Paws and Friends

July 28, while staying at Yellowstone's Edge RV Park, we drove down to MM 9.65 (no, there wasn't an actual MM, but a road to the left to the trailhead parking area just a tad past mm 10 😃). The Forest Service has changed the access to the trail head for the OTO (original brand--and if you look at it closely, you will see two oxen linked by a yoke) Ranch access, and this was it! After climbing up a narrow but good gravel road, we reached the trail head parking lot and guess what! We were the only vehicle! And we were the only ones hiking up to the old OTO Dude Ranch!  We gathered together our "stuff":  backpack with water, snacks, one can of bear spray (thanks Lisa and Carol for the loan!) and other small odds and ends, and took off walking! Lindy uses the app AllTrails to "track" hikes, bike rides, and other trails. This hike was 3.8 miles total:  up to the old dude ranch and back. Total elevation gain was 545 feet, and moving time was 2 hours. We spent a t

We knew it was coming. DM is called an insidious disease. Knowing does not make facing it any easier.  August 10, 2020, Rupert fell into forever sleep on Mike's lap, at a great Vet's office in Rapid City, SD.  Early Tuesday morning, the 11th of August, Mike watched a lightning storm behind a hill over Rapid City from our site here in the Black Hills. Then, a meteor burst across and into the lightning cloud, "exploding" and disappearing.  Rupert made his entry to the Rainbow Bridge. He joined the Paws and Friends December 2010, 6 months into our full-timing adventure. He loved riding:  in the motorhome, in the pickup, in the car, in the Blue Buggy, in his chariot behind Mike's bike... He LOVED going, being with his people wherever we went.  We miss that silly guy! (Maddie not so much, if she were asked, and if she could actually tell any listener. ..) We do cherish the memories! We are adjusting. It has taken some time for us to get used to a new routine. We are m