Its no surprise that I hate winter in South Dakota and I do find myself complaining about it. A lot. But I have to remind myself that there really is a lot to love about this state too. Here is my top 10 list, in no particular order:
1. Mt Rushmore. It really is an impressive masterpiece.
2. Crazy Horse. Will be avery impressive masterpiece once it's finished but is also very cool to see while in the process of being completed.
3. The Badlands. Awe inspiring and breathtakingly beautiful. God did good when he made them.
4. Spearfish Canyon. It's like another world all of its own nestled within the Black Hills. Hiking to the various waterfalls is quite enjoyable.
5. Custer State Park. The Cathedral Spires, Needles, Scenic Needles highway and, of course, the free roaming buffalo are spectacular.
6. Harney Peak. You feel on top of the world. Or at least on top of the Black Hills.
7. The Corn Palace. Come on, it's made of CORN. 12 different colors!
8. Wind Cave National Park. One of the oldest National Parks and largest natural caves.
9. The Black Hills. (In general). There is a beautiful scenic drive along interstate 385 from Custer all the way to Spearfish that is winding roads, gorgeous lakes and rich evergreen trees. And they're almost majestic looking from the foothills in Rapid City.
10. Wall Drug. Need I say more?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
An Idiots Guide to Living in South Dakota
Just a few things I've learned in the past 10 months...
1. There are only 2 seasons: Mild and Bitterly Cold. Please dress appropriately.
2. On a typical day the wind blows 30mph. During the winter (6 months out of the year) the wind blows 60+mph. Out of the north.
3. No need to buy a gym membership when you can shovel your driveway/sidewalks an hour a day 3-5 days a week.
4. It is perfectly acceptable to put "yet" or "then" at the end of a sentence. Any sentence.
5. Hockey is the only recognized religion.
6. Don't talk to the drunk Indians.
7. In case you didn't see it on the driver's licenses, licenses plates, quarter, street signs, 500 billboards, etc Mt Rushmore is in South Dakota!!
8. Winterize your sprinkler system BEFORE October 1st. (For you Southerners you have to blow the water out of your sprinkler systems and completely shut them down before winter so the pipes don't burst)
9. If it's January and 40 degrees, that's called a heat wave.
10. If you don't own a Harley or a Snowmobile you better start looking. Or find a friend that does.
11. During the winter months don't bother filling your fridge with drinks, just keep 'em out on the deck. They'll stay cold.
12. Snow Day=Blizzard. No exception.
13. Space heaters can be your best friend.
14. A "Wind Chill Warning" means that you can get frostbite if outside for more than 20 minutes.
15. MMMM...Buffalo...the other red meat
I'm sure I can add more to this one later (then).
1. There are only 2 seasons: Mild and Bitterly Cold. Please dress appropriately.
2. On a typical day the wind blows 30mph. During the winter (6 months out of the year) the wind blows 60+mph. Out of the north.
3. No need to buy a gym membership when you can shovel your driveway/sidewalks an hour a day 3-5 days a week.
4. It is perfectly acceptable to put "yet" or "then" at the end of a sentence. Any sentence.
5. Hockey is the only recognized religion.
6. Don't talk to the drunk Indians.
7. In case you didn't see it on the driver's licenses, licenses plates, quarter, street signs, 500 billboards, etc Mt Rushmore is in South Dakota!!
8. Winterize your sprinkler system BEFORE October 1st. (For you Southerners you have to blow the water out of your sprinkler systems and completely shut them down before winter so the pipes don't burst)
9. If it's January and 40 degrees, that's called a heat wave.
10. If you don't own a Harley or a Snowmobile you better start looking. Or find a friend that does.
11. During the winter months don't bother filling your fridge with drinks, just keep 'em out on the deck. They'll stay cold.
12. Snow Day=Blizzard. No exception.
13. Space heaters can be your best friend.
14. A "Wind Chill Warning" means that you can get frostbite if outside for more than 20 minutes.
15. MMMM...Buffalo...the other red meat
I'm sure I can add more to this one later (then).
Friday, February 5, 2010
January Update...only 5 days late
I'm not doing too bad at my New Years resolution to update the blog at least on a monthly basis. I'm only 5 days late :)
January was a whirl wind month! We spent New Years here in Rapid City with friends, both returned back to work and before we knew it January 17 or Deployment Day was upon us. The week of deployment was pretty stressful. Lots to do, pack and make sure we had done. Todd traveled from South Dakota to Maine to Germany to Kuait to their final destination in "Southwest Asia". It's been just about 3 weeks since he left and it's definitely taken some getting used to but I'm managing. Work keeps me busy as does marathon training, the dogs and the frequent social 'events' that the squadron organizes. Other than deployment, not a whole lot happened in January.
February brings the Austin marathon February 14 where I'll travel to Texas for 4 days to see family, hopefully a few friends and run another marathon. This one will be quite different since Todd wont be there and I've never run one completely by myself.
I'm also having 2 of my major projects that I'd like to get done while Todd is gone completed starting next week- finishing our garage and painting the inside of our house. The garage will be insulated, sheet rocked and painted which will be HUGE for the frigid winters up here! I know it's a cop-out that I'm not doing the interior painting by myself but painting is just really not something that I want to do. I have no motivation to tape, move furniture, drag out all the stuff and paint over 2,000 square feet of house from top to bottom. And I figure I work hard, we're getting some nice bonuses for deployment and tax return is headed our way so we can afford it. I'm REALLy looking forward to the non-white out looking walls we have now. The other big project that I'd like to get done is re-carpeting the upstairs but we'll see when that gets done. I'd also like to do some little things like add knobs to cabinets and change the door hardware. I think it would be nice to get our punch list of home repairs done before Todd gets home so that we can just enjoy life when he gets back.
The weather up here continues to be depressing- cold and snowy often. I've found that shoveling snow has come to be one of my least favorite chores to do and I find myself being being very jealous of my neighbors with their spiffy gas snow blowers. I think I'll write a book entitled "101 things they should tell you before moving to South Dakota". There might not be 101 things but maybe I'll blog about a few of them sometime.
Well that's all I have for January!
January was a whirl wind month! We spent New Years here in Rapid City with friends, both returned back to work and before we knew it January 17 or Deployment Day was upon us. The week of deployment was pretty stressful. Lots to do, pack and make sure we had done. Todd traveled from South Dakota to Maine to Germany to Kuait to their final destination in "Southwest Asia". It's been just about 3 weeks since he left and it's definitely taken some getting used to but I'm managing. Work keeps me busy as does marathon training, the dogs and the frequent social 'events' that the squadron organizes. Other than deployment, not a whole lot happened in January.
February brings the Austin marathon February 14 where I'll travel to Texas for 4 days to see family, hopefully a few friends and run another marathon. This one will be quite different since Todd wont be there and I've never run one completely by myself.
I'm also having 2 of my major projects that I'd like to get done while Todd is gone completed starting next week- finishing our garage and painting the inside of our house. The garage will be insulated, sheet rocked and painted which will be HUGE for the frigid winters up here! I know it's a cop-out that I'm not doing the interior painting by myself but painting is just really not something that I want to do. I have no motivation to tape, move furniture, drag out all the stuff and paint over 2,000 square feet of house from top to bottom. And I figure I work hard, we're getting some nice bonuses for deployment and tax return is headed our way so we can afford it. I'm REALLy looking forward to the non-white out looking walls we have now. The other big project that I'd like to get done is re-carpeting the upstairs but we'll see when that gets done. I'd also like to do some little things like add knobs to cabinets and change the door hardware. I think it would be nice to get our punch list of home repairs done before Todd gets home so that we can just enjoy life when he gets back.
The weather up here continues to be depressing- cold and snowy often. I've found that shoveling snow has come to be one of my least favorite chores to do and I find myself being being very jealous of my neighbors with their spiffy gas snow blowers. I think I'll write a book entitled "101 things they should tell you before moving to South Dakota". There might not be 101 things but maybe I'll blog about a few of them sometime.
Well that's all I have for January!
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