Christmas in the Cabin

We had a great week in the cabin this year.  Everyone came up on Christmas day, it was so wonderful to have the whole family together again! SO HAPPY!

Happy 2018 everyone!

All of the stockings - with one new one this year for Mila!

Our traditional picture with the grandkids on the stairs

Jake gave Taylor his first set of clubs - which were PawPaw's first set of clubs! So proud of Jake!

Georgia - October 2017

We got back on the 7th - we pushed it so we'd get in ahead of Hurricane Nate. We didn't want to get stuck in the mud trying to get backed in!

We've been having a great time since we got back:

Great day for a ride - and lunch in Helen!

Mike extended the deck

At the Dawsonville Tavern - Mila got to come but Nate had Guard duty

Taylor stayed with us for the weekend and got to take a little ride

The Gaines boys

Getting backed in to the spot

Nate and Mila October 21, 2017

This past weekend was Nate and Mila's wedding party - Angie and Scott rented party boats and we had a great time out on Lake Lanier.  It was a beautiful day and so much fun!

Summer 2017

We've had a great summer, and can't believe it's almost Labor Day weekend!!   We've had a few camping trips, and lots of rides.   It's been nice to get back out there after being laid up April/May/June with my foot.

Sally and I had a girls day, and visited Bear Country.  The baby bears are so cute!!  They were all lined up on a log.

Last week we camped in Spearfish and took a ride through Spearfish canyon.  We hiked to Spearfish Falls and had a picnic.   We also went to the Sanford Lab visitor center in Lead and saw the new LUX display.  They had just brought it up from 4300 feet below the surface.  Very interesting.

We also went to the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming for a camping trip, and stayed local at the Palmer Gulch KOA right by Mt. Rushmore for another trip.  We love our camping trips!

Our campsite from our Bighorn camping trip in July

Riding in the Bighorn Mountains

Our Campsite in the Bighorns - great spot!

The baby bears at Bear Country - so Cute!

Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming

Well, my foot is healed, I'm done with PT, so we're back on the bikes!   Last week we had a little camping trip at the Mt. Rushmore KOA - which was really relaxing because we didn't go far and we didn't do anything.

This week, we left on Tuesday and rode to Buffalo, Wyoming.  We stayed at the Deer Park Campground and had a great, shady site.   On Wednesday we rode 300+ miles in a loop through the Bighorns.  We went from Buffalo to Sheridan, took 14 to Greybull, then took 16 through Worland, Ten Sleep and back to Buffalo.   On 16 in the upper elevations it was actually chilly.   In Worland it was 90 degrees, but up top it was in the 60's.  

Stunning scenery and a great trip!!

From Steak one nite to Hot Dogs the next!

Oh My Broken Foot!

Three weeks ago I was sick, and fainted in the bathroom during the night.  I hurt my foot, but didn't think it was more than a sprain.  A week and a half later, it was still swollen and hurting, so I went to the urgent care in Dawsonville.  They X-rayed it and told me I had probably just pulled some tendons, and to ice it, but keep exercising it so the tendons wouldn't shrink up.

The following Sunday, we got on the road to head back to South Dakota.  On Monday, the Dawsonville urgent care called me to say they had reviewed the X-rays, and my foot was in fact broken.  They told me to stay off of it (right, we're traveling), and get it checked asap.

We arrived at Hart Ranch on Saturday the 18th, and on Monday the 20th, I went to urgent care here in Rapid.  I got more X-rays, and was immediately referred to an Orthopedic surgeon.  He said I needed immediate surgery to put screws in - it's called a Lisfranc fracture, and if it went untreated could cause debilitating damage, arthritis, and trouble in the future. It's right at the arch, in between the big toe and the next toe.

On Tuesday the 21st I had the surgery, and have to be in a cast with NO WEIGHT ON IT for 6 to 8 weeks.   I have a walker and crutches.  I was supposed to start work this week, but will start next week instead.

Mike built me a ramp in the camper today so I can get into the bedroom and bathroom with my walker - trying the steps with the crutches was just too scary.

Here are some pictures - one of my foot with the screws, and the other of the ramp that Mike built.  I'll keep you posted on the progress of my recovery.

SNOW!

They've been predicting it, and last night it did.  They said 1 to 3 inches, and we got about 3 inches.  The governor declared a state of emergency on Thursday, and all the roads are an icy mess.  Lots of wrecks on the interstates because people insist on driving on the ice.  It's really pretty, but I don't want to be out in it.
 
It's not going to get above freezing today, so it doesn't look like we'll be able to go anywhere tomorrow either.  And since Freeman Road is mostly shaded - and we're so rural they won't be treating it, we probably won't get out Monday.   Luckily we have football today and tomorrow!!

The fire pit is closed today!

No basketball either

It's a pretty, sunny day

This is what it looked like first thing this morning