Chapel in the Hills

Posted on October 9, 2014 by liv2rv

Rapid City, SD is home to the Chapel in the Hills, an exact replica of the Borgund Stavkirke built around 1150 in Laerdal, Norway. A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building, named because the load-bearing posts are called stav in Norwegian. The Chapel, completed in July of 1969, was originally built as the home for the “Lutheran Vespers” radio program. When that program moved to Minnesota in 1975, it left no support for the Chapel, and a non-profit organization was formed. The Chapel is now an ELCA church, although it has no congregation, and receives no funding from the organization. Private donations, gift shop sales and wedding fees support the Chapel. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

front view

The front door of the Chapel is known as the “men’s door”, as men stood on one side of the church, women and children on the other side, in early times of the church. Women and children entered through the side door, known as the women’s door.

side view

inside facing altar

In the photo below, Dan is looking though the leper’s window. A person with leprosy, an infectious skin disease, was not permitted to enter the main church, but could receive communion through this window.

the leper’s window

A prayer walkway has been added to the grounds behind the Chapel.

view back on prayer path

There are sculptures along the path with inspirational messages.

never lose faith

The gift shop has a grass roof and displays the flag of Norway.

gift shop

There is also a small museum, in an original Norwegians settler’s log cabin, that was relocated from Keystone, SD. The museum has many items used by the early immigrants. And of course, they have statues of Ole and Lena in front!

Ole and Lena

inside their cabin

We were surprised at how tiny the Chapel was, but enjoyed the visit. It would be a nice place to have a small wedding at.

Quote for the day: (well it’s more of a Norwegian joke of the day) “One Sunday morning, the Lutheran pastor noticed Ole standing in the foyer of church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it. The old Norwegian had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside Ole, and said quietly, ‘Good morning Ole.’

‘Good morning Pastor,’ he replied, still focused on the plaque. ‘Pastor, vat is dis?’ The pastor said, ‘Well, it is a memorial to all the men and women who died in the service.’ Soberly, they just stood together staring at the large plaque.

Finally, Ole’s voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked, ‘Vich service, da 8:30 or da 10:45?’

A day of Geology and Geography

Posted on October 5, 2014 by liv2rv

We are currently in Kentucky, but I will be posting a few more blogs from South Dakota.

With a dog sitter in place for Makena (thanks Dick and Cheryl), we took a day trip over to Devils Tower, Wyoming, about 120 miles from Custer, SD. In 1906, Devils Tower became the nations first national monument. It plays a prominent part in the classic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” movie from 1978.

a view from afar

There are two theories about how the tower formed, one from geologists, and the other from Native Americans. Geologists agree that the tower is an intrusion, formed by magma, and has been exposed by erosion. There are multiple theories on how this occurred, but in simple terms, as the rock cooled, it contracted and formed hexagonal columns. (Todays math lesson: a hexagon has 6 sides)

The Native American legend is several girls were playing and a bear began chasing them. As they tried to get back to their tribe, they jumped on a rock and began praying to the rock to save them. The rock, only several feet in height, began rising out of the ground, out of reach of the bear. The bear attempted to claw its way to the top, forming the “claw” marks on the tower, but was unable to do so. Devils Tower remains sacred to many tribes today.

getting closer

Devils Tower, WY

There is a relatively easy 1.3 mile walking trail encircling the tower, affording many different views of the columns. The base of the tower has a large rock pile, from the rock believed to have fallen off after the magna had cooled. The rocks at the base have been slowly eroding away, further exposing more of the columns of the tower.

Close Encounters

Devils Tower, at a height of 867 feet, is a very popular park for rock climbing. There is a voluntary closure during the month of June, as many Native American Tribes hold ceremonies during this month. We were able to watch 3 climbers for a while. If you look closely at the photo below, you can see the three, one at the top center, middle left, and bottom center. (you may need to click on the photo to enlarge it)

3 hikers

In 2008, Japanese sculptor Junkyu Muto installed a sculpture on the property, “Circle of Sacred Smoke”. The sculpture represents the first puff of smoke from the pipe used by Native Americans during their ceremonies. The two granite boulders beneath the sculpture are blast fragments from Crazy Horse Memorial.

sculpture

view thru sculpture

After soaking up all the geology, we heading over to Belle Fourche, SD to finish up with some Geography and History. Belle Fourche (pronounced Bell Fuush), is the geographic center of the United States of America.

Belle Fourche, SD

There is a large monument, with a geographic marker that I am standing on. Been there, done that!

standing in the middle

All fifty state flags surround the monument.

the monument

Also at the monument is the Tri-State Museum (free admission, donations welcome) which has some interesting items on display. For the ladies that wanted curls, they could go down to the beauty parlor and sit under this machine, that looks like something found in a Frankenstein movie!

high-tech perm machine

The museum had a photograph showing a women getting her hair done. It did not state how long this process took.

getting a perm

Vacuum cleaners have come a long was as well. This is the Great Northern Vacuum Cleaner, made in Chicago, Illinois. It is not electric, but a suction plunger model.

vacuum cleaner

This is the Ironrite Mangle, a 1940’s model ironing machine. You would feed your clothes into the heated roller.

ironing machine

Below is the Hodge Bootery X-Ray Shoe Fitting Machine, which was popular in the late 1940s and early 1950’s. The shoe salesperson would take an x-ray of your feet to determine your proper shoe size. In 1950, they realized the hazards from the radiation, and by 1970, 33 states had banned the machines.

shoe x-ray machine

The museum was also selling a poster of ‘Crazy Horse’, with a disclaimer that it is “believed” to be the only known photograph taken of him, in 1877. In reality, no known photograph of Crazy Horse exists.

Crazy Horse??

It was an interesting day, and the museum was a nice little find. We would recommend a trip out to Devils Tower if you are staying in the Black Hills, or as a stopover on the way out West.

Quote for the Day: “You will enrich your life immeasurably if you approach it with a sense of wonder and discovery, and always challenge yourself to try new things.” – Nate Berkus

Unplugging for 3 weeks

Posted on September 29, 2014 by liv2rv

We packed up and left Custer, SD the morning of September 10 and made it back to Dan’s sister’s house around 1:30am. Originally, we did not plan on driving all day, but the weather was perfect, traffic was light, and Dan felt good, so we just kept on going, and going, and going! We would have made better time, but encountered a bridge that was out, and had to drive 17 miles south to get across on the next bridge, along with 17 miles north to get back to where we were. Then Bambi and her friends kept darting across the roads, so we going pretty slow for the last 2 hours.

We woke up the next morning to multiple text messages and photos from our fellow Crazy Horse co-workers of the big snowstorm that started the night we left!! We were very thankful to get out before the snow.

Before we left, we did manage a final outing with Phil and Rudee. Dan went golfing with Phil, and Rudee and I checked out Bear Country again, to see how much the little bear cubs have grown. They have tripled in size, in just 2 months since we were last there. One of the employees was trying to scoop up poop, but the cubs were more interested in getting the rake and shovel from her. She spent some time talking with the crowd that was watching, Wouldn’t this be a fun workcamping job?

“momma” and kids

It was mating season for the Elks. Upon seeing this beautiful Elk, Rudee rolled down her window and whistled at him….

come here Mr. Elk!

Apparently that was a “mating call” whistle, because he came charging down the hill and checked us out! So if you ever go Elk hunting, Rudee knows how to get their attention.

too close for comfort

The last several weeks have been busy getting together with family and friends, although we were unable to see everyone that we wanted. We simply ran out of time, and could have used a few more weeks. We have not finalized any plans after mid-April, so we may be back to Wisconsin for a week or two at that time. We are still looking into our options for working next summer.

We did make it to the Packers home opener, against the Jets. This will be the only game we can attend this year, and still have our tickets available for the New England and Atlanta Falcons games. If you’re interested, let us know. We met up with some friends before the game for tailgating.

pre-game tailgating!

Only in Green Bay would you run into characters dressed as cheese spreads!

only in Green Bay!

We have nice seats in the North end zone, which gets the sun (important for those December games!)

Lambeau Field

all smiles after a victory

It was fun getting together with those that we did see (and we forgot to take photos of all the get-togethers).

Jonell, Madge and Pudge

partners in crime

We also took full advantage of having fast, unlimited Wi-Fi at Dan’s parents, to get all the updates on our computers and iPad done. After that, we decided to “unplug” and get away from our devices. Which is why I haven’t posted a blog in a while.

Now it’s off to Campbellsville, KY for our 2^nd year working at Amazon. We requested the same shift and department as last year. We will have our orientation day on Tuesday 9/30, so we will find out for sure what we will be doing. And I still need to finish up a few more South Dakota blogs!

Quote for the day: “How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to relax afterward.” – Spanish Proverb

Getting ready to go

Posted on September 7, 2014 by liv2rv

With just 3 more days left at Crazy Horse, we have been busy packing up our stuff, checking the roof for debris, putting Makena’s kennel back in the truck (she was very excited to see this) and inflating the tires. Saturday (9/6) we had a huge crowd at work for the night blast to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Crazy Horse and the birth of Korczak, the sculpture of Crazy Horse Memorial.

Wednesday morning we will be leaving for Wisconsin, and if all goes well, we should arrive Thursday night at “Camp Meyer”, which is Makena’s favorite
“campground” (Dan’s sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Doug). We will be parked there for 2 weeks, and then head down to Campbellsville, Kentucky, for another season at Amazon. We have a start date of September 30.

We will not be online for a few days, as we will be returning the Wilson 3G cellular booster that Phil and Rudee have so graciously allowed us to use this summer. Without it, we would not have had any cellular telephone service or internet at all. We will be looking into purchasing a booster, but have been waiting as the 4G boosters are just coming on to the market.

I still have several more blog posts to do, and will try to get all caught up with South Dakota stuff before we leave for Kentucky.

Quote for the day: “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” – George A. Moore

Yabba Dabba Doo!

Posted on August 22, 2014 by liv2rv

Custer, SD

We both grew up watching The Flintstones, which originally aired from 1960 – 1966, and then many years after in reruns on Saturday mornings. Custer, South Dakota has the Flintstones Camping and Theme Park and we were always curious about it, driving past it many times in town. Since we could receive free admission with our VIP passes (normally $10.00 per adult), we decided to check it out. This went into our “glad it was free” list, although we managed to have a ‘Yabba dabba doo, gay ole time’! It took us about 30 minutes to see everything in the park, so it is pretty overpriced for what you get (in our opinion).

We started out taking the train ride around the property.

all aboard!

And then entered Bedrock City, which is a re-creation of the buildings from the television series, along with a few new “attractions” found only in the Black Hills, such as “Barney Peak” (a play on Harney Peak)

Barney Peak

And Mount Rockmore (we still haven’t figured out who the person is on the far right, next to Dino)

Mount Rockmore

The park has Fred and Wilma’s house.

The Flinstones house

Dan was trying to take Fred’s car for a spin.

no keys, just foot pedals

Next door was The Rubble household of Barney and Betty.

The Rubbles

Barney has quite the aerodynamic sportster.

Dan decided to hang out with the girls.

Betty and Wilma

They have a downtown area, complete with movie theater, fire department, beauty parlor…

Downtown Bedrock

and the jail

Bedrock PD

After the buildings, there is a children’s playground area with swings, slides and stuff. I was talking with a few mothers that wished they would put this cartoon back on the air, and take off Sponge Bob. Their children had no idea who any of the characters are on The Flintstones. We agreed that their kids are missing out on a classic cartoon series.

a great tv show!

We did not see any of the camping section of the park, as it is well secluded from the road and the park.

Quote for the day: “Make it good Fred, I gotta tell Betty the same story.” – Barney Rubble

South Dakota Air and Space Museum

Posted on August 19, 2014 by liv2rv

Next door to Ellsworth Air Force Base in Box Elder, SD is the excellent South Dakota Air and Space Museum (free to everyone, donations happily accepted), which contains dozens of airplanes, helicopters and missiles both indoors and outdoors.

B-1B Lancer from the front

The exhibit includes planes that were flown out of the AFB, such as the B-52 Stratofortress, EC-135 Looking Glass, B-29 Superfortress, and the B-1B Lancer, which is currently in use at the base. There is an optional tour available of the base ($8, free with VIP pass). It was the first time we had been on an active military base, and we were happy to venture out with our friends Forrest and Mary for the tour. Our tour guide stated they normally do not put a “current model” out on display, but this plane had been heavily damaged, so they scraped it for parts, and placed it prominently on display in front of the museum.

B-1B Lancer

We were impressed by the massive size of the B-52 plane.

B-52 Stratofortress

It’s predecessor, the B-29 Superfortress, was also a great looking plane.

B-29 Superfortress

The EC-135 Looking Glass was another plane used at the base.

EC-135 Looking Glass

The photo below has the Nike-Ajax Missile in the center, the F-101 Voodoo on the far left, the C-47 Gooney Bird and the C-131 Samaritan on the far right.

Nike-Ajax Missile

More planes on display

various planes

The photo below has the T-38 Talon on the left, and the A-7 Corsair – II on the right.

The tour of the base was approximately one hour, with a stop at the Minuteman Missile Silo right on the base. Currently, there are over 3,000 people living on the base. At its peak, during the Cold War era, over 7,000 members were assigned to the base.

The AFB used to contain the 44th Missile Wing, which was in charge of the Minuteman Missile Sites. The base contains a silo that was used for training on all facets of the program. The first silo was installed in 1963 near Wall, SD. By the end of 1963, over 150 missile silos were dispersed across South Dakota. All training for the personnel was done at the AFB. The end of the cold war was reached in 1991, and the missiles were deactivated. The 44th Missile Wing was disbanded in 1994. You can read more on the history of the 44th and the Minuteman missiles here.

The missiles were brought to the sites using the maintenance vehicle below. The back-end of the vehicle would raise up and over the missile site in the ground, and they could lower the missile down into the silo.

maintenance vehicle

The next vehicle to arrive would contain the actual nuclear warhead and would also sit over the site. They would put covers down over the hole, and would complete work on the installation.

2nd maintenance vehicle

The entrance into the silo required a secure, double entry system.

double entry

Since this was a training facility, the officers grew tired of having to go down the hatches every day, so stairs were built at this silo.

We were able to look down into the silo at the missile.

maintenance opening

deactivated warhead

There are electrical components surrounding the silo.

electrical components

The museum also contained a display of the launch control center, which were capsules buried underground throughout South Dakota. Each center was in charge of 10 missile silos.

launch control center

The museum and tour of the base was an excellent and informative lesson in our military history. It is definitely a “must see” item if you come out to this area. There is also a Minuteman Missile Site and Launch Control Facility operated by the National Park Service about 60 miles East of the base. We have not yet visited that facility, but hope to do so before we leave this area in a few weeks. You are not able to go down into the missile silo at the park service facility, as they do not have stairs like the AFB had put in their training silo. But they do offer tours of the launch control facility on a first come-first served basis. And they are only able to take 6 people down at a time in the control center. So if you are interested in the missile site, it would be a good idea to tour the museum and Ellsworth Air Force Base as an alternative.

Quote for the day: “If you can walk away from a landing, it’s a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it’s an outstanding landing.” – Chuck Yeager

Sturgis Motorcycle Museum

Posted on August 11, 2014 by liv2rv

During our Sturgis visit, we spent about 45 minutes touring the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum. During the rally, admission to the museum is $10.00, free with our VIP pass. There are 2 levels of exhibits to the museum, and covers a brief history of motorcycles and the history of the Sturgis Rally.

Sturgis Motorcycle Museum

They have several dozen motorcycles on display, including many brands that we never heard of. In 1938, Indian Motorcycle Dealer J.C. “Pappy” Hoel and the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club held the first races in Sturgis. This became the basis for starting the Sturgis Rally in August. This is a 1938 Indian Chief.

1938 Indian Chief

Just 10 years later, the Indian Chief model:

1948 Indian Chief

Here are some earlier models of the Indian motorcycles:

1923 Big Chief

Indian motorcycles were very popular racing bikes, before Harley Davidson started producing racing models.

1911 Indian

In 1914 Harley Davidson started sponsoring motorcycle racing, and hired engineers with racing experience to come up with this “speedster”

1915 HD Board Track Racer

The Flying Merkel was known as one of the fastest racing bikes in its time.

1912 Flying Merkel

This chopper was built by OCC Choppers Paul Tuetel, and is supposed to mimic BIC’s Flex 4 razor (or so the sign says!)

BIC Flex 4 Chopper

Many motorcycles from other countries are on display as well.

lots of other brands

In 1949, the Indian motorcycle company tried to go with a more European style, to compete with the many imported motorcycles that were gaining popularity in the US.

1949 Indian Arrow

This motorcycle was designed specifically for London’s fog and rain. It can hold up to 4 people, and keep the riders relatively dry, due to the larger windshield and lower leg fairings.

1966 Matchless w/sidecar

Perhaps this is why people enjoy riding motorcycles so much?

Quote for the day: “Only a biker knows why a dog sticks his head out of a car window.” – author unknown

Having a “blast” and Sturgis too!

Posted on August 8, 2014 by liv2rv

We have spent the past week listening to the roar of motorcycles, all over the Black Hills. The 74th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is in full swing this week, and we have enjoyed meeting riders from around the world who are visiting Crazy Horse during their stay. We also decided to take a few hours on our day off and visit the city of Sturgis. They say attendance is down this year, estimating 200,000 – 450,000 riders are attending this years rally. Since 2015 will be the 75th anniversary of the rally, they believe many riders are waiting until next year to attend. And if you are planning on bringing your family to the Black Hills next summer, you may want to avoid the first two weeks in August, as they are expecting one million riders next year!

During the week of the Sturgis Rally, Crazy Horse had several additional blasts on the mountain for our guests. You can view the blast from Monday, August 4th, by clicking HERE. The video clip will show just how small 750 tons of granite is, compared to the overall size of the mountain. We had thousands of visitors attending the blast on Monday. I work in the Indian Room gift shop, which sells items such as jewelry, pottery, paintings, and craft items hand-made by Native Americans. This week our visitors have been mostly male, and I have really come to appreciate how quick and efficient men are as shoppers!

I had one male guest try on one ring, and he said “I’ll take it”. I was explaining to him that women usually need to look through all the ring trays, then ask their family/friends what they think. It can take 15-30 minutes for women to shop for a ring. He laughed, turned to his friend and asked “Does this ring make me look fat?!!!”

We also had a visit last week from our good friends Mike and Sue, whom we have known since college. Their daughter Jordan had a cheerleading camp on the Eastern side of the state, so they ventured west for a few days. It was a lot of fun catching up with them. Hopefully we can see them more often on our travels! Go Jackrabbits!

Sue, Dan and Mike

I did have another unusual visitor this week. It is not everyday that a couple comes in with their pet parrot, “Miss Bubba”!

Many of the “hard-core” bikers, are busy shopping for gifts for their grandchildren! It has really been a fun week of work. A lot of our visitors have commented that they never heard about our place, and were so thankful they stopped by. They were also thankful that Crazy Horse didn’t raise their prices like many of the other attractions have done during the rally. It is only $5.00 per rider, and many have been so overwhelmed during their visit, that they have made additional donations to the foundation.

I have told many of the riders the best thing they can do is tell others about Crazy Horse Memorial, because about 25-30% of the people who come to the ticket booth, refuse to pay and turn around. They don’t want to pay for something they can see from the road, or something that is “not finished”. They don’t understand all that there is to see and do, and think they are getting ripped off by having to pay. Trust me, you will get your money’s worth. So many people are so thankful for the memorial.

But enough about work, on to the fun and craziness at Sturgis! We drove up scenic Highway 385, which goes into Deadwood, and then on to Sturgis. It is about an hour drive taking this route, and we passed thousands of motorcyclists on the way. It was a blast seeing so many riders on the road.

Hwy 385

on the way to Sturgis

This wayside was a popular stop-off for the riders.

gotta go!

Downtown Sturgis had bikes lined up for blocks and blocks.

downtown Sturgis

blocks full of bikes

These were some of our favorites.

very patriotic

This one can sure hold a lot of stuff!

Motorcycle RV?

Always travel with your pets!

Shilo

There were many food vendors, selling all kinds of food (this is for you Mary Y!!!)

yummy!

We also took some time to visit the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, but since this blog is already long and full of photos, I will do a separate post on that. Sturgis has a reputation for “anything goes”, and even though we were only there a few hours, during the afternoon, we did manage to see a few “unique” fashion accessories, as well as interesting apparel choices (note: these are a little more “R” rated photos, so proceed at your own risk!)

not the food pasties

supporting Breast Cancer!

Full body tattoos is very popular:

Many bikers wear chaps when they are riding, and there are certainly many looks with the chaps:

We had a great time visiting Sturgis during the rally. We pray that all the riders have safe travels home.

Quote for the day: “You do not need a therapist if you own a motorcycle, any kind of motorcycle!” – Dan Aykryod

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Posted on August 1, 2014 by liv2rv

After our first foggy visit to Mount Rushmore, we returned with our friends Forrest and Mary while they were in town. As you approach the memorial from Highway 244 out of Hill City, you enter past a turnout that displays a profile of George Washington. When we pulled in to the turnout, not a single person was looking up at George, and we quickly discovered what all the excitement was about. There were Rocky Mountain Goats on both sides of the roadway, We had these two right in the parking lot.

Mom and baby

And a more adventurous pair across the roadway into the hillside. These goats were introduced to the Black Hills in the 1920’s, and have adapted quite well to the area.

When Gutzon Borglum started carving Mount Rushmore, he originally planned to put Thomas Jefferson on the right side of Washington. After the workers started blocking out his face, it was discovered there was not enough good quality rock for carving, so they blew up what they hard started. As a result, it left a good profile of Washington.

profile of Washington

As you enter the memorial, you go through the Avenue of Flags, which has 56 flags representing all of the states and territories of the US. It also makes for a popular photo opportunity.

Dan, Forrest & Mary

The memorial has a Grand View Terrace, for excellent views of Mount Rushmore. Beneath the terrace if the Lincoln Borglum (named after the sculptors son), which contains a museum, theatre and bookstore. The museum has a photograph of what Mount Rushmore looked like prior to the construction.

prior to October 1927

After Gutzon Borglum died in 1941, his son Lincoln spent seven months working on the monument, but then Congress declared the monument complete on October 31, 1941 This is how the memorial looks today. The heads are 40 feet tall. (since we are working at Crazy Horse Memorial, I do have to note that all four heads of Mount Rushmore will fit on the side of Crazy Horse’s head!)

Mount Rushmore 7/2014

There is a walking path that takes you a little closer to the memorial, and down to the sculptors studio. In the studio, there is a 1/12th scale model of what Borglum had planned for Mount Rushmore. His plans were never completed. All of the Presidents were to be carved down to the waist.

1/12th scale model

The small museum near the visitors center has many photographs and articles that go into great detail on the history of the memorial. It also talks about the pointer device that was used to project the dimensions from the 1/12th scale model on to the mountain for carving. This photograph demonstrates an example of the pointer (Math is important!)

pointer device

We took the walking path around the memorial, and were able to get a nice photograph of the grand view terrace, and the amphitheater. They have a nightly lighting ceremony, which we plan on attending one of these nights. (admission to the memorial is free, but there is an $11.00 annual parking pass).

Grand View terrace & amphitheater

Mount Rushmore is a “must see” item if you are in the area.

Quote of the day: “Well, those figures were there for forty million years. All I had to do was dynamite 400,000 tons of granite to bring them into view.” – Gutzon Borglum

A year of reflection

Posted on July 25, 2014 by liv2rv

“To never take that first leap is the biggest failure many of us make”

It was one year ago today that I left my job as a CT Technologist at a Level One Trauma Center. Working at a hospital helps to really put life in perspective. Many people have plans to do things when they retire, but sadly, not everyone lives to see that day. This was one of the reasons we decided to throw caution to the wind, and live our dream now.

I have spent the morning pondering all the changes we have made in the last year, and trying to come up with a list of things we would have done differently.

Instead of getting both cell phones through Verizon, we would have had one from Verizon, and one from AT&T. That way we would have better coverage and internet options. We will probably make that change next year when our contract is up with Verizon.

Other than the cell phone, we would not have done anything else differently. Then I started to come up with a list of things that I don’t like about our new lifestyle.

Going to a new person/place every time I get a haircut is the only thing that I really do not like. As Dan has told me a few times, “Don’t worry, your hair will grow back”!

We have been asked many times over the past year if we had any regrets, and we have none. We have met so many wonderful people in the past year, and have seen and experienced many wonderful things. It is hard to believe that only one year has passed since I stopped working a regular job, and started working seasonal work-camping jobs.

The “perks” of work camping:

Crazy Horse Memorial

Taking time to relax and play is also important:

Learning new skills:

learning pottery

hmm, a potential workamping job?

learning to Poi dance

For several years, I have been following a number of blogs related to the RV lifestyle, and it has been fun getting to meet many of the wonderful folks who have been so helpful in sharing their experiences. Our fellow Crazy Horse co-workers, Phil and Rudee of Workin RVers, and Steve and Joan of FOSJ, fellow Amazon co-workers Karen and Al of Wish Upon an RV Star, Chris and Cherie of Technomadia, whom we met in Cedar Key, Florida. Someday we hope to meet up with Nick and Terry of The Gypsy Journal, as well as Howard and Linda of RV-Dreams. All of these great folks have the same thing in common, they are earning a living on the road, and enjoying their life to the fullest.

We have also learned to take time to watch the sunset..

Cedar Key Sunset

and appreciate it when you are around for the next day’s sunrise…

Quote for the Day: “Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” – Robin Sharma

Liv2RV

Living and working around the country in a RV

Tag Archives: Full-time RVing

Chapel in the Hills

A day of Geology and Geography

Unplugging for 3 weeks

Getting ready to go

Yabba Dabba Doo!

South Dakota Air and Space Museum

Sturgis Motorcycle Museum

Having a “blast” and Sturgis too!

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

A year of reflection