by Paulette
Saturday Feb. 7, 2009
Morning started with a PQ run/hike and slide on critter trails near our house. There is still a lot of snow and ice. Randy, Gary H., Jason, Paulette and Tito were there. Tito(4 legged) threw up a couple times. Must be the excitment of his new younger sibbling that will join us when she gets bigger. We welcomed the friendly temperatures. We were out 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Paulette had enough time to stop at home, eat and pack camping gear. Paulette and Karrie met at 1430 to find a campsite and pitch tents in the area of Alkali Creek. We didn't need the campground ! Not when we can pitch tents on high ridges.
At 1600, Paulette, Gary H., Gary M., and Karrie (I'm trying to spell her name correctly but she tells me she had it wrong for a while until she got her birth certifiacte, so I won't feel too bad) were present at the Alkali Creek area, near Ft. Meade. Gary has trained and tested many officer candidates for navigation here. We began in daylight and finished in moonlight. It was grand ! We found all the markers and didn't get lost ! We used topo maps, landmarks such as the moon, the bright planet in the west and the bright star in the east.
Gary & Gary drove home. There was peppermint schnapps, a hike/run and a full moon until 2200 for Karrie and Paulette. Life doesn't get much better than this ! We climbed into our tents at 2200. I was a little worried when I saw frost on the inside and outside of my tent and on my bag when I climbed in. I cinched up my mummy bag, leaving a breathing hole and slept well. Karrie is a new camper and used borrowed gear. She managed to stay warm in the fetal position. At night the noises change to sounds of the wildlife such as cats, hooves, and coyotes.
Sunday Feb. 8, 2009
We awoke in our tents to a beautiful sunrise. We hiked/ran for 2 1/2 hours. Again, we enjoyed warm temperatures. We checked out the spot where I have found fossils in the past. So interesting to find these in the prairie at elevations of about 3500 feet. It was interesting to navigate the same areas from last night in the daylight. Working up a sweat is not as worrisome when one can get into a warm car to drive home.
Randy will be one of the last persons Gary Miller sees in SD when he takes him to the airport tomorrow morning. Lucky guy! Gary will be in Iraq soon. I'll be thinking of him, and again, talking to him throught the wonders of e-mail. He has been immensly helpful sharing his friendship, knowledge and experience with navigation, web training and support. I'll miss him and look forward to seeing him back in Rapid City in a year.
"Merci Beaucoup and Au Revoir Gary"
Paulette
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1 comment:
Just thought I'd let you know someone is reading this. Thanks for the kind words, and the friendship. I really appreciate it. You don't realize how important friends really are until you really need them. Thanks for being there for me!
As for the team, GO South Dakota! I'm so proud of you guys, I just know you are going to finish this race. I only wish I could be here to celebrate with you. Guess that will have to wait till I return from the big beach. Till then, "Via con Dios!
Floppy
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