Getting ready for Christmas and COLD!

Right on a main street! 

It was a cold and sunny day. How’s that for a opening line? Beats "It was a dark and stormy night..." And it was sunny- and cold. The house was cold, the car was cold, the rear wiper squealed in protest. Yep, it’s -2 degrees. So let’s get up and leave the space heater and head to the clinic. Great morning for a drive.

The act of scraping the snow was not just for visibility back East. Those chunks of heavy snow and ice flying off your car could take out the windshield of the guy behind you.  Or crash off your roof and require him to swerve to miss the mess.  Here, I use my “Ice Breaker” scraper and it’s teeth make little hash marks across my windows of glittering stars. Tiny ice crystals and fluffy dry feathers float behind me in a wake of fluff. Driving behind a truck is like a schuss down a powder run- it all sails past in a jet stream of glitter. ahh.... western snow. Cold....but it’s a dry cold.

I’m late of course, up before dawn but a book draws me in. Kathleen Norris knows these prairies, this cold. These small Dakota towns. And loves them.  Me too. I hurry through my little town and race down the raod to the next one. The one with the hospital.

That IS the doctor's car... rural road warriors and clearly not driving in fresh powder today!

The clinic is in the hospital. And these are the cars of the parking lot. A pickup truck feels right at home here. Especially a dirty one. Road construction. Gravel roads. dust. even in winter.

I meet with my friendly small town doctor who always seems to have an answer for my ‘don’t
mess with me, I read the internet” questions. She's thorough- signs me up for physical therapy for my aching low back, tests me for stomach bacteria just in case my constant sore tummy has an ulcer and tells me that normal for Vitamin D is 32-100; my level is 13.  Could explain a few things. Like needing to go to Arizona this winter!

This truck needs to go south.... to a car wash.

I have 30 minutes until my test result are ready ( I was ready to be wildly impressed but the doctor got busy- ahh... that feels normal!) . So I wander Custer, SD. Of all the jerks that conquered the west, Custer has to be near the top. Possibly Harney was worse; Custer was incompetent, Harney was a butcher. Read up on your American history. So Custer gets a state park and a town while Harney gets the highest point of land between the Rockies and the Pyrenees. If I were a native, I’d protest.

But it is a nice little town. It has my new favorite grocery store- hey, they got ginger Kimbucha like I asked! And  chocolate covered havla - wow, is that kosher or hallel? Who cares? I’m not Jewish or Muslim- just love middle eastern sweets. And those chewy ginger candies, AND Amy’s Organics. High prices but let’s support local bookstores and grocery stores!  Next time I may try buffalo with cranberries- modern pemican.

And across the street is a great gallery- turns out the gal working there is a Christian and we a great conversation. She steered me to a Benedictine monastary in Arizona and I buy her fabulous watercolors. A new friend! A good day.

No test results yet. Back to Hill City- all decked out in Christimas finery. Check it out!

Very proud of the 1860 train

X

I talk to Abby- and walk around the lake. This is reallly such a pretty place. WITH cell coverage! :)

Major Lake- haven't found Minor yet....

And, hey, 

it’s a heat wave. It’s 21 degrees!

Wilbur's Uncle Scrooge!

So... Merry Christmas!