First off, I made it to The DX Ranch! No complications whatsoever.
I woke up around 7 this morning and went to see Mount Rushmore (this being my third time). And boy was it beautiful. In the past I've been there in the summer when all the tourists are there. Today, there was absolutely no one around. And it was all covered in a blanket of fresh snow. A wonderful treat in the beginning of May, even if it is supposed to get warmer.
After that I headed northeast. I went up through Rapid City and took I-90 east. And of course, I had to stop at Wall Drug. If you don't know what Wall Drug is, it's basically this giant western store that sells everything you could ever imagine and it is just one of those stops you HAVE to make in South Dakota. This was my third time, so I should know. Of course, it's just a tourist trap all throughout the year, but it is totally worth it.
After that I headed north on some backgrounds. For a long while, I had no service and there were no cars in front of me, and no cars behind me. Just me and the Dixie Chicks. It was an adventure and when I did have service I was on the phone with my dad.
Once I got to my turnoff, about 40 miles east of Eagle Butte on highway 212, it started to get a little weary. The road was dirt and I had about 9 miles to drive. Since they had a big storm this weekend, the road was kinda iffy at first. I took a stab at it and made it through with a little 4x4 help. A 2wd would not have made it. There were several points in the drive where I thought I was going to go off the road due to how much mud pulled me to one side or the other.
And then my windshield wiper broke, but that's a different story.
Once I reached the ranch in the late afternoon, I was greeted with happy faces and tons of moving boxes. The Ducheneaux's have build a new house for themselves, in their huge barn. While it's waiting to be completely done, they have been staying where us interns are supposed to be. So today mostly consisted of helping them move stuff from the one house to the other, which really wasn't all that bad. Their new house is going to be absolutely amazing and it is already beautiful.
After that, I got to bottle feed some calves. Now, I know this may not be a big deal to some people, but when you're a country girl at heart from the city and have never bottle fed a calf, you get pretty excited. I couldn't help being overly enthusiastic about it.
Once back at the house, Jenn cooked dinner: sweedish meatballs, pasta, and asparagus. It was fenomenal.
Now it is time to hit the hay before an early wake-up call.
I woke up around 7 this morning and went to see Mount Rushmore (this being my third time). And boy was it beautiful. In the past I've been there in the summer when all the tourists are there. Today, there was absolutely no one around. And it was all covered in a blanket of fresh snow. A wonderful treat in the beginning of May, even if it is supposed to get warmer.
After that I headed northeast. I went up through Rapid City and took I-90 east. And of course, I had to stop at Wall Drug. If you don't know what Wall Drug is, it's basically this giant western store that sells everything you could ever imagine and it is just one of those stops you HAVE to make in South Dakota. This was my third time, so I should know. Of course, it's just a tourist trap all throughout the year, but it is totally worth it.
After that I headed north on some backgrounds. For a long while, I had no service and there were no cars in front of me, and no cars behind me. Just me and the Dixie Chicks. It was an adventure and when I did have service I was on the phone with my dad.
Once I got to my turnoff, about 40 miles east of Eagle Butte on highway 212, it started to get a little weary. The road was dirt and I had about 9 miles to drive. Since they had a big storm this weekend, the road was kinda iffy at first. I took a stab at it and made it through with a little 4x4 help. A 2wd would not have made it. There were several points in the drive where I thought I was going to go off the road due to how much mud pulled me to one side or the other.
And then my windshield wiper broke, but that's a different story.
Once I reached the ranch in the late afternoon, I was greeted with happy faces and tons of moving boxes. The Ducheneaux's have build a new house for themselves, in their huge barn. While it's waiting to be completely done, they have been staying where us interns are supposed to be. So today mostly consisted of helping them move stuff from the one house to the other, which really wasn't all that bad. Their new house is going to be absolutely amazing and it is already beautiful.
After that, I got to bottle feed some calves. Now, I know this may not be a big deal to some people, but when you're a country girl at heart from the city and have never bottle fed a calf, you get pretty excited. I couldn't help being overly enthusiastic about it.
Once back at the house, Jenn cooked dinner: sweedish meatballs, pasta, and asparagus. It was fenomenal.
Now it is time to hit the hay before an early wake-up call.