Geocaching in July

Several days this month we have geocached in the area around Sioux Falls. Some of the finds were very creative and worthy of sharing ... and others I'm sharing because our kids don't read the blog so they won't know what we did.

a fake beehive

maybe made from the spray foam insulation in a can?

cute bees attached with screws

hidden out of the way in trees away from regular foot traffic

a cache container tucked between utility boxes on private property

repurposing a microwave

another well crafted container by a local cacher

he had to lay on the ground to reach into the tube to retrieve the key

the key unlocked the padlock, allowing us to open and get to the log

climbing the tree using the branches

shirt caught on a branch slowing his upward movement

it really wasn't all that high of a climb

made the grab and signed the log...twice!

the log fell out when he opened the container

he had to climb down and retrieve it and put it back

lightning claimed this tree

the silver bison tube is in the black circle

the expandable ladder came in very handy for this one

(I was holding the ladder, so no photo of the climb)

he used the ladder to reach the ammo box in this tree

(again I was the holder of the ladder)

an old cottonwood tree bit the dust

no need to climb this one

The Geocaching Trail

this is one of the projects we have been working on this month

this is a result of our geocaching in 2015

the yellow smileys are the ones we found on our several trips that summer

The trail contains 188 caches and is approximately 30 miles (50km) long x 4 miles (6km) high. The shortest possible distance to drive the entire trail is 180 miles. The GC Trail is made up of a variety of caches such as Traditional, Multi, Puzzle, Whereigo, Letterbox and an EarthCache.

The GC Trail is not a power trail. You will need to check your GPS at each cache location to determine where to search. Each cache container is not necessarily hidden at the most obvious location. Although portions of the GC Trail are somewhat power trails, as a whole it is not a power trail and it may take a while to find all of the caches. There are many family friendly caches, rare difficulty/terrain combinations, and the odd bizarre cache along the trail.

The 180 caches were placed in August 2010. More than 15,000 geocachers have visited the geocaching website for GT #1 and over 200 geocachers have signed the log for GT #1, including some from other countries. We found it in June 2015. We got so frustrated that summer because many of the containers were no longer there. The two cachers who placed the GT geo-art no longer lived in South Dakota, so some of the area geocachers were trying to maintain it and keep it active. Recently, there has been renewed interest in the geo art, so once again, we have attempted to find some of the elusive containers this summer. This is our progress as of the end of July 2021. It definitely is NOT a power trail; not the typical caches on a geo art.

yes, some overlaps of the letters

some of them remain elusive

we'll go back out in September and keep working on it

Third and Final Day of Family Vacation

 Wednesday was our last full day of family vacation at Hart Ranch We started the day with some miniature golf, the youngest Es and the oldest Es playing 18 holes. Two of the Es enjoyed time on the pickle ball court.

M was a very good putter

making the shot more often than not

then more time in the pool after lunch

eating walking tacos before the rodeo

Miss W with her hat and boots

Each Wednesday evening July through mid-August Hart Ranch hosts a rodeo for resort guests, area folks from the Black Hills and surrounding states. Cowboys and girls come from MT, ND, NE, WY and SD to gain experience and maybe take home some money. Often their fans are in the audience.

It has been a few years since we were here during the rodeo season. (This is the last time.) So there have been some additions and changes. A mechanical bull ride for kids was set up behind the grandstand. I was surprised when both grands wanted to try it. I was especially surprised with M chose to go first.

The bull ride operator was very kind to young first time riders...slow and easy for the 8 seconds.

Miss W "I'm ready!"

going, going...

recovery! 

her legs are longer, so she could grip and stay on for the 8 seconds

notice the green of the pasture hills in mid-July

I told Miss W that I usually took photos of butts and boots at the rodeos and posted the pics on my blog. Her reply, "That's gross, Grandma!" So I explained how cowboys often look mighty fine in a pair of jeans and how the different types of boots were interesting and colorful. She wasn't buying any of it. She still thought grandma was gross! I told her I thought it was very awesome she felt it was gross to see the butt of a guy in tight fitting jeans. I wonder when that will change? Hopefully not for a few years at least!

bareback bronc

saddle bronc

Another addition since the last rodeo we attended was the encouragement of chairs and viewing the rodeo from the grass and not the bleachers. The large tent had lots of food and drink options, both of which could also be brought into the rodeo by the fans.

barrel racing

There had been a good inch of rain on Tuesday night, so the rodeo ground in the ring was very muddy. Most of the barrel racers were very cautious, not wanting their horses to slip in the mud and get injured.

sun setting behind one of the hills

This bull from the first ride did not want to leave the arena. The pick-up men roped him and had to drag him to the exit gate area. At one point the bull just sat down in the mud. He was finally removed so the other bull riders could attempt their 8 second ride.

only two cowboys made it to the 8 second buzzer 

while still on the back of the bull

We were hoping our relative, the rodeo clown would be entertaining us that evening, but this was not his week. That was a disappointment for Hubby and the grands, as they remembered the last HR rodeo. (see link above) 

Overall, it was a good evening, enjoyed by all of us. No animals were hurt. No cowboys were hurt beyond the usual aches and pains of being ejected from their mount. A great way to end a family vacation in the Black Hills.

Second Half of the Second Day of Family Vacation

 It isn't a trip to the Black Hills without a trip to Mount Rushmore.

Many other tourists thought the same thing. There was a waiting line to enter the gift shop. The younger E family took the walk below the mountain while the older Es shopped, rested or took photos.

common yarrow

prairie flax

upright prairie cone

family photo for the Christmas card

We really had awesome weather our four days; it wasn't too hot and any rain came during sleeping hours. 

The neighboring campers prepared their vehicle for a possible hail storm that night. It is the first time we had seen this hail protector. We saw at least four such inflated protectors on trucks and cars that evening. There was no hail, but a very nice rain. All protectors were deflated and put away the next morning.

The E family adults enjoyed 18 holes of miniature golf in the evening while the youngest enjoyed time in the Gaga Ball Pit. 

The g'kids also enjoyed time in the swimming pool Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons.

Second Day of Family Vacation

 

The last time I visited Cosmos Mystery Area was May 1968; Hubby visited in May 1965. Neither of the kids had been there, so it was on our visit list this trip. 

Notice how we are all clinging to the wall. A number of people attempted to enter the first house, but couldn't. The crooked construction (optical illusions) really messes with one's balance and equilibrium.

It was comical to watch people trying to get into the building...

and then see them standing crooked.

M is on the left of the balanced board and is definitely shorter (in normal conditions) than the boy on the right. The tour guide asked them to change places...

...and now M looks at least as tall or taller than the other boy. The tennis ball on the board is to demonstrate he board is level.

Miss W volunteered very willingly to drop a bean bag on an X on the floor. Notice the stairs. The tour guide placed a tennis ball on the stairs and it did not roll. During each of the guide's demos explaining how it was level when it wasn't, M kept saying to us, "It isn't real. It's fake!" 

We all enjoyed the experience but admitted it took some time to get rid of the feeling of 'messed up' balance after we left the hill and mystery houses.

Following the Mystery tour, we chose a geode and broke it.

We could choose one from their box or...

...dig in the sand for one.

an elongated one

the lighter 'rocks' have a hollow center

a device applied pressure and broke the rock in two

M's geode

clear quartz crystals

my geode

I thought the geode activity would be interesting because I bought geodes for the g'kids for Christmas two years ago. The rock was in a cloth bag and the instructions said to hit it with a hammer. A normal hit did nothing but a hard hit smashed the rock into many pieces. No geode crystals were visible after their hammering. Now they know how a geode is supposed to look.