Author: mhomac

After another stellar Patricia Rodeo, we hot-footed it home for a month of old friends visiting…… and added bonus of having the eldest home for her first viewing of our new home.

It was busy but great fun and wonderful to spend a little time with some of our favourite people in our new location.

A return to Writing -on-Stone for yet another seasons view of this spectacular park

Before we set out…we had another visitor …viewed from the kitchen window, we think likely one of the last sightings of the hawk for this year before they migrate to warmer climes.

Writing-on-Stone is an other-worldly landscape. Even compared to other badlands areas…this one is one of the weirdest.

It’s a lovely walk with an interpretive ‘storybook’ that gives some insight into the history and geography from each viewpoint.

I picked up the guidebook at the visitor center (which has great little museum) to narrate our journey and entertain the company… 😁

It was a perfectly clear, crisp day……

If you look closely at the next four pictures you will find a small group of mule deer who wandered out from behind the rock as we stopped at this lookout point and one wading across the Milk River.

…and the sky….in true Alberta fashion gave the perfect backdrop to the landscape.

It’s such a mesmerizing place…..

The artist was understandably inspired…..

It doesn’t take much persuasion to have us visit this park, it’s just up the road from us…….perfect for anyone else who might like to visit……. 😁

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Arguably, the very best thing about rodeo is the little people. These are some of the most amazing kids you could ever hope to see. They make ’em tough out here in Alberta for sure.

I HAVE to kick this off with the mutton busting…and all the dads lined up and ready.

….and here they come….

These little guys hang on like you would not believe….

……..even when they are sliding off…they are still hanging on…..

Then we have some barrel racing,. This class ranges from tiny little people with a bit of additional parental support…….to tiny little people on huge horses just givin’er…!!!!

I offer no apologies for the number of pictures I am posting cos these guys just impress me soooo much….!!!

These kids are totally focused as they steer some pretty big horses around….

I never get tired of watching them……they are all great hope for the future of our communities.

…….and then we get the junior version of the wild horse race….the wild pony race. For this one they don’t have to saddle the horse or ride it anywhere….just get somebody on it….briefly. These kids are fearless…….!!!

…and unlike the big guys….they only have one team out at a time to further reduce the likelihood of injury for the people as well as the ponies….!!!

..I know I have said it before….but these kids have grit…. (as well as the stuff now in their boots…LOL)

This next sequence was Scott’s favourite of the whole weekend…… 😁

(Editor. Oh to have such a rubbery spine, which recovered almost instantly)

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Patricia rodeo is such an overload of exciting events (and I mean real, edge-of-your-seat, adrenaline pumping exciting) that I decided to split this three-day experience into more manageable chunks….just so that my poor little brain can process it all.

Even though this is our third year at this event, I continue to be awestruck by the skill and care taken handling all of the stock at this particular rodeo. As always, my absolute favourite part is watching the pick-up guys work with such incredible respect for the animals they are managing, as well as the magnificent horses they are riding. Granted my rodeo experience is limited but this place has taken something (rodeo) I never expected to be interested in and made me a diehard fan.

Here we go again….6 teams line up waiting for the steed they have drawn at random to be released from the chute.

….and out they come…..these beautiful ….big powerhouses of wild horses.

These teams of three, using only the short rope on the halter, then have to approach this beast….

….put a saddle on him…….

….get a rider on that saddle…..

….then ride that horse once around the track……

without falling off……….Yup…that simple…….!!!!!

….and that is just heat one of four over the weekend.

Rinse and repeat…….these brave souls tackle it again…

There is a fair bit of dragging around in the dirt….

…..some scary moments as some of the horses run straight at the fence to unseat their rider….

….and some amazing tenacity as those guys grip on and stay on….

….and sometimes they don’t……

Here is another shout out to those pick-up guys doing their thing with amazing calmness.

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After the serene, silent beauty of the balloon festival, we had a three-day window to haul our backsides and the trailer back up to Patricia, Alberta for our most favourite event of the year….the Patricia Rodeo. (Woohoo…!!)

(This one has a lot of pictures…..if you want to be able to see the pictures better, by clicking on and enlarging them, first go to the main page at osteopraxis.com and open the post there)

A few changes this year as the rodeo has partnered with a professional rodeo organisation due to the dearth of volunteers stepping up to take over from the old timers….it’s getting harder to encourage people to turn out and give their time…….and with a skill set as specific as the rodeo…..inexperienced people like us who would happily give time……just don’t have the skills to help out safely.

The partnership has seen some improvements to the grounds. The arena now has a permanent light array which allows events to run later in the evening (previously the lights for evening events were generator run portables.)

We were thrilled to be here again and got ourselves set up in our regular camping spot.😁. This year we were joined by some airstreaming friends we met in a campground a while back who decided to take the plunge and accept our invitation to the rodeo.

…and so …the rodeo kicks off with a bit of bronc riding….

There were steers and bulls also….not sure if the photographer skipped out for a beer…!!! (Editor. It’s thirsty work)

…and the girls have to get in there too…!!

There are so many great pictures from this years’ gathering I have decided to make you wait…..

The Wild Horse Race craziness and the kids’ events have been separated into different posts …….. so….next we have a bit of highly skilled team roping. We had seen team roping for the first time at Writing on Stone……lots of practice required. Very few teams manage to get both the head and the feet.

Calf roping just one competitor trying to rope the calfs’ head.

…a then change of pace with some heavy horse events…

Barrel racing is mostly girls ….and they are fast…!!!

In between sections…..the draught horses come and harrow the arena. Those big beautiful horses, amazing to watch them work.

…and then it’s time for the chariot racing. The speed those teams take off at is breathtaking…

(Editor. For the photo above and the couple below I was trying out a new vantage point, when this guy went by, I could swear the sleeve of his jacket just grazed me….it seems it is possible to be too up close and personal)

…and the big broncs under the lights. You have to hand it to these guys……the horses in their determination to buck their passenger off……and the sheer grit of the guy hanging on……

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Having ticked all the boxes for this particular trip we still had a balance of days on our Custer State Park 7-day pass. After a browse through Alltrails for local trails we had not tried, we plumped for Lovers Leap Trail.

The trail starts at a community gathering place which, very handily, has lovely clean flush washrooms…!! The trail starts going steeply up immediately…(groan)

It was another very hot day, with some thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon. We had picked this trail as a relatively short one we reckoned should be completed before the storm moved in.

The trail description had us climb up onto the ridge and then follow a fairly level trail to the lookout. The return half of the loop was dropping back down to the valley floor then following that back to the truck.

I’m pretty sure the fire damage was from a massive wildfire in 2018. Every time we encounter these landscapes it makes for a sobering walk through the blackened areas, always hard to believe how many years have passed when you walk through those charred stumps.

The trail along the ridge was not as level as promised……or maybe it was just because it was hot, and with the fire damage, the trail left us mostly exposed.

But with a few pauses for water (and breath catching..!!) we made it to the lookout.

….and then there is a short scramble up the rocks to get to that viewpoint (isn’t there always…!!!)

It is most certainly as spectacular as promised. By this time there was some significant thundery growling happening around us, it was not the time to be lingering….so off we went back down the hill….

The last thing we needed was to be up on those rocks when the rain started. I felt better about the way we came up as we wound around steep switchbacks through the trees on the way back down.

The rain was starting and the thunder closing in. We started to see some flashes…well before the thunder Gaye…!!! It was still a long way off…..!!!

As we hit the valley floor the raindrops got bigger and a bit more frequent….still not enough to actually get us wet…..but enough to remind us not to dally.

The trail along the valley weaves back and forward across a creek. There are about a dozen little bridges to keep hiking feet out of the mud. Much appreciated..!!!

It was a lovely walk…..and would have been even better with a little bit of sunshine…LOL.

The rain started a little more earnestly at this point and we were definitely getting wet. We realised that in two years of hiking……this was the first time we had actually been caught in the rain.

Good thing we are not soluble……..and the rain was warm making it very pleasant (though the thunder gaining on us was a bit disconcerting….LOL)

Back to the truck just in time for the real rain to start…..and my ever prepared blogtographer had the coffee thermoses wrapped up and ready for us. Love this life…… 😁.

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Custer South Dakota is a great jumping off point for many spectacular parks and historic sites around the Black Hills. This visit was primarily for the Balloon Festival in Hot Springs, but we made some time for some extra adventures while we were here.

Last time we visited the National Parks, Wind Cave National Park, and Jewel Cave National Monument……this time we headed for Custer State Park.

Custer State Park and Wind Cave NP butt right up against each other, both have those extraordinary distinctive Black Hills landscape and bison herds roaming free.

The 7 day pass for Custer state park is a mega bargain at $20…… and the top recommended hike for the park is the trail up to Black Elk Peak. (the highest point in South Dakota with a fire lookout built on top) too good an opportunity to miss and an excellent reason for a day out….. 😁.

The trail head is at Sylvan Lake and was not immediately obvious, there were a few people milling around trying to figure it out same as us…….but eventually we found the signs…

Here in the Black Hills the landscape is like some fake Styrofoam film set for a 1960’s Star Trek shoot…….except this stuff is real…..lol…

It was a hot day…so we were well prepped with lots of extra water…

Part way up there is a side trail to Little Devils Tower……well why not….!!!!!

It’s not far (when you look at the map…!!!)…but then you get to this little baby. A fissure in the rocks that you have to climb up…….

It looked worse than it was…..ironically…..when you are crammed in between two rock walls it dramatically reduces any sense that you might fall….!!!

The next bit looks easier than it is…..I clambered part way, then could not make myself go any further…….so I stopped here for some water and a snack…Scott continued on up….(Editor. My protestations, come on it’s for the blog, were completely ineffective)

The intrepid blogtographer, dedicated to his craft…LOL…….

….and took some pretty spectacular pictures whilst calling to me how easy it was to get up there ( not buying….!!)

The previous picture (above left) is of the Cathedral spires……you can’t actually make it out on the picture…..but there were tiny little ant sized climbers on top of the spires…..amazing….

….and then he reappeared……triumphantly…..!!!

…and then it was time to go back down that crevice…..

back on the regular trail to the fire lookout……we met lots of folks walking the loop in the opposite direction to us. Interestingly….I think it’s the first time we have done such a popular hike where every person we met was appropriately dressed for the hike….and carrying water.

It was a fairly gentle hike to this point…other than the bit of rock climbing at Little Devils Tower

This area has a generous dusting of mica flakes from the rock formations glistening in the sand causing parts of the trail to look almost wet…or siliconised with the amount of now powdered mica through the sand…….it was impossible to photograph…so if you want to see it….you’ll have to go there….

At this point the trail started to climb…seriously climb…

The Black Hills is an area which has seen more than its fair share of settler/native conflict. Much sadness has happened around these places.

…and …did I mention that it was hot. The last part of the trail separates for the cheaters on horseback…..

…and then…at the top…access to the fire lookout is carved from the rock of the peak.

This is the highest point in the USA outside of the Rockies.

It’s one of those ‘top of the world’ places….the view is outstanding.

Mount Rushmore is just around the corner……we were pretty sure we were looking at the backside of it

Harney Peak was originally named for a US general, despite some of his conduct during his time in the army. After 50 plus years of campaigning to have the name changed and restored to its indigenous name ( Hinhan Kaga)…..in 2016 the Federal US Board on Geographic Names voted to rename it as Black Elk Peak , after Nicholas Black Elk.….a distinguished medicine man/shaman.

It’s easy to see why this was such a sacred land for the indigenous peoples.

We lingered for quite while here…….drinking it in.

Then the journey down and around the other half of the loop

By this time, we were pretty tired. That last part was a hard climb on a hot day.

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After the reconnaissance trip that took us to the wonderous Mammoth site…..the day of the Balloon Festival finally arrived. Well, it had not quite arrived when we had to be out of bed and going LOL. It was an early 3.30am start. (Time to get the coffee brewed for the drive ….and we needed to get to the Hot Springs airfield before 5am)

The journey to Hot Springs crosses the amazing Wind Cave National Park and once we hit the edge of the park, it became clear we should probably have left a little earlier. The road across the park is narrow, winding, undulating with no shoulders and a darkness that completely absorbed the head lights. The ever present wandering bison herds add to the usual deer/elk hazards. Suffice to say speed limits were carefully observed and both of us were wide awake anticipating the big beasts on the road around every corner….LOL

We made it down without incident…parked at the airfield in the persistent darkness and readied ourselves to be wowed just after sunrise..!!

And wowed we were…

As the light from the unfolding sunrise started to infuse the airfield….team trucks started arriving and unpacking.

My intrepid blogtographer disappeared as soon as they told us we could wander through the emerging balloons as long as we were careful and listened to the pilots.

We were able to wander through and observe the whole process.

The first balloon to be inflated is ‘the hare’. Once the hare is aloft, the others start inflating and then ‘chase’ the hare.

On this occasion the hare was Roaring Glory.

In that last picture you can see the guy with the camera bag holding down the inflating balloon eyeing Scott.

He had spotted a guy with a camera same as his….so handed Scott his camera and asked him to take pictures for him while he helped with the balloon….!!!

The Hare balloon was kitted out with US patriotic Roaring Glory Eagles and Red white and blue livery.

The Hare carried the flag and as it rose from the ground an incredible rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner resounded from the field……an emotional moment for sure.

After the hare was aloft…all the others started their inflation regime in an effort to catch said hare. First, they are filled with cold air, then they fire up the heat and up they go.

It’s a slow beautiful ballet as they gracefully lift from the ground.

As each one pops up to the fully upright position…there’s a little emotional catch in your throat …. every time…….or at least there was for me ….!!!!

What a sight …these huge billowing tents rising up into perfect drops of light and colour before drifting skyward.

One by one they float upwards and don’t ‘take off’ as much as they ‘let go’ of the ground…..

More and more of them waft upward and fill the morning air with colour and delight.

….and then ….once they were all up and floating above our heads……I felt a bit like a kid watching bubbles….

….it was quite wonderful…….!!1

With almost no wind that morning, the balloons did not travel far….which just added to the beauty of it from the ground……it may have been a mite disappointing for anyone who paid to go up for that short trip…..most of the balloons managed to do a round trip and actually made it back to the airfield.

Then there were these guys in their motorised kite things weaving through the balloons. ….. if I was not so deathly afraid of heights that might even look like fun….!!!

If you have ever considered going to a balloon festival…..find one and do it. We thought it was going to be busy, fun and pretty…..We were not prepared for how truly awesome it is as those jewels float up into the sky. It is surprisingly emotional, breath-takingly beautiful yet overwhelmingly quiet and peaceful.

We might have to check out Albuquerque for a future trip……😁

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Custer, South Dakota is one of those little towns I imagined to be large and touristy (kinda Niagara Falls-esque) simply because of its proximity to iconic American tourist attractions, Mount Rushmore being one of them…!!

It really isn’t…..yes it has a bunch of rock shops and some kitschy souvenir places …but overall…it is a lovely little town with a classic main street of small stores and a clean and friendly vibe to it.

The campground we stayed at for a second time, Broken Arrow Horsecamp, is nestled in the hills above town. A great location as a jumping off point for Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave NP, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore and Deadwood. (yes, it’s a real place ..!!)

We just had to stop at the Founding Fathers brew pub and indulge in their ‘Rattlesnake Bratwurst’……. I had a taster of Scotts…that was enough of a challenge for me….(it was not bad actually….LOL).

We found ourselves in the area again to attend the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Hot Springs, SD on the Saturday. The plan on Friday was a pre-flight check of the 45 minute drive, and the actual location of the event so that we were not trying to find it at 4.45 am in the dark..!!!

Hot Springs SD was another little surprise gem of a town. The buildings are all red sandstone and looked like a movie set.

…and all the local stores had hot air ballon stuff happening..!!

In dire need of caffeination when we arrived……who could resist the Wandering Bison coffee shop…!!!

Our visit also managed to coincide with the farmer’s market. Browsing the vendors took us across the creek/river that runs through town where the embankment has springs of water bursting out in several places.

Since we were there for the day we visited the Mammoth Site, one of Tripadvisors recommended activities for this town. It is an incredible place.

Basically, the story is that in the 70’s a developer bulldozed some dirt off what turned out to be a mammoth tusk. Recognising that it might be important he contacted the appropriate people to investigate, and excavation of the site revealed it to be an ancient sinkhole with not only a variety of animal fossils trapped in the prehistoric mud…….but also 62 mammoths. The museum has been built over the site (beautiful building also…!!) and they continue to excavate to this day.

This is an incredible ongoing project…..and well laid out for curious visitors, built and operated entirely by donation, volunteers and entry fees.

The walkway has QR codes that we could play with our smartphomes.

While wandering the walkways, we watched volunteers in the pit still carefully scraping and dusting to expose more creatures from the ancient mud.

I had to keep reminding myself that this was the real site and not an elaborate reconstruction in a museum.

If you ever find yourself in the area…this is one that is definitely worth the price of admission.

While in Buffalo WY, nestled in the Bighorn Mountains there was an opportunity to find a decent hike. Our boots were in need of a little exercise.

We were not looking for anything to strenuous but hoping for something interesting. Crazy Woman Canyon was a strong contender…but unfortunately the trail had been closed after some flood damage. So, we plumped for Mosiers Gulch. The reviews were promising, and the elevation was tamer than many we have done (this was still in August…so it was hot..!!)

To sweeten the deal, it was a short drive from the campground. Did I mention the campground in Buffalo? We stayed at Indian Campground a good choice…It has gravel, level pull through sites and huge old, old cottonwoods which shade the sites beautifully. Clean, tidy and well kept. We would highly recommend this campground for anyone stopping in the area.

Anyway..Mosiers Gulch.

The trailhead was easy to find and although there were other cars in the parking area, we met very few people along the actual trail and most of them were dog walking near the beginning.

The trail follows Clear Creek up the valley, which was another reason for choosing this trail as it tends to be a little cooler next to water.

The trail is well marked and easy to follow but still rough enough to be glad of hiking boots…….and it was a day to be carrying lots of extra water.

The path takes you up to an old hydro electric power plant….

…and then winding on up the valley following the creek …….

….up through the Ponderosa pines and choke cherries……there were many moments where I was certainly tempted to take my boots off and soak my feet….but it was hot, and it just seemed like too much effort…LOL

The trail came out of the tree cover and across a meadow……so when we found ‘Joes Trail’ back along the creek bank…….we took it….

Its a very pretty little trail and the musical tinkling of the water makes it feel cooler and fresher …I am sure….!!!

Then we came back up onto what I think must be a logging road. The road was clear enough to follow….but we were quickly in to waist high prairie grasses…..

With the occasional deer leaping out as we disturbed them….but moving way too quick to get pictures of them….so you will just have to believe me… 😁

When you are walking out in the full sun its amazing how much steeper the path seems to be…….even though it looks flat….LOL…

The end point of the trail for us on this day was the dam. The trail does carry on up into the mountains…. It looked like an interesting path….maybe for another day…

We lingered around the dam for a bit…..hydrated a little more before heading back to base.

We had a look around….enough to be quite sure we need to come back and do a bit more of this trail.

On the way back…….it turns out that we had been going uphill for quite a bit of this path……….as we (almost) trotted back down the meadow section…..

I was still sorely tempted by how cool and fresh that water looked……but the probability of ending up with sand in my socks cured that thought.

It was a beautiful landscape and a welcome stretching of the legs…….. happy to be sweaty and dusty….and looking forward to that hot shower……(and maybe a beer…..always have to test the local stuff..!!)

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Another bonus of being home was the opportunity to witness the master of the baler at work ….Andrew…our neighbour. It’s a fascinating process ….and even somewhat balletic watching someone who really knows what he is doing operating that big equipment.

Scott went out at first light to catch this event happening…..

Now that Scott has his Canadian passport (new Canadian…woohoo..!!) we could plan a trip that he had wanted to do down to Hot Springs, South Dakota for their annual Hot Air Balloon Festival ( upcoming post.. 😁)

Its 12 hours of regular driving to Hot Springs from home (plus 15 minutes per hour of ‘trailer time’) so we did a couple of hops on the way….an overnight just outside Helena, which is the capital city of Montana.

Next stop was a Harvest Host, Canyon Creek brewing in Billings MT. I had found an article the night before on Montana’s Fordhenge….an homage to the Cadillac Ranch on Route 66….it was 30 minutes out of our way….so of course we had to go….

Big bonus…it is in the tiny town of Edgar, Montana……so we had to take extra pictures for our friends who share the name…LOL…

It’s quite the thing……we pulled the airstream into this tiny, tiny town with one paved road running through it….

…and there it is…..

…and I have to say….I have never seen the Cadillac version…..but it is actually pretty cool……!!!!

…we were tempted to test out the local bar……..but we had somewhere to be…..so we had a wander around the town of Edgar……..

…and then back on the road through the Bighorn Mountains with the next stop being Buffalo Wyoming. For anyone who knows us, you will remember how much we have loved our travels to Buffalo NY over the years….so this just seemed like a must see stopover on the trip.

Buffalo Wyoming…what a great little town where the presence of ‘Longmire’ was a surprise to us. Buffalo WY was apparently the town that inspired the author, Craig Johnson, to create the fictional town of Durant that is featured in the series.

There is lots of art in the town itself, much like Buffalo NY. The downtown has a collection of great little independent stores.

Big bonus for the yarn addict ….there is a wool mill…..Mountain Meadow Wool Mill….and it has a shop…!!!

If you do the self-guided tour through the mill, they give you a 10percent discount on purchases…… 😁. Scott fell in love with this bison wool hat, fortunately Bison shed their winter coat so no shearing required…..

I’m not going to pretend that I did not buy a couple of skeins of wool……well I had to…!!!

Buffalo also presented us with an opportunity to get a hike in…..but that’s another story…… 😁

This one ends with us arriving at one of our favourite campgrounds, Broken Arrow Horsecamp in Custer, South Dakota.

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