from Madeline Island

Some spectacular flowers found on Madeline Island off the coast of Wisconsin. What a gift from the Master Gardener Himself!

Madeline Island, WI

Madeline Island is an inhabited Island near the Apostle Islands. The Ferry Boat ride that the Vue, John and I took was only a 20 minute ride. In the winter the ice gets to 3 feet thick and they make a road from the island to the main land....... now that was hard for me to believe.
The island got its name from ........ of course...... you can guess....
an Indian princess. She was given the White man name Madeline but I love her Obibway name Equasay (sound like E--qua--say).

Standing on the shore of Madeline Island looking over at the mainland.

Love this birch tree and it had the most interesting moss that grew on the trunk.

On one of the walks around the island.

Doesn't this path look inviting.

Golden Flax Seed Farm in North Dakota

This is the Golden Flax Farm that we visited on our way North. This beautiful blue flower's petals drop off and a boul form. A boul is like a pea pod. These bouls contain 5 to 10 flax seeds.

This is a flax field up close.

Here shows the seeds from one boul.

This is a field just about ready for harvest.

Here we are coming to visit the Golden Flax Company. They grow the flax, harvest, process and packaged all right here in the USA.

Wind Caves National Park, SD

This is the Wind caves discovered in Custer National Park. American Indians first knew about these wind caves and regarded them as a sacred place. The entrance was noticed by two brothers, Jesse and Tom Bingham. They heard a loud whistling noise, which led them to a small hole in the ground, the cave's only natural opening. This is the place in the next photo. As I remember the story, it was Jesse's son, Alvin, who at the age of 16 first went exploring the caves and mapping them out. He even got to a point where he took people on tours. The first tours were about 5 hours in the cave and cost $2.00, which was an average weeks wage.

This Wind Cave is one of the longest caves in the world and has an amazing amount of a rare cave formation called box work. Can you see the box work? Box work looks like cardboard boxes that are real small. The tour was great and very interesting.

John and I 180 feet under ground.....

Custer State Park and Crazy Horse Monument

This, I thought, was a real nice iron sculpture for the entrance of Custer State Park.

The park had many nice bridges and overpasses. We also saw a herd of prong horn antelope. There were many hikes to take but I guess that will be another day.

This sculpture is still a work in progress. It is spectacular!! It is also being funded by private donations plus sales and admission to the park.... even though the USA has offer 10 million dollars to help support the project.

Do you see the light outline of the horses head on the rock? Korczak Ziokowshi,the sculptor, started the project when he was 42 years old with only $175 to his name. He was asked by Chief Red Cloud to create a sculpture representing the American Indian in the USA.

John standing next to the 1/34th replica of the finished monument. This is being overseen by Mrs. Ziolkowshi and 7 of their 10 children.

Mount Rushmore, SD

The men of Mount Rushmore, South Dakota.... Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. What a site this was. The sculptures were unbelievable and gigantic. We could even see Teddy's spectacles. I think that Roosevelt and Washington looked most like what I have seen in books.


This is on the way in to the memorial. We went to the night light show but my night pix did not turn out.

After the main entrance.... there was the walk of State flags and the 6 other flags (Washing DC & 5 territories). The whole program was something to remember. It was very patriotic with song and a salute to the military.

This is from a distance and later in the evening. Can you imagine climbing this high and creating a sculpture????

Badlands

This is called the door trail at the Badlands. It is partially paved and is a great place to climb.

Great pixs of John at the Badlands.

Some beautiful colors of the Badlands.

Yes, these flowers were found in the Badlands on the edge of a cliff. Do you see the busy bee?

How do you like this..... It doesn't even look real........ Does it?????

The erosion of the Badlands reveals sediment layers of different colors...purple, yellows, tan, gray, red and orange.

The famous drug store in Wall, SD. We had buffalo burgers for lunch. They were delicious. Cold water is free and coffee is only .05 cents.

I found a handsome cowboy.

Deadwood, SD

Historic Deadwood re-enacts the shooting of Wild Bill Hickok at the famous #10 Saloon and we were there. John was asked to be the bartender.

This is the site of the shooting with the famous card hand (double 8 and 3 Ace).

Wild Bill Hickok telling his story.

The bartender and the hussy.....and a good looking one, may I say.

The shooting of Wild Bill Kickok by Jack McCall.

Wild Bill, Ella and Jack McCall

Grave sites at Mount Moriah.

Wild Bill's final resting place and next to him Calamity Jane's grave site. It was something to see.

On the way to the Black Hills

We left the Rocky Mountains and the terrain sure changed.

This Mammoth site landmark cough our eyes. This was a site of a sink hole where Mammoths have been unearthed. It was very interesting to say the least. Did you know they only had 4 teeth at one time? Can you imagine the USA full of Columbian and Woolly Mammoths?

This Roughlock falls hike wash off the Spearfish Canyon Bypass. This was pretty scenery and much different then what we had been seeing.

Now this is something interesting...... Can a tree grow out of a rock?? I saw several doing that very thing!!!