Captain's Blog - The Black Hills - Part 3

Tuesday, September 9
We drive from Sturgis to Cody, Wyoming. A long and windy drive. I am lulled by the road and the miles drifting by, when suddenly a group of 8 antelope runs across the road in front of us. Alex sees them first and quickly wakes me from my thoughts. I hit the brakes and everything that's not locked down comes flying forward in the van. They scamper across the road and we barely miss blasting through the middle of their antelope tribe. From then on, my senses are on high alert.

We cruise into Cody and find a campground in town, have a walk around as the rain comes down and end up at a brew pub for pizza and salad before tucking in for a brisk night in the van.

Wednesday, September 10
We have a beautiful drive through Yellowstone, stopping for a couple of wonderful hikes through steaming geysers, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and around Yellowstone Lake. We cruise through Grand Teton Park and check out campgrounds there which are all completely full. We end up staying in a very large campground outside of Jackson, called Gros Venture. As we are setting up camp, a big mama moose and her baby come wandering through the camp. They don't seem to be bothered at all by the large number of people watching her.

Thursday, September 11
Another chilly night, but we stay warm and cozy in the van. Our propane heater works well, but is rather noisy and doesn't make for a very deep sleep. In the morning we hear people milling around and look out to see about 20 people gathered with cameras and binoculars just across from our site. There are 3 very large moose eating and playing in the field. Soon the park police are there telling people to stay back. Those animals are huge and powerful and I certainly wouldn't want to be in their way, should they change directions....

We clean up our campsite and decide to drive over to Teton Park again and have breakfast at Jenny Lake Lodge. It's a place I've heard about for years and always wanted to have a meal there. It's a sweet, old place with tons of charm. What I didn't know was that is is a higher end restaurant, with breakfast costing $25. We decided to treat ourselves in honor of two years since the day we met. And I have to say, it definitely was the most amazing breakfast I might have ever had. We started with fresh berries and yogurt, along with the most delicious coffee in the universe. Next was huevos rancheros. A nice small portion, everything perfectly balanced. Then came french toast and potatoes. OMG. Everything was made very fresh with local ingredients and lots of love. I enjoy every bite and feel so blessed on this morning as we look at the Grand Tetons through the window. Soft snowflakes begin to fall as we finish our meal.

We drive through Jackson, Snake River Canyon, my hometown of Star Valley, Bear Lake and Logan on the way back to Ogden. The Fall leaves are on fire with red and gold all the way home.

It was a glorious and sacred journey and I am incredibly grateful for this life and experiences that I am in the process of creating. I read a quote recently that talked about travel, and that when we travel, everything is new so we only see the beauty around us. That feels very true for me. Every day is such a gift.....

Captains Blog - The Black Hills - Part 2

Sunday, September 7
We sleep in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Convention Center and in the morning when Alex gets out of the van to walk Bailey, he comes back to tell me that there is a ceremony happening on the hillside behind the hotel. "I don't know what they're doing, but I know you will want to be there" he tells me.

I quickly brush my hair, throw on some clothes and follow the many people gathering near a large teepee as the sun is rising. There is a fire going in the middle of the gathering and all of the Grandmothers are arranged at one side, under an awning for shade.

Grandmother Aama Bombo from Nepal is sitting near the fire and a blessing ceremony is underway. She is dressed in her ceremonial clothing - long white robes and a head dress of colorful feathers. She is chanting and singing at the fire and an assistant holds a microphone near her so we can all hear. The ceremony lasts for almost two hours. I sit enchanted and held in the rhythm of her song. I watch as she goes further into a trance and is speaking a language I don't understand. But I know something very special is happening. I watch as she sings and dances and then the sacred water is produced and she goes around the circle of people (mostly women) and blesses everyone with drops of water and a beautiful song. She blesses each Grandmother and places a khata around each of their necks.

When it is over, I feel as though my soul has been blasted wide open. I am so honored to be a part of this gathering and can't believe I'm sitting here on a hillside in North Dakota.....the rest of the day I am so emotional and can't stop the tears from falling.

After saying a tearful goodbye to Grandmother Agnes and her daughter Nadine, Alex and I go and get breakfast in Spearfish and then head out to the Black Hills once more. We drive though Spearfish Canyon ~ one of the most beautiful drives ever....and we wind up at the Crazy Horse Memorial site. Such an incredible place. The grounds are beautiful and I loved the museum. The carving of Crazy Horse on his horse will be about 50 times larger than Mt. Rushmore when it is completed.We watch as a Native American man dances in full costume with his two sons and daughter. I am entranced by the story they tell as they move and sing. Afterwards the father says he would like to talk with me. We sit for a while and converse. He tells me about life on the reservation and he asks me what I'm doing there. "Are you a healer?" he asks. "I can see that you are on a sacred journey. You must visit Bear Butte - The most sacred Native American site in this area." I ask him where it is and he says with a smile "you will find it."

That night we camp in Custer State Park next to Sylvan Lake. It's beautiful and quiet there in a campground of about 20 sites. We build a fire and I make pasta in the van. Later we get out the drum and the rainstick and make music together as the flames burn into the night. We have a very restful sleep and in the morning I lounge in bed while Alex takes Bailey on a long walk around the lake.

Monday, September 8
We drive to Blue Bell Lodge and have the most memorable, delicious breakfast of the whole trip (for me, anyway). Home-made biscuits and gravy - so soft and flaky and the gravy is delicious and perfectly balanced. Over medium eggs with breakfast potatoes and hot coffee with cream and sugar. Oh yeah...

We spend the day driving through Custer State Park and loving it. We are more quiet and reflective today. We keep the stereo off as I drive, lost in thoughts of all that's happened over the last few days.

We end up in Rapid City at the end of the day and we're both starving. We walk around the downtown and enjoy the beautiful buildings and sweet shops. We sit outside and have a nice meal with delicious cold chardonnay. It's happy hour - two for one and since Alex doesn't drink, that means two for me :-)  We sit looking at the old hotel Alex Johnson across from us and wonder about its history. Our kind server fills us in on the fact that it is VERY haunted and tells us crazy stories of several people dying in room 812 over the years. Of course we have to go and check it out so we take the elevator to the 8th floor and stand in front of room 812. It feels creepy weird and cold and I don't want to stay too long....

We look at the map to see where Bear Butte is and we find out that it's not far away - just east of Sturgis, so we head in that direction. We cruise through Sturgis, famous for the motorcycle rallies that take place there, bringing thousands of people to this now quiet little town. We get to Bear Butte near sunset and marvel at the beautiful mountain in the middle of flat lands. It looks much like Devil's Tower but in miniature. It feels so calm and peaceful there with buffalo roaming around the base of the mountain. We decide that we will find a camp spot and come back in the morning to explore more.

It is the night of the full super moon and we sit outside at our campsite and are in absolute awe of the huge yellow light hanging in the sky, its reflection in the lake almost blinding us with brilliant, healing energy. We go to sleep with coyotes howling us into crazy cool dreams and wonderful insights....