The rest of the vacation

Last Thursday's gratuitous, pampering fest was one of many great days here in SD. Friday I spent with my sister. We played tourist in the kitschy town of Keystone, buying taffy, personalized cowgirl belts (well sis did) and having our photo taken dressed as wild, gun-toting, fearsome cowgirls (in big, toothy grins). My favorite part was definitely dressing up my least favorite part was looking at all my bad pictures. Sepia makes me look like I have a moustache. Anyway, we took a ton of pictures and had so much fun browsing around the shops. We then had lunch in RC's only Indian restaurant, which was mild but very tasty and affordable. After lunch she had to go to work and I hung out around home watching cable; a treat for me because we don't have cable at home. My parents are always so nice when I come here and indulge my Animal Planet obsession. However, this time I found a new obsession: the Dog Whisperer on National Geographic. Somehow I lucked into the Dog Whisperer marathon and watched at least 1/2 dozen episodes over my stay here. CornyT will be happy because now I won't make him put it on the net flicks queue. Anyway, needless to say I am a Cesar Milan fan now and am sold on the calm, assertive method of handling your dog.
Mom and I spent the evening at an uncle's house chatting, playing with their adorable ferret Josie and watching my 12 year-old cousin ride a unicycle. This kid is crazy; he can hopp and ramp on a unicycle. I asked them if they had reached their insurance deductible yet this year.
Saturday we had a picnic at a nearby lake with family and Sunday we hiked Harney peak. Harney is the highest peak in the Black Hills area at 7000 feet. Obviously, at 7000 feet it wasn't a very hard hike but my legs were still a little sore the next day. Afterwards we hiked around breath-taking Sylvan lake and watched people repel up the rock faces. We got home at about 6 and spent the rest of the night vegged-out in front of the TV: i.e. Dog Whisperer and remodeling shows. Monday we had a proper Memorial Day celebration with a big BBQ here at Mom and Dad's with LOTS of family and LOTS of grilled burgers and dogs. Followed by another evening of vegging out and chatting. So all in all it has been a relaxing yet busy vacation and I am sad it is coming to an end.