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We’d like to wish everyone a happy and safe July 4th! Please take time to reflect about this great nation and the freedoms we are provided.

Erin and I got the chance to kayak today. We headed up to Pipesteam Dam and went on the water for an hour. It was a little choppy, cloudy, and breezy, but we enjoyed every minute of it. Our kayaking season will be short this year due to high water in area lakes and rivers. We hope to get out several more times during the next few weeks.

I am uploading and captioning our photos as I write this post, so by the time you read this, the photos will be in the Klein Photo Album.

Day 1: The first leg of our trip (Wednesday, June 24) brought us to Mitchell, S.D., home of the Corn Palace. It was a must-see for me as my alma mater’s mascot is the Cobber! The building is covered in corncobs, and the different colors of corn make the designs, which are changed yearly. Inside, there are photos of all the past years’ corn art, plus lots of murals constructed from corn. From the Corn Palace, we went to the campus of Dakota Wesleyan to see the Dakota Discovery museum. Did you know the border between ND and SD was the last state border to be mapped out? That is one tidbit we learned at the museum. Outside are a church, school, depot, and the Beckwith house. Mr. Beckwith was a co-founder of the Corn Palace and his home (now a historical site) was moved from downtown to the museum grounds. It has beautiful woodwork and curved walls inside. They are still working to restore all of the rooms. Across from the museum is the McGovern Library. It is a gorgeous brick building with arches (see the photo). Inside is the McGovern Center and lots of displays about the life, political career, and humanitarian pursuits of George McGovern.  The rest of the afternoon/evening we just checked out some stores and enjoyed the waterslide at our hotel.

Day 2: Thursday started with a long drive west from Mitchell to Rapid City. We stopped at the famous Wall Drug in Wall, S.D. Wow - what a tourist trap! We arrived mid-afternoon in Rapid City and decided to make our way to the monuments (Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse) that day rather than waiting until Friday. That turned out to be a good decision weatherwise as there was a nice breeze despite the warm temperature. A scenic drive through the hills brought us to Mt. Rushmore. It’s one of those places that you always see in pictures but seeing it in person is just more meaningful. We walked the Presidential Trail which provided great views of the monument. The trail led to the Sculptor’s Studio which had some interesting displays. We weren’t done with huge faces carved in stone. The Crazy Horse Memorial is a short drive from Mt. Rushmore and has an interesting story all its own. When it is finished, it will be the largest sculpture in the world. Besides the great view of the monument, we took in the museum, interpretive center, and sculptor’s studio, plus an informative film about the history of the monument.

Day 3: Happy Birthday Dave! We started the day with 18 holes of golf…mini golf. A short walk from our hotel brought us to the Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf. It was warm and sticky outside, but it was a fun time. After a bite to eat, we went to Memorial Park near the civic center in Rapid City. The park has a section of the Berlin Wall (I think the largest section in the U.S.) along with some interpretive panels describing the history of the Wall from construction to dismantling. The park also has a beautiful rose garden situated around a fountain. This is a memorial to those who died in the flood of ‘72. From there, we went to Reptile Gardens. Very fun and educational. We got to touch a giant tortoise named Methuselah. He is 128 years old! We also saw (but didn’t touch) snakes, frogs, a Komodo dragon, alligators, crocodiles, prairie dogs, birds, and exotic plants. Once we were back in town, it started raining so we went to the mall for a while. Later we had Dave’s birthday dinner at a Sonic drive-in, then went downtown to see some of the Presidential statues on the street corners. We stopped at the City of Presidents Information Center and then went to Storybook Island, a fairytale-themed park.

Day 4: Saturday was going-home day. We continued on I-90 to Spearfish and then headed north to ND, then east. We stopped in Bismarck to chat with Curt for a little while, and we were home by suppertime. It was a great trip! 

Dave and I had a great trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota. We packed a lot of sightseeing into just a few days (which included Dave’s birthday!). We will work on getting some photos and a recap posted. In the meantime we are catching up around the house and awaiting our first kayaking excursion of 2009. Take care everyone!

June 21 is the first day of summer (yes it finally showed up in North Dakota), and father’s day. Enjoy the day and happy father’s day!

Tomorrow - June 21 - is our (Erin & I) 6th wedding anniversary!

Well, like usual the project required a lot more work than we thought. That’s okay, we got to use some tools and supplies that we hadn’t in a long time. Curt and I got the steps in last Sunday and Monday. Everything worked out nicely, now just a few adjustments. We put two coats of stain and sealer on them to protect and shine for a while. This morning Tom and I hauled the old stuff to the dump. We were really surprised how much we did tear out for this project. Tom and I did some sheetrocking. Tom worked on a few other things while I painted. This evening Curt and Kasey joined in and helped set the new posts (newells) for the upper level. Things are going to look really nice. Hopefully, we can post some pictures soon of our progress.

The stairs project is officially underway! Yesterday afternoon, Dave removed a couple partitions, Tom took the carpet off, and they did some other demo work. Today, there were three generations represented as Jim, Curt, Dave, Tom, and Brianna were at work. Curt and Dave are still working as I write this. More to come!

Well, things continue to be busy around here. Whether it is work, flood recovery, weather, travel, or house projects things continue at a fast pace. Erin and I enjoyed resting last weekend. This weekend we are getting a pile of home improvement projects done. I added a new patio during the past couple weeks. This weekend we are adding new stairs, flooring, and maple railing in the house. We are excited about the project and think it will add a nice touch to the entry. Erin will be the official photographer on the project, so we’ll have pictures up next week.

Today (June 12) is mom’s birthday! Give Rose a call and wish her a happy birthday! =-)