Watching hot air balloons lift off @ the Fall River Hot Air Balloon Festival

We got to do something on Saturday I have never done before - go to a hot air balloon launch! It was really, really cool! Lift-off was at 6 in the morning and an hour's drive from our house which made for a very early departure, but it was well worth it!

After the launch (& a quick stop at the beach), we headed to the festival in the nearby historic Hot Springs which lasted all day. The park was full of bounce houses for the kids, plus artists, musicians and vendors. A lovely day!

Arriving at the air strip before sunrise ... not much happening yet.

Downtime between the balloon lift off & the festival beginning = a morning at the lovely beach at Angostura Reservoir. Hurray!

A stop at the Mammoth site to go inside a hot air balloon - so cool!

Ending a great day by splitting an ice cream cone - YUM!

Crossing the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally off the list

We live about 30 minutes from Sturgis. This past week was "rally week." For the past several weeks it's been impossible to not hear the rumble of bike motors at all hours of the day (even from inside our house!) as bikers from all over the continent came into the area to attend the rally and enjoy riding the beautiful roads through the Black Hills. According to the official website, over 500,000 riders came into the area for this the 78th rally -- which has come a long, long ways since the Jackpine Gypsies formed in the 1930's.

I had originally thought it would be fun to take the kids and go check the rally out. After having several people mention some of criminal activities that would be going on, the "clothing optional" aspect, the intense crowds and difficulty finding parking, I realized that maybe it wasn't the best idea.

But .... of course there was that internal voice saying, "you're here, only 30 minutes away from this thing that is a big, big deal to a lot of people. Why not check it out and be able to say 'ya, we did that.'"

So, Thursday after Jason got off work, we did it. We stayed about an hour which was plenty long with the kids in tow. Without children it would be an amazing place to sit and people-watch. We found easy parking a few blocks away, the "crowds" were nothing compared to life in China. We didn't observe any obvious criminal activity and the kids didn't take notice of the gals wearing nothing but paint and undies :) We got a quick taste of the rally, saw tons of interesting people and A LOT of really beautiful bikes. Definitely glad we went.

Where to drink (a lot!) and eat (a lot!)

Where to sleep

What to ride

Sending Jason packing --- into the Cloud Peak Wilderness

With Jason turning 40 this month I encouraged him to do something he loved for a weekend. Solitary backpacking. It's not for everyone, but is something Jason loves and hasn't done in some time. The closest "real" mountains to us are the Bighorns, about four hours away in Wyoming. After some research, he decided to head for the Cloud Peak Wilderness.

He took off Friday afternoon and returned Sunday with some spectacular pictures that he said I could share. In spite of having a stomach bug/altitude sickness the entire trip and encountering a high number of MOOSE along the way, he made it to/from the 13,000+ foot summit without problem. Way to go Jason!

Moose Sightings!!!

Embracing local food -- learning to cook BISON

I've slowly been coming to the sad realization that pretty much the only thing that grows really well on this side of the state is cattle ... and buffalo/bison. Learning to cook the area's "second meat" has intimidated me a little.

A friend gave me some buffalo steaks awhile back and although it's supposed to be "just like beef," I'd not felt confident cooking it. This week with no other meat on hand, I gave it a whirl.

I'd planned to marinate it for a stir fry, then realized I had no soy sauce and basically no vegetables. Can you make stir fry without soy sauce or veggies??? I did. I poured a bit of the following together and called the marinade good: balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, molasses, sambal chili paste, oyster sauce, worcestershire sauce, lime juice and garlic.

The zucchini I'd hoped to use had gone bad and I resorted to some onion slices and frozen spinach. At the last moment I remembered I had fresh ginger which I would have liked to add sooner, but added it at the end and surprise the whole thing tasted really, really good. {Thank you Amber for the meat!!}

Hiking "M" Hill - Rapid City

Since we moved here folks have been telling us to take the kids hiking on M hill (so named for the giant M etched into it for the School of Mines). We finally tried it on Sunday and it was a lovely hiking spot, literally right in town but with the feel of getting away. A perfect quick outdoor escape with lots of unexplored trails to try next time.