Branson, MO

We certainly have been busy! Thursday we went to see SIX. It is six brothers who perform with no instruments. They use their voices to sound like instruments. It is kind of hard to explain but they were fabulous. They did songs from the 50's and 60's and some gospel and threw in some comedy which had us all laughing so hard we were crying. These boys came from a family of 10 brothers. Can you imagine their poor mother? And they told us that at age 17 their mother was told she could not have children! Well she did and what talent they had. Jim and I think this is one of the best shows in Branson. You could not tell they did not have instruments playing - it was unbelievable. One guy made the sound of drums and it even sounded like cymbals; another sounded like a trumpet, and you could of sworn you could hear guitars while the other brothers sang the words. It was pretty amazing. Jim's brother, Mason and his wife, Judy arrived today. Anyway, after the SIX show the whole gang met at Landry's Seafood restaurant for dinner, to include Mason and Judy. There was 12 of us. We had a great time discussing the shows we went to. The Halstead's and Tolson's went to see Jim Stafford, a comedian. Donna said her cheeks were hurting from laughing so hard -- they really enjoyed that show too. After dinner 10 of us went to see Joe Diffie, and Mason and Judy went to see the Presleys. Joe Diffie is a country singer who is famous for Pickup Man and John Deer Green. He was really very good. He said he's only been in Branson for 2 weeks and the band had only been together for a week and half. You would never know it -- they really did a great job. Diffie also did the song, Don't You Think My Tractors Sexy. I got Jim a Sexy John Green Tractor shirt. Here I was thinking I'm being the thoughtful wife and what does he do? He tells about the time I was bush hogging our fields at home and took out two sections of the horse fence. Jim was still working at the time and we were planning on going on a trip, but our fields needed bush hogging, so I thought I would help him out so he wouldn't get stressed about all the work that needed doing before we left on our trip. I was doing great until I made a quick turn and forgot I had the front end loader on the tractor and it was heading for the fence. Instead of stopping; I was trying to get the loader lifted up over the fence and instead went right through it. I decided to continue getting the bush hogging job done so he wouldn't have to fix the fence and bush hog. I called him at work afterwards and told him I had good news and bad news -- the good news was the bush hogging was done so he wouldn't have to worry about that little job and the bad news was he had a fence mending job to do before we left on our trip. I think the fence fixing took longer than the bush hogging would have taken him -- he had to go out and buy six new boards, 2 fence posts, dig the holes for the new fence posts, take out the old fence posts that had been cemented in, but you know it was the thought that counted! Anyway, if I hadn't bought him that cute little shirt last night, my dirty little secret would still be a secret!!! Until next time.......

Branson, MO

Everyone has been asking how Jim's gall bladder surgery went. It went very well. The had his gall bladder out on Wednesday before we left on our trip and was behind the wheel on Monday. He has had no problems whatsoever. The only regret he has is that they shaved half his hairy belly (1st pic) and he's worried about what the ladies will think when he goes to the beach later in the month.

Mem, Janice and Donna have had a ball teasing him about his half hairy belly! We sure have been busy since we arrived in Branson on Sunday. Our first night we had dinner with our good friends, Mason and Flo Young. Mason and Jim worked together at Aeromet in Tulsa, OK and we have been best of friends ever since. Flo cooked dinner for us on Sunday evening and we really enjoyed our visit with them and got some insights on what to do and see in Branson. On Monday, the Parsons, Jim and I and Mason rode the Duck. (See 2nd pic-that's Janice and Ralph behind us and Mason took the pic). It is one of those old military amphibious vehicles that gave us a tour of land and lake. We went up by Table Rock Dam and and climbed up a huge hill with a gorgeous view of Branson then we went into the lake and floated around awhile while getting some local Branson info. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. That evening the Youngs had the whole gang over for dinner. This us in front of their statue of liberty light post in 3rd pic above. Tuesday, the Parsons' and Jim and I went to see the Twelve Irish Tenors show. I had seen them on Oprah one time and thought they were fabulous. And they were fabulous in person too. They were all so talented and cute! I was thinking, hmmmmm, if I was 20 years younger which one could I have a crush on. I picked out at least 3 haha. That evening, the Young's treated the Parsons, Bodins and Jim and I to the Presleys show. The Presleys were actually one of the original shows in Branson. We had a fantastic time. Wednesday, the Parsons and Jim and I went to tour the traveling Titantic Experience. What a wonderful tour. We spent at least 3 1/2 hours learning all about the Titantic; how it was built, what it was like to watch it leave the port, and they had actual recordings of some survivors as well as those that were involved in the rescue and they told their experiences. It was so interesting and sad. We met the whole gang at one of the local favorites' BBQ called, Dana's, for a late lunch/early dinner. That evening the whole gang went to see the Shoji Tabuchi show. Shoji is a japanesz violin player. (Sounds kind of boring huh?) Well Shoji is no ordinary violin player. He first came to the US with the intention of becoming a country fiddle player but his "American Dream" turned out to be much more than that. He plays every gendre of music you can think of. He also has a cast of musicians, dancers and singers to include his daughter. Shoji said one of his proudest accomplishments was becoming a US citizen 8 years ago. It was a fabulous show. We had great seats (second row) and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the show up close and personal. Of course most evenings start with a happy hour gathering which makes our experience even better!! (Last pic). Well until next time...

St. Louis and Branson, MO

We're back on the road again with our Good Sam camping friends and having a ball. We left home Sept 1st. There are 4 coaches on this trip; Jim and I, Larry and Mem Halstead, Ralph and Janice Parsons, and Chuck and Donna Tolson. Our first night was at the Halstead's. Larry had all the toys out. He took the guys down to their pond in his old jeep and later rode around on the golf cart. We had a nice cook out and got to meet Mem's friend, Jackie, who she talks about all the time, so it was nice to put a face to this famous friend! The next morning we headed out on our trip. We had a wonderful day for traveling. Our first night was at a Wal-Mart in Charleston, WV. We spent another night in a Wal-Mart in MO. The next morning it was raining cats and dogs so we delayed our departure until the morning traffic cleared out and then set out for St. Louis. We arrived in St. Louis around 2:00pm (actually we stayed in St. Charles, just outside St. Louis). Everyone chilled out when we first arrived then we all re-grouped at the on-site restaurant at the campground. This restaurant is famous for its prime rib but all of us opted for a light dinner since we had reservations to come back the following night for their prime rib. The other couples had friends meeting them here. Chuck and Donna have friends (Bob and Nanc) that they know from their Crystal Lake, Florida resort and also live in the St. Louis area. Bob and Nanc came out to the campground in their motorhome and camped with us for the weekend. We really enjoyed their company. Bob was such a hoot, he kept us all laughing. The Tolson's other Crystal Lake friends who live in the St. Louis area (Larry and Pat) came out to have dinner with us on Friday night. We really enjoyed hearing about all the fun times they all have together at their Crystal Lake winter resort. Ralph and Janice have already wet our appetite to go to Crystal Lake when we winter in Florida, and after meeting all these fun folks we have decided to definitely put Crystal Lake on our list of must do's when we go to Florida this year. Also on Friday, Mem and Larry's friends, Dallas and Shirley who also live in the area came out to visit. Dallas took Larry and Jim back to his place to show off his tractor collection. Needless to say Jim thoroughly enjoyed that visit. I hope he didn't drool on any of Dallas's tractors. Meanwhile, Shirley took Mem and I downtown St. Charles and we shopped until we dropped. I mean we hit every store. We also had a real nice lunch at a restaurant called the Winery, where we caught up with Chuck and Donna and Bob and Nanc. And of course, that evening we all met up at the Campground's Beef Eater restaurant and had a delicious prime rib dinner. Everyone who got the prime rib said it was the best they have ever had. They were huge too and everyone saved their bones for our dogs, Bono and Charlie. The next morning I'm sure Bono thought he had died and gone to heaven chopping on his bone. On Saturday, we all went to the casino to have lunch and of course do a little gambling. Jim and I lucked out; he won $47 and I won $67. We were pretty happy campers! Saturday evening, Bob and Nanc took us to one of their favorite Italian resturants. It was pretty awesome. We left Sunday morning for Branson, MO and arrived in Branson Sunday afternoon. Our friends, Mason and Flo Young, from Tulsa, OK met us here. Flo and Mason have a park model home here in Branson and invited us all over for dinner. However, our traveling gang was tired and wanted to have a rest night and eat their leftovers from St. Charles, MO. So Jim and I went over and we had a delightful evening catching up and reminiscing old stories. Their friends, Ken and Jerri, who we met in Texas this past winter, came over to visit us as well. We will be here a week and are looking forward to our visit here in Branson.

Sturgis, SD Motorcycle Rally #5

Wednesday, we went over to our friends Dean and Mary's and got together with our Sturgis friends for one last visit. Then we headed off to the Kenny Chesney concert at Glenco. It was quite the production. One of our friends, who has his business at Glenco told us that they brought in 18 tractor trailers of gear to put on the concert. It was unbelieveable. It was probably one of the most professional concerts we've ever been too. He put on quite the show and he was having so much fun; I think he was so impressed with the number of people that showed up, that he offered to play as long as they could come up with songs. We left at 12:30am and the party was still going strong, but we had left the dogs behind and we needed to get home for them. We thoroughly enjoyed the show though. Thursday, we were both so tired we spent a relaxing day by the pool. That evening, Jim, Ed and I went into town for dinner and went down main street one last time to check out the scenery and buy more t-shirts for Jim's friend, Wayne back home. (see bike pics above). My favorite biker chic was little Haley, a Jack Russell, all dolled up in biker gear. (see pic above) Friday, we Jim, Ed and I went on a 165 mile bike ride to Custer State Park and along the Needle Highway. (rest of pics) The Needle highway is so named because of the many, very tall, majestic rock formations, including one that has a hole (eye of the needle?) through it that you drive through. the Needle highway is one of many awsome rides through and around Custer State Park and the Black Hills in general. Jim said that having ridden motorcycle for over 40 years, he has never ridden roads with such tight turns (some with a very realistic 5 mph speed limit) and absolutely beautiful scenery. It was an awesome ride with certainly the most twisty turny roads I've ever seen (even West Virginia has fewer and less sharp turns as a rule). We stopped about every 30 miles to rest our butts at various little roadside inns and country stores. We also had lunch at a really nice lodge in Custer. My butt was really killing me, but I vowed I would not whine and complain and the stops really did help. We stopped off in Deadwood and got an ice cream cone and watched the bikers ride through town; and I'm telling you I was really ready for that stop. I did whine the remaining 20 miles back to the campground though!!!
And wouldn't you know it, when we got back the dogs were all excited and needed to be walked. I don't know how I did it, but I walked them and then collapsed on the couch. I think Jim and I were asleep within 5 minutes of lying down. After a much needed cat nap we woke up and walked the dogs again, this time a good walk, and then Jim loaded up the motorcycle and we started buttoning up the motorhome for the trip home. We will leave about 8:30am Saturday and head for home. Yeah!! I'm ready to be there. Its been really really fun, but we are both bike weeked out!

Sturgis, SD Motorcycle Rally #4

We went to the Buffalo Chip on Monday. We really had a full day and night there. As you can see from the pictures above, it was packed. John McCain and his family were there for a presentation and tribute to the veterans. It was pretty exciting watching the security get ready for his appearance. Here you have thousands of motorcyclists who had been partying hardy before there arrival. They have a fenced in area in front of the stage and they let so many 100 bikers bring their bikes in to sit on to watch the show. So just as Jim and I got there, they announced they would be doing a security sweep and anyone who wanted to get their bikes out of the fenced in area were welcome to do so before the search, otherwise their bikes would be searched. Only a very few moved their bikes because they had prime seating in front of the stage area. While we were waiting in line for the search to be over, we met two sisters who were out and out Obama haters and loved McCain. One of sisters is in pic above, along with another McCain supporter as you can see from his sign. We met several people just standing out in front of the gate, and had a lot of fun talking to them. Somebody was so lucky with the motorcycle search; they found pot in his bags. We never did get to see who owned the bike, but the pic above is them searching and finding the pot. They finally let us in and we had to go through metal detectors and they searched our chairs, camera and my purse. They did it for everyone entering the staging area - I was impressed how well they got the lines through with all those people. Anyway, we put our chairs right up front of the stage (about 20 ft away) and settled in for the wait. Of course it wasn't a problem waiting, because we met more people to sit and talk to. Then the buzzing really got started when a half dozen snipers with their guns got on the roof of the stage. (see pic above). Then we started looking around and you'd see these guys with clean jeans and pressed shirts and ball caps standing about trying to fit in and we noticed the wire on the sides of their heads which indicated they were secret service guys. I couldn't image having their responsibility in that huge rowdy crowed. The guy in front of us (Sean) had his motorcycle and he put up bungee cords across the backs of several bikes of people he was with so the crowd wouldn't push through. It was great for Jim and I because we sat right up to the bungee cords and no one got in front of us. Sean was a hoot. He had this apron with a woman's body (see pic above). He kept slipping it on and woman all around us where flashing him. Ed and Jim kept thanking him for all the good scenery! Anyway, when McCain and his family finally came on, the bikers went crazy revving their engines and the crowd was clapping and cheering so hard it was amazing. He gave a short little speech mainly thanking the veterans for their support. He only zinged Obama once when he said, "my opponent thinks we can solve the gas problem by keeping our tires aired up and although keeping our tires aired properly is a good thing, its going to take more than that..." His wife gave a speech too and again she was focused on the veterans. It was really awesome being their and being that close to all the action. I'm sure McCain was happy with the huge welcoming reception he got. When he closed his speech, the bikers revved their engines til he and the snipers were gone from the stage. After a little while, Kelly Pickler, (from American Idol) came out and did a concert. She was great. She has some really great songs coming out. You could tell she had a ball doing the concert even though she seemed a little shy and inexperienced. Then Kid Rock came out. My goodness did he put on a show. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even Ed and Jim liked some of his songs. He did a little of everything -- rock, hard rock, rap, country, honky tonk, and some comedy. He also did a gig where he went around the stage and played every instrument his band used. It was pretty awesome. The crowd went crazy the whole time he was on stage. I would say it was a very high energy talented show. It took us almost 2 hours getting back to the camp sight, which is only about 12 miles away. The campground (Glen Co) across from the Buffalo Chip had the band Kiss there. So I think everyone who went to the rally was either at Kiss or Kid Rock concerts on Monday. I never saw so many people and bikers in one place. There are definitely more bikers here this year than last year. It's pretty amazing. Tuesday, Jim, Ed and I went over to Dean and Mary's for a little get together then we all walked over to an event called the 1/2 mile flat track race. What a fun time we had. Those bikes flew around the track. Dean used to race when he was younger and he was also one of the workers at the race; so it was pretty handy having him sit with us explaining who the racers were, and what their track records were. At first I was a nervous wreck watching because it started off with teens and I was scared they were going to get killed. But Dean explained that it is very rare that they get hurt at all. They wear a metal boot on their left side that helps them take the curves as they put their leg down to keep the bike up as it rounds the curve and of course they are dressed in all leathers and have their helmets. There were 3 wrecks while we watch that afternoon, but just as Dean said, they didn't get hurt; their bikes did but they got up and walked away. I'm sure they got some bruises. One guy who was running second in a race, slid off the track as he rounded a curve, got up hopped on his bike and still managed to come back in second. It was amazing. They run about 8 laps and on the final lap he caught up. Friends that we met that are camping in Deans yard, were racing too. Its a grandfather and grandson team. The grandfather, John, came in 3rd in two of the top races. The races lasted all day, and by that evening we were too tired to go into town to check out the sites, so we went home and had a quiet evening. It was a good thing too; we no sooner got home when a huge storm came in with rain, hale and high winds. We sat in the motorhome and watched the bikers out on the highway trying to get back to their camps while we were cozy and dry. Wednesday, we have another big concert. We are going to see Kenny Chesney out at Glenco. We're looking forward to it.

Sturgis, SD 2008 #3

Saturday, Jim and I and Ed rode out to Mt. Rushmore for the night time showing. It was a little over an hour ride from the campground. The ride was beautiful, but we did see a little excitement along the way. These two guys got into a fight along side the highway and then the fight ended up in the roadway. One of the guys really took a beating, his face was completely bloody and his chest had a big round bloody spot. I was a little worried he got stabbed. They weren't motorcycle riders - they were just two guys who got into a fight. There was about 10 bikers in front of us and they all started beeping their horns to get attention to the fighters and just as the light turned green, we saw a policemen pulling up as we crossed the intersection. So that was a little exciting to watch. We got to Mt. Rushmore as the sun was setting. At the night showing, they have an amphitheater, and they have a program where the park ranger tells a little history about Mt. Rushmore, then they have a movie on a huge outdoor screen that tells the story about each President and why the artist, Borglum, chose the Presidents he did for the monument. It was very very impressive. I was looking around in the amphitheater and watching the faces of the children watching this movie and it seemed they were all spell bound. At 9:00pm after the movie, the lights come on and light up the Presidents. The pictures don't give it justice. Then everyone joined and sang America. After the song, the ranger invited all people who served in the military to come up on stage and help lower the flag. Once all the people got up on the stage the ranger went to each individual and asked their name and what branch of the service they served in. Jim went on up since he served in the Air Force. It sure made me a little misty. The audience gave a standing ovation to all the military people. It was very very touching. While we were sitting in the amphitheater, waiting for the show to start a mother and baby goat walked along side all the seating and then jumped the dirt path and literally scaled the rock mountain just below the monument. This rock mountain just goes straight up and they went up it like it was flat. It was amazing to watch them. Anyway, after the lighting show, we decided to stop in Keystone just outside the monument for a break. (One pic is of me and Ed, and the other pic is of Jim and Ed and our waitress of course). Jim and Ed never miss a photo opportunity with the waitresses here at bike week. The rest of the ride got quite chilly - we were glad when we finally made it home. We were definitely feeling pretty sore too! Sunday we took it easy for the most part and rode the motorcycles into town around 3:00pm. Man was it packed. What usually takes 5 minutes to get to town took over an hour. There were bikes everywhere. We rode down main street and found a place to park and then checked out all the stores up and down main street. We went to our favorite bar, Gunners for a quick drink before going over to our friends, Dean and Mary's. They live withing walking distance to main street, so everyone gathers at their place to park their vehicles and walk to town. We chatted with them til dark and then headed back to the campground. All and all, a pretty nice day today. Tomorrow should be wild and exciting. We are going to the Buffalo Chip to see Sen. McCain, Kelly Pickler (American Idol) and Kid Rock. Buffalo Chip is a pretty wild place and we are looking forward to it.

Sturgis, SD #2

When we got back to our campsight the other night from Deadwood, Jim realized he had lost our Cadillac car keys. He thought he lost them in the parking lot of the visitor center at Deadwood. It was too long a ride to go back that night so he just decided to suck up the loss. Well on Wednesday we took a ride up to Rochford, SD which coincidentally took us through Deadwood. So we stopped at the visitor center (where we had previously parked the day before) and sure enough, our keys were sitting on the counter when I walked in. It was amazing with thousands of people visiting that town, that some thoughtful person turned them in. So we were pretty happy campers to be able to get our keys back. Then on to Rochford. It was a beautiful ride -- hills, streams, rolling pastures, etc. Rochford is an old abandoned gold mining town, located between Deadwood and Lead. It has a population of about 25 people now. Basically all that is left in the town is the Moonshine Gulch Saloon and a antique store known as Rochford Mall. An old school has been restored over the years and serves as a senior center. The Moonshine Gulch is a draw to people who enjoy music and of course a cold beer. They serve hamburgers and french fries. As you can see from the 2nd pic above, it draws all kinds of different people. It is owned by a lady who bought the saloon about 31 years ago. Apparently every afternoon there is a one man guitar player and on Sundays it is a draw for local musicians to come and jam. The saloon was packed with junk and hats (see pics above). The hats serve as a guestbook of sorts and come from all over. There are dollar bills stapled to the ceiling as well as business cards stabled to the wall. We even saw a UNLV business card stapled on the wall next to the booth we sat in. (Our son went to UNVL). After our visit to Moonshine Gulch, we went on to ride the Spearfish Canyon ride. It is a really beautiful ride and a very popular ride during the rally. We stopped in the Spearfish Canyon Lodge and split a sandwich and ice tea out on the back porch and took in the surrounding beauty. Overall a great day! Thursday morning our friend, Ed Steckler, arrived from Fredericksburg. He had driven all night so he was ready to crash for the day once he got set up. Jim and I went in to town that morning to check out vendors and pick up a few things from the grocery store. Since it is still pre-rally week, not all the vendors are set up yet, but we managed to pick up a few things. We ate lunch in town and came back to spend the afternoon at the pool here at the campground. We thought we were going to read all afternoon, but we met several people at the pool and spent the rest of the day, exchanging ride stories. They told us we need to do Mt. Rushmore in the evening. They have an evening show which is lit up and narrated that is a must see. Se we decided to put that on our agenda. Friday, me, Jim and Ed decided to check out this event at a place called Top 50 Rally RV park. (That's Jim and I in Pic above as we headed out of our campground). They had all kinds of vendors to include the Ridley motorcycle. If I ever get a motorcycle for myself, I decided it will be a Ridley because it is automatic. We we tried out the Ridley (see Pic above) and I fell in love with it. They had a pink and white one that I'd really like to get. Meanwhile, our friend Ed, found these 18 wheeler motorhomes with trailers that haul 18 motorcycles. (see pic above). As you can see, it looks just like a regular 18 wheeler truck, but the inside of the motorhome looks like a Prevost. It has marble floors and granite countertops. It was pretty awesome. Anyway, we had a good time trying out stuff and rode back into the town of Sturgis. Ed had seen some Bikini bike washers when he had run into town earlier that morning. He decided he needed to get his bike washed! (see pic above). That evening, our friends Val and Ryan and Dean and Mary came over for happy hour and steaks on the grille. We had a wonderful evening enjoying good company and beautiful weather.