Dick and I have decided to take advantage of the warm days of January to take some mini road trips.  A week ago on Saturday we picked up Kabe and headed for the southern Black Hills.  We ate lunch at Rico’s in  Hill City–really good Mexican Food!, had a beer in Custer at my old stompin’ grounds (and I do mean old–like forty years ago) the Ore Car Saloon and then on to Hot Springs for a soak and hot sand room and finally back for dinner at Tally’s.  It was a blast!

This Saturday we got a much later start.  So we decided to try to make Devil’s Tower by sunset for a photo op.  We took Highway 24 west out of Belle Fourche past Aladdin.  We were so late that for the first time ever, we didn’t stop at the Aladdin General Store–that is an adventure in itself!  But we were on a mission.  Devil’s Tower by sunset or burst!  We started to see DT on the horizon about 10 miles away.  The sky had some orange and red streaks but we were worried they would be gone by the time we got there and they were.  So here we were, Devil’s Tower in front of us—grey and without sunset colors.  But it was Devil’s Tower nonetheless.  And Devil’s Tower no matter what is worthy of photos.  So Dick jumped out of the car and took a shot from the south east side. Then we went into the Monument and stopped on the south side.  Dick, Zig (the wonder dog) and I got out and climbed up a hill to get a better shot.  Zig and I went back to the car.  Dick took a bunch more photos and came back to the car.  When he got there he knocked hard on the window I  looked up, he pointed back at the Tower.  Where it had been lackluster and gray, it suddenly and I mean suddenly was lit with a golden blazing light!  It was as if Hollywood were doing a sequel to “Encounters of the Third Kind” and had decided the Tower should be high noon bright!  But here was the odd–or odder–part.  Only Devil’s Tower was lit.  Everywhere else was still grey.  Dick raced back up the hill we had just climbed to get closer shots.  I stayed with the car and tried to figure out where the light source was coming from.  There should have been a trail of light or a path leading to Devil’s Tower but there wasn’t light anywhere but directly on the Tower.  Dick came running down the hill and moved a little further to the south west and began to climb that hill to get more shots. As he cleared the first rise, he saw a large rock split in his sight line.  If he could get there in time, he could get a shot of the Tower through it that would be spectacular. He moved up the hill as fast as he could.  He could feel the light fading.  He moved faster and really thought he would make it in time.  Just as he got to the perfect spot for the shot, the Tower dimmed.  Close but no banana.  Still, the shots he got were amazing and the contrast of the BG (before glow) and AF (after glow) were stunning.  I have seen Devil’s Tower many many times, often at sunset, but I have never seen anything like this.  I doubt I ever will again.

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The Summer Reading Program for 2012 is gearing up. “Dream Big @ Your Library” is the theme. I am starting to think of the script for the summer and starting to book puppet show. Montana is first. June 19- July 2nd. I always get excited about being on the road in awesome country!

There will be a three headed dragon in the new show, Dragon Stories.  I am interested to know how their personalities will develop.  I am usually one of the last to know.  But I have been dreaming about them so they should “find their voices” soon.

“Dragon Stories, One World–Many Stories” is coming together.  Zed the Dragon is having his 500th birthday (just a kid in dragon years) and Estelle the Mouse, his best friend want it to be the best ever.  Dragons stories from around the world are on the docket for entertainment.  I am so amazed at how rich the various dragon cultures are.  This has been a fun show to research.

The new show is coming together!  DRAGON STORIES is the new Summer Reading Program show.  It is a lot of fun to have so many dragons in one show!  I think it is going to be fun!  I have been researching dragons from around the world.  There are lots of interesting facts about dragons.  Did you know that five toed dragons in China are royalty?  And four toes are upper class.  But three toed dragons (Like all of the Dragons Are Too Seldom dragons) are commoners?  Who knew?  I guess I can quit waiting for my royal title to come in the mail.  Oh well……

I am back in Bozeman. I have finished my big two days for the first round. Monday I did a show in Boulder MT and stayed the night at the Boulder Hot Springs Resort. Then on to Helena Public Library. That show is always so much fun! and Constance(librarian) is great! Then to East Helena Library. They are a week away from moving to a brand new building. Diane is so enthusiastic and the show was really fun. It started to rain hard as I loaded up my show and drove down to Clancy. We were in a big tin building. The beginning of the show (The Great Water Rescue II) Is about a valley that has no rain. As I was talking about this it began to really rain. The raindrops were hitting the roof with great force. The line is “It did not rain. And still it didn’t rain”. All the while the rain is slamming down on the roof. Talk about “willing suspension of disbelief”! This was Tuesday. I stayed in Helena that night and left for Augusta MT. I go a late start and thought I would get gas in Wolf Creek. No gas there and no place to get gas for the next 40 miles. I arrived in Augusta on fumes. The show is Augusta was great! A little boy who had impressed me with his wisdom (He was 4) last year was back. I asked him if he remembered our conversation. He said “No. I was only 4 last year.” Susan bought me lunch–The best hamburger in the world! It was too, even though I had to eat it on the road to Lincoln. Lincoln has a new community room. It is really nice. Good audience. Then on to Cascade for a 7:00 show. That show is really a kick! All six shows were really really fun and I seemed to survive in great shape. I drove back to Bozeman–made it by 11:00 and went down to see Lang’s studio. What a great space. Today I have off. Tomorrow, Whitehall then home for 4 days.

6/14/2010 OK vacation is over. I had three days off after only two shows but I am back on the road. I left Bozeman this morning bright and early hoping to have time to investigate the Boulder Hot Springs Resort. I saw an add for it and it seemed like an adventure waiting to happen. So off I went. I remembered a short cut off the Interstate that would get me there quicker–if I could just remember what exit to take. I got to an exit that looked right. And headed off towards what I hoped was Boulder. It didn’t look familiar but there was a sign that said Boulder 25 miles. So all was well, until I hit gravel. I was beginning to think I had somehow missed a turn when the gravel road with no speed limit had a “Reduce Speed farm machinery entering” sign. Sure enough there was a large farm operation. I debated but decided to stop and ask directions. “Yes,” the lady said. “This road goes to Boulder but it’s gravel the whole way. Go Slow” She was right on both counts. I later found out the road I was really looking for was under construction and would have taken twice the normal time. The show was great fun! Lots of kids and lots of laughs. Afterward I headed the 3.5 miles south of Boulder to the Hot Springs Resort. It is cool! The buildings are big and very last century. The rooms are great. Mine has a 1/2 bath but there is a place to take a shower downstairs. The indoor bathing rooms are segregated-men’s and women’s–bathing suits optional. The outside one is co-ed. The women’s has a hot tub (104-106), a cooler pool and a steam room. I am headed there now.

6/13/10  Sunday in Bozeman.  This is a strange schedule.  I must talk to my book manager about feast or famine.  I had one show in Havre Mt on Thursday, one in Cut Bank MT on Friday and the next one will be in Boulder Mt on Monday.  Tuesday and Wednesday have three shows a day each-all in different towns.  But if I am going to have three days off I am so glad it gets to be in Bozeman with Lang.  We had Cajun food for lunch then climbed Pete’s Hill.  I made it all the way—with a few stops to admire the view.  It is a trail in Bozeman going up a hill by the library. What a spectacular city Bozeman is!  There has been LOTS of rain so it is green and beautiful. We took a drive to Paradise Valley via the back roads.  Lang and Dick and I had tried to take it once before but somehow missed the turn.  This time we got to see it.    Coffee in Livingston then the art walk in Bozeman.  The many art galleries downtown open their doors on a Friday night and invite the public for wine and cheese and art.  It was great.  We, of course, stopped at Attitudes which has two Termespheres hanging in their front windows.  Then we went to the Emerson (the art center) for Dinner.  It was lovely and delicious.  It is however, the first time I have had baked eggs on pizza.  Saturday we went to the Leonardo exhibit at the Museum of the Rockies.  They have built the inventions Leonardo wrote about in the 14 hundreds.  We got to play with them. What a kick!  I was hoping they would have put together a camera obscura like the one at the Cliff House in San Francisco but they opted for the forerunner of the tank—which was awesome.

6/8/10—as remembered 6/10/10

Summer Reading Tour has begun.  Every year it seems there is a life time until I start my summer reading tour.  And every year it jumps up and bites me.  This year was more intense because there was a new tobacco prevention in May.  Then I revised another show for Summer Reading.  It has been an intense couple of months but I am ON THE ROAD AGAIN! I left Spearfish on Tuesday.  I was supposed to go at noon but as always happens tome before a road trip.  There were many more things that needed to be done than I thought.  I was finally ready to go to Havre MT about 1:00—a mere 520 miles north and west.  That’s when I realized I had lost the power cord to my computer.  The battery life on this computer when fully charged is 39 minutes.  We began the search.  It was a good thing because I picked up about a dozen things I had forgotten to pack but no cord.  I finally gave up the search about 2:30 and headed out.  But I decided to stop at Radio Shack to see what they had.  They had a power cord for 80 bucks.  Being caught between a rock and a hard place, I bought the cord and was on the road by 3:15.  One should not start a very long road trip at 3:15.  But I had audio books and I need to go over the show—several times so what the heck?  In Billings I missed the turn and headed back toward Spearfish for about 40 miles before realizing my mistake and turning around.  All things being equal and the same, I got into Havre at 1:00.  I could have been worse.  I slept very well and the show was a blast. I am in Cut Bank—the wind mill capital of Montana now with a show this afternoon at 3:00.  Then on to Bozeman.  I do love the road!

I am in Lusk Wyoming.  I had a show at the library last night.  What fun!  The room is upstairs and rather small.  Yesterday we returned to winter.  It  was snowing and the wind was howling.  I was a little worried about the roads but they were only a little dicey at the beginning and end of the trip.  The show was scheduled for 6:30 and the folks started arriving about 10 after.  And they just kept coming.  The room filled up quickly.  They estimated about 75 kids and maybe 20-25 adults.  The audience I get in Lusk is wonderful!  The show, The Tall Tale of Matty Bow was very well received.  I am not going home first thing this morning because I want to stop at the museum  (it opens at 10:00) and find out about Mother Featherlegs. She was a madam who made a lot of money in town and was murdered.  They have erected a monument to her outside of town. I will write more when I know more.

I am amazed how fast the time goes.  It is getting closer to summer than I can imagine.  Although I will be glad to see the snow go.  But I am in the middle of booking for the Summer Reading Program in the libraries.  The year’s theme is “Make a Splash @ the Library”.  And I so happen to have a show–THE GREAT WATER RESCUE II.  That fits the theme perfectly.  So, come June, it is off to libraries from Montana to New Mexico and Wyoming to South Dakota.  I love being on the road–seeing new sights and getting to entertain family audiences.  Today I will update my calendar so that I know where I am going and why.

The shows in Webster were wonderful fun.  One show in the Elementary School and one in the Home and Sports show for the Chamber.  Good audiences.  I have been having a little trouble with tendinitis.  By the end of the first show, my left hand was hard to move.  I knew it would heal but I was worried that my puppets would seem like they had tooth aches for the night show.  I arrived for the night show early and decided to walk around and look at the booths.  One of the booths was called “Legends of Africa” .   The lady at the booth, I believe, was  from Kenya.  And she had a salve that she said offered instant relief.  It didn’t stop the pain but I did make it through the show HOORAY!  I was looking at her card later and her name is Wanja Schultz.  We do live in a well connected world.