A trip to the Black Hills is always an adventure!

Over the Memorial Weekend Holiday, my 6 year old son and I took off for the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Usually, I like to plan and reserve every aspect of our trips but this time was a little bit of planned with a little bit of winging it for good measure!

Saturday - After watching my 17 year old win 4th at the state track meet in the 400 m (yay, Kinsey!), we left Bismarck to head south.  For this trip, we actually traveled to Dickinson and then went south.  It was a beautiful road with a scenic view for most of the way.  As we traveled by van, I decided we should try for Spearfish City Campground as our 1st night's stay.  We arrived just before office closing time and got a tent spot with no problem. 

This campground is located in the heart of town and the creek runs right through it.  The place is clean and comfortable and reasonable at $25 per night for a tent.

I decided a tent was too much of a hassle to set up so we just threw the air mattress into the back of the van and were ready to roll.  Ize enjoyed playing in the creek.  Our neighbors, 2 men on a fishing trip from Eastern SD, came over to introduce themselves and we ended up chatting most of the night.

Sunday -  After a restless sleep due to the mattress developing a hole in it, we were up bright and early to try and tackle Crow Peak before our 3 pm Wind Cave National Park tour.  The previous weeks had been spent searching the internet for a good hike with nice views.  Crow Peak didn't have many recommendations, but the photos I saw were fantastic.  So, off we went to drive the 7 miles to the trailhead, located just outside of Spearfish.

The trail was a bit tough for a 6 year old.  Just over 3.5 miles to the top and then a return.  But the hike was gorgeous.

We finally made it to the top.  It was absolutely worth it:

Our descent was much quicker and we saw a ton of people on the way down (only 2 other hikers passed us on the way up).  Best advice is to hike this early in the day, before others arrive.

We grabbed a quick lunch at McDs and then drove the 1.5 hours to Wind Cave National Park.  We arrived about 30 minutes before our tour to pick up the tickets and walk around the grounds.  The hiking opportunities look great here, so we will definitely be back.

Our tour was the Fairgrounds Tour and was about 1.5 hours long.  Lots of stairs involved but Ize did a good job with it all and didn't complain about the length.

Book your tickets at least several weeks in advance, as they do sell out and walk-up tickets are rarely available.

Our camping neighbor had sent me a very nice facebook message that morning asking if we would come back to Spearfish for another night.  Even though it was another 1.5 hours back, we decided to head there again.  Another fun night of good conversation and Ize learned how to clean a fish (as they caught trout).

Monday - Ize and I had to get up early again for our 9:00 train reservations at the 1880s train in Hill City.  We booked round trip tickets to take us from Hill City to Keystone.  We were advised to book on one side for the outbound and the other side for return to get 2 different views.  On the return from Keystone, we got seats right behind the engine and that was fun to see how it operated.

Ize thought it was ok, the trip was almost an hour each way with only 15 minutes in between.  The scenery was beautiful but the train did move very slowly.

We headed back to ND after our train ride, sorrowful that it was such a short trip this time.  But it gives us a good excuse to go back!

Sometimes the dream finds you

Riding motorcycle was a dream I never had.

It didn't start as me entering the world on 2 wheels like a prodigy.  

I didn't grow up on the back of, or even in front of an adult, on a motorcycle.

Old VHS tapes in long-forgotten dusty boxes show one single, shaky, grainy video of me on a little Suzuki; wobbling around the farmyard, not quite stalling it but with a definite fear of the throttle.  There was no joy in my face, just a grim determination because my parents wanted a video of me.

When I decided to buy a motorcycle with the COVID payment last year, it wasn't thought out or the realizing of some long-held dream.

I bought it, had someone ride it home for me, and then closed the garage a little firmly behind me.  I admit I was secretly pleased with myself.  I had a mini mid-life crisis and it didn't push me out of my comfortable little life.  In my mind, I was a rebel but it didn't hurt me at all or make waves in my life.

I knew how to ride.  10 years in the outback of Australia with only a dirt bike for entertainment and no neighbors for many miles will do that to you.  And still, it wasn't a passion, just a way to keep from growing crazy out there.

I came to the conclusion that this impulse craze was a little too expensive to just leave sitting in storage.  So reluctantly, I went to an empty parking lot with a friend, trying to make feeble excuses in order to get out of much practice time around the college campus.

It was sort of fun, but nothing to get excited about.

I dutifully took my Motorcycle safety class shortly after.  Wanting to be a responsible motorcycle owner but dreading what I was sure was going to be similar to that high school class you only took for a needed credit to graduate, nothing more.

I struggled through the range time, following each set of skills setup but not feeling like it was second nature.  Truth be told, I really struggled.

So it was to my surprise that I aced both the written and the range test.

It was only after I passed the class did I think maybe there was something hiding behind that windshield.  All those social media groups I joined just because I thought it would look cool, there was a lot of passion behind the rides, stories and photos.  Passion I couldn't figure out.

There had to be something I was missing.  I thought I was a smart person.  I had my Masters and worked in a difficult financial field.  Even I could see there was an obsession there.  But I just didn't understand what it was.

Those early days were WORK.  I rode because I felt I had to.  It didn't come easy to me.  I hit a curb, dropped the bike, almost blew a corner and made mistakes early on.  But I kept working at it.  The area I lived in had ONE 'S' curve out in the country.  I rode it back and forth every single day, sometimes 20 times.

I watched youtube videos on how to ride and how to pick up my bike.  I watched a fascinating series on riders with a coach critiquing their skills as you watched the video.

But it still wasn't fun.  It was learning something I felt was necessary for a hobby that could be deadly.

I joined a few group rides.  Casual things.  They were nice social outings but I thought there had to be something more to the enjoyment of riding.  I just KNEW there was something more but I didn't know how to find it or where to look.

It wasn't until I took a 4 day trip out west to Teddy Roosevelt National Park at the invitation of another rider, did I finally unlock that passion.  It was worth the wait.  It was worth the effort I put in to get there.

Sometimes the dream finds you, when you weren't even looking. . .

Catching the Sunrise at Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Catching the sunrise at Teddy Roosevelt National Park

I am back after a long hiatus with big plans for this blog.  I rely heavily on blog searches to find information about future vacations.  It is only fair that I return the favor.  So, without further ado, my first installment is on my trip to TRNP over the weekend.

I live about 4 hours from this National Park and for the last 5 years, I have made regular trips to the ND badlands.  One thing I've been meaning to do is catch the sunrise at the Painted Canyon Visitor's center/Rest stop.  It is exit 32 off the I-94 interstate.  I have much respect for the wildlife in the area, especially at night, so needed to figure out some logistics on how to catch a sunrise without traveling in the night.

My search online found several reports that while camping isn't allowed, a vehicle parked in the parking lot doesn't raise too much concern.  With this in mind, I loaded my blow up mattress and sleeping bag in my van and arrived at the rest area around 8:30 pm on a Friday night.

About 3 other cars, a cargo van, 2 campers/travel trailers and several semis were parked at the rest area.  It was a long night. . .  Since it is a rest area, traffic continued throughout the night.  Travelers arrived to use the rest rooms all night long and continued on their way.

6 a.m. MST was a welcome relief.  To my surprise, the vehicles in the lot had more than doubled in the night.  I quickly prepared for the day and walked the rim to await the sunrise.

It did not disappoint:

After viewing this masterpiece for a while, I decided to try my luck at hiking the Painted Canyon Trail, a 4+ mile out and back segment:

The Arrow shows the route I tried to take.  The Painted Canyon trail should not be confused with the Painted Canyon Nature Trail - which is a short loop (less than a mile) on the west side of the parking lot.

The Painted Canyon trail begins at the signage on the east side of the parking lot.  I made the mistake of following the rim path along the canyon instead of taking the proper trail and ended up on bizarre game trails that took me down into the canyon.

There was no signage, so I wandered blissfully unaware of my precarious circumstance of almost being lost.  I did find a gully that the game trails led me through and explored the wash for a bit in each direction, which was quite fun:

Eventually, I accidentally stumbled on the correct trail and signage reassured me I was on the real Painted Canyon trail until the intersection.

The colors were just beginning to turn down in the canyon:

The PCT ended at the T intersection.  From here, you can retrace your steps back to the parking lot or travel east/west along the junction of the Upper Paddock Creek Trail.  I chose to go West for another 2 miles

It was a beautiful morning to hike, with plenty of varied scenery and mule deer to keep me company.  I did feel some concern, however, as the trail only showed recent footprints heading into the park, none returning.  I fervently hoped that my previous colleagues weren't the victims of a Bigfoot or Mountain Lion ambush.  I saw recent signs of the wild horses and had hopes of catching up to them but alas, it was not meant to be.

I passed through some sort of boneyard.  Being artistic in nature 😂 , I took the opportunity to do some creative photography with the props laying around.

Around this time, I decided that turning around would be a good idea.  The high was forecasted for 93 degrees that day and I knew it would take me longer to get back up the canyon wall than it did coming down.

My return trip ended up on an adventure I didn't want to take.  I will blame this broken post as the reason I got lost:

And this unmarked post also:

Once I got back to the gully, I took that same path back.  In hindsight, I think this was the spot where I ventured off the trail.  I was so sure that all the game trails would eventually lead back to the top.  But that was not how it worked.  There were several branches off the trails every couple hundred yards or so and I chose the ones I thought I had traveled before.  Soon enough, though, I took a wrong turn.  Being the farm girl I was, I decided to scale what I was sure was the rim to the top.  I took the easiest sloping side I could find, as no trails nearby led up the rim.

I reached the top and discovered it was a narrow ridge that led nowhere.  No connecting with the bluff behind it and I could not see if the next one over was the right rim or not either.  I was dejected and a little bit scared at that point.  What if I couldn't find my way?  What if I died up there and no one found me?

I didn't want to backtrack, so instead I picked the gentlest slope I could find on the other side of the bluff and slid down, tossing my pack ahead of me.  I slid right into a prickle patch but I was too relieved with not falling and breaking a limb that I just brushed the thorns out of my backside and picked out the worst prickles from my hand to carry on.

Undaunted by the drops of blood, I was almost frantic to find my way again.  I was sure I had to go a bit further east, so bushwacked until I found a game trail that led to the top of the next ridge.  It wasn't the one I had descended on but I was anxious to gain some ground and orientate myself.

I climbed and pulled myself up with some bushes and collapsed with thankfulness at the top when I saw I had scaled the correct ridge and the parking lot was further back.

I decided to sit for 15 minutes at that spot and take in the view one more time before I picked up my pack and trudged back to the van.  I pretended I was merely enjoying the view but truthfully, my legs were shaking so that I needed to sit before I could walk further on.  It had been an exhilarating morning full of beauty, excitement and adventure on my 8 mile journey.

TRNP will always have a special place in my heart.  There are so many trails to explore for solitude.  I did not see one person on my hike out and back so if you are looking for quiet trails to commune with nature, this park has it.

Please subscribe to read about my next adventure to Arizona and Utah, as I tackle "The Wave" - the hardest hiking lottery permit to win in the world!

It's Friday, our last day and we are in St. Kitts

Friday, September 26th - St. Kitts
Port time: 11-5
Evening Attire: Cruise Casual (Carioca's)
Evening Entertainment: Disney Dreams - an enchanted classic
Drink of the day: Stingray

Our last full day aboard the Magic and we traveled to St. Kitts.  There was much going on, starting with The Princess Gathering.  On embarkation day, I saw in the Navigators that we could pick up tickets for 2 things: Elsa and Anna meet N greet and Princesses.  They were only handing them out from 12-3 at the Port Adventure Desk.  The princesses were also on sea day like our Elsa and Anna tickets but we couldn't make the times work so she checked the morning of St. Kitts and got us a 9 am time.

DD9 doesn't like meet n greets but she agreed to go if I went through the line too.  So the 3 girls met Cinderella, Belle & Tiana.  The line was orderly and a short wait.  I don't like the scheduled ticket things but they do work well. . .

After the gathering, it was time to head to Palo's brunch.  Our reservation was for 10 am.  Thursday night, I got a message asking if I wanted to do 9:30 instead because we would be arriving in St. Kitts early.  I said of course.

H decided he didn't want to go.  So I went alone.  And really didn't mind.  I had Susana again from Portugal.  She was lovely as always.  Brunch is very different from dinner and if I had to choose one, I would do brunch every time.  There were all sorts of breads, sweets, seafood, antipasto and other things on the table for a buffet line.  There was also hot dishes of Chicken Parmasan, Pastas, Eggs benedict, pizzas and other things to order from the server.  I ordered several dishes to taste.  And then had a cup of english tea to end.  I watched out the window as we sailed into St. Kitts.  It was a perfect time.  They did not charge me for H not coming, which was nice of them.

I really wanted to take a cab ride to the lookout and see the seas meet the ocean but I didn't think about us arriving early, I might have been able to do it before our zipline excursion.  This was set for 12:15 pm.  We ended up getting back at 3:30 and we didn't want to risk our all-aboard time of 5 by taking a taxi to the lookout.  Oh well, next time!

We booked a zip line with Disney because there is only one on the island and it was contracted out thru them.  We couldn't get a private booking.

It was an ok time.  Only 4 lines and it paled in comparison to New Zealand (we were spoiled on that one!) but it is a great first time line for those who have never done it.  And it had a lovely view of the ocean. The girls sure liked it.

We were bussed back to the port and walking through the square, we encountered the monkeys.  It was a little sad to see these baby monkeys in diapers, clinging to each other.  One pair was trying to escape their handler.  I saw several men with pairs of baby monkeys on our way back to the ship.  I'm sure I read somewhere that if you are within arm's reach of these men, they throw the monkeys on you and then demand payment.  So we kept a safe distance from them.

They are super cute though, it would be hard to resist them.

Once back on the ship, the girls went swimming one last time for a short period.  The day had been sort of rainy off and on and the people I talked to were disappointed in their beach days and such so I guess zip lining was a good way to go.

It was time to get ready for our final dinner.  The menu was Till we Meet Again.  We chatted with our servers and told them how much we enjoyed our meals with them.  I would highly recommend Esther as your server.  Fabio was getting off this time, as his contract was up but she is a good one to have.  She told us that our section was usually with VIPs and concierge guests so we felt honored we were included in her rotation.  We did tip them extra, along with Ronald, our stateroom host.  Everything was outstanding.

Our final show was Disney Dreams.  It was, of course, great.  We packed our bags and set them out and then it was time for bed.

Breakfast the next morning was at 7 in Carioca's.  We were the only ones in our station to eat.  Esther told us stories about her experiences and we were reluctant to go but knew she had another crew coming at 8:15.

The ship was cleared at 7:45 and we walked right off and found our luggage.  We walked right through customs/immigrations.  Cabs were waiting and we were at the airport in 20 minutes.  It was a long flight home but I was happy to meet with a friend in Charlotte for our layover.  She looks lovely as always.  Our flight to MSP was delayed an hour and then we had the 3.5 hour ride home putting us in our beds at 3:30 a.m.

The week went by quickly but we loved every minute of it.  I would highly recommend a Southern Caribbean cruise.  Our island favorites were:
1) St. Lucia
2) Barbados
3) St. Kitts
4) Grenada
5) Antigua

Best excursion goes to Barbados Cat and Silver Moon.

And that puts us at the end, my friends.  Thank you for sharing our adventure!