Elepent

The summer tourist season wound down, and the temperatures in the Black Hills dropped steadily.  We got ready to leave the Big Pine with the last of the summer campers, and seemed to run right into the real world as we left.  An early snowstorm sprinkled flakes over Custer as we headed south.  The snow and cold weather didn’t affect us much, but the accompanying windstorm certainly did!  As we rolled south past Hot Springs and into Wyoming, vicious winds ripping across the plains broadsided the Incorrigible, making it difficult to keep the vehicle in its lane.  This was merely annoying, until a particularly powerful gust tore our awning open. Continue reading

The historic part of downtown Rapid City is home to one obvious sight, and two you’ll have to go looking for.

As soon as you enter downtown, with its strip of antique stores and coffee shops lining Main and St. Joseph streets, you’ll see the “City of Presidents” exhibit, or at least some of it.  Life-size bronze statues of United States Presidents stand on every street corner.  This series of privately-funded sculptures adds four Presidents every year, two recent and two historical, with the final installation planned for next summer.  Created by local artists, the bronze Presidents present interesting photo opportunities, to say the least.

Not as obvious is Art Alley.  Located in the alley between Main and St. Joseph and bordered by Sixth and Seventh Streets, this outdoor art gallery started life as a bit of civil disobedience, when local artists began painting over the graffiti that marked the power poles.  The activity quickly spread, with original works being painted on the walls, canvases occasionally nailed up in the middle of the night, and elaborate collages being produced.  The popularity of the exhibit with local art students and tourists seems to have ensured its survival, and artists have demonstrated marvelous creativity in integrating the alley’s fixtures and features into their work. Graffiti and art combine in a landscape that’s just as entertaining as any museum. Continue reading

The Incorrigible’s our house, and who leaves their house alone?  Constant redecoration and upgrading are a part of having your own place.

After the mud of Michigan and Nashville followed by the dust of Austin and the sand of Baker (not to mention who knows how much dreck before we owned it), our Dolphin’s carpet was starting to look like it’d be more appropriate in a crackhouse than our house.

So, in a fit of pique one weekend, we ripped it out.  This was not an easy task, but this was no small fit of pique, either.  Removing an RV’s carpet requires, in addition to the usual carpet-pulling exertions, unbolting the furniture from the floor.  Our couch was held in place by eleven large bolts that go into the under-storage.  A lot of crawling around outside was required to negotiate them loose, but we were rewarded with a bare wood floor.

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