More Soccer

We got up early (early for us) and drove to Sioux Falls to watch the grandkids play some soccer last Saturday. It had been almost two weeks since we had seen them play and we noticed skill improvement in both kids.

Miss W's game was first.

4 on 4

rotated twice each quarter

she had 2 goal attempts and 1 successful one

"M" played at noon. 

very patient coach

3 on 3, rotated throughout the quarter

hands behind the back so he doesn't use them to touch the ball

There are 12 kindergarten players on his team. They split teams and each kid gets to see lots of playing time.

And just like that, it is October. Time to pull out the suitcases and checklists!

Some Signs of Fall

Hard to believe the month of September is almost gone. We are into another season and for us this is the season of change, of thinking about and preparing for the move to our winter home, preparing for another adventure overseas, spending time with family before we leave, and enjoying what Mother Nature provides this time of year.

the Painted Lady butterflies have invaded the region

enjoying the remaining Indian Blanket flowers

the poppy bloomed one more time

have enjoyed the black-eyed Susans this summer

more blooms on the poppy

tomatoes FINALLY ripening

I have watched this plant all summer. There have been no flowers, but it has grown and finally some blooms. Two weeks later, the plant looks like this...

full of flowers

and very popular with the Painted Ladies

I counted 14 butterflies flitting among the blooms

while I was shooting photos

Well worth the wait see the flowers and the color!

Adventures in North Dakota

Earlier this month we took my Mom along to visit my brother and his family in Detroit Lakes MN. It was a fun, busy few days between two long days of driving and geocaching. Our geo mission was to add more ND counties. That wasn't too hard as we had only six prior to the trip. Mom was a good sport about our frequent stops, looking in trees, and driving through small out-of-the-way communities she/we may or may not have heard of before.

Sandy

World's Largest Sandhill Crane

40 feet tall, weighs 4.5 ton

Steele ND

a fun geocache in Detroit Lakes MN

a parking meter in a grove of trees

a saved steamboat in LaMoure ND

the Redwing was 1 of 3 pleasure steamboats 

on the James River in North Dakota in the early 1900s

wooden benches on either side under the windows

a rather small deck compared to the larger steamboat

pictured on the info board

traveled 16 miles per hour

used 1914-1916 when bridges and low water levels 

brought about the end of the excursion steamboats

after river use, the captain used the Redwing as

part of his living quarters

Hubby was working on the geo road trip to AZ, so I was given the task of selecting the ND geo road trip for the family visit. He added some and took away some of the caches and roads I had selected. The following one had not made his list, but it was on mine. I happened to see the road sign for Prairie Bells and remembered reading about this unusual landmark. I was driving, so I made a U-turn on the highway and headed onto the gravel road to see the Prairie Bells.

Prairie Bells and Shrine

only one of the five bells was ring-able

ropes were off their tracks on the others

sculpture in the shrine

on a hilltop between farms

almost the middle of nowhere

near Linton ND

Mom helped look for the cache

Luckily, I had cell service at the top of the hill and we were able to read the info and get the location for the geocache. Geocaching made it a fun and interesting trip for all 3 of us and added seven more counties to the ND geo map.

G'Kids Playing Soccer

Earlier this week we drove to Sioux Falls one evening to see the grandkids play soccer. This is Miss W's first year/season. Her game was first that evening.

I got this!

coach giving the pre-game pep talk

kicking it in

technical difficulties

six second grade girls on the team

three play half of each quarter

she is learning the game

Then we drove east to the other set of soccer fields where M was playing his game.

this is his third season

six kindergarten boys on his team

three played each half of each quarter

new soccer shoes this season

when not running, he always holds his arms

I think it is because he is not to use his hands...

...so he keeps them out of the way

dribbling the ball

We noticed an improvement in his skills from last fall.

We did not see any of his games last spring.

Other than the mosquitos, it was a fun evening.

Around and In Custer

The goal of taking the wildlife loop at Custer State Park was to be in Custer at 5 PM when Burgers and Buns would reopen for their evening dinner crowd. We finished the drive and the geocaching about 3:30 so had some time to kill. So, we found some more geocaches and took in some of the historical sights in the area.

Glen Erin School

Anna Donna Tallent

teacher & author

memorial to first white woman in the

Black Hills

Gordon Stockade

three original cabins are protected in the rebuilt stockade

large stone fireplaces for heating and cooking

one doorway, one window in each log cabin

gun holes along the stockade walls

gun hole looking at French Creek

French Creek today

I made the find, Hubby signing the log

another clever hide in Custer

Custer is known for its mural bison on Main Street

this was only one of 8-10

Finally. The reward for the day. Black Hills Burger and Bun was once featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives which Hubby happened to see. So we put it on the "Must Do List" when in the Black Hills. We stopped one noon time several years ago and were told the wait was at least an hour. At that time, the diner was on a side street in a small, narrow building. The business has since moved to Main Street or at least the main drag of downtown Custer.

We arrived at 4:45. (They close from 2:30 to 5:00 each day.) One or two couples were waiting on the benches, so we also got in line. Lucky we did. We were in the group of first seating. The place is still small and narrow.

my reward for the mile+ hike in 85º

a South Dakota beer

salad first, then the Western Burger with beans

Good Food. 

Glad it was on the list.

A nice ending to a fun day in the southern Black Hills.