof snapping away while I sat and laughed. We also got caught up in a herd of mules and we were definitely not the first people they'd ever seen. They ambled up and stuck their heads right in our open windows. Lots more laughing.

     Next was a visit to the Wind Cave National Park and a tour of the wind cave  naturally. It was dark, it was a cave. The only scary part was the elevator broke down and we were stuck 200 feet underground for an extra 45 minutes. It was scary because I wanted to strangle our
cute little pixie of a tour guide in her darling Smoky the Bear hat.
     We drove by the Crazy Horse monument and waved from the road.  At Mt. Rushmore we sat in the car, looked at each other as we both thought....allright, I see it, lets keep going. But, having driven 2400 miles to see it, we paid our fee, parked, and went to see the famous sight. My daughter Meg asked if it was a little "underwhelming" and that about says it all. Maybe we were just tired but you sort of have to ask....whats the point?
     Friday night found us at the Hotel Bullock in Deadwood. Dale unfortunately had to change plans due to an emergency and flew home Saturday morning. Yesterday was the first day that wasn't so much fun. I drove 400 miles in a light drizzle from Deadwood to Cody, WY. The weather was gray and I was lonesome without my pal next to me. I drove over the Bighorn Mtns. and as I got higher and higher, the temp. got lower and lower until it was 34 and there was snow on the ground. I was either driving thru a cloud or fog but I didn't like it one bit. I don't like heights, I don't like driving thru mountains on a good day and I hated this. And yes, there were a few "oh shits" muttered. By the time I got to Cody I'd had it even though I was supposed to drive another 50 miles to the Pahaska Tepee Lodge. It was a good decision to stop..one must be flexible. Today is sunny, 70 and I'll wave at theTepee Lodge as I go by!

PS. I appreciate all the emails I've received. It really helps to know you're all "out there" as I'm rolling along.  Also, not many entries in the "how many miles will I drive" contest. Email your guesses to me and I'll post a list.

     

  

Oct. 2 - Oct. 8 Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

     What a week.  This morning I'm sitting on a velvet Victorian sofa in the gaming/living room of the Hotel Bullock in Deadwood, SD. While only a few hours drive from Pine Ridge, the whirring of slot machines and the neon lights flashing couldn't be farther from the sights and sounds I experienced these past 7 days while volunteering with Re-Member. I have a lot of processing to do and will probably rewrite this at some point but I wanted to share some thoughts and experiences.
     The Re-Member organization was started about 14 years ago and has about 1300 volunteers each year. Its purpose is to provide a "service-learning" experience in that its as important to learn about the Lakota people we work with and meet, understand about their lives and their culture, as it is to do the physical work.  The organization works hard to address the housing crisis on Pine Ridge. It is a non-profit and many of the volunteers are from religious organizations around the country but there is no religious agenda and absolutely no evangelizing. "Mitakuye Oyasin" is posted everywhere meaning "we are all one people".  Many volunteers are college kids (UCONN Huskies were there this year).  Repeatedly we were reminded to "listen" with our ears and eyes so we could learn and understand these people.
     To that end we started our days at 6am. After breakfast our head honcho, Ted, would share some thoughts called "wisdom of the elders" passed down from past wise, life experienced Indians.  While this seemed a bit hokey the first couple days, I did "listen" and came to appreciate what the elders had to say.
     There were about 35 of us volunteers and we were divided into groups of 6 for the work projects and for "kitchen duty". Dale and I had two work projects. The first two days we drove 45 minutes in the work van to the middle of the rez to a place called Yellow Bear Canyon. It is a LONG way from anything but a beautiful spot with views of the rolling hills.  Larry Swallow and his wife Yolanda and 2 kids have just moved their two trailers there and our job was to help connect them with

Larry and Yolanda

siding and skirting(for you city slickers that is the covering around the bottom sides of the trailer to help keep it warmer in the freezing winter.) I became a pro at the "chopsaw." See picture! Anyway, they have no running water as yet but just got electricity. There are horses and dogs running around. They are wonderful people and Larry spoke to us one night back at our home site about Lakota history and culture. Actually we had different Oglala Lakota speakers every night, each wonderful and presented different  aspects of their culture and lives both historic and current. Our other project was helping to build a front porch and steps for another woman who had a trailer but had to jump 3 feet to get out. A lot of these trailers came from the US government as rejects from Katrina as they had formaldehyde in them. But good enough for the injuns, right? And they weren't a gift, they sold them. Oops, I'm starting to get political. Not now.We also spent some time on the bus visiting different part of the rez such as the Red Cloud Indian School started by the Jesuits and Red Cloud ( who signed the 1868 Ft. Laramie treaty which put the Indians on the rez in the first place. Didn't work out so well for them). Wounded Knee is a small town with the cemetery where the victims of the 1890 massacre are buried. We hiked near the "stronghold" area where the Lakota would go to hide from the cavalry.

Chopsaw Jane

    This is getting long and I've just scratched the surface. Not so much humor in this posting. I loved the experience. I was very much out of my comfort zone when I arrived and honestly, glad to be on my way at the end of the week.The "dorms" were a little grim but we got over it.  It was exhausting both physically and spiritually. The other volunteers were a wonderful group with shall we say, varied personalities! One fellow I especially enjoyed...well, I won't use his real name, lets just call him "Jim" always had a good quip or two.
     The last piece of "wisdom" Ted read yesterday seemed very apropos to my trip: Charles Knight, a Ute wrote    Pick a road, any road. Follow it for the rest of your life. No expectations. Just possibilities. When ya leavin?  I'm on my way right now to Yellowstone.

The "rez"

  PS I don't know why this posting is looking so odd but as I've already deleted one section by mistake and I've been sitting here for 3 hours I have to let it be. My computer skills are limited!

Days 7 - 10 Badlands or Bust...

     The weather gods have been with me so far.  While the midwest had floods before I arrived and my friends back east have been building arks the last few days, my little Toyota and I have had continual sunshine.  My friend Dale arrived in Minnesota last Wed. and we had one more day to rest the horses before setting out on Thursday (Sept, 30) for points west.  I had a great visit with my brother Al and Toni as always and an entertaining evening with my niece Janie and family.

     We didn't get too far out of town before the law was on our heels. A state trooper pulled us over for excessive speed but was quickly convinced of my innocence and the error of his ways. He gave me a warning to slow down and a warning that the highway ahead was under water due to flooding and we'd have to take a detour. And we did. Slow down and take a detour which added some time but did take us thru rural Minnesota and it was fine. We waved at the Jolly Green Giant in Le Seuer on our way by. Song of the day " I Can't Drive 55 " by the Hit Crew.

Mitchell "corn palace"

     We hit the South Dakota border and I put the pedal to the metal and off we went to Mitchell SD to visit the famous "corn palace." Yes, this is a building famous for being built out of corn cobs. Multicolored and odd, worth the drive from anywhere.  We ended the day on the banks of the Missouri River in Chamberlain, SD.  Lewis and Clark spent three days here while on their expedition. We didn't have as much leisure time as them so Friday morning we were off again. Before leaving we did visit and tour the St. Joseph Indian School in Chamberlain.  Its been in existence about 85 years and has about 200 children in residence and attending school. Dales mother used to donate to it which is why we thought about visiting and I'm so glad we did. Its a wonderful organization and there is a link with more info on the side of this blog.

     Off we went straight west across South Dakota and miles and miles of prairie (translate to hours and hours.) We exited at Cactus Flats and headed into the Badlands National Park. I can't begin to describe how beautiful this area is.  Suddenly from the rolling prairie you're in the Badlands "buttes" with deep canyons, towering spires and flat -topped tables.  It seemed like movie set. Frank Lloyd Wright wrote " I've been about the world a lot, and pretty much over our own country, but I was totally unprepared for that revelation called the Dakota Bad Lands..what I saw gave me an indescribable sense of mysterious elsewhere - a distant architecture, ethereal...an endless supernatural world more spiritual than earth but created out of it. "  That says it all.
     The scenic highway took us on a 30 mile loop thru the Badlands and spit us out in  famous Wall SD, home of Wall Drug, the biggest "drugstore"  in the world. In reality a hokey tourist trap but one must stop and we did for lunch.  I gambled on a "buffalo" burger and lost.
     We spent last night in Rapid City, SD at the "historic" Alex Johnson hotel. My investigation has revealed that Neil Diamond stayed here, thus the label "historic." We are heading back thru the Badlands this afternoon and are due to meet our contact from the Re-Member Organization at 2PM at a highway  marker one mile west of Rt. 18. This is quite rural. I've mentioned to a few people that we are headed to Pine Ridge and have been met with raised eyebrows. We've been listening to " Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" in the car and  have done lots of reading the last couple months about the Lakota Sioux both past and present. There is no internet, cell phones or red wine on the "rez." So readers, I can't post any updates until next Friday, Oct. 8th when we are off the reservation. Check the link if you want more info on this organization.  Tokhi waniphiki ni.  Wish us luck!

cue the prairie dog! yes, he's real.