Friday, March 27, 2020

Life in Custer South Dakota

With a population of just under 2,000 people Custer South Dakota is the perfect place to ride out the craziness that is going on in the world right now. There one grocery store, 2 hardware stores, about 8 or so motels, a dozen restaurants/bars and even more shops that line both sides of Main Street. In the summer, the streets are lined with thousands and thousands of tourists taking in the local attractions but this time of year the streets are barren. Only 2 of those motels are open and ½ of those restaurants and shops are boarded up for the winter waiting for tourists to come back. As isolated and remote as Custer is, it is the perfect place to be right now. 

If something like this was going to happen, I am glad it was in the off season when traffic is at its lowest.  For the most part, it is life as normal out here. We did hear that one of the two open motels closed because too many “outsiders” were coming into town to get away from the pandemic. I have heard of similar things across the country where people are leaving the big cities to escape. Being 20 miles outside of Custer we could not be a better place to ride this out. We have to run into town about once a week for groceries, laundry and maybe a hardware store run but for the most part we are at home working on our projects.  

Our major project continues to be the siding. As of last week I estimated we needed 12 more warm weather days to get the siding finished. This week did not cooperate with us only providing 3 days that I was able to get outside. Two days were spent finishing the east side of the house.
One day working on the lower section of the south side. 
The rain/snow days were spent inside working on various projects; we finished the bug wood on the lower sections of the living room. 
We finished the waterlines in the laundry room for the dog wash and laundry machine.
As well as the controls for the shower in the lower level bath.
Barb is been on the hunt for the perfect washer and dryer. She originally thought she wanted front loaders but has been hearing horror stories about the smell and water retention of the front loaders so now she is looking at top loaders. If any of you have opinions on what you would recommend let us know!

We also took delivery of our ceiling fan. We had ordered it about a month ago and it finally arrived! We went with a 72” windmill fan from The Original Windmill Ceiling Fans Company. We absolutely love it! 
The wildlife continues to visit us each day oblivious to the chaos in the world. The turkeys (up to 27) were joined by a tom who is trying to impress the ladies with his studly physic. So far the hens want nothing to do with him as they do not nest until the ground temperature gets above 50°F. Fun to watch them play their antics though. 

Thursday afternoon, some snow
Friday, no snow...
Thursday morning, snow and fog
And now for the totally bizarre... The two pictures below are the same turkey. Notice the thing on top of his head that looks like a horn. Well, that is actually called a Snood. The whiteish fatty looking thing below his chin is called the Caruncles. 
This is how they change when he puffs up and gets all excited..
Weird huh? 

Speaking of weird wildlife, we had more visitors show up at our window!
Dino and Lisa stopped by on their way to Minnesota! We of course did not let them in so we slipped them a beer through the door and wrote notes to show them through the window. They only stayed one night before heading on but we did have a nice visit and they were able to return out table and chairs that we left them in Quartzsite.
Bye guys, watch out for zombies!
The deer show up rain and shine to see what we are up to, even with snow on their faces!
The rancher next door opened the gate so his cattle could roam our property (and the Jordan's) and eat the grasses down. It is cool seeing all the baby calves lounge around….


The mix of rain, snow and warmer weather sometimes in one day made for some interesting scenery. All of these pictures were taken within hours on the same day. 
See the turkey on the stump?
The weather next week has some 60’s in the forecast next week we hope to get out and really hit the siding hard!

40 comments:

  1. You are spot on with staying in a small community during this time. We are certainly glad to be also located away from the city. As to the washing machine topic, I have been using front loader machines all my life. Owned Miele, Siemens and now Bosh washer and dryer. They are "very sophisticated machines", use less water and electricity than top washers. Check reviews on line. BTW in Europe those are almost exclusively used. I don't have to use spot cleaners because the laundry is always clean coming out, as they are all high efficiency washers and you use less detergent as well. (Never had any smell or heard of water retention) so there you have it ;-)

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    1. Thanks for the input on the washer/dryers. She has been going to laundromats for over 6 years now and now that she is this close to having a set of her own, she can hardly wait!

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  2. The smaller the community the safer you are from this mayhem.
    Really seeing some progress on your home.
    Having the cattle clean up your property will save you a lot of work.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. Right now we have about 170 cattle roaming the property. They will only be here for a couple of months which will give them time to eat it down and give the grasses a fresh start to the spring!

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  3. Since you asked....Marcia has had a Fisher & Paykel Washing Machine and Dryer, both are top load. The dryer when turned on locks lid, the drum rotates and then turns like a normal dryer. We also have a Fisher & Paykel Dishwasher, dual drawer. You can run top, bottom or both. Since there is just the two of us, one drawer typically does it, and it is SO VERY quiet.

    Really love how the place is coming together...

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    1. Thanks for the info on the dishwasher too, I know that will be next on her list!

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  4. We bought a matched set front load washer and dryer . ( My idea ) The washer was pain from the get go and was always out of balance witch I found out was a problem with front loaders . Them came the mold and smells . Door gaskets can go bad sooner than you would think. So out the door the washer went and in came a Samsung top loader, the one without an agitator . Had the Samsung for a few years and still a great machine. The only thing I don't like about the Samsung in the song it plays when done washing .Now this is just my opinion . Good luck be safe . Vern in Boise ( yes your lucky to be away from everyone )

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    1. We have been hearing that about a lot of front loaders. I think she is leaning towards the top loads, I am sure I will find out for sure in the next few days!

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  5. Your place is looking so awesome. I sure hope we get to see it in person one day. How cool that you live within a natural zoo. The two photos of the turkey are really interesting. What a change! Sure hope your weather warms and stays warm. Even we have been cool and about 20 degrees below normal. Snow is pounding the mountains here. Too bad the ski area is closed. Happy siding!

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    1. We have a couple of days in the upper 50's forecasted for next week so hopefully we can whittle down on the day count and get that much closer to getting the siding done!

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  6. Great progress, Jim and Barb! The windmill fan is a perfect fit!

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    1. Thanks, it was hard to pull the trigger on it but it really is a nice fan!

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  7. What a gorgeous fan, should really help out a lot. If you have to be self isolating might as well get some work done and you two are doing a great job. Hope you get some warm days soon so the siding can get finished.

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    1. It does push a lot of air but it is adjustable so we can set it where we want it.

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  8. Love my front loading washer and dryer! Leave the door open on the washer and clean once a month with Affresh! No problems. I had bought a top loader without an agitator for another home. I had a hard time reaching the bottom of the washer, it was so deep. But I didn’t feel like it was cleaning the clothes well. Bought another front loader. Just my opinion

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    1. Thanks for the info! That was another question Barb had. If she went with a top loader, agitator or no agitator. So many options!

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  9. It looks like I will have to look at that upside down house wrap for another year. Are you sure you got the fan on the right way? Maybe you should hire me as a quality control specialist. The house does look great. We can't wait to move in. Wish we could have stayed longer but the world is in a crisis and we wanted to enjoy our far share of it. Lock and load.

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    1. I could not afford to hire you as you would insist in being paid in beer. Great seeing you guys, thanks for taking care of our table and chairs and delivering them!

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  10. The house is looking wonderful. In the photo of your current rig I noticed the trailer behind it. Good idea!

    We moved from Louisiana to central eastern Mississippi on a planned move because we are heading to the factory service center for RV upgrades and minor repairs in northern Mississippi. Fortunately this is a month long stay where we are on a lake. Small town also but has access to hospitals. When we arrived here in the small campground I noticed some of the people were not taking their social distancing as serious as the last campground in Louisiana. Although the local town shops are for sure. Might be because they have been camped her awhile and surrounded by local friends staying near them. Kids are running around the park and are the hardest to avoid. Glad to have fullhookups so we do not use the public facilities that are closed down anyway. Told the wife we should bleach the washing machine controls and such with gloves on before we use the public ones at the campsite.

    We had been using gloves when we visited the local store in Louisiana and may continue that here in Mississippi. Anytime one of us returns home we wash hands and do not allow anyone in the trailer for any reason, not that we have had visitors.

    You guys be careful even in your small town. I felt sorry for the folks with the New York license plates at the last campground. Although they had not been in New York for months. We talked candidly about each of our situations and I was happy to know they were moving to a longer stay park where folks around them will learn they are not running from New York.

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    1. I have always been somewhat of a germ-a-phobe but now it is even worse. You really start to think about all the things that have germs on them that a few months ago you would not have thought twice about.

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  11. Your place looks absolutely huge on that exterior photo. Love the fan. You guys are so lucky to have that piece of paradise to hunker down in with all the domestic and wildlife to keep you entertained. Stay safe and healthy!

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    1. Yesterday it was raining all day and we decided to not work on the house and just relax. We were going stir crazy in a few hours, we are sure glad we have projects to work on!

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  12. OH! That fan of yours is just too wonderful!! It fits your home like it was just meant to be! What a beautiful home you two are making for yourselves! Your pictures are just gorgeous of your piece of heaven!

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    1. When we saw that fan we knew it was the one we had to get and are not disappointed!

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  13. Wow the place is really coming along! Love the fan! Cute wildlife! Good thing you slid the beer under. Ya can’t trust those zombies!

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  14. Definitely sounds like you're in a good spot right now and you certainly won't be bored while you wait this out. I am trying to busy myself with various projects, but I keep returning to the news websites and those just cause a lot of stress. Crazy times, indeed. Stay well.

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    1. We are really trying to stop watching the news. I know it is bad but I just get tired of the sensationalism and hearing how bad things are so we turn on the radio while we work and watch an hour of news in the afternoon.

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  15. One more thing... our rental house has a top loader washer with no central agitator and it's been great - we can put a lot in there! The only downside of the top loader vs the front loader is it does seem to get off balance when spinning, at times. But it self corrects. Anyway, +1 for the top loader with NO central agitation mechanism!

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    1. She ordered a set yesterday and we pick them up on Tuesday, you will have to wait for the next blog to see what she decided!

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    1. A lot of our FT RV friends are finding it harder and harder to find places to stay. It is nice knowing that we have someplace we can come hide out if the need ever arises!

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  17. Loved the photos, nothing like living with nature. I grew up in the country far from big cities and have always enjoyed the peace and quiet and in times like this I'm always happy to get back to where I belong, wide open spaces and a lot less folks. Hopefully the weather soon warms enough for you folks to complete your siding job. Stay safe and healthy.

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    1. We went for a walk today and did not hear a single sound other than the wind through the pines. Does it get any better than that?!?

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  18. We went with Speed Queen commercial heavy duty and have a 10 year warranty. Very pleased. Things are looking good! We’re about complete with our remodeling! Finally!

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    1. Congratulations on getting to the end of your remodel! The Speed Queen sounds like the ticket, I bet it is nice not to have to go to the laundromat!

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  19. Great wildlife photos! And nothing better to take your mind off the world problems than physical labor! Place looks great!

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    1. With our time here getting shorter I am starting to feel the pressure to get things done, hopefully the weather cooperates!

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  20. Replies
    1. Thanks, we looked at a lot, and I mean a lot of fans before pulling the trigger on this one!

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