All Rufus, all the time...

 

I would watch that channel.  ;-)

Another hot one today - the weasels are predicting mid to upper 90s.  Good time for a day off the bike.  Joan went to the grocery store early today, to beat the weekend crowds.  Rufus and I sat out on the patio while it was still comfortably cool outside.  I took him for a walk, and we came across a lady walking what looked like a cross between a malamute and a wolf - it was a big dog.  Gorgeous.  Rufus, being Rufus, wanted to walk right up to it... I held his leash, keeping him a comfortable (for me) distance from the dog.

The lady walking the dog said, "What a beautiful cat!  It apparently isn't afraid of dogs."

I said, "Not unless they give him a reason to be.  Is your dog cat friendly?"

"I don't know - he's never really been around cats, but he is old and pretty mellow."  I let Ruf get a bit closer, but still not too close.  The lady and I visited for a bit; I found out her dog is, indeed, a senior citizen, at 12 years old.  It wasn't showing its age.

After the walk, I zipped the sunscreen to the awning, and Rufus and I sat out on the patio.  The boy enjoys just looking around...

He has his own patio chair... because... he's a good boy...

Eventually, he settled in for a cat nap...

When Joan got back, she made us smoothies and a Momma-treat for Rufus, all of which we enjoyed out on the patio.  Eventually, I fired up the griddle and made breakfast croissant sandwiches.  And after clean up, a quiet 12-string concert on the patio.

It's a good day for laying low around the motorhome.

The end of an era...

 

I got a PM through Facebook from our nephew Shane last night - he let me know that Jack Bobier had passed away.  Jack gave me my start in professional photography, in the 70s.  When he first hired me, I was blown away by what he was doing in wedding photography... he paid me $3 per wedding to carry his equipment and load cameras (and learn).  I worked my way up from there.  My time at Bobier Studio was the opportunity to learn all aspects of the photography business: weddings, high school seniors, families, commercial photography, black & while and color lab, and schools.  It was something different every day.

I was going to college full-time (second time around), playing music in a duo with my buddy Mark Lamkin 4 nights a week, and working in Jack's studio.  Those were busy times, and Jack let me set my own schedule, as long as the work got done.  There were times I worked in the lab until after midnight.  Of course, shooting sessions and weddings were on the studio's schedule.  When I left there, I had an education in photography that no school could match, a good work ethic, and an understanding of what it took to run a photography business.

Jack was a bigger than life personality and could be a tough task-master.  I'd be lying if I said we didn't bump heads on occasion, but we always managed to clear the air.  I understood that he had to do things for the good of the business, and he understood that I was hard-working and fiercely dedicated to creating the best images possible.  Years after moving on and having our own studio, I could sometimes hear his words in my head... and have concerns that a decision I might make would incur the wrath of Jack.  ;-)

One of the highlights of my seminar career occurred when Jack brought his staff to a program I was giving for the Heart of America Professional Photographers Association (photographers from a 4-state region).  The crowd got a good chuckle when I told them about working for him for $3 per wedding... but what I learned about shooting weddings helped me lay the foundation for receiving the award for Best Wedding Album of the Year in our state 9 years in a row.

Rest in peace, Jack.  You were a mentor for me, and played a big part in the success of the studio that Joan and I had until we retired; you gave me one hell of a work ethic.  I had the opportunity to tell you that at that HOA program... I'm sorry I didn't tell you again after we retired.

A photo from the funeral home program...

Didja get $15.28 worth of entertainment today?

 

The price of gas.  That's what it cost to fill up the bikes today.  Last year, it was never over $10, and we ran premium fuel because that's what the Vespa took.  These days, we look for non-ethanol regular; not always easy to find.

Today's ride: parts of Custer State Park.  The chip-seal work has expanded onto Neck Yoke Road, the next road we normally take after Spring Creek Road - yeah, the one with really fun curves and hardly ever any traffic.  I figure it will be a week or so before we consider taking that one on.  Neck Yoke Road is in need of some improvement due to washboard road surface in some of the corners and "divots" in the road (not really potholes, but not fun to hit on the bikes).  I don't see how the chip-seal is going to fix those problems... but, we'll see how the road is when they're done with it.

So today, we took Hwy 79 south to the small town of Hermosa, then Hwy 36 west into Custer State Park.  Highway 36 has been resurfaced and it is smooooooooth!  Nice sweeping turns.  First we've ridden that one this season.  With the road construction on some of our other favorites, it is nice to have options like this.

We rode into the park and stopped at a small picnic area by a pond...

A warm one today, so that was a refreshing stop.  I took the opportunity to put a camera on my bike and shot a bunch of video.  Later, I put the camera on Joan's bike and shot even more video.  It is going to take me a while to sort through all of that, so here are some still images from the day...

Some of the best riding since we've been here (two weeks today), and Mother Nature was kind to us.

We stopped for a second picnic break at a different location, then headed east out of the park.  Another run on Highway 36, then 79 back to Hart Ranch.

Rufus got to go for morning, late afternoon, and evening walks.  While I started downloading 360 videos, the big furry boy sat outside with his Momma.

We picked up some ground prime rib meat a couple days ago, and put the griddle to work for some up-town burgers.  Between that and the $15.28 we spent on gas today, we are living large!

CSI...

 

Not the TV show.

I took Rufus out for a walk this morning.  When we got to the back of our site, he sniffed in the air, then honed in on the source of the smell: something had crapped at the back of our site.  He pulled on the leash, straining to get at the poop.  I held him off, but the boy is strong.

Yes, I went out and bagged it.  It pisses me off when people are too lazy or inconsiderate to pick up after their pets.  Of course, there are some who will say, "It may have been a rabbit or a coyote."  Sure... or maybe aliens beamed down, just to crap here?

I have sent the pile of crap to CSI... Canine Shit Investigations.  They will analyze it and use DNA to determine the breed and perhaps the specific dog.  I will find you.  And when I do, I will pull my motorhome to your site and dump the contents of the black tank in front of your door.  I have seen Liam Neeson movies... I have special skills, too.

--------

Getting reinforcements to pick up the poop...

Back to Sturgis...

 

Nothing to do with the belt replacement on Joan's bike... we bought a couple T-shirts at One-Eyed-Jack's yesterday; trying them on once we were home, they were too small.  Being the gentleman I am, I offered to run up to Sturgis to exchange them for a bigger size.  Taking my bike, of course.

Joan chose to stay home and get laundry done.  I'm not commenting any further on that.  It was reasonably cool when I left, 72º here at the coach.  I took back roads as much as possible, but there is about 8 miles of Interstate you can't avoid... not that Interstate speeds are a problem with the CTX - the back roads are just more fun.

I rolled into town and went right to One-Eyed-Jacks.  It took a bit to find someone who "knew how to do an exchange"... I explained the process: "I will take this one out of the bag and replace it with the same shirt, only one size larger.  Then, I'll do the same with the other one."  Eventually, they were able to find the woman who could do the exchange, and it was apparent that English wasn't her first language.  She looked over each of the shirts I was returning to make sure I wasn't trying to pull a fast one.  

She looked me over and said, "You look large."

I said, "Thanks for noticing - that large fit me skin tight.  And nobody wants to see that."  I got a smile out of her.  Exchange done.  Time for more riding.

Heading south out of town on Vanocker Canyon Road.  I was on this last week, and they had just sprayed oil on the road.  Now, it has fresh blacktop.  I still couldn't tell if the surface had good traction, so I kept my speed reasonable...

You can see the difference in the road surface between the pull-out and the road.  No lines painted, yet, so it may be a good idea to pick other roads for the next week or so.  Fortunately, there are plenty of good riding roads here.

I took Vanocker Canyon Road to Nemo Road, then onto Norris Peak Road, and back towards Rapid City on Rimrock Highway.  I like all those names.

The riding was good.  The weather was good.  But, the weasels were predicting thunderstorms from 2:00 on this afternoon.  Back at our site, I rode past the cargo trailer and onto our patio - the chain is due for some lube.  Joan was due for lunch.  I whipped through the chain chore and we went off for a late lunch at Taco John's (Joan's choice).  A fine lunch, topped off with Mexican donuts (kind of like a beignet, but with a gooey frosting instead of powdered sugar).

Before we got back to Hart Ranch, the sky took on a threatening look to the west.  The weasels were reporting Flash Flood Warnings for the western part of this county.  Thunderstorms are about to happen here.  If this sounds like "more of the same," it is typical on warm summer afternoons for storms to kick up over the Black Hills.  Hopefully, it will all stay liquid.  Looking at radar, it will be close.

Service...

 

It's no secret that getting good service, whether on the car, the motorhome, or the bikes, isn't always a given.  We had a service appointment this morning for Joan's bike.  Mother Nature wasn't looking too cooperative, so I rode her bike to the dealer in Sturgis and she followed in the car.  The way there was a breeze.

Once at the dealer, we got checked in and I asked how long it would take... the service writer wasn't sure... they don't get many scooters here, even though they are a Yamaha dealer.  This dealership used to be owned by a long-time friend of ours; he sold it a couple months ago and retired.  Still a lot of the same staff there, though.  It was determined that it might take "half the day"... I expected a couple hours.  We are having the drive belt for the CVT transmission replaced; nothing wrong with it, that is a wear item and it is time.

We drove through Sturgis and decided to have breakfast; One-Eyed Jack's, which is normally a big Rally bar.  Breakfast was good, and Joan found us a couple 2022 Sturgis T-shirts (almost everyone in town sells Rally T-shirts).  One stop shopping.

When we came out after breakfast, the sky was looking seriously ominous...if it plays out as bad as it looks, I do not want to ride back in that crap.  We stopped back into the dealership and asked if it would be an issue to leave the bike 'till tomorrow, in case the weather hits before the bike is done.  "No problem."  He checked with the mechanic and said it was about half way done.  We decided to kill some time and see how the weather plays out.

Joan found me a pair of gloves there that are outstanding.  Not cheap, but definitely the best motorcycle gloves I've ever worn...

All the safety features and a comfort bit of construction that I haven't seen before: all the stitching is on the outside of the glove.  Does that matter?  If the stitching is on the inside of each finger and you are gripping handlebars, it starts wearing on your skin.  This is smooth inside, and fits like... a glove.  ;-)  I couldn't resist, both the pun and the gloves.

We drove up to Deadwood just for something to do.  No plan to get out and walk around or gamble, just killing some time.  A bit of rain, but nothing significant.  Back to Sturgis and a bit more driving around when we got the call: "Your bike is done."

The sky still looked threatening, but only the occasional spit.  So far.  We drove back to the dealer, paid the bill (less than I expected), and hit the road.  Made it back to Hart Ranch without getting rained on.  Shortly after I got the bike back in the cargo trailer, some light rain.  Then, it quit.

We made a run with the car into Rapid City for the jumper/compressor at Sam's (from a few days ago), gas for the car, and lunch.  Joan had mentioned Olive Garden a couple days ago, and my belly remembered that.  Tasty food and an entree to bring home for another day.

As we rolled over the top of the last hill before Hart Ranch, the sky was looking even more threatening.  Light rain when we stopped to pick up packages from the Mail Room, then back to the motorhome.  The wind had kicked up to "blowing like stink" by this point, so we fired up the motorhome and pulled the slides in.  Thunder and lightning, but not much falling from the sky.  Yet.  Still, really glad to not be riding a bike in that ugly wind.

That first gust front passed, but it looks like a couple more are coming, according to the radar forecast.  We'll just leave the coach "skinny," until the last of it passes.  Good timing on our part today... well, except for the fact that I hit every red light on the way to get the bike there; good that we allowed some extra time.

Now, all I wanna do is go riding in my new gloves; yes, I wore them on the ride home.  Like a little kid with new shoes.

:-)

Is that a regular cat?

 

My response: "Well, we find him slightly irregular."  I thought it was funny - the guy didn't get it.

I was out walking Ruf late this afternoon and a guy who had just come out of his motorhome was watching intently.  As he walked towards us, it was apparent he was going to say something about this cat on a leash.  Then, the title to this post.

He then said, "No, he doesn't look like a regular cat - is he one of those Maine cats?"

"We think he is at least part Maine Coon."

The guy said, "My son is a meter reader, and there is one house that has a Maine cat, and he said that cat creeps him out."

I replied, "I don't know why; Maine Coons are friendly.  This boy is very social - he likes everybody.  In fact, if he doesn't like someone, I trust his judgement."

Then, his wife came out and said, "That cat is huge!"

I said, "He's on the small side for his breed; but, yeah, bigger than a lot of cats."

That was the end of the conversation.  As they walked away, Ruf looked at me and asked, "Were they weird?"

"Yeah, buddy, they seemed a bit weird to me.  Good judgement on your part."  ;-)

Walking back to the motorhome, I thought about that "huge" comment.  He doesn't seem huge to me.  He is built like a weight-lifter, but he doesn't seem taller than most cats.  Could be my perspective: I'm not around other cats.  Steph and Dan's trio is my comparison, and two of their cats are Siberian Forest Cats, and they are big cats; then little Tango (the orange boy) is tiny by comparison.  Rufus seems just right.

I may be biased.

(file photo - I need to do a new photo shoot on this boy)