been a struggle, but we're back

Hi all,
Let me first apologize for our absence here. We have had an extremely busy and challenging summer.
Work has had it's challenges and that has been a lot of the reason for not blogging. We both still love our jobs here and are satisfied with our decision to come off the road and join the work force once again.
The main challenge at work was my new boss. She was a terrible disappointment as a leader. She was afraid to make a decision when problems arose and often would avoid everyone by spending the majority of the day in a closed office avoiding all contact. Myself and the other Assistant Director did our best to keep the department afloat but without her support it continued in a downward spiral. She recently resigned and my cohort was promoted into her position while I remain the Senior Assistant and we are working hard to restore things to the way they were.

Earlier this summer our Son, Daughter in law and new Grand Daughter came for a visit. We picked them up at the airport in Denver and they spent a week with us. We showed them all the sights and it was great getting to know Jaina. A few weeks later our Daughter, Son in Law and their 3 kids arrived for a week as well. We sure miss seeing them on a regular basis and it was great having them around even though it was only for a short time.

Sturgis celebrated their 75th anniversary of the week long motorcycle rally, Needless to say the Black Hills were filled with bikes. We made it to the rally a couple of days but boy was it crowded.

We are expecting a slow down in visitors soon and, frankly, we all could use a few slower days. The amount of visitors this year has far exceeded the last several. I expected a busier year with the lower fuel prices and we have certainly not been disappointed. Our work campers are finishing up their commitments and the campground is starting to empty out as they head for warmer weather and a much deserved rest. With them leaving our workforce is less and that means a really busy time for next few weeks for those of us left behind. Our operating hours are cut in mid-October when our laser Light Show ends and that usually signals the end of the busy tourist season.

We did add to the fleet over the summer. Rudee and I went car shopping and found a nice used Kia Sorento. We wanted something with a little more passenger room and better gas mileage then the Dakota.

I have been keeping my eyes open for a small cargo trailer to pull behind the bike. They want big $'s for the new ones and I couldn't find a decent used one so I decided to just make my own. I ordered a utility trailer from Harbor Freight assembled it and added a plywood deck. I found a used car top carrier for $30, painted it to resemble the bike and added a decal we picked up in Sturgis.

Turned out pretty nice and will be great to use for motorcycle trips and to do "Wally World" runs.

We are both looking forward to being able to get off work at a more reasonable hour. Right now we are working four ten hour split shifts. We open the doors at 7 am, work until noon, take a few hours off and then come back in until closing around 9 pm. That sure makes for some long days and short nights but within the next month we will be back to more "normal" hours. Plus I'll have more time to blog and keep you posted.