Summer Memories

       I can't believe it is October already. I never did post anything in September. I guess I was too busy preserving the bounty of our garden and fruit trees. Also working on fixing up a used popup camper we bought, that's a topic for another time. Today I thought I'd go over a few fun happenings during the summer. 
   In June my sister and her husband stopped for a visit on there RV adventure to North Dakota and Canada. We enjoyed seeing them and exploring some of our local scenery.

The brothers-in-law

This is what they were perusing. 

     In July our daughter and family came for a visit. Also her 30th high school reunion. Wow, were did the time go. The cousins were happy to get together again and had a wonderful time hanging out.

Just a simple walk was an enjoyable way for us to spend time with them.

     One of the big events here in the summer is the rodeo and carnival.  So of course we had to take advantage of the activities. Here's a photo of our rodeo princess. 

The kids had fun on the carnival rides.

Also tried their hand at winning a prize. And of course carnival food.

I enjoyed watching the grandkids enjoy themselves and catching the fun with my camera.

     August is the month we like to take the grandson on a little trip. A last hurrah before school starts. This year we took a camping trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota. 

The campground had lots of activities for kids.

    Something fun we did while in the area was take a ride on the 1880's steam train which runs between Hill City and Keystone. 

The trip takes an hour one way. They have a recorded commentary that plays during the ride that tells about the history of the train and the area. If you're ever in this neck of the woods be sure to visit and have a fun and informative ride through the Black Hills.

We also paid a visit to Wall Drug in Wall, SD.  The drug store was started in the early 30's and became a must stop for people traveling through the Badlands. They promised free ice water to all travelers passing through. See full story at Wall Drug history. It's a little kitschy but a fun place where you can sill get a free glass of ice water. Here the grandson is riding a "jackalope" and waiting for the T-Rex feeding time. 

     And just to make sure we got a little education in, we visited a small but very nice natural history museum in Hill City. Black Hills Institute of Geological Research

     The summer went by way to fast, but we made many wonderful memories. The best part was having both our children and their families together.  Because of this and also the fact that this August marked our 50th wedding anniversary we had some family pictures taken. Credit for the following three photos goes to Melanie Araas of 3 Willow Design. 

A thought to ponder: "Memories are special moments that tell our story."

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