Doin Stuff

Mt. Baker, Washington

2009-08-04T13:46:00.001-06:00

There is a very pretty drive to take from Bellingham, Washington to Mt. Baker.
Mt. Baker is 10,781 feet.
It's glacial peak towers above the landscape.
Mt. Baker has the worlds record for the most annual snowfall, making this a winter wonder land.
The summers are just as popular with hikers, bikers, camper, and fisherman.

Peace Arch State Park

2009-08-04T13:18:00.001-06:00

The International Peace Arch stands outside the international boundary between Washington and British Columbia.
There is one foot of the arch in America and the other on Canadian soil.
The Peach Arch represents the longest undefended boundary in the world.

Beautiful Flowers

2009-08-04T13:14:00.001-06:00

Flowers of Peace

2009-08-04T13:12:00.001-06:00

There are beautiful flowers and great landscaped grounds.

Dedicated To World Peace

2009-08-04T13:06:00.002-06:00

Dedicated in the year 1921, it is the first Monument built and dedicated to world peace.
You do not need a passport to view the Peach Arch Park, but you have to have one to get into Canada and back to the USA. It is even stricter when you try to get back into America.

Begula Whale

2009-08-02T20:08:00.003-06:00

I did not take these pictures of the Begula, they are just to show you how cute they are up close.

This is the Vancouver, BC Aquarium where the Begula Whales were kept. It was worth the trip form Bellingham, Washington to see them. Going from there to Vancouver,BC it was only 54 miles.

The people of Vancouver, BC were very nice to us and we enjoyed the visit immensely.

Vancouver BC Begula Whale

2009-08-01T12:15:00.003-06:00

The Beluga Whale tank is particularly exciting; it has a surface-level area as well as an underwater viewing room.
Beluga Whale came from Alaska and Antarctica where the waters are very cold.
They swim among icebergs where water temperature may be as low as 32*F.
The Beluga has a well adaption to both cold ocean habitat and a warmer fresh water habitat.
The Beluga or white whale grows to 15 feet long.
They eat octopus, crabs, squid, and some fish like cod.
The aquarium has to cool their water to a constant 54* to keep them comfortable.
They usually have a routine that they follow much like at Sea World San Diego.
Today it was the first 80* day of the season.
They let them just swim and see what the whale wanted to do in the warm weather. They didn’t want to play.
Beluga do not exhibit as many aerial behaviors like jumping etc. that the killer whale and dolphins exhibit.

Tiqa the baby Begula

2009-08-01T12:06:00.001-06:00

The little one, Tiga is only one year old. He was cute, and like most young he wanted to just play.
They are a dark gray color and lighten as they get older.
They get full sized at the age of 10.

Oila the Begula Whale

2009-08-01T12:00:00.001-06:00

This is Oila the mother of the baby Tiqa.
Aurora is her mother.

20 year old Aurora

2009-08-01T11:51:00.001-06:00

The 20 year old Aurora is having a baby any day.
She is also the grandmother to the baby Tiqa.
Pregnancy lasts 14 to 15 months birthing only one calf.
The baby will weigh in at 175 pounds and will be 5 feet long.
It was a big surprise to the aquarium officials that she was pregnant.
They had no idea that could happen at her age.
They took no chances with her; she was watched and monitored 24/7.
She gave birth to a healthy girl ten days after we were there.
It was very exciting to see them as they are not anywhere around where we live.
There are some in Alaska, Georgia, Florida etc.

Jelly's and Sea Otter

2009-07-31T20:09:00.001-06:00

The Jelly's were beautiful but the Otters were full of fun. Eat and play is all they want to do.

Moon Jelly's

2009-07-31T20:04:00.001-06:00

These Moon Jelly's are so beautiful. You can see through them.
All that beauty and no brain

Sea Monsters

2009-07-31T19:56:00.001-06:00

Sea Nettle, grabs small fish using tentacles that are loaded with millions of harpoons.
Sea Snake,
Strawberry Anemone they sting when touched.
Giant plumose

Anemone and Sea Star

2009-07-31T19:46:00.001-06:00

Vancouver, BC is a very large city with narrow streets and tall buildings.
The aquarium is located in Stanley Park. It is too bad we did not have enough time to really investigate this beautiful park and other things in the city.
The Aquarium is a large one with as many as 70,000 different animals.
It takes awhile to see it all.

Condos

2009-07-31T12:45:00.002-06:00

In the essence of time we drove to Vancouver, BC from Bellingham.
It was a pretty drive and we were glad we did.
What have been ideal, would have been to arrange for a tour, the next day so we could have seen more of the city.
The condominiums always look so pretty being all glass. So different from the ones we have.
I was wishing I could see the insides of some of them. Live there? I don’t think so.

Vancouver,BC

2009-07-31T12:40:00.001-06:00

Eagles

2009-07-30T19:21:00.001-06:00

Up until several years ago I had only seen two eagles in my life time.
It is a sure sign that they are making a come back when you see them where ever you go now.
That is a wonderful sight to behold.

Feiro Marine Life Center

2009-07-30T19:15:00.001-06:00

Port Angeles has an aquarium that is a teaching center.
They had a lot of things I have never seen before in other aquariums.
Sea Cucumber, and this Painted Anemone.
It looks like a sea plant to me.
The Painted Anemone lives in shallow water. It eats crabs, sea urchens, mussels, fish and sea stars.
That information floored me.

Sea Stars

2009-07-30T19:05:00.001-06:00

Sea Stars, Giant Plumose Anemone (sea plant) and Sea Cucumber

Port Angeles Aqurium

2009-07-30T18:58:00.001-06:00

Port Angeles has a small aquarium it was interesting.
I had not seen these animals and sea plants before.

Olympic Game Farm

2009-07-30T12:08:00.001-06:00

The Olympic Game Park houses around 30 species of animals.
This is a driving tour at your own pace. You are allowed to feed the animals and bread is available at the ticket office.
We enjoyed going to it and the animals were alert as it was early in the day when we got there.

Grizzly Bear

2009-07-30T12:02:00.001-06:00

Of all the animals the Grizzly is the most popular.
They are retired, trained bears form Disney Land pictures.
They beg and clap their hands when you feed them.
I took some cut up apples which they loved.

Game Farm

2009-07-30T11:55:00.001-06:00

Located in Sequim, Washington about 20 miles from Port Angelse.
Open year around.

Rino, Eagle and Peacock

2009-07-30T11:48:00.001-06:00

Stay in your vehicle, on the roadway and drive slowly.
This is a fun way to see animals up close and personal.

LLama's

2009-07-30T11:41:00.001-06:00

The Llama's are very friendly and hungry. This one about got inside of the pickup before I could shut the window.
The eagle in the tree watches all.

Enertainment

2009-07-29T12:59:00.001-06:00

The Inter Harbor is busy at all times with entertainment and food.
The city of Victoria has water on three sides of the city so the Inter Harbor is a active part of the city.
It was time to head home on the Victoria Express.
I was tired from walking all day so even the ruff water and the coast guard out to make sure it was a safe crossing didn't bother me.

Victoria City Tour

2009-07-29T12:43:00.001-06:00

I liked this old church,Legislative Building opened in 1898. When the tour was finished,Gray Lines left us at the Empress Hotel. A beautiful old building opened in 1908. It is only a couple of blocks to the Inter Harbor where our boat is.
After walking all day you soon learn that a couple of blocks can mean 2 blocks or 5 miles.

Victoria, BC China Town

2009-07-29T12:27:00.001-06:00

On the city tour we went to China Town. It is one of the best looking and cleanest China towns we have been to.

Victoria Express Ferry

2009-07-29T12:20:00.001-06:00

The Victoria Express takes you to the Inter Harbor, where they let you to do what ever you had a plan for.
We went on a Gray Line tour to The Butterfly Place,Butchart Gardens and city tour.

Victoria a Walking City

2009-07-29T12:04:00.001-06:00

When you go to Victoria you need a plan to spend your time there.
This is a walking city where everyone walks, bikes, roller blades or has a mode of transportation in mind.
We came from Port Angeles, Washington by the people ferry, Victoria Express. It only takes one hour to cross so we had 10 hours to do stuff.
When you are not a good walker you need a better plan than we had.
The next time I think it would be ideal to make a hotel reservation and spend about 3 days there. Then you would not be rushed and have to walk all over in one day.

Sea Plane Service

2009-07-27T20:04:00.001-06:00

There are 240 seaplanes a day taking off and landing in the Inter Harbor.
The surprising part is there are no traffic controllers or control tower.
They have never had an accident.

Victoria BC Condos

2009-07-27T19:53:00.001-06:00

These condos are along the Inter Harbor going into Victoria by ferry.
I like the round one that is all glass.
How different they are from what we have seen around here.

Victoria BC Butterfly Gardens

2009-07-24T19:35:00.001-06:00

There are more than 17,000 different kinds of butterflies.
The Butterfly Garden has 3,000 of them flying around.

Morpho Butterfly

2009-07-24T19:23:00.001-06:00

Iridescent blue,with shimmering shades of blue and green, reflecting light so it appears metallic.
They are so elusive no one can get a picture of one. I chased this one for an hour and then gave up when he landed on my hat and others got pictures of him before he flew.
This is the best I could do.
Then took a picture of one in the gift shop so you could see how beautiful they are.

Giant Owl Butterfly

2009-07-24T19:19:00.001-06:00

Atlas Moth

2009-07-24T19:06:00.001-06:00

The beautiful Atlas Moth.
Common in Thailand to Indonesia, they are cultivated for their silk.
The largest surfaced area of all moths in the world with a wingspan of 10 to 12 inches.
They breed, lay eggs and die. They can live in a cocoon for five years but only 3 to 5 days after emerging.
They fly at night and sleep during the day.
These two were sleeping after hatching just that day.
How beautiful they are, we had never seen them before.

Butterflies and Moths

2009-07-24T18:55:00.001-06:00

This is such a great place to go if you are a butterfly lover.
This careful planned building with bushes,flowers, vines, and trees make a heaven on earth for these butterflies and moths. All 3000 of them.
WE stayed for 1 3/4 hours and went to catch our Gray Line tour bus that never came for us.
That was a little unnerving until The Butterfly Garden van took us to the Butchart Gardens where we could see the gardens and catch our lost tour bus.
What wonderful people they are.

The Butchart Garden, Victoria BC

2009-07-24T13:39:00.001-06:00

Butchart Gardens spreads over 55 acers.
It is a world famous oasis of flowers and plants.

My Favorites

2009-07-24T13:34:00.001-06:00

Out of 700 to find a few favorite was a challenge.

All of them Beautiful

2009-07-24T13:30:00.001-06:00

Each year more than one million bedding flowers are planted in some 700 different varieties.

Popular Gardens

2009-07-24T13:26:00.001-06:00

Each year there are blooms of flowers from March through October.

Butchart Gardens Flowers

2009-07-24T13:11:00.001-06:00

Butchart Gardens is a National Historic Site and celebrated it 100th anniversary in 2004.

Oympic National Park

2009-07-24T12:56:00.001-06:00

The Olympic National Park has a lot of different places to see within the park.
You need a headquarters because the places are quite a distance from each other.
We made our base camp in Port Angeles.

Port Angeles, Washington

2009-07-24T12:48:00.001-06:00

Port Angeles was a port town that had a lot to offer.
We spent most of our time watching the big ships that came through and one real big one that was docked for repairs.

Coho Ferry

2009-07-24T12:35:00.002-06:00

The Coho Ferry runs each day between Port Angeles and Victoria,BC.
The container ships go through Port Angeles and must stop there to get a pilot ship to take them to Seattle because of the narrow and shallow areas from Port Angeles to Seattle.
The lighthouse is built on a sandbar in the ocean they call a spit.
Port Angeles is a working port meaning if you need work on your ship this is where you bring it to have the work done.
Port Angeles has a very deep port so it can accommodate all sizes of ships.

Rilto Beach

2009-07-22T19:50:00.001-06:00

La Push, Washington
Washington has very few beaches,they are hard to get to and mostly unimproved.
This was one of the few that was nice.
This is one BIG piece of driftwood,wonder how it got there?

Rare Spot on Earth

2009-07-22T15:29:00.001-06:00

Rare Spot on Earth

The most northwestern point in the Continental USA.
Where the Strait of Juan de Fuca empties into the Pacific Oean.
Near Neah Bay in the State of Washington.
There is a very popular trail called the Cape Flattery Trail.
1/2 mile hike on cedar boardwalk and groomed trail.
That is what it is advertised as, a moderate trail.
It has a beautiful picture of enchanting forest to the top of the cliff above the pounding surf.
Owned by the Makah Indians and on Indian land.
Cape Flattery is part of the Olympic National Park.
Now who could resist.
We parked our RV in Forks, Washington, but there are closer RV parks to the area.
Forks, is 42 miles from Cape Flattery.

Cape Flattery Hike

2009-07-22T15:26:00.001-06:00

When we got there it was a cool day in May.
We talked to some people that had just gotten back from the hike.
They said it was not to be missed, it was an easy walk for us, and we could do it fine.
Never trust anyone younger than you are.
So off we went, won’t take long, be back in no time.
The dirt trail was groomed and good, this is great.

Strait of Juan De Fuca

2009-07-22T15:20:00.001-06:00

The cedar walkway is great except for the stairs to get on it.
With bad knees its ok, I can do this on the wood walkway.

Northwest Point in Contental USA

2009-07-22T15:15:00.001-06:00

It is all down hill. Then the walkway ends. Stairs lead you off of it and now you cross the tree roots. That is tricky.
Then up the stairs and on the walkway again.
The walkway is narrow so when some one wants by you, it is a little difficult.
There is a platform over the cliff to see the pounding surf and rocks below.
Still more trail to get to the most Northwestern Point in the Contental USA.
At the end of the trail another platform with a ladder to climb.
You got to be kidding.
So I look around the platform and hang over the edge to get my picture.

Cape Flattery, Washington

2009-07-22T15:10:00.001-06:00

The Strait of Juan de Fuca is between the platform and the lighthouse about a mile away.
It is an operable light house, built in 1854, but not opens to the public.
There are many animals and birds that live in this protected area.
It is all uphill going out and when the going gets ruff you need to stop and rest.
When I looked it up on the web months later it says the trail is ¾ mile long.
We made it. It was beautiful to see, but we won’t go again. We will leave it to the youngsters.

Musuem of Flight

2009-07-22T13:01:00.001-06:00

The Museum of Flight

Seattle, Washington

Explore the birthplace of the Boeing Company, in its original manufacturing plant.
Rare artifacts and exhibits of early history on American Aerospace Industry.
Six story glass-and steel gallery contains 43 historic aircraft, and traces the history of the first century of human flight.
With three different flight simulators and two theaters you can spend your day right here.
They have a nice coffee shop so it is possible to do just that.

Seattle Air Park

2009-07-22T12:56:00.001-06:00

Out side the building in the air park, tour Americas first Air Force One, and the West Coasts only Concorde.

The Concorde

2009-07-22T12:52:00.001-06:00

I came to see the Concorde and all the rest was a pleasant surprise.
The Concorde started service in 1976.
They were not manufactured in USA but by British and French Aerospace companies.
These steep stairs are the same ones you would be climbing if you were a passenger.

Inside the Concorde

2009-07-22T12:42:00.001-06:00

There were 20 planes,in service 27 years with only one accident.
The supersonic jet offered a luxurious and speedy trip across the Atlantic at a speed of 2 times the speed of sound. Flying at 660 to 750 miles per hour.
The Concorde could fly from London to New York and then return in the time it took for a conventional aircraft to go one way. In about 2hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds.
With four Rolls Royce engines and a cruise speed of 1354 miles per hour, you were flying at 60, 000 feet. That is about 5 miles above the other plane traffic.

Fly The Speed of Sound

2009-07-22T12:37:00.001-06:00

Only 100 people and crew could go at one time.
Flying at that speed and range the outside temperature is 400*, enough to melt an average plane. The plane latterly stretched 6 to 10 inches due to heat.
The cost of a round-trip- ticket from London to New York was a mere $3900.00 even at this staggering price; 2.5 million people flew on the Concorde.
When the Concorde takes off and land the pilot adjusts the nose of the plane to drop so he can see to take off and land. In the air it is just like all other planes.

Concorde Tragedy

2009-07-22T12:19:00.001-06:00

In 2000 the Concorde had its only accident but so savvier that all passengers and crew were killed.
In France where it happened a metal fragment fell onto the runway from a Continental Airline DC-10 that was taking off, it was undetced. 4 minutes later the Concorde using the same runway ran over the metal puncturing a right hand tire. It blew the tire and a piece of rubber hit the fuel tank and engine making a hole in the fuel tank. The take off speed is 253 miles per hour.
The pilot thought he was experiencing engine trouble, which he was but he was also on fire. When the tower notified the pilot he was on fire the pilot knew he was going to fast to stop and running out of runway to do so. The only thing to do was take off and try to fly it to a safe spot. It did miss a lot of places but landed on top of a big hotel
There was no way to help the doomed plane.
With rising operating costs and sagging economy the company decided to end the service of the Concorde in 2003.

Anacortes, Washington

2009-07-19T18:29:00.001-06:00

Ever been curious about the ferry system in Washington?
We went to Anacortes, caught a ferry to ride, and just watch to see how the vehicles were loaded on it.
Check out the Coromorant condo along the way.

Loading and Unloading

2009-07-19T15:53:00.004-06:00

It is amazing to see how many cars and truck can go on a ferry. Makes you wonder how many they can hold.

Inside the Ferry

2009-07-19T15:45:00.001-06:00

Inside is very comfortable, you can sit and watch out the windows, grab a bite or cup of coffee and enjoy the ride on the inside.
Outside if you want to there is a deck you can walk around on.

Wildlife Reserve

2009-07-19T12:17:00.001-06:00

Peregrine Falcons

From near extinction these birds are a part of a recovery program at Cape Meares, Oregon.
In the 1970’s there were less than 100 left in the entire country.
Thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Peregrine Falcons once-again are coming back, across the nation.
This area is also home to 220,000 murres.

Salt Lake City Falcon

2009-07-19T12:03:00.001-06:00

Where natural cliffs are lacking, Peregrine Falcons set up housekeeping on tall buildings and sky scrapers in large cities.
Salt Lake City, Utah has a pair that has been coming every year since the 1980’s.
It is on the Joseph Smith Building downtown by the Mormon temple.
They are all set up with a nesting box and a camera for our viewing pleasure.
This year they had two which is about the same number every year, one female and one male.
The male was “dubbed” Early Bird” when he decided to take off flying and never quite made it.
He was rescued by volunteers, before he was run over by a car on the road below.
He was placed back in his box to try to fly another day.

Tiny nesting Peregrine

2009-07-19T11:15:00.002-06:00

They nest on shear cliffs above the ocean.
A woman there had a bird scope and was nice enough to let us look into the nest.
Four little soft and fuzzy babies were waiting for mom to return with their lunch.
They were about one month old she thought.

Seal Rock State Park, Oregon

2009-07-18T15:21:00.001-06:00

Another of Oregon's parks.
This is for sure one you want to stop too.
The trail is all paved and not very long, easy walk even for people with limitations.
This is the third time we have fallen for that story.
So off we go and it is just what the said it would be. A beautiful ocean site with paved trail to the beach.
HOWEVER, they forgot to mention that the trail was washed out at the bottom and you had to crawl over big boulders and logs.

Oregon Cormorants

2009-07-18T14:56:00.002-06:00

Seal Rock State Park has a large off-shore rock formation, which is home to the Cormorant.
The Cormorant is a big black bird, 2 to 3 feet in length and has 3 to 6 hatchlings per year.
This water bird, dives into the water, propels its self with its feet to catch fish for the babies.
When the parents think the hatchlings are old enough to be on their own, they push them out of the nest, leaving them to fly or hit the rocks far below.
The parents fly off, never looking back until next year when it starts all over again.
We talked to the ranger and he said over 200,000 of them come each year to nest and raise their young on this rock.

Cormorants

2009-07-18T14:34:00.001-06:00

Natural Bridge, Oregon

2009-07-17T18:48:00.002-06:00

Your visit to Natural Bridge on the Oregon Scenic Drive, provides one of the areas most fascinating features of the mighty Rogue River.
At peak,approximately 335,000 gallons of water rush from this outlet each minute at the speed of 6 feet per second.
After listening to people returning from, or had been to some of these hikes and then taking them for ourselves, to find out they were not what they claimed,I was spectacle about this one.
We were assured that we could not leave this area of Crater Lake, Oregon without seeing it. It was just a short hike and on a good paved trail.
Once again we went and it was some thing everyone going to this area should see.

The Cave

2009-07-17T18:33:00.001-06:00

The cave is part of a well-defined lava tube. The water flowing into it appears to circulate and then return to the main river stream.
This would indicated the lava tube has collapsed some distance beyond the opening.

The Hidden River

2009-07-17T18:19:00.001-06:00

The Rogue River, flows through a lava tube, behind the wall of rock across the channel becoming
"a hidden river".

The Natural Bridge

2009-07-17T18:11:00.001-06:00

This is an inlet, where the Rogue River,disappears into a lava tube taking 35 seconds to travel 200 feet to the tubes outlet.

The Cascade Mountain Range

2009-07-14T11:14:00.001-06:00

The drive to Crater Lake is very pretty with the snow capped Mountains of the Cascades.
Locted in Southeren Oregon

Mountain Lake

2009-07-14T11:03:00.001-06:00

Crater Lake
Like no other place on earth.
There are no inlets or outlets that supply new water to this lake.The only new water that is added is the melting snow.
A deep pure lake, so blue it is indescribable.

Crater Lake National Park

2009-07-14T10:56:00.001-06:00

The road in had not been opened to long before we got there and this was middle of June.
If the misquotes had not been so bad we would have stayed until a good sunny day so the pictures would have been better.

Crater Lake

2009-07-14T10:40:00.001-06:00

Located in Southern Oregon in the Cascade Mountain Range

Kattie Bug

2009-07-12T13:42:00.001-06:00

Start without me, I am just to tired.
She is a good traveler, sometimes awake enough to tell us what we are doing wrong.

Diamond Lake, Oregon

2009-07-12T13:15:00.002-06:00

The Gem of the Cascades.
Located in the southern part of the state just five miles from Crater Lake National Park.
The most desired fishing lake in Oregon, noted for its “rainbow trout”.

Different people come to Diamond Lake for different reasons, most come for the fishing.
We went there because it is the nicest and closest RV Park to Crater Lake.
The Chipmunk’s were a bonus.
I always carry bird and chipmunk food with us for the cat.
Kattie goes with us and she needs to have entertainment too, so I just sprinkle some food outside the big kitchen window and watch the action.
Keeps us all entertained.
This time the chipmunks found us right away.
One skinny little guy.
I took a pan of food out and we watched.
You would be amazed as we were, at just how much this skinny little thing could eat.
He would eat and then run away, I think to store the food, and then right back again.
After two days of this he must have had his winter supply,having filled the pan two different times.
I hated to leave him behind but the misquotes were so bad we could not stand to stay there any longer.

Fast Food

2009-07-12T13:13:00.000-06:00

Fat Cheeks

2009-07-12T13:11:00.000-06:00

Who has fat cheeks?

Getting Comfortable

2009-07-12T13:07:00.000-06:00

Disappearing Food

2009-07-12T13:04:00.000-06:00

The Gigantic Undertaking

2009-04-30T15:15:00.002-06:00

82 years ago the carving began on Mount Rushmore, South Dakota. The year was 1927.
President Calvin Coolidge handed the sculptor Gutzon Borglum tools, and told him to get started on the gigantic undertaking.

Finding the right place

2009-04-30T15:06:00.001-06:00

When you look at the mountain side,how would you begin to tell where to start the carving of the Presidents?

The Carving of a President

2009-04-30T15:01:00.001-06:00

During the carving of Mount Rushmore, there were more than 360 men who worked on it, but only about 35 men working at a time.
Borglum died in 1941 never seeing the completion of his work.
His son finished what you now see, but there was going to be a lot more done had Borglum have lived.

The Working Men

2009-04-30T14:53:00.001-06:00

A visit to the Black Hills, just would not be a visit if you did not see Gutzon Borglum's monumental carvings of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Travel back in Time

2009-04-30T13:43:00.001-06:00

Mount Rushmore has a museum that will take you back through history as you see just what an amazing feat this carving of the Presidents were.

Meet the Man

2009-04-30T13:35:00.001-06:00

Gutzon Borglum has a museum of his own that shows some of his work, which is very good.
You will ask yourself why, a man of 60 years of age,would take on such a monumental task, when he was commissioned to do in in 1927 by the state of South Dakota.
Located in Keystone, South Dakota. on Hwy. 16A

Crazy Horse Monument

2009-04-24T12:58:00.002-06:00

In South Dakota a work in progress monument,is still going after 70 years.
70 years ago, Korczak Ziolkowski was ask by Standing Bear to create a monument to Crazy Horse.
It is not sponsored by anyone other than private donations.It did not seem fitting to let the Government money help make this monument for the Indian people.
It is starting to look like it is taking shape and we are excited to see it coming along.
Near Hill City and Custer, South Dakota. Close to the Mount Rushmore National Monument

National Museum of Woodcarving

2009-04-20T20:00:00.001-06:00

A place you may not even give a thought to. It would be a mistake not to stop here.

Very Unique

2009-04-20T19:56:00.000-06:00

A must see, missing this would be a real shame.

Custer, South Dakota

2009-04-20T19:53:00.000-06:00

Custer South Dakota is the place to check this all out.

Wood Alive

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It is where wood comes alive with animation.

Little or Big

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The attention to detail is amazing.

The Wood

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You will marvel at the things that can be carved from wood.

The Gift Shop

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The gift shop has carvings other than wood like the museum.
They are all hand carved and are for sale.
You will have a hard time deciding on which one to take home.

Custer State Park, South Dakota

2009-04-20T10:25:00.001-06:00

Custer State Park covers 71,000 acres of the South Dakota Black Hills.
The buffalo is the main thing that everyone comes to see. They have a lot of them for you to watch.

Up close look at Bison

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If you want to see Bison, this is where you go, 1500 head of these majestic animals.

Home on the Range

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The buffalo roam the prairie, while you drove a 18 mile loop drive, across the land and through the herd.

Stay in your Car

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Admire them from the safety of your car. They are not tame animals. You cannot outrun them when they can run at 30 MPH.

Beggin Burro's

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Be on the lookout for the beggin burro's, they love to poke their nose in your car window for a treat.

Bear Country USA

2009-04-13T21:12:00.001-06:00

Rapid City,South Dakota
This is really bear country.
It has a loop drive and staying in your cars with no windows rolled down, you can see the bears right up close.
When you are finished with the loop drive you can park your car and walk to see the bear babies.
They are a delight and you will not want to leave.
What a great place to visit.