Well it had been a long time since I'd spent any real amount of time in RC, but it was good to go back there.
During Desert Storm, we were stationed at Ellsworth AFB. The kids were "Patriots" at DHS, and Bo was a Carousel graduate.
We drove up to the dinosaurs, listened to thunder roll across the plains, visited Wall Drug, spent time in the Badlands, went climbing and camping, and had a blast with our friends assigned there with us. Folks don't have any idea how much South Dakota has to offer for family living and tourism, but I can tell you from a personal point of view, it really is a pretty cool place to raise kids.
It's also a fun stop when you're visiting firehouses on a national tour. We had a lot of laughs with the local heroes of the main fire house in Rapid City.
They were also helpful ... they taught Rookie about fire safety ... much to his chagrin. But we seriously doubt that he will play with bottle rockets again! Thought he was gonna launch for a minute, or two. Remember, these are highly trained professionals, and we do not EVER recommend you try to duplicate any of Rookie's "stunts".
And kids, Rookie volunteered for this duty, and loves his work. He is a little Super Hero who has special powers which make him impervious to pain. Kids feel pain ... Stuffed animals do not.
Our RC friends also have an ornery sense of humor. We sent our camera behind closed doors so they could download the photos we had taken at this stop. We came away with an extra shot of a couple unidentifiable characters with big dimples, and cheeky grins. Goofballs! lol
We also enjoyed their tour of the station which included telling us some of their history and talking about their awards and honors. They have some true bragging rights, and every reason to be proud.
They were also very generous to make sure we had a great nights stay with an outstanding view of the park below at the Rapid City Rushmore Inn. This is the park where I remember the kids being so much younger. And from our window I could see the very spot where one of my all time favorite photos of them was taken.
From the Chief to the the Rookie ... every member of the RCFD was friendly, helpful, and perfect representative for Rapid City.
AND, they have a Starbucks! **Bonus Points!
Enjoy the pix, if we find more, they will go up as well.
Thank you, Rapid City!
lj and the road crew
4 comments:
HI saw your web page just searching. Looks like fun !!!! and a good cause too
I'm just curious where all of the money comes for this travel, do the fire departments pay ?
Or do you pay your own way? Don''t know if I could afford a trip for 6 weeks a cross country
Rock on LJ!
Tell Kathy I said hello! I DO wish I could have gone with you all... but I'm watching from afar... WAY AFAR! Thought I'd give the heads up, that I'm going to pimp you all out and let all the "Timed-Out" Stryker Spouses from the other side of the world in on your little secret! They'll ALL be watching your tour soon! LOL! (psst... EVERYONE keeps asking me about my Stryker Pin!) :D
Loving the Ellen touch! By the way, we really miss Ellen. AFN NEEDS ELLEN! LOL!
Just wanted to send a shout out and let you all know that we love you and ALL you do for our Boys and Girls in Service! YOU TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY ROCK!
Miss you MUCH!
Tanya
Tanya,
You tell the "Stryker Wives" that we're taking it on the road for them, too! We miss you all back at Fort Lewis.
Kathy sez hey and drop her a line. Can you believe how tiny she's gotten?!
Will chat more after the scheduled nervous breakdown post-tour. ( ;
lj
*****
Hi Squeaky,
Thanks for asking. The funding for all of this has come through the hours of sweat and volunteering of Heroes who gave up their time for car washes before the tour, or folks who have gotten their Honoring Heroes coins, or the wonderful Heroes on the road who are helping us by filling our tank, washing the rig, putting us up overnite, or feeding us ... and filling the boot as they are able. They are very much a part of this effort, and are making sure we are safe and looked after, on the road.
We are the ones on the road, but make no mistake, we do not do this alone. It takes both Heroes & Angels to make a troop morale campaign such as this possible.
Hope you enjoy the journey with us.
lj
Post a Comment