VISIT TO BEAR COUNTRY

We are enjoying life here in South Dakota as the weather warms and promises to bring us a beautiful weekend. It is now 6 AM here this morning and I heard the first boaters arrive just before 5 AM! The lake is beautiful like a mirror this morning. We open the store early but we do not usually get much business until after lunch...more as folks are coming off the water! On the weekdays we usually do not open the store until mid afternoon. Last Wednesday Denny captured this WHITE BUFFALO on camera while we visited Bear Country! We have a couple of bird feeders up and filled with seeds and are enjoying all the birds EXCEPT the Cowbirds who try to hog it all! A wild turkey walked across our parking lot yesterday afternoon.

HAPPY MEMORIAL WEEKEND!

Good Morning -- This has been a technology challenging week, but I do believe we are back in working order now...a complete mystery, but working! First the printer went wild, turning itself off and on and that was solved in the fact that I had packed the wrong cord...similar but not the exact one that was required for this printer! Within the same hour the laptop froze up and would shut itself back off before booting up! It was a mystery to the repairman also and he told me it needed a new motherboard. We chose not to go that direction but purchased a used laptop that was in the repair shop. Got it home, loaded our programs and all was working great! Before packing the old laptop away I thought I would try it one more time and turned it on without the power cord and it powered right up and has been working great ever since! Enough of computers/printers!

It was an exciting start to the week with a record Lake Trout being caught on Sunday PLUS a 22 lb. Lake Trout being caught first thing Monday morning! After the news of those two catches got out everyone wanted to know about and see photos of the big fish! Of course the "FISH STORIES" abounded!

We are anticipating being really busy today and tomorrow even though thundershowers are forecast for the afternoon/evenings! Temps are in the 50's this morning and the highs are forecast for 60/70's. Yesterday was busy but not until afternoon/evening. It was cold and overcast. We spent the morning organizing and Denny took photos of sandwiches and ice cream treats and made posters.

WHOOPER RECORD BREAKER CAUGHT HERE!

Saturday and Sunday were a busy taste of what is to come as the weather warms. Our parking lot was nearly full and the lake was dotted with boats!

Our BIG excitement of yesterday was a fisherman sharing his catch with us...his scales could not record the accurate weight, but he said a fellow fisherman weighed his catch at about 30 lbs (I believe the record is 28 lbs.). We have still not received word of the official weight but here is the photo that Denny took of the HAPPY and Proud fisherman and his record breaking LAKE TROUT! It was exciting for us to share this event!

PLAYING BALL

One of Phoebe's favorite places in the camper is the sofa and because of the closeness she is only a few feet from the dinette where we sit to eat, watch TV and play games. She has her own little ways of getting our attention such as dropping her ball or some of her toys on the floor so that we can reach down and pick them up to throw back on the sofa to her! She often plays ball by hereself by holding it in her mouth, throwing it...rolling on it and then plunk...it drops on the floor and she looks to us to pick it up! In this photo she is telling us... OK I am ready to play ball!

Yesterday (May 16, 2009, Saturday) was a beautiful day...the overnight temps had been in the 20's but Saturday daytime temps warmed to in the 60's! There were many boaters and several more new boat slip owners checked in to claim the parking spot for their boat as well as receive their annual pass to use the facility. It was about 9 pm before the last boat came off the lake at our location. It was just a taste of summer activity...we will be happy when we get the store completely stocked as there were hungry folks and we do not yet have the sandwiches or food that we will have on a regular basis. We hope to finish getting completely stocked this coming week. The next few days promise to be the warmest yet!

MORE WILDLIFE!

As I was at the sink gazing out the kitchen window I could see a ripple in the lake coming toward the shore...I first thought it was a small duck, then as it came a little closer I realized it was a beaver! He swam toward the shore below me and the water was so clear with the sun shining on him that from my vantage point I could see his tail moving back and forth moving him through the water. Dennis went out to capture the moment and got a shot of him just before he dove under the dock area and continued to swim underwater toward the cove shore. This was a special treat!

ENJOYING THE WILDLIFE IN SD

A couple of days ago we rode to Deadwood, SD and this group of whitetail deer crossed the road right in front of us and scrambled up a VERY steep hillside along the road.

One of our greatest joys each day is having a pair of Mountain Bluebirds right outside our camper window! They are exploring this little birdhouse and we are not sure if they are really building a nest or just "thinking about it!!! We just enjoy their beauty and cheerful sounds.

YES...that is Denny making friends with a GOOSE!

Yesterday was COLD with wind gusts 30-40 mph and MANY SNOW SHOWERS! We are still having fun with the wildlife! Everyone knows how much Denny loves Canadian Geese after his 2005 summer at Crystal Lake Vermont picking up pails and pails of GOOSE POOP! Now he cleans off the boat docks!!!

VIEW OF OUR CAMPER AND COVE

A close-up view of our little store (the brown building) and our camper sits just outside the store. From our camper windows we look directly out onto the lake -- the boat launch area as well as the boat slips.

A view of our little cove -- you can see our white camper and the boat slips/docks -- this photo was taken from the top of the dam which is across the lake from us!

LIFE AT LAKE PACTOLA

REAL COOL at Lake Pactola this morning...we think in the 20's as TV reported Rapid City as 33 degrees and we at a much higher altitude. The sun is shining brightly and will soon warm everything up nicely -- probably only in the 50's today! The first boaters went out on the lake a little after 6 AM this morning! All is going well and the moon was beautiful over the lake last night! We have sold our first fishing licenses and continue to add stock to the little store every day! Folks are stopping by each day and introducing themselves as boat slip holders and everyone has been super friendly and welcoming! Looks like a beautiful weekend ahead!

Day 5 of the trip

Lovely day in the mid 70's -- we camped last night a little south of Sioux City, IA at Lewis & Clark State Park. Stopped early today at Mitchell, SD to explore and restock some of our supplies. Visited the CORN PALACE here at Mitchell...quite an amazing structure with artist work all done in corn,,,the scenes are changed every year! We still have about 300 miles to travel before reaching Lake Pactola and should arrive early tomorrow afternoon. Pictures and more after we get settled in at the lake.

Day 3 on the road

Good Morning, We had a nice visit with Dad and Kathy & family on Friday afternoon and evening. Took off from Jenkinsburg, GA yesterday morning with intentions of stopping near Nashville but it was just after lunch when we arrived there...so we drove on. We are now about 35 miles east of Paducah, KY. Yesterday was an overcast rainy day, but luckily there was only one area where the rain was heavy in North Georgia! Temperatures are now MUCH cooler than Florida and we have each dug out our jackets!!!! This Internet connection is awful so I will not attempt photos -- just an update! We will probably arrive in SD earlier than we anticipated unless we come across something that we just have to check out! More later!!!!