On June 29th I flew to Baltimore to be with Kim and Richard for their wedding on June 30th. It was a beautiful and fun wedding in spite of the horrible storm that blew through on the 29th, knocking out power all over the mid-Atlantic. They made the best of it and had their garden wedding in spite of no power, 105 degree heat and 98% humidity!
I have two new nieces, one new nephew, and a GREAT new brother in law! Here are some pictures from the wedding weekend
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| The family dinner on Friday night - before the big storm! |
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| The new Zmuda-Taft Family: Richard, Kim, Eric, Matt, Mary, Anne, Scott |
Last week (for my birthday) we rode to Medora, North Dakota. Medora is in the North Dakota Badlands, and is where Theodore Roosevelt went after his wife and mother died. It's a beautiful area. Roosevelt got into cattle ranching in the area.
On the way up, it was 100 degrees - a really hot ride. After one stop, Mike discovered that his left brake caliper was hanging on by the brake line! He had just had the left fork replaced, and they hadn't tightened all of the bolts. We limped in to Buffalo, SD, where we found a small hardware store that had bolts, washers, and stuff that fit so that we could continue our trip!
On Tuesday night we went to the Pitchfork Fondue - they cook steaks on pitchforks in boiling oil. It was tasty, and the view of the town was spectacular. On Wednesday we rode through the Badlands - a really nice ride; and then toured the Chateau de Mores - a "hunting cabin" that the Marquis de Mores built in the town. He founded the town, and named it after his wife, Medora. Teddy Roosevelt hunted with them often, and word is she was a better shot than the Marquis!
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| The Chateau de Mores and Medora from the Pitchfork Fondue site |
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| Steaks on the pitchfork, ready to boil! |
On the way back to Hart Ranch we rode the Enchanted Highway. (Go to enchantedhighway.net for pictures of all of the sculptures). It's a nice two-lane road in the middle of North Dakota wheat fields with giant metal sculptures. It was amazing. The Fisherman's Dream sculpture was my favorite.
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| Mike is in the foreground - this thing is HUGE! |
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| Closeup of the fish getting the dragon fly |
It was a great ride and a fun three day trip!
