My Absolute Last Project

When a person turns 70, it's time to stop working so hard. For the past 14 months I have been working on my late parents house which was in bad need of repair and updating. In addition, the last tenants nearly destroyed the inside. 

At one point I thought about tearing the house down. There were termites, rotten bathroom floor, wood rot of floor joists, and nearly everything that I touched need repair. After careful consideration, I decided to spend the money and work required to save the 52 year old house. I was determined to get the house in a condition that I would live in. 

I have been known to undertake projects that I should leave alone. If I can do it myself, I won't hire someone else to do it. I don't know if that is a character flaw or if I am just a cheapskate. I did hire some of the work done, but most of it was done by me. 

I must say that it turned out pretty good. The old house has never looked so good. Now for the end results. 

New vinyl siding and aluminum boxing. No more painting. 

Retro front door and wrought iron column. 

New laminate floor. New windows everywhere. Fresh paint on everything. 

Added shower to a half bath to make it a two bath home. 

Ripped out the old cabinets and installed a new kitchen. 

New stainless steel are appliances, complete with ceramic floor.

New large laundry room with washer and dryer. 

So that is my absolute last project. No more working in cold or hot dirty conditions for me no more going to bed with tired muscles, sprains and pains. This was my last project that is until the next one comes along. 

Deadwood, A Small Place with a Lot of Wild West History.

Gold was discovered in the Black Hills of South Dakoda in the 1870's. The small mining town of Deadwood was a thriving mining town and a magnet for all types of people seeking their fortune by 1876. James Butler Hickok, better known as Wild Bill Hickok was one of those people.  It was here that Wild Bill lost his life.  Wild Bill was playing cards at the Nuttal & Mann's Saloon when Jack McCall walked up behind him and shot him in the head.  Bill was holding aces and eights, now known as the dead mans hand, when he died.

Deadwood was a must see during our recent trip out west.

Wild Bill's grave.

Calamity Jane was buried beside him at her request.

This is saloon where Bill was shot.

That's Wild Bill standing there with the black hat.  

This is the very chair he was sitting in when he was shot.  I don't believe it but that's what they say.

Deadwood was the last stop on our trip out west.  Boy, what a nice trip it was.  I hope to visit this area again in the future.  

Herbert's Trip to Branson

Update: (July 10)

I just received some additional pictures from Herbert. Looks like they are really living it up on their trip. 

Big name stars. 

Classy venues. 

And on the road again. 

Original Post:

Classmate Herbert Miller and his lovely wife Barbara are on a trip to Branson, MS. this week. He has sent just a few pictures. I guess they are having too much fun to be bothered with pictures. I do know that they are scheduled to see some big name entertainment this week. 

One of the acts they saw. 

Looking pretty good for any age. 

I don't know anything about Branson but I assume there is a River nearby. 

And a big dam as well. 

This lady is Betsy Dodson who is on the bus trip with the Millers. The Dodsons were our neighbors in Garner for most of the 30 years we lived there. I assume that she didn't know the Millers prior to this trip. 

Hope that Herbert will send me more information on their trip. 

Reenactment of Custer's Last Stand as Told by the Indians

They just happened to be having the reenactment of Custer's Last Stand when we were in Montana recently. Of course, we had to go since it was less than an hour's drive from where we were staying on the Big Horn River. We spent about an hour at the visitors center where the National Park Service gave a presentation on their version of the battle. We then drove a short distance to what is claimed by the Indians to be the actual site where Custer was shot not where the NPS said he died. Which ever version you believe, there is little doubt that General Custer met his end on that June 25 at the battle of the Little Big Horn. 

A couple of reenactors giving their horses a drink in the Little Big Horn. It is not much more than a creek at this point. It joins the Big Horn River where we were fishing further down stream. 

Some tee pees at the reenactment site, not sure that the Indians had golf umbrellas in 1876. It was hot that day and everyone was looking for shade. 

Custer had 276 men. 

The Indians had thousands. 

Lots of dust and noise during the reenactment. 

They had Custer on the run. It was a good show. A little too hot and dusty this particular day for my taste. 

We rushed on back to Fort Smith for quick shower and change of clothes so that we could attend the annual Carp Tournament in the town. Not a big crowd since their are not many people in the town. 

They had pitched several tents where they had a silent auction, items for sale, and a pretty darn good barbecue buffet even though it was not eastern NC style. I bought a Big Lip tee shirt just to prove that I was there. 

Tomorrow it is on to Deadwood and our return home. 

You Have Got to Go Fishing

We finally made it to our friends house in Fort Smith, Montana on the Big Horn River. The population is 161 according to the 2010 census. It's not the easiest place in the world to get to. The nearest airport is in Billings, two hour drive. We flew into Rapid City, SD which is a six hour drive. It's a long trip no matter how you travel, the experience is worth the journey. 

Bob and Terry completed their house this spring. It is quite a "cabin". He calls it a cabin. I call it a 3000 plus square foot house with five bedrooms and two kitchens. That is the Big Horn River in the background. 

Bob is an avid fisherman and offered to take me fishing on the Big Horn. Of course, I accepted. We started off with a trip to the Big Horn Angler, one of the outfitters in town. 

This is the kind of boat used on the Big Horn. You just float down the river while your guide or in this case your friend rows the boat. 

Occasionally, you can anchor the boat and get out and wade. Here I am getting some fly fishing instructions from Bob. 

Yes, we did catch fish and quite a few of them.  We released all of the fish for future anglers to catch.   Here I am holding a nice little Rainbow trout they I landed. It was really a nice day of fishing and I am fortunate to have a friend who invited me to go. 

Yellowstone at 55 mph

We had a lot of ground to cover today if we wanted to see Yellowstone and still make it to Ft. Smith by late afternoon. We left Cody, Wy at 6:30 am and headed for the east gate of Yellowstone. 

Following are a few shots of Cody I took the day before. It's a nice little town of about 10,000. It is tourist destination town with lots of "authentic" western souvenir and clothing shops. It's a little too touristy to suit me, but that is just me. A lot of people must like it. You can sit on the porch of Buffalo Bill Cody's irma Hotel eating an overpriced hamburger while watching a staged gunfight in the street at the same time. 

Cody's Irma Hotel

Cody's Main Street

Yellowstone was great!  This is the real thing. Nobody trying to take your tourist dollar, just nature at its best. 

The National Park Service does a great job of looking after these parks that we all own. When you reach the age of 60 (well past that now), you can purchase a pass for $10 that will get you into any National Park for free. I bought mine in the Bad Lands. 

Becky with Yellowstone Lake in the background. 

That's me standing on the Continental Divide

Here's a picture of Cecil and Maria standing at the same spot that was taken several years earlier. I just happened to remember this photo that was posted a couple of years ago on this blog. 

My plan was to take a drive through the park hitting all the major attractions before departing through the north gate. I wanted to visit Old Faithful, but was not going to wait an hour and a half to see it erupt. When we finally reached Old Faithful, we found a convenient parking spot, walked 200 yards through the trees and here is what we saw.  Just like the Griswolds, we looked at each other said "check" and walked back to the car. The whole experience didn't last over 15 minutes. 

Beauty everywhere.

Becky was hoping to see a buffalo. Well, we saw plenty. This big fellow came slowly walking up the road right beside the car. 

Our last stop in the Park was Mammoth Springs. 

We left the Park and made it to our final destination of Ft Smith, SD in plenty of time. Next time we go to Yellowstone we will stay several days and not try to see the whole Park at 55 mph. 

Here We Are in the Wild, Wild West

I guess everybody should travel out west before their final checkout. Since I have a friend who recently built a cabin on the Big Horn River in Montana and he invited us to visit, I decided to take him up on the offer. We also decided to do the tourist thing and visit the sites while we were there. 

This is the first of the Wild West blogs with more to follow. 

We flew to Rapid City, SD which is the nearest airport that our travel miles would take us. Rapid City is conveniently located to the Bad Lands, Black Hills, and Mount Rushmore, all in South Dakota. 

 

First was a stop at the Bad Lands. I really liked this place. Following are some of my IPhone photos. 

Pictures don't do this place justice. 

Just to prove we were there. A little bit windy where we were standing. 

Rugged terrain. 

Beautiful colors.

After leaving the Bad Lands, we drove to Wall Drugstore in the middle of nowhere. Supposed to be the largest in the world. 

It probably is.  Takes up an entire city block. What a tourist trap. 

That was the morning of the first day. The afternoon included the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. 

Yelp. We were there. Like the Griswolds, we went, we saw, we took pictures and we moved on. 

Tomorrow we move on to Cody, Wyoming. Bet a lot of you didn't know that one of our classmates ran the famous Cody Stampede Rodeo. 

Yellowstone is the next post. 

I Have Finally Reached the Big 70

It has been an interesting journey over the past 52 years after graduating from Angier High School in 1963. There have been ups and downs, but the ups far outnumber the downs. For that I am very thankful. I am blessed with two wonderful daughters, two great sons-in-law, three of the best grandsons in the world, lots of friends and 39 surviving classmates. It is only proper to have a small celebration to honor this occasion. 

At the suggestion of one of my daughters, this was to be a pig picking. Pig picking implies informal gathering, nothing fancy. Although it was held in our garage, I wouldn't exactly call it informal. Anyone that knows my wife can tell you that "informal" is not in her vocabulary. There have to be table clothes, flowers, fancy hors d'oeuvres, entertainment and the whole nine yards. 

My job was to cook the pig. With the help of a few friends we got the job done. Boy, was it good. 

I think about 72 people showed up. You might spot a few classmates in this photograph. 

The entertainment was by Larry Hutcherson.  He was in a group that played at my oldest daughter's wedding reception in 1998. 

Classmate and cousin Johnny helped with the the setup and the cooking. 

And here is the cake. What a nice day. Thanks to those who made it possible and to all that attended. It means a lot to me and I will always remember it.