MI.4

October 4, 2010, after the last blog, kinda like backwards entries but then us elders can be thata way, Hay! Hay! Hay!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Soooooooooooo! Michigan, finally. There is a magic about the area around Grand Traverse that seems to pick up my spirits. We had such a grand time and meeting our Friends was a great feeling of peace and welcome. We stayed very busy and the few days spent there, Little Pony gathered up over 600 miles galloping from our roosting spot to the Resort and Kewadin and Mile 3 center and sight seeing. Janice got to check into the Resort on Thursday evening and she enjoyed that as time spent in the Little Tee-Pee was not the same as being home but she met many folks from all around the Nation. We even met some relatives that we had never met before. Small world!! The Friday evening performance went great and our niece, LaVonne from Cottage Grove, had made Brother Lou and I matching ribbon shirts. Bro Lou was surprised and happy and we wore them for the performance. Two tribal members from Grand Traverse joined us on stage and really helped out with the program. Ruby John on the fiddle and George Troudou on the keyboards. We were able to get in a solid three hours of singing and playing and had folks hot-footing on the dance floor. A great, solid evening. More honors were heaped on me as new friend Jack Swanson, Veterans Leader, got me into the grand entry and Veterans Honor Meal and closing ceremonies. A first for me in these events and a great honor. Thanks Jack and wife Dawn. Brother Tom and his wife Phyllis were ever present and gave great support. Our prayers for Del and Sharon as she just had her last chemo treatment and was limited on travel time but was around at every possible time that she could muster up the strength. Bless both of You. The efforts of Pat Putney and Anna Harwood were beyond words. They were ever-present and busy each moment of the gathering. The presentations were great and the Sat. evening fashion show was sooooo! Cooooool!!! I was asked to play my flute for the show and I did!!!!!! Wow!!! Never knew I had sooooo muuuuuch wind. About two and a half hours of tooting!!! Hoooo! Hooooo! Great times. After closing ceremonies on Tuesday we were again beating the path on south to Bro Lou’s brother-in-law. We spent the nite and on wed. Gail was down for the count. Something grabbed her and she spent the day in bed along with the uks that go with this kind of affliction. We started playing music around 2 pm and took a short break for dinner and it was after 11 pm that I finally found the buffalo hide. The next day, Sis, caught whatever Gail had but was able to travel as we hoofed on down the trail heading west. We screamed thru Ind., Ill., Iowa,wa,wa, wa, Minnesota, South Dakota and found the trail to our present location and here sit all broken hearted but it is time for me to clip on back to Sheridan and hopefully get Little Pony healed up again and git to gitten on down the dusty trail so fellow Hostiles and Gentiles, till then, Giddy Up and GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!1

MI.3

Today is October 4, 2010 and once again my Little Blue Iron Pony had to take a rest. We have been in the wilderness city of Ranchester, Wyo. At the Lazy R Campground since Sat. nite. The Pony ran out of electrical power Sat. afternoon as we were zipping along between Sturgis, Wyo. And The Devil’s Tower. We had time to gaze at the awesome Tower and spend some time there but had to beat feet on to Gillette, Wyo. Where we found a chevy dealer but of course on a sat. nite in cowboy country there are no services available so they sent us on to an auto store. The young cowgirl working there did the check on the Pony and suggested a bad battery. I believe she would be better at guessing the illness of a real four-legged than what she suggested for our Pony!!!!! Anyhoooooo, we beat feet on to Sheridan, Wyo. And we were limping along on about one leg when the Pony burped and let me know that the end of the trail was coming up fast so we dove off the interstate 90 into Ranchester and found this campsite and here we parked the metal tee-pee. The folks running the camp are our age and are very nice. I have to add that at one point along the trail from Gillette to Sheridan the battery ran out of juice and we had to park along the interstate and I dug out the generator and had to charge it up so that we could get on down the road. On Sunday in Sheridan there were only two auto stores open and of course neither had what was needed to get Little Pony up and running on His own. It was concluded that the Pony had a bad electrical generating plant and had to be ordered in from Billings, Mt. Two-three day wait unless of course I paid the extra wampum and it would be in Mon. afternoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yea, Sure, We’lllllll, Seeee!!!
Backing up some, after leaving Dubois, Wyo. We plugged along across Wyo. And set up camp in Custer, S.D. On Fri. Sept. 17. Sat. we tripped around Crazy Horse Monument. A truly awesome site and an inspiring place. We walked around the Mt. Rushmore site and were amazed again at the rock sculptures. The day was rain and fog and so the site at Crazy Horse was limited and we could not see the site but as we were leaving on Sun. morning it was a beautiful and clear day, stopped again at Crazy Horse and took the ride to the bottom of the site. After seeing the sites, little Pony trotted along to get us on toward our destination. We ran at breakneck speed across S. D., then Minn. And Wisconsin. The Upper Mich. dumped gallons and gallons of H2O on us and the wind pushed against Little Pony but after three days we checked in at Freda Chippewa’s place in Peshawbestown, Mich. our final destination for this adventure. A little over 8,000 mi since we left Lakeport, Ca. July 27th. For more adventure update, check out the next blog. UUUUUgggggmmmmmsssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111