Rapid City

 

 

Nancy had been to South Dakota as a teenager when her father was Sup't. of State Missions and South Dakota was part of the Baptist General Convention of Arizona; but Russ had never been.  We were looking forward to seeing the many sites in the Rapid City area.

 

 



Not far into South Dakota we came across this interesting store.  We wondered if he is one our relatives.!

 

HART RANCH (OUR RV PARK)

 

 

Hart Ranch is one of the nicest RV parks we have ever stayed in.  It has many activities including an olympic size pool, tennis courts, pickleball courts, Sunday services, Sunday night gospel concerts, and an 18 hole championship golf course among other things.

 

BEAR COUNTRY U.S.A.

Although Bear Country has a lot more bears than anything else it has many other species including elk (seen below), deer, reindeer, big horn sheep, mountain lions, mountain goats, buffalo and many others.

 

And of course they had plenty of cubs.

 

 

MOUNT RUSHMORE

 

 

 George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and...Russ Jakes, president of the Rocky Mountain Coaches for Christ.

 

Interesting facts: Gutzon Borglum, Sculptor

Carving dates:  1927-1941

Number of workers:  400

Namesake:  Charles Rushmore

Main tools:  Dynamite and jackhammer

Rock:  Granite

 

 

 There was a lighting ceremony in the evening which included patriotic music, singing of the Star Spangled Banner and recognition of all military men and women, past and present, who were asked to gather on the platform and say their name and military affiliation.

 

At the end of the program, the flag was lowered and presented to the oldest veteran present (90 years - front row left in the wheelchair).

 

 CRAZYHORSE

 

 

Not far from Mount Rushmore is the world's largest mountain carving still in progress - Chief Crazy Horse. The first blast of dynamite, which took off 10 tons of rock, was in 1948.  Sculptor Korczak Ziolikowski has passed away but his family and other workers continue to work on the monument.

 

This is a model of what it will look like when completed.

 

WALL DRUG STORE - WALL, SOUTH DAKOTA

 

 

While at Mount Rushmore as we were waiting for the evening program to begin, we were visiting with a tourist who told us about the Wall Drug Store.  Although we will be going through there after we leave Gillette on our way to Connecticut, it will be a long driving day so we decided to make it a day trip from Rapid City.

 

 

There were Jackalopes everywhere convincing Russ of their existence.

 

This establishment started out as a small town drug store in 1931 and has developed into a bustling place of business that takes up a whole city block! 

Off to Wyoming

After 3 wonderful months at Ponderosa we had 10 days to spend waiting for our FMCA Coaches for Christ Rally in Gillette, Wyoming so we spent a few days in Cheyenne.

We stopped for a picture as we entered Wyoming and would you believe there was also a geocache right at the sign!  It was our first Wyoming find. 

While in Cheyenne we stayed at the Terry Bison Ranch RV Park - a 28,000 acre working ranch with a herd of 3,000 bison.

 







When Russ was 7 or 8 years old he remembers being in West Texas and seeing several jackalopes (probably about the same time he was introduced to "snipe hunting" and we all know what that means!)  Everyone has always told him that they didn't exist but he finally was able to once and for all prove that they do exist.  LOL!

 

 

Nancy couldn't figure out how to get on this bison in a lady-like way!

 

 

Since we were so close to Nebraska we decided to pick up a cache there as well.



 



On the town square there was a lot of things going on.  You could take a ride on a wagon pulled by a team of horses.  We thought this metal horse was an unusual sculpture.  One of the neatest things, though, were the boots found around town.  There are approximately 20 of them; they are 8 feet tall and 8 feet from toe to spur and were painted by various artists. 



 

 

 

Ponderosa - Our Last Days

VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF CONTINUE TO IMPROVE FACILITY

At the left are two of our 4 dorms, Cagle and Cherry.  Cherry was completely remodeled with new carpet, paint, bathrooms, and bunk beds made by volunteers.

Cherry is a place where our friend Don Browning used to stay when coming to Ponderosa for family reunions.

Several large groups of volunteers from churches in Texas and Oklahoma completed much needed projects.  Two of the ladies are taping windows to prepare for painting while another group pours concrete for a new porch on Columbine.



Russ, what do you not understand by the phrase:  "Tow-away zone"?

WILDLIFE

Our most frequent wildlife guests this year was this woodpecker, who obviously thought he was a hummingbird; and Nancy's flock of turkeys grew to 13 (8 shown here) once word got around she was throwing out field corn twice a day!

 

We don't make a habit of posting pictures of "scat", but this shows proof of nighttime visitors crossing the road to the ranch houses.

 

FUN, FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP 

 

 

The ladies of Ponderosa found time for an afternoon of good eats and great fellowship at Wisdom's Tea House in Monument.

 

GUEST ACTIVITIES 

 

One of the groups that come each year is RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Association).  Above they are doing different group activities and below they are going through the chow line.

 

  

GOOD FRIENDS, OLD AND NEW

 

 

Nancy made two new friends from the RYLA group. 

  

These are 2 of our kitchen help cut-ups.  At left is July and Hannah is on the right.  Hannah is the one we visited at Oklahoma Baptist University last year on our way to Branson.  They are sisters, and their brothers - Hosea and Micah - also work at Ponderosa.

What a surprise it was when one night at supper one of the guests thought she knew us from somewhere.  Sure enough, she ended up being someone we knew, along with her mother, dad and 3 brothers, who attended Greenway Baptist Church about 40 years ago.  Mom Linda came for a visit from Virginia and we had dinner with her and daughter Jeslin at the Black Eyed Pea in Castle Rock.   Also, one Sunday at church I thought I recognized the director of the preschool division.  Many of our blog friends will recognize Heather (Goss) Gardner (right), formerly of Phoenix.  She and her twins graciously took time during a very busy Sunday morning to pose for the picture!


We were so happy that our friends Joe and Frances McLeroy were able to stop by camp for a short visit. 

UNUSUAL MINISTRY

 

On Round-up Sunday at Black Forest Baptist Church, there was a new greeter when we arrived for church!   Horsegate Ministry is led by Larry Killan, a member of the church.  Their ministry is to "share Christ thru the horse."  Their vision statement is "take any horse, any time, any place to share the story of Christ."  There are many horse farms in Colorado - this man uses his love for the Lord and horses to teach children and adults how to share their testimony by using their horse!