Monday, November 11, 2013

Timber Lake!!

Hello all!

I have to admit I have been sort of procrastinating this post.  I felt pressure to get it right and do Timber Lake justice, as this is the town where my Grandpa grew up!  It was such an honor to see the town where he lived, as I may never have gone there under other circumstances.

This is where Timber Lake (Pop: 461) is located:


At Timber Lake, we were working with 6-8 grades.  This is the first time we haven't had itty-bitties, and we definitely have roles in the show designed for kindergarten and first grade students.  So, we had the challenge of adjusting some things and convincing people that what they were doing was awesome - even when their parts (and costumes) were usually for 5-year-olds.  Middle school is also so different than elementary - they are so concerned about being "cool".  Thankfully, we had a great group of kids and they came along with us without much fuss!

The school also has a BEAUTIFUL stage - which is such a gift after weeks of performing in gymnasiums.  This is extremely rare for a town this size - they have a wonderful, supportive arts community.  And we told the kids, constantly, how lucky they were to have such an opportunity.


As I was saying though, this was a really special experience for me because of my family's history in Timber Lake.

My Great-Grandfather,  Rev. Ole Olson, moved to Timber Lake in December of 1942, along with my Great-Grandmother, Hazel; my Grandpa, Richard; and his sister, Ruth.  Rev. Olson was to serve the Baptist churches in Timber Lake and Trail City.  According to my Grandpa, "he had made a good start at helping the Timber Lake churches to revive," but he passed away in July of 1944.  My Grandpa was not quite 10.

My Great-Grandmother worked as the Deputy County Auditor for about 8 years.  When the current County Auditor retired, she ran and won easily.  Since this term can only be held for four years, she and the County Treasurer would switch positions each term for some years.

The place we were staying was actually the old Baptist Church which had been converted into a hunting lodge.  (It was super nice and new and we were only the second people to stay there!  We were absolutely spoiled.)  At first, I thought this was the church where my Great-Grandfather preached.  Then I purchased the book that the town had developed for the Centennial a few years ago, which has a section about my family, written by my Grandpa and Great Aunt.  In it, I read about a Baptist Church fire on Easter of 1949.  So, after checking with my Grandpa, I discovered that Ole Olson's church had been a different building, a couple blocks away.  This new church was built, and was dedicated in November of that same year.  This is the church where my Grandpa was raised, and later ordained, AND where Harrison and I had the pleasure of laying our heads while we stayed in Timber Lake.  (Ok - For a good 7 minutes, I tried to look up on the internet whether it would be "laying our heads" or "lying our heads", and I'm still not sure. We lie down, but lay our heads down??  I think so.  I should have just worded it differently, but after all that research, I had to commit.  Sorry if I'm wrong.)  Regardless of how I word it, it was really meaningful.

  We have to get creative if we both want to be in the shot!  :)

Timber Lake has a surprisingly great museum.  They cover all sorts of things - a huge collection of marine fossils, Dinosaur bones and fossils, Native American artifacts, Ranching and Rodeo, and, of course, an in-depth history of Timber Lake.  There is one section where they have a bunch of antique tools and household items and a sheet where you are supposed to guess what they are.  Right next to that, there is a large collection of "vintage" photos, and the challenge is to see how many of these Timber Lake faces you can name.  My Great-Grandmother was among them!!  I was so excited.  I wanted to take a picture so bad, but we were not supposed to photograph the historical photos, so you're just going to have to believe me.

We found a pretty fun playground, too!

We were also there over Halloween!  Though we knew we wouldn't really have plans, it didn't feel right not to dress up, after our last few years of costumes!!  In fact, let's review, in case you missed those...


                2010 - Dora and Diego                                                  2011 - Miss Piggy and Kermit


2012 - Popeye and Olive Oyl

So, you see, I wasn't ready to break the streak of these fun couple costumes, even if we were going to be dressed up with nowhere to go...quite literally.  I don't think I did too bad for a couple nights of hand sewing in a hotel room...


2013 - Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head

We did end up walking around to check out other people's costumes.  We were a little nervous about shocking this little town.  It is already unusual to see people you don't know roaming around, even when they are dressed in normal street clothes.  Needless to say, it was certainly a good conversation starter!  We went to the home Volleyball game.  They lost by a pretty large margin, but we got free popcorn for being in costume, so...WIN!  

We had bought some candy in case anyone from our cast came trick-or-treating to the hotel since they knew we were there.  No one had until, pretty late in the evening, a couple of girls stopped by.  I said, "No one is coming and we have tons of candy, so just take a big handful!"  They sure did.  And then they must have preceeded to hit the streets and tell everyone we were giving out huge handfuls because we suddenly started to get a huge rush of kids!  I almost ran out of candy!! 

And even after that late Thursday night, and our entire cast being crammed with sugar, we proceeded to have a great performance on Friday evening.

    
I had really been looking forward to this stop, and it did not let me down.  It was so fun to talk to people who knew my Grandpa and family, and it will be so fun to talk to my Grandpa about who he knows and what relatives we might have had in our cast!  Like I said, this is an opportunity I may not have had otherwise, and I feel very lucky to have experienced Timber Lake.


Love to all of you,
Carolyn and Harrison

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Almost caught up!

Last week, we were in Irene-Wakonda.  The two towns are about 7 miles apart.  The elementary school, where we rehearsed, is in Wakonda.  And the high school, where we performed, is in Irene.


It was a really great week.  We had a little bit of a smaller group of kids, (about 30), but they were enthusiastic and fun.  At one point in the week, this charming conversation occurred: 

Student:  You guys have the same last name.  Are you brother and sister?  (A question we hear far
                more than we would like.)
Harrison:  Nope.
Student:  Are you best friends or something?  (Because best friends always have the same last name.)
Harrison:  Well, yeah.  We are married.
Student:  What!?!?!?!?  You are MARRIED???  I thought you were, like, 18.  
Carolyn:  Well, thank you!  In White Lake, a first-grader guessed I was 112, so I must be looking
                better this week.
Student:  No.  You definitely look like teenagers without all the acne.

You gotta love that.  It also reminds me of a student a few weeks ago who asked if we were married.  When we said we were, she replied - "I knew it.  You know how I knew?  Because your names kind of rhyme."  Apperently, this is a requirement for marriage.   

In addition to the show, we also did 5 theater workshops - 1st grade, 3rd grade, 6th grade, and two high school classes.  This made for a busy week, but it is always fun to go into the classrooms and just play without the pressure of accomplishing everything we have to in rehearsal.  The high school workshops were on Shakespeare as that is what they were preparing to read in their English class.  This was quite a mental stretch after being in elementary world.  (We primarily work with K-6th grade.)  But it was a fun challenge and it reminded me how much I love Shakespeare!

We also stayed with an incredible host family!  They had lived in Washington and Madison, WI, so we had lots to talk about.  They were generous and interesting and smart and we spent lots of time talking with them and their family.  They have a farm where they grow lots of their own vegetables and fruits, and make their own honey - delicious.  They also took us out kayaking on the Missouri River, or "The Mighty MO."  We paddled over to this little island.  (Well, I rode in the middle seat of a 3-person kayak while the men paddled me to the island like a queen.)  And we had a little picnic and explored a little.  It was really, really cool.

Oh - and their 12-year-old son's name is Harrison!  He is awesome and a lot like my Harrison.  (We have now met two Harrisons and a Chandler on our tour so far.  Pretty crazy.)  Anyway, the other Harrison lent us this pumpkin for a photo.  Their family also grows pumpkins, and apparently, if you carve your name into the side when they are still green, it grows like this!


Isn't that just the cutest thing you ever did see?
The correct answer is yes.

Happy Almost Halloween!  
LOVE,
C & H


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

A Wild Wisconsin Weekend

Hi there.

I realize most of the people reading this were either involved in this story or have already heard it, but I'm going to go ahead and tell it anyway, because I feel it needs to be documented.

After our week in Allen, we decided to make a quick trip to Wisconsin.  The plan was to get there VERY late Friday night and return to SD Sunday morning.

As we drove back across the state to Sioux Falls, I was determined to get a little work done.  So, I pulled the laptop out, but the light streaming through the windows of the van made it so I couldn't see what I was typing.  I know, first world problems.  Thankfully, I am super resourceful.  So, I pulled out the blanket and made myself a little cubicle.  Here is what I looked like working in my new office...and, then, what I looked like when I was finished.

(FYI - we were in a traffic jam when these were taken, so no one was endangered.)

So, we made it to Sioux Falls, and swapped the company van out for for good old Waldorf - my camry.  (He is named after the Muppet.) And we hit the road for our 7-hour drive to Wisconsin around 7:00pm.  A little after 9:00pm, a suspicious light came on my dashboard.  We had never seen it before, so I looked it up in my owner's manual, because that is the responsible thing to do.  It said - "Low Tire Pressure", so we planned to stop at the next gas station to fill it up.  Not 2 minutes later, though, we were stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire.  Waldorf only has a doughnut spare too and it was far too late for anyone to be open.  So, we spent the night (courtesy of Julie's hotel points - thanks, Mumsie!) in Fairmont, MN.  

The next morning, we had to buy 4 new tires and get an alignment.  Determined to finish what we had set out to do, we kept on trucking toward Madison.  (Did I mention Harrison also had a killer sinus infection by this point?)  We finally got there around 5:00pm.  The up-side of driving in the daylight is we got to see some incredibly beautiful Fall colors which we haven't experienced too much because of the crazy South Dakota weather.  It was positively glorious.

Because of the Fall foliage, I was feeling very harvest-y and announced upon our arrival that we should really find a corn maze.  So......we did.  And it was the greatest thing ever!  Mom drove like a maniac down dark, drizzly farm roads for what felt like an hour, but we made it there alive.  

There were, of course, plenty of photo ops.

She is getting so tall!

A couple thing here.  1) Why did we make my Dad go all the way to the bottom one?  And 2) I didn't realize we were just supposed to smile.

So, it had been quite rainy leading up to our little corn maze visit.  This coupled with the darkness created treacherous maze-ing conditions.  In fact, one woman who Harrison and Dad talked to said this rivaled the Tough Mudder race she did in Seattle.  Go ahead and scroll back up to the "How Tall This Fall" photo to observe Audrey's choice of footwear.  Or don't.  I'll just tell you.  It was moccasins.  Moccasins!  We were all slipping around like crazy, but Audrey, in particular, was struggling.  Let's just say....she fell....a few times.  

I know it is awful, but it was one of the most hysterical experiences of my life.  My mom and I were laughing so hard at one point that we almost got separated from the group.  People around us were asking if Audrey was ok, and I would respond - "Ooooh, she's fine!"  But I realized I was so busy laughing I didn't really know.  She was, in fact, ok.  But Mother Nature handed her quite a beating.

We did learn one thing out there:  Audrey is good at Corn Mazes.  Like Freakishly good.  Like "Did you actually make this maze, Audrey?" good.  And it was not an easy maze.  It looked like this...


You had to find these checkpoints and, at each one, you get 1/8 of the map.  I would stand there and try to orient to the map and figure out where we were going and get really confused and frustrated.  Audrey would take one tiny glimpse at the map and say - "We're going this way!"  And she was ALWAYS right. Every time.  We NEVER came to a dead end.  Not once.  I am not exaggerating.  It was creepy.  They told us it takes some people 4.5 hours to complete this.  We got through there in 45 minutes, tops.  Without Audrey though, I would, undoubtedly, still be out there.  I would say - "Shouldn't we follow this map?"  And she would respond - "No!  I'm following my heart!!"  She has an exceptional heart. (But we already knew that.) If she changes her mind about nursing, she has a fall-back in corn maze design.

Needless to say, we grew some Memories.  Well, actually - we grew some Memoies because Harrison didn't slouch enough.

After all the craziness, I am so glad we came the rest of the way to Wisconsin.  It was so good for the soul.







Then, just when I thought it couldn't get any better, my mom accidentally made me a pancake shaped like a pumpkin on Sunday Morning.  Perfection.

So, now I need to go put the finishing touches on our Halloween costumes.  I have so much more to share though, so stay tuned!  And remember - if you ever need a Corn Maze companion - call my sister.  I am very serious.

Bye for now,
Carolyn and Harrison

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Hello again!

After our weekend in Sioux Falls, we ventured back across the state toward Allen, SD. Population: 420.



















We were slightly nervous as to what we would find there as they were still recovering from the early, freak-blizzard that devastated the state's cattle population.  However, with the exception of a tiny bit of lingering snow in the ditches, all signs of this intensely damaging storm had melted away.

It did snow on our drive there, and the next day.  But it didn't stick around.  And by the end of each day, the sun was shining.

The view out the window of the classroom on our first day.

We were working at American Horse School.

In addition to our normal Performance residency, we also offer theater-based workshops.  Our week in Allen was entirely made up of workshops.  (We will return to Allen in January to do our show with the students.)  Usually, our workshops revolve around the show and are designed to promote participation.  This particular week, they had requested Anti-Bullying workshops.  Apparently, bullying is an issue at the school.  We worked with a select group of students to develop short anti-bullying skits.  It was a really great lesson in the many uses and powers of theater.  It was fun to let help these students find their voices.  And, as we told them many times, their classmates hear the anti-bullying message from their teachers and principal over and over, and it is infinitely important for them to hear it from their peers.  I hope it was a new and engaging way for them to hear this material.

The kids made posters to use as props in their skits.  Here is my favorite one, done by a fourth grade boy.

Harrison had a particularly hard time with the issue of bullying.  As he put it - "I just want to walk in there and say - 'Guys.  Come on.  Be nice.  It's not that hard.'"  But like I said, I hope it helped a little.

In other news, we are still adapting to farm country.  This is a very common sight. 

Also, we just found out that you can get your learner's permit in South Dakota at age 14!  And then your actual license 3 months later!!  I mean, I knew you could apply for special permission in some areas if you need it to live or work on a farm, but apparently that is a state-wide law.  So, for all the people who have been worried about us driving long distances or in potentially bad weather, that is no longer the concern. You should probably be more worried about the fact that we are sharing the road with CHILDREN!!

Harrison was pumped because we actually got to cheer on his Seahawks.  

   My parting wisdom for the evening:  Don't be a Bully. Be a Star!
Love you,
Carolyn and Harrison



Tuesday, October 22, 2013

A Constant Game of Catch-Up

Here I am again...apologizing.  Really, I try to stay on top of this, but are days are often wild.  That, coupled with the lack of internet access many places, means the Blog is the first thing to slip through the cracks.  Maybe I will get my act together at some point, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. :)

So...
After our week in Hoven, we headed to White Lake, population: 375.


















We had another GREAT group of kids here.  They were funny and smart and super excited.  Like a lot of our schools, they only get to bring Dakota Players in every other year.  So, the kids really anticipate this project and treat it as a privilege.  It was one of those weeks where everything went so smoothly that you were almost holding your breath, waiting for something to go wrong.  But it didn't and they put on a wonderful show on Friday night.

Perhaps my favorite student story of the week was when a little first grade boy approached me to ask about his costume.  We don't let them see their costumes until the very end of the week and it is absolute TORTURE for most of them.  Anyway, this particular boy wanted to know - "Are there going to be pretties on my costume?"  Pretties.  This is a direct quote.  Believe me.  I asked to be sure I had heard him correctly.  "Like feathers and beads", he followed up.  I didn't have the heart to tell him his costume was primarily composed of a brown tie-dye t-shirt.  (Sidenote: those costumes are actually quite cute.  And he did get to hold a dreamcatcher which had a few beads and a single feather on it.  In the end, I hope the "Pretties" quota was satisfied.)

We stayed at this delightful little (6 rooms, so...little) motel and RV park called Siding 36.  It is the sight of a historic stretch of Railroad track, also called siding.  The town of White Lake was founded after the Railroad depot was established.  It is located mid-track between Chamberlain and Mitchell.  It is named for it's 36 mile proximity to Mitchell, SD.  It was a wonderful place to stay.

At the front desk, there was a sign that read - "No Cleaning Birds in Room".  My immediate interpretation of this was, of course, birds that clean.  What did have against the Snow White method? - I wondered.  And had this really been a big problem in the past?  (The only reason I don't feel like a giant idiot is because Harrison was confused enough to ask them what that meant.)  We found out that, in fact, we were in "the heart of Pheasant Country", and they were requesting that people did not clean their recently killed fowl in their motel rooms.  This seemed like a more reasonable and more horrifying request.

When our week was finished, we headed to Sioux Falls for the weekend.  36 miles down the road, though, we had to make a quick stop in Mitchell, home to my beloved Corn Palace.  We had the pleasure of seeing them working on one of the newer corn murals.  Such a treat!  You can really see the design element at work.  It's like a giant color-by-number.......but with Corn!


If I am not mistaken, we spend a week in Mitchell later in our tour, so you will see and hear so much more about this awe-inspiring structure.  After all, it is Palace covered in Corn!!!!!

Upon making it to Sioux Falls, we had the pleasure of attending a local theater's production of "Sleepy Hollow:  a musical tale."  It was a cute way to launch into this Halloween season.  Afterward, we walked around down by this little Boardwalk they have, and found this dinky little fountain.  As some of you know, Downtown Olympia is home to the Heritage Park Fountain which is a huge splashpad-type fountain where water shoots up from the ground from different spouts in different intervals.  It is pure magic - one of my favorite places.  Here is a picture of me playing in THAT fountain 5 years ago.


Well, the Sioux Falls fountain was a similar concept, on a much smaller scale.  Regardless, we attempted to take a photo, so we could feel transported.  But, it just ended up looking like Harrison had antennae.  


We love you all.  Good night. (Or morning, afternoon, or evening as it well may be when you read this.)
C&H


 

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Hoven...more like Heaven!

After our stint in the Hills, we headed back across the state to Hoven, SD - population: 413.
Ironically, Hoven is not too far from Faulkton where we were only a week earlier.

 
We arrived in town on Sunday evening (after climbing Crazy Horse).  The town has one small grocery store, one restaurant, and one gas station.  We were staying in a rental house and were psyched to have a kitchen, so we drove down main street looking for the grocery store, only to find that it was closed on Sundays!  So, we popped over to the gas station and bought all the regular food we could find - an apple, some almonds, some cheese, etc.  Nothing like a gas station feast!
 
Later that week, we had a chance to eat at the Restaurant - Boone's Steakhouse.  The owners are the parents of one of the kids in our cast.  He had been bragging all week about how his Dad made the best steaks in town - even an 18oz.!!  So, Harrison decided he had better give it a try.  I had never seen such a slab of meat.  He finished that entire thing!  Even the waitress was shocked.  I couldn't even finish my "mini" 8oz.  Don't worry - he finished the rest of that too!  The steaks were delicious though, so the next time you find yourself in Hoven, make sure you go. 
 
We had a great time in Hoven.  The kids were very well-behaved and the PTA was awesome!  They provided dinner for the kids (and us) between rehearsal sessions each night and were super helpful and supportive.  One day, before rehearsal, we were chatting with the kids and I asked them what they did for fun in Hoven.  They ALL said - "Ummmmmmm..........play my X-box."  It was so clear why they were so excited for our company to come to town each year.  There is not much else to do and this really is a highlight of their year.  It felt good to be able to bring them this experience.

With the small town charm comes a few challenges though.  As we already explained, we had VERY little cell service and no Wi-Fi.  The first night we were there, I tried to call my mom.  I walked all over the place to find a location with enough service.  I finally figured out that if I went outside and walked down the block to the fire hydrant, I could maintain a call.  My mom and I had a complete, successful conversation.  Two days later, Harrison and I were making our weekly conference call with our bosses.  To make sure we can all be heard, Harrison and I have to be in separate rooms on separate phones when we make this call.  So, I thought I would go to my fire hydrant spot.  I popped outside in my lounge pants and no shoes.  Unfortunately, halfway down the sidewalk, I was met by a snake.  A real SNAKE!  I freaked out of course.  We had a full face-off.  Of course, at that moment, my boss came onto the conference call.  I was literally sprinting down the sidewalk toward the house, shouting "Sorry! Hold on!!  I'm running from a snake right now!!!!" Welcome to the Prairie. 

That Saturday, after the snow storms missed us, we drove an hour and half over to Aberdeen.  Mainly, we needed printer ink and a Laundromat, and that was the closest city to have them.  Luckily, we were able to visit my Uncle Don.  He was married to my Grandma's beloved sister, Ruth, who passed away earlier this year.  It was so nice to see him, catch up, share lots of memories, and hear family stories.  We spent the whole day with him.  He even came and sat with us while we washed all the show costumes at the Laundromat/Bar - (an odd combination of establishments, but I guess a lot of people need to drink while they launder...)  Anyway, we had a wonderful time with him and cannot wait until the next time our paths cross again.

Hoven is also home to "The Cathedral on the Prairie" - this gorgeous Cathedral that you can literally see for miles as you approach the town.  It is absolutely beautiful, and you can hear the bells chiming from anywhere in town.  We got the chance to stop inside on Sunday before we left, and it was breath-taking.  Apparently, the church hosts many college choirs and even the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra throughout the year.  It is really a gem in this little town.  I assure you this cell phone snapshot does not do it any justice.

 
Ok - Harrison and I are going to go work on some ukulele duets now.  Requests?
Love you,
C&H  

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Wow - getting a late a start tonight.  We just got back from putting our set up.  Well, let's be honest - Harrison mostly put up the set while I tried, unsuccessfully, to shoot some hoops with a stray basketball I found.

Anyway...
Let me finish telling you about the Hills.

We had the privilege of spending a few nights at Harrison's family's cabin.  It is located at the Blue Bell Resort in Custer State Park.  It belongs to Harrison's Great Aunt Barbara and Great Uncle Allen, who live in Hot Springs.  We had the pleasure of visiting them on Saturday.  Technically, they are relatives of Harrison's uncle "by marriage", but they have always treated us like family and it is always a joy to see them.   They are so generous to let us stay in their sweet, little cabin.

On our way back from Hot Springs, we ran into this little guy...

 
I sent Carson a postcard with a Buffalo on it, and then told him on the phone that we had seen them that close.  He said, "I thought someone else took that."  I explained that he was right, but that we DID see some that close and took some pictures.  Here you go, buddy! Of course, the only reason we got this shot is because of our intense zoom on our awesome camera.  We would never approach a buff this close. Buffalo are dangerous!!
 
We were there during the Annual Buffalo Round-up where they round up the entire Custer State Park herd - over 1,000 Buffalo - to vaccinate them and manage the herd.  Needless to say, we got to see a lot of Bison!
 
We drove through the Wildlife Loop and found a few more.  I love how this guy is just casually walking down the road.
And then he posed as we drove by.
We literally screamed when we drove away.  I literally could have reached out the window and touched him.
 
Just to clarify, I am not being sexist by referring to all these buffalo with masculine pronouns.  I have become very good at identifying gender in this species.  In case you ever wanted to know, the males horns' angle straight up like this so they could be used to ram in a fight.  But the females horns' round in toward each other so that when they bend their heads forward they can push and prod their young without stabbing them.  Now you know.
 
 
We also found a few burros.
They are soooooo cute. Unfortunately, they are becoming very domesticated because people feed them from their vehicles which is obviously harmful to wild animals.  Come on, people!
 
We took a few failed self-timer shots...
and then visited Sylvan Lake - the site of our wedding reception.
 

(I told you you'd see this pose again.)
 
OK.  Then, on Saturday, we got to do the coolest thing ever.  Seriously.  We got to climb the Crazy Horse Memorial. 
Here is Harrison at the starting line.
 
We had heard of the Volksmarch where people get to hike the Crazy Horse mountain, but we had never been there at the right time.  This year, for the first time, they had an Autumn Volksmarch, and we timed it out perfectly!!  So, for the whopping price of $3 and 3 cans of food each, we got to do one of the coolest things ever!
 
EVER!!
We started the 6.2 mile hike right when they opened the gates and booked it up there.  We were the 3rd and 4th person to the top.  It was so lovely to have this peaceful moment and an uncluttered shot.  It was so majestic.
Unreal.
 
All four heads of Mount Rushmore would fit inside Crazy Horse's face.  While our children's children's children will probably never see the completion of this monument, it is an impressive sight, especially up close.  
 
So, in the spirit of Korczak Ziolkowski, Crazy Horse's late designer and sculptor, we hope you
Never Forget Your Dreams.

 

 
We'll try not to either.
 
LOVE,
Carry and Harry

Monday, October 7, 2013

The Hills is where the Heart is.

It looks like only one person read the last blog post, and I know it was my Dad.  (Love you, Popsie.) Perhaps the rest of you have given up on me, and I don't blame you.  But I will keep writing in case some of you find your way back!

So, after Faulkton, we drove across the state toward the Black Hills area.  We were staying in Rapid City, but our residency was actually in Red Shirt, marked with a yellow star on the below map.

Red Shirt is a small Oglala Lakota village on the Pine Ridge Reservation, about 20 miles Southeast of Hermosa.  The school is small, (only about 80 students, pre-K through 8th grade), but the kids are wonderful and the teachers and principal are doing really great work there.

Every school has its own challenges.  Culturally, we experienced a whole new set of challenges.  We were working with kids who were very new to the concept of theater.  Most had never even seen a play, much less been in one.  So, we had to develop a new approach in order to get the students to buy into the process and conceptualize the end product.  Thankfully, the kids are very smart and came along for the ride.  We worked very, very hard and all week, and had a big payoff when we performed the show.  The parents were very proud, commenting that they never realized their children were capable of something like that and how they couldn't wait for the next one.

Also, they had a Reading Tepee in their common area.  (Did I mention this school was neat?)  I have decided this should be required in all schools.
 
 
Less than 10 minutes further down the road from Red Shirt Elementary, you come to the Red Shirt Table, a table mountain with a killer view of the Badlands.  We drove out one day to check it out.
 

So cool.
 
Just warning you - Harrison LOVES making me jump like this, so you may be seeing a lot more photos like this one...
 
 
Of course, we were very happy to be back in the Hills, our old stomping grounds.  Going back to our favorite places - from the sites of our very first dates to the church where we got married.  It doesn't get much better than being there together.  One such place of importance is the Black Hills Playhouse - where we were both working when we first met!  They were closed for the season, but we stopped by anyway.
 
 
 
As we were exploring the grounds, we ran into a Job Corps group that was finishing up re-modeling the interior of the new costume shop.  Harrison and I worked at the playhouse in the Summer of 2006.  This was the last year we were able to use the original CCC buildings.  They were very special and historical and full of memories, but they were basically in shambles.  Soon after we left, they were torn down, which was sad, but clearly for the best.  Some temporary buildings have been constructed for the seasons between then and now, and they are slowly but surely building and finishing newer permanent buildings.  The young men were kind enough to give us a tour of what they were working on when we were there.  It was like a castle.  It looked so good.  
 
Honestly.  I can still remember when we first drove up to camp in 2006.  My mom, sister, and good friend, Laura, walked into the building in which I was going to live for the summer, and it was a total wreck.  I literally burst into tears, and said - "You canNOT leave me here."  Looking back, I am ever so glad they did.  It is exciting that the employees of the BHP have access to these new facilities, and although it is a very different experience, I am sure it is nice to live and work in buildings that are actually fit for occupancy. 
 
There is perhaps no place dearer to our hearts and it always feels good to come home.
 
I will be back soon with more adventures from the Black Hills!
xoxo,
C&H