Monday, April 30, 2018

Why Do You Blog?


This is a question that I think every bloggers ask themselves at least once a year if not more often. Why do I “waste” 2-3 hours every week or so putting myself through the stress of having to get a blog posted? I will tell you right now if that is your approach, blogging may not be for you. The answer to this question varies from blogger to blogger but we started blogging for two reasons; to maintain a personal diary of where we went and what we did and to keep our friends and family informed on what we are up to. It is a great way to maintain a historical record and pictures of our travels that we can refer to at a later date and there is no doubt that our friends and family await our posts with great anticipation (not) each week. I think for the most part this is working and why we continue to do it. I have thoughts that maybe someday our kids, grandkids and maybe great grandkids will read back long after we are gone and think “Wow, they were really cool”. By the way, in reality I think our kids are the last ones who read our blog. We will talk to them on the phone and they will ask questions that leave you with no doubt they have not been reading our posts.
There are definite pros and cons to blogging. The record of where we have been is great, we will often refer back to a post to remind ourselves about how blessed we are, what we did in a certain area or find a specific picture we are looking for. It can also be a curse as every once in a while I find myself stressing that I need to get a blog post out or do something “blogworthy”. Actually that can be a good thing as the fact that we blog has pushed us to do things we would not have normally done or push ourselves to “up” the adventure level a little. Something we have never regretted.

At some point you also ask yourself why do people read blogs and how can you get more readers. To answer this question I reflected on why we read them. When we first started reading blogs it was for the information gained from the writer. What to do in a certain location, sights, attractions and things to do when we travel to a new location. Blogs can be a great resource what to do in a certain area. What hikes are there? What are our “must see” attractions”? What are the best boondocking or campgrounds in the area? We have specific blogs we use for each of these topics. For example, we always look at Oh the Places They Go! whenever we want to know what the best hikes are in an area. These two always find the most incredible hikes in an area for their “lunch with a view”. Or we will look at Living The Dream or Down The Road if we want to know what breweries to hit in a certain area as these four always seem to have a beer in hand! Now that I think about it, this very well could be the reason some people read our blog!
The most thought provoking blog we read is Two Lanes of Freedom as it is well written and takes the reader on a journey as if you were actually there. I tend to avoid blogs that are political or negative, we get enough of that in real life and really don’t need to seek it out. But as time has progressed I find that we are reading other blogs to keep up with the day to day life of friends we have met on the road and live vicariously through them via their writing.

So what brought on this subject this week? Well, this week we might, just maybe hit 500,000 page views on our blog! A big deal…..to absolutely no one at all…… except a little ego boost for me. But it did make me think of why I put myself through this.
So what were this week’s blogworthy adventures? Well, our long awaited shed finally arrived! If you recall, we ordered this shed last September when Jim and Diana were visiting. It was originally to be delivered in late November so we could store our jeep and 4 wheeler in it when we traveled south for the winter. Well, November was delayed to December which was delayed until January. But then it got too cold and we had to head south and called and asked for them to wait until our return in April. Luckily our neighbor was nice enough to let us store the jeep and 4 wheeler in his shed for a few months. So when the weather warmed and we knew when we would be back in South Dakota Barb started calling asking for an early April delivery. Early April turned into late April when we finally got a call that it would be delivered and installed on April 25th between noon and 5pm. Woohoo, we had a date!

Then we got a call on the 23rd saying it would be delivered and installed the next day between 7am and noon. The next day we stayed home watching the driveway….8:00, 10:00, noon….then we got a phone call that they would not arrive to the next day. So we went about doing our thing and what pulls into the driveway at 5pm? Yup, our shed!
Call it 5 months late or a day early, it has finally arrived!
They worked until 8:00 when it got to dark but they got the frame up.
After laying it out they started putting it together
Three hours later the frame was up
The next day they worked 13 hours straight from 7am to 8pm with only an hour break but they got it done!
15 hours later, we have a shed!
Barb has not been out turkey hunting again. Since her last adventure the turkeys have been pretty much nonexistent. Maybe they got wise to her intentions and headed the other direction. The deer on the other hand have been everywhere! They are taking advantage of the lush green grass and have been around almost constantly. We counted 13 at one time Thursday night after coming home from dinner. They are getting really used to our presence just watching us from a safe distance as we would working around the yard. We thought that was pretty cool until we got a picture from the Jordan’s who had to “one up” our deer tales with a tale of their own.
Jim was outside working when a group of curious deer started getting closer and closer to him. Jim turned around to face them and eventually one walked right up and smelled his hand!

Jim Jordan, the Deer Whisperer!
But Barb has been “hunting” so to speak as she continues to get the prairie dog population under control. In fact she made quite the impression on the neighbors one day they will not soon forget. I was over at their place next door helping Doug put siding their cabin when we notice their young son looking over at our property with a look of horror on his face. That is when we noticed that Barb has taken this whole prairie dog thing to a new level when we saw her running through the prairie with a shovel over her head chasing, you guessed it, a prairie dog! I have to say, I was impressed with her skills, the prairie dog would weave left and she would go left, the prairie dog would dodge right and she was right on top of him. I know you are all wondering if she got it. I will leave out the details but will say, if you are near Barb when she has a shovel in her hand, don’t piss her off, her aim is very accurate!
Don't mess with Barb when she is carrying a shovel!
We have been continuing to explore the area restaurants taking our neighbors Doug and Lisa to Wooley’s in Hot Springs as a thank you for letting us use their shed. We also went to Mac’s in Custer and our Thursday night dinner with the gang was at Buglin Bull. This week Vicki and Harry, the Jordan’s were able to attend along with Rudee, Phil, Sue and Larry.
We got together with Vicki, Harry, Jim and Brenda once again as we hosted a happy hour at our place Saturday. It was a bit windy but the temps were up in the 60’s so we were able to enjoy a nice afternoon of burgers and beer. Vicki and Harry were able to bring their two dogs so everyone had a great time visiting and running around. Well, Daisy, Sadie and Buster had a good time, Dakota, not so much.....

We went to get doctor check ups the other day. We found a doctor in Hill City that was covered under our medical plan and bonus, it was the one that Phil and Rudee recommended! It had been a few years since I have been in and with the exception of my cholesterol he said I was an exceptional example of a human being.....well maybe I am stretching the truth a little.  Barb has had vertigo for since our Alaska trip 2016 so this doctor sent her to a physical therapist who had her do some movements with her head that he said would help. She returned home that day sicker and dizzier than she has ever been. She said the treatment was horrible and described how dizzy and nauseous she got as the therapist manipulated her head. Since that session did not work she was asked to return two days later. I drove her to this treatment in case she experienced the same results but when she walked out 45 minutes later she was all smiles and said she was cured! She is now able to lay on her left side for the first time in almost 2 years!

The biggest surprise of the week was when Kevin arrived from Wisconsin with his girlfriend Cheryl. It was great to finally meet her. We had heard a lot about her from Kevin but this is the first time we had the opportunity to meet face to face. We hung out for two days taking a drive through Custer State Park where we got some great wildlife pictures.

This is the first Mountain Goat we have seen since we have been here
Herd of elk hanging out on a hill side

They released the burros 4 days ago after they recovered from injuries sustained from the recent fire. 3 burros suffered fatal injuries while the remaining 6 were burned. After many weeks of rehabilitation they (along with 2 that were previously sold and donated back to the park) were back wandering and enjoying the green grass. 

You could tell a few of the burros were still recovering from their burns
While we were on this adventure we received a text from the Jordan's saying their rig were getting pounded with hail. For those of you who are familiar with this area, you know that hail is very common and evident in all the dented vehicles and steel buildings. Our building did not sustain any damage but I fear it is just a matter of time.  

We also went into Keystone where we went to dinner at Guadalajara Mexican restaurant. We were joined by Hill City friends Richard and Cheryl we had a great time over a great meal and great conversation.

But the biggest surprise of the weekend was when Kevin and Cheryl returned from walking his property. We never realized it but there are precious stones on his property but when they returned Cheryl had a new diamond on her left hand! Congrats guys!



Thanks to everyone who reads this and got us to 500,000! Our next goal is 100 followers, we are at 65 right now so we have a ways to go. Well, this pretty much wraps our first visit to South Dakota as we head 8 hours north to the Finken/Sobieck farm for the next month to visit and assist them with their spring planting activities!

56 comments:

  1. Congrat's on the 500,000 views. Glad the weather is warmer for you.

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    1. Thanks! Now that is warming up it is time to head even further north for a few weeks!

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  2. Great wildlife photos! Makes me want to visit SD!
    Just followed you (doing my part to help you reach your next goal!)

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    1. The wildlife in Custer State Park is amazing! I think one could spend all summer exploring just that park and not see everything.

      Thanks for following us!

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  3. The shed looks great, Jim!

    As far as Barb and the shovel; I'm laughing, as I am picturing a Barry Sanders prairie dog finally meeting his match. Congrats on a half million!

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    1. Thanks to you Jim as you were the one who actually picked out the trim color.... great choice!

      The prairie dog thought she had outwitted Barb with that last duck and spin but Barb was ready!

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  4. I enjoy reading your blogs and your photographs are amazing!

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    1. Thanks Shirley, we appreciate you reading it! As for the pictures I am always striving to take better ones. My favorite one in this post is of the Mountain Goat as it is rare and it captures the goat in its natural environment.

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  5. You are right, I bet all bloggers go through that thought process now and again, I know I have more than once.
    Ya know, it's not hard at all to envision Barb running around with that shovel over her head, not had at all LOL!!

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    1. I am just glad I was not the one on the receiving end of the shovel!

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  6. As always, love the photos! Despite my resistence to social media, we started blogging (and FB a year or so thereafter) to keep my sister in touch. She was in tears when we hit the road, crying how would she know where we were or what we were doing? Ironically, she rarely reads blog and seldom comments on a FB post. It is a great way to chronicle our memories though. When Les and I get to the point we can no longer travel and are sitting on the porch rocking chairs, we can read them and say, "that was a wonderful time"!

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    1. I envision Barb and I doing the same thing.... both of us sitting in rocking chairs on the porch, her reading our old posts out loud and showing me the pictures. What a perfect life!

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  7. Busy people you are and great progress. Love the pictures. Have a safe trip up to the farm.

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    1. Well, given the fact that you took several of the pictures of course they are great. See you guys soon, keep an eye on the place while we are gone!

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  8. I will definitely stay far away from Barb and her shovel....yikes!!
    It’s great that she found a great doctor for her vertigo...I have been suffering with it for over 6 yrs...did the head exercises but it has come back...
    Love the new barn..hope to see you this year..

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    1. I am really glad what it worked for her. The Dr. said since she had it for so long that it could very well come back in a few months and to do the exercises herself or come back. We hope it is gone for good!

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  9. Good post as usual. I think that you are doing it right with your adventures and stories. I look at mine and wonder why sometimes. We have had a tough year with not many adventures worth blogging about. I like about what you said about your kids not reading. My family always asks what we have been doing, to which I say read the blog, it's all in there. Nice shed. When I hear shed, I picture a 8X8 little box. Get Barb a gun or something a little more dignified than having to chase them around with a shovel. Funny though.

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    1. You guys have had a tough and busy year so far. Hopefully that is over with and you can get on with your adventures!

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  10. Congratulations !, your blog is inspirational ! It has been a precious reference before we made the jump to nomadic life in the US, a faithful companion during our travels.
    Your reflection on the blog are on the spot! A way to keep our families and friends back in France up to date with our travels, but so time consuming !
    Hoping our path will cross someday, on either side of the Atlantic.

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    1. Thanks Catherine, I took a peek at your blog and will have to copy it into a translator and see what kind of adventures you have been up to!

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  11. For us, I think blogging started out the same, as a way to keep family and old friends connected, but as you mentioned not many wanted to tag along. It has evolved since then and is now just a release, a fresh piece of paper, a canvas, a way for us to scatter a computer screen with bits and pieces from this nomadic chapter, the colors, photos, stories, tales, make believe and a few songs and if someone happens to stumble to the campfire and walks away with a warm spot inside or a chuckle, then it worked twice.

    I have a similar memory of Barb's and the P-dogs.... but mine was with moles in the garden. The moment of glory had to end when Sharon caught me throwing the carcass in the air and doing a happy dance before it fell to the ground again. Way wrong... but felt so right.

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    1. I really like your description on it being a blank sheet of paper and a release of thoughts. Sometimes that is exactly what it is. Sometimes I will write an entire blog post and then delete it thinking "no one wants to read this" but I feel better having written it even if was just to myself.

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  12. Great blog as always! I pictured a small shed, I’d say you have a barn. Can’t wait to see it in person someday. Hugs to you both....

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    1. That shed is dwarfed by the one I hear you guys have down south! Rumor has it you guys might be up this way this summer! Hope that rumor comes true!

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  13. Congrats on reaching such a great milestone! I started my blog for ME and when others read and like it, it makes my day! My kids do reach, although never comment. I knew my daughter did, as she would occasionally text me with a grammar correction - ha! (She has a Masters degree in English). I knew for sure my son did when I had posted a bunch of pics of mushrooms when we were in AK, and he CALLED to make sure we weren’t eating them! Like I said - made me smile! Your kids are missing out!
    And - that is quite the shed! Are you sure it isn’t a barn? Bill is going is going to want to buy property now when he sees that!

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    1. To be fair, the kids probably read most of them but you can tell when they miss one or two. I would absolutely hate having a child with a Masters in English. I now my posts are riddled with spelling and grammar errors!

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  14. That's not a shed, that's a barn. Looking good! Yeah, I think we all start out blogging for family and friends and it evolves into something else. Now I find myself using my own blog to remember where we stayed and when. I also find it gives me purpose and reason to explore more, which is a good thing. Congrats on the 500,000.

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    1. Thanks Ingrid. Your blog is one that inspires me to get out there and improve my picture taking. You take some crazy good photographs!

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  15. You nailed it on blogging. It seems family and friends from home are the least likely to follow the blog and the ones that do “never” comment. We are also approaching 500,000 page views. You haven’t been blogging as long as us so with 65 followers I think you have a lot of lurkers. 🙂 We enjoy the humor you always seem to inject into your blogs. That’ a great looking shed! Always enjoy the wildlife photos in your area.

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    1. What part did we nail? The part about you two always having a beer in hand? Ha! Can't wait for you guys to come visit so we can show you the area!

      If you look below you will see our son actually commented on our blog! He has been infatuated with burros ever since we came here when he was a young child. Almost every Christmas and birthday since then he has asked for a donkey or burro.

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  16. I'm only here for the burro pictures...

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    1. What? Who is this?!?!

      I just told mom what you commented and she said "Of course he is just there for the burro pictures" We still talk about when we were here and you were feeding those burros!

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  17. Good post, the new shed looks great and I can just picture Barb chasing the prairie dog!! What fun entertainment you always seem to find!

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    1. Sometimes you just have to create your own entertainment! Next time you are in the area we will have to go to Miner Brewing Company. Much better than the one we went to. I think I even saw a cider on the menu!

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  18. I had to laugh when I read your comment on your kids not reading your blog!! Keeping family up to date on our travels was one of our reasons for blogging. But we, too, can tell when we talk with them on the phone that they aren't keeping up!!! Oh, well, luckily our friends are keeping up:) Thanks for shout out! Glad we can help with your hike planning.

    When I think of a shed, I am thinking of a 6x8 building to house a lawn mower. You have a barn!! Looks great! Now you can put your RV inside out of the weather! Love the color!

    It was nice to see Daisy and Dakota. I mainly read for dog photos!!! Haha! You do forget them most of the time!

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    1. Daisy will be in the next blog as she is going through a "blogworthy" exercise right now that I will write about.

      The rig does not fit into the shed but it has enough room to store the 4 wheeler, jeep and the trailer so it is out of the elements. Which is a good thing based on the hail we got the other day!

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  19. Congrats on the 1/2 Mil! Love that new shed. We call those metal barns. It's a beauty! Are you kiddin' me? I wouldn't want to make Barb pissed about ANYTHING! She's no where near as nice as she looks (just kidding Barb! She's a sweety!) Besides, I'm sure shooting them gets old after a while. Maybe next she could go commando with camo and paint and stalk them with knives? Makes it a little more challenging. So nice to see the Burros are back. I loved your sons comment. Would be something like ours would write. I love hail but not when it hits our truck or rig. Seems like SD has the nastiest hail? And like you, we blog for our records, to share with friends and family and to get good ideas on cool campspots, hikes, etc. You look to us for BEER? Hey, what about the hiking? Been having a blast bass fishing here this month and looking forward to the salmon running next month in Oregon!

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    1. If she goes after them commando and in camo I will make sure to have the camera ready! Since we have never really been hiking with you and seem to only drink when you are around, you are our drinking friends. We will have to rectify that next time we are together then you will be our hiking/drinking friends!

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  20. Congratulations on the new shed. It looks great! As for the blog, thank you for sharing your adventures. It brings back memories of places we’ve travelled and dreams of places we’d like to see.
    Barb reminds me of my Mom shagging squirrels with her .410 lol

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    1. Sounds like your Mom was quite a woman! Barb does not have a .410 but she does have a 12 gauge!

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  21. I enjoy your blog and congratulations on the 500,000 views. I started blogging just as a place to keep my notes and solicit opinions from others. What I discovered were a bunch of new friends. I feel like part of a community even if I've not met everyone in person.

    Nice to have the feedback on if the kids follow the blog. I'd suppose it's the same for most and I'll expect to have to tell our child where we are over the phone.

    Several bloggers have commented on the feeling to post something readable or on any particular schedule for their own blogs. I may be wrong, but I'm thinking most of us bloggers know just because we have not heard from someone for a month or two is no big deal. Besides, we can stalk you on RVillage!

    Mark

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    1. I tend to blog when I feel there is enough "bloggable" material. Usually that is about once a week. When we were in Alaska, it was sometime a couple times a week, then other times it was only twice a month.

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  22. Congrats on 500,000 and the shed looks great! For the record, I did read the blog within 30 hours of it posting. :)

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    1. OMG! Both kids read and commented on the blog? It's a Christmas miracle! Hope all is well, love you!

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  23. I think you likely have more followers than Blogger shows. I don't officially "follow" because I prefer to read from blog roll links so I can see what everyone is up to all in the same space. My virtual community. ;-) Nice shed!

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    1. We do the same thing as we don't like to get a lot of emails so we just use the blog roll links on our sidebar. Sometimes it is hard to keep up on everyone! Glad to see you are blogging again!

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  24. We have really enjoyed your blog since we found it a couple years ago. The outdoor pics and the humour in it is great. We're trying it as a diary of our travels too and my work buddies actually read it!
    Btw are you from Texas?? In Canada you put a lawn mower and garden tools in a shed, that's not a shed you built it's a garage :)

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    1. That's funny, it seems more people call it a barn or garage then a shed. Barb and I read your blog as well, it is interesting to read about your adventures as you travel to and from the north country.

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  25. I just walked back from talking to Kevin and he didn't say anything about the diamond. Lorraine are heading back down there to congratulate him. Thanks for the offer of parking there for a few days. Probably park at Kevins but thanks for plan B if needed. The is still ice on Bone , Deer, halfmoon and Balsam lakes

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    1. You are welcome to stay there any time you are in the area but it looks like Kevin got the power and water ready for you! Enjoy your time in the Black Hills, it is a beautiful area.

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  26. Congrats on the milestone! I know how much work it takes to come up with new posts, glad you have kept it going this long while keeping it interesting.

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    1. Good to hear from you! Looks like we may be headed east this winter, if you are on that side of the country we will have to get together.

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  27. Sounds like we all blog for similar reasons. Whether to journal our lives, learn, find great places or to keep in touch we've met so many great folks because of blogging. When we're traveling I have no problem with finding things to blog about but when we're stationary for long periods I find a month goes by before I think enough has happened to blog about. I guess starting in February I'll have to get my blogging mojo going.

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    1. We have found that when we are at our place in SD it is harder to find things to blog about. As a result we try to force ourselves to get out once or twice a week on an adventure of sorts. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

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  28. We can't wait to come back to the Custer area. Be heading that way in a couple of weeks for a vacation. Hope to see some of the wildlife in the park and elsewhere. This is our 3rd trip to the area. Hope to be retiring next year to go RV full time. Will probably make SD our domicile and spend the warmer months in the northern states and then head to the southwest for the winter months. Love the pictures you have been sharing and that is quite an impressive barn you are erecting.

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    1. Best of luck with your goal of retiring next year and hitting the road. Very exciting times, you will not regret it. The deer should be having their fawns by the time you are in the area which could lead to excellent photo opportunities!

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