Gigantic Sculptures

The last time I visited the site of the in-progress sculpture of Crazy Horse was in the 1950's and only the top of the arm was done. Now they have finished the face and blasted away much of the rock in front of the horse. The white mock-up in the foreground is 1/34th size. The actual sculpture is in the background.

The head is 87 1/2 feet high and the flat area for the top of the arm is 263 feet long.

The heavy equipment next to the chin gives an idea of the size of the sculpture.

After seeing Crazy Horse Bill thought the heads at Mount Rushmore were surprisingly small and indeed Washington's face is only 60 feet tall. Still, he has a 21 foot nose, no small matter.

Stopping in Wyoming

We decided to break our drive from Billings to Spearfish, South Dakota with a stop in Sheridan, Wyoming. We stayed for two nights at a lovely log home B & B high in the hills overlooking the entire valley. The weather was warm and we had our breakfasts on the deck.


On one morning hike we startled three white-tailed deer. This one has her white flag or tail flying and it is easy to see how they got their name.

We couldn't pass through Sheridan without a stop at the Sheridan Inn. The inn is no longer open for lodging as it was when we used to stay there in the 50's and early 60's but we could still have a meal and they still serve platters of French fried onion rings.

Savoring Montana

Years ago my father purchased two mission bells somewhere in the Southwest. He mounted them on a wooden frame and when it was meal time my mother or one of us children would ring the bells to call the others home. It was so much nicer than standing at the back door and hollering. Today the bells reside on the Russell Ranch in Limestone, Montana. Herb Russell has mounted the smaller of the two on the back gate where it can be used to call the hands to meals.

Bill and I and my sister, Sandy, spent several days basking in the warmth and love of the Russell family. Here is Herb Russell, right, and his son, Mike.

In this photo we are heading out and saying good-bye to Susie Russell next to me, her daughter Kate, then Herb, and Sandy on the far right.

Too Much of a Good Thing

This is the view of Sisters Peaks from the yard in Sisters. The second day of our visit I sat in the right-hand chair and read for several hours not thinking that the September sun might be burning my face and arms. While I read two of the young peahens came and lay beside me in the shade of the chairs. It was such a restful peaceful afternoon.

These are autumn iris cut fresh from Nancy's garden.

This magnificent fellow also visited my reading area but was more standoffish than the females.

I rewarded my new friends with bits of bread.

Visitng in Oregon

The two of us are currently on an autumn journey to visit family and friends. We stopped first in Eugene to see Gavin whom we hadn't seen since early December of 2007.

After spending a couple of days in beautiful sunny Eugene which was gorgeous with flowers everywhere we drove to Sisters, Oregon to see friends Chuck and Nancy. We opted for the scenic drive through the forest and got this view of Sisters Peaks.

Nancy has all sorts of livestock both domestic and wild. In the early morning I caught her feeding her peacocks and peahens. She currently has eleven adults and seven youngsters

Mother mule deer and her youngster came in to have some corn. The deer come so often that Nancy has named them all. Eyelash is the mother's name.