Prairie Quilts and Kolaches: A quick trip away

Mt Rushmore at night

Happy Sunday everyone.

I hope you all had a joy-filled past week. Mine was the normal getting back into the late summer groove.

The last week of July we left for vacation with our best friends to South Dakota and Mt Rushmore. They had not been there since they were children.

We left on Wednesday morning from our house, Farmer driving our pickup. We back-tracked a little going back to the out-skirts of the city to eat breakfast at the truckstop and planning our route. Since we have not done the southern part of Nebraska much, we chose to take the long way around. We stopped in Red Cloud to see the Willa Cather Center (our culture for the trip) and toured the town a bit. I may not bring much to the group but I try to bring some educational bits. Like so many, "O Pioneers" and "My Antonia" are my favorite of her books.

From there we drove by Harlan Co Dam and in to Kansas before turning northward and heading to Broken Bow. We have stayed at the Arrow Inn in the past and love that hotel & pub. So friendly. CLEAN. Great food. I could have easily stayed there the whole 5 days. Only thing lacking was a pool (not that I'm much of a pool person.)

We toured slowly north the next day and ended in Chadron. Another nice small town in NW Nebraska. Our desk clerk suggested a down-town bar & grill for dinner It was ok. More of a young college student place. Chadron is a college town. Similar to our small hometown in feel.

Back to our motel which had a nice central courtyard. 3 of us sat and enjoyed a beverage and the space with a group of wedding guests/family. Beautiful cool, not humid evening.

Before we got to Chadron, as we do, we stopped in the small village of Cody NE. One reason was to see the high school student ran grocery store made of straw bales. Read more here.

Yes, the students run it. It was a cute little store. A bit pricy but then they are way off the beaten path. We spoke to the young man running the cash register and supported them by buying fruit to eat. It was nice to see they had a steady stream of folks stopping in while we were there.

The next morning, Friday, it was terribly smoky from the Utah and Canadian fires. We thought it was fog at first. Our visibility was a couple of miles at best. That was disappointing as I love the sandhill vistas. We ate breakfast at a lovely family-owned cafe. So good. Then it was on up to Rapid City SD.

We stopped in Hot Springs and waded in the "river" (more like a creek to me) in the city park. We toured Custer State Park and observed the Buffalo, Pronghorns and Prarie dogs. We wanted to go through Cave of the Winds but we found we had to get advanced tickets. Next time.

We had our moment of panic when we called to confirm our booked rooms and they couldn't find us! Thankfully it was just a matter of being "lost in translation" as our last name starts with an "F" which can sound like an "S" on the phone when you are spelling it. We did say "'F' as in 'Frank'" but the clerk was an "English, second language" person and didn't quite make the connection. It was all sorted out and we sighed a big sigh of relief. (This was the weekend before the big Sturgis SD motorcycle rally and rooms were not easy to find.)

We got settled in and usually we eat local/Mom&Pop places on our trips but this was a city and we didn't know where to go. Plus, we saw Texas Roadhouse on our way to the motel! It's one of our favorite places to eat, so we went for a good meal.

Back to the motel and we utilized the lobby's commons area to play cards.

Saturday we ate breakfast at the Colonial House where Farmer and I have eaten before. Again, locally owned and good food. Stopped by the Candy House. The old sticks-in-the-mud wouldn't participate in my idea of trying the weird flavors of soda. I didn't even expect them to try the gross ones just the weird flavors. Such party poopers.

Then on to Keystone to see tourist stuff. So. Many. People. We walked around but none of us wanted souvenirs. We ate at the Historic Ruby's Place. Good food even if the place is touristy. We enjoyed watching the chainsaw artists at work. And the taffy pulling. (We have simple tastes.)

Mid-afternoon we headed to the mountain. We hiked the presidents path (those 250 steps at one point, were harder than a few years ago), took in the rangers' talks in the artist studio, took photos and absorbed the grandeur of the monument. It never gets old.

While Farmer and BF went back to the truck to get jackets and snacks and water. BF's dh and I stayed to people watch. I was that kind, older lady who took family photos so everyone could be in the shot. And watch a couple from another country (Bosnia? Russia? Ukraine?) get their wedding photos taken. Everyone around applauded.

We ate the famous Mt Rushmore ice cream for dinner and found our seats for the Lighting Ceremony. So patriotic and heart-warming. If you've never stayed for it at sundown, you really should.

Back to the motel and the next was our last day of vacation, on the road home. Sunday, Colonial House again for breakfast. We had 8 hours of driving so we were up and on the road by 9 a.m. We took a different route home but stopped in Broken Bow again for lunch. Dairy Queen this time. Home to our sweet Farmhouse by 7:30 p.m. Farmer was off to check cattle as soon as our friends were headed to their home and I was sorting and washing 5 days of laundry! It was all done by Monday bedtime.

It was a nice get-away and the last time-off except for Husker Harvest Days in September. Now it's back to the usual. It's hot and humid here. The county fair ends tonight. We chose to not go since it's so hot. We stopped by the Littles' yesterday to see them and hold Little #4. He's growing chubbier. I soaked in baby snuggles, Toddler Hugs and Big Brother play. They have all grown in the past 2-3 weeks. #dontblink We are so blessed these babies live close to us.

I'll pop a few photos below. If you've made it this far, these shouldn't bore you too much. :D And excuse the hair. My stylist had to cancel my appointment I had for the day before we left. I'm a bit shaggy. Also, there are rare sightings of the Farmer in case you wondered if he's real.

Have a great week. Stay hydrated. Be safe. I'll be back soon with a new menu and food talk.

Until next time,

Kay