workin hard and playin hard

We have settled into our routine here at Crazy Horse and are getting used to working full time hours again. I know a lot of my fellow full timers would cringe at the thought of having to go back to the grind of a full time job but for now we are happy to have the work. The recent medical issues that slowed us down (see April 2013 posts) have wreaked havoc on our savings and we are working hard to keep our dream alive. Last week I had the opportunity to work a little over time, one day was even a 12 hour shift, and it kind of wore me down. I was pretty pooped when we got back to the motor home but since we are working the evening shift, and not really doing things in the morning anyway, I figured making a few extra $$'s was better then just sitting waiting for my shift to start.
Monday and Tuesday promised to be great weather wise so we planned some rides on the bike. Monday we headed to Wyoming which is only about 40 miles west of us. We stopped in Newcastle Wy. where we gassed up the bike. Rudee snapped this photo of their courthouse which was across the street from the gas station.

I pointed the bike North and we followed along the trail of the Cheyenne to Deadwood stage coach. Before the railroads were built in this area the only "mass transit" were stage coaches and this line was a popular one for the settlers. The stage hauled a lot of gold out of the area and there was always a danger of robberies and Indian attacks.

We made the turn onto Spearfish Canyon Rd. and enjoyed another trip on this scenic highway. This time we were going the opposite direction from a couple of weeks ago.

Tuesday we decided to explore Custer State Park some more. Our VIP passes are supposed to get us in the gate for free but there was some confusion at the guard shack. The lady there said it was only good for a few specific days but the young man also working there disagreed. Seems the old policy was for only select days but there had been a change this year allowing the passes anytime with no restrictions. She was a long time worker and was not about to believe this young man was correct so to keep the peace I told her to forget the pass and we would save our limited visit for another time. She turned to go back into her guard shack and the young man quickly handed Rudee the free pass while she wasn't looking. :-)

We made a slow trip around the Wildlife Loop but didn't see a lot of wildlife. :-) The park is starting to get busy with the summer tourists and I think the animals are starting to venture further away from the hub bub. We stopped into the Game Lodge Campground where fellow bloggers Ray and Wendy are camp hosting. We caught them at home this time and had a nice visit. They are enjoying their time here and you sure cannot beat their location!

Leaving Custer State Park we followed Iron Mountain Rd. through the many switch backs and tunnels on our way to Keystone where we stopped for lunch.

Rudee finally got her "Mexican food fix" which we enjoyed at an outdoor table with a view of Mount Rushmore. Nice!
After lunch we headed to Rapid City to pick up our mail. We got notification that our last set of license plates (Motorhome) were in so we picked those up and headed back toward home.
We did make one more stop though.

Rudee hates snakes but was looking forward to stopping here. Go figure!
They have a lot of gators, turtles and of course snakes

They also have a lot of birds too. Look at the size of this owl!

Heading back to the motor home we stopped at Crazy Horse and checked our schedule. We both go in at 1 pm and have the same break time! They are having a "night blast" tonight and it is free as long as you bring 3 can goods per person to donate to the local food pantry. We are planning on a really busy shift and will be getting off later then usual but are both looking forward to seeing the show! I'll keep you posted.