Category Archives: Vacation

Houston (Vidor) Mission Trip – Day 4

This is my telling of my experience on the Boone First United Methodist Church Youth Group’s Mission Trip to Houston (Vidor). There were 18 people on the mission trip and all of them experienced the mission trip in a completely different way than I did.

Therefore, you should pull your tired bones out of bed on Sunday, July 8 and drag yourself to the basement of the Boone First United Methodist Church (703 Arden Street) between worship services (approximately 10 AM) and listen to the other 17 people give their testimony about the mission trip. I’ll probably run my yap as well. There will also be a video. Also, there will be refreshments.

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The Heat Waves had breakfast prep on Tuesday morning. I believe they served burnt waffles. #wafflelife

Here is my day in pictures:


Houston Mission Trip - 2018
The Heat Waves thinking, “Waffles, so much better burnt.”

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Emily doing lunch prep.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Emily learning how to slam lettuce.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
All Heat Waves on deck!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Jentry making sure everything is in the right place.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Andy and Kyle organizing the lunch meat.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Don’t tell the Baptists, but we were dancing in their building.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Some of these kids have moves!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Hands in!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Mosher Painting Service!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Also sent this picture of Kolbe rocking NASA swag to Flat Earth Joe. He did not respond.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Clean up.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Megan!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Anna!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Maci cleaning up the floor.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Tiffany!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Kolbe painting the living room ceiling.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
I believe this is called mean mugging. I don’t know. I’m old.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Paint central.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Vidor started to flood, so they called us back to the church for safety. We were actually working in a town called Rose Acres. So we had a long drive back in the flooded streets.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
But luckily, when we got back to the church they found us a new job! Filling sandbags!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
We emptied the church’s sandpile.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
A kid from another church estimated we filled “like 20 sandbags!” The actual number was closer to 1,000.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
When we were done sandbagging, we loaded 3 trailers full of sandbags.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
When they were loaded, the Baptist Minister wanted us to load our kids up into the trucks and put the sandbags into place. We told him that we were not putting our kids in flood water. He was not a happy camper.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
The next day we talked to a guy that went with them to put the sandbags in place. He told us that there were water moccasins in the water with them.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
A bonus of the sandbagging was the ground was filled with angry ants that came out of the ground and lit quite a few of us up!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
You were in store for a world of hurt if you got on top of that dirt mound.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
But at least after the sandbagging, we got to hit the showers!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
The Cowboys had dinner cleanup. I wouldn’t be talking out of turn if I told you that they rocked it!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
MacKenzie – Master dish stacker!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
That night, the Ukeladies helped lead the worship service.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
This is what happens when you destroy your only pair of shoes sandbagging!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Hailey!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Some version of volleyball!

The cultural activity on Tuesday night was supposed to be a free night. Do whatever you want. We were going to try to go down to the Gulf, even though it was about an hour away. However, since Vidor started to flood, we weren’t able to go more than a couple of blocks away. So our cultural event was going to Baskin Robbins and Whataburger.

If you want to see what I mean by how The Cowboys rocked the dish situation, watch the videos below:


These videos suffer from Vertical Video Syndrome because they were originally posted to Instagram Stories. That is also why they are regrettably short in length.

However, that rocking would not come without a cost. That cost I will cover in tomorrow’s post on Day 5.

Not Pictured: I got to meet up with Joe Duff on Tuesday for about 5 minutes. He came to the place where we were staying, but then had to get home because of the flooding. I was hoping he would make it back for the Community Dinner on Thursday, but he has a little baby to look after, so there is that.

Houston (Vidor) Mission Trip – Day 3

This is my telling of my experience on the Boone First United Methodist Church Youth Group’s Mission Trip to Houston (Vidor). There were 18 people on the mission trip and all of them experienced the mission trip in a completely different way than I did.

Therefore, you should pull your tired bones out of bed on Sunday, July 8 and drag yourself to the basement of the Boone First United Methodist Church (703 Arden Street) between worship services (approximately 10 AM) and listen to the other 17 people give their testimony about the mission trip. I’ll probably run my yap as well. There will also be a video. Also, there will be refreshments.

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The Cowboys had breakfast prep. This means that you have to be in the kitchen by 6:45 to make breakfast for everybody. I like having this chore on Monday because it gets it out of the way early. Although truth is that the only chore I don’t really like is Building Maintenance because it involves cleaning toilets. I have that in common with many of my co-workers and the employees at that Road Ranger in Illinois.

This was my day in pictures:


Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Kolbe and Jordan cutting lunch supplies. Everybody makes and packs their own lunch. You eat lunch at your work site.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Anna bageling.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Mackenzie, right on time!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
The Schoff Boys waiting for breakfast.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
The breakfast prep team has to do a little skit to announce what is for breakfast in the morning. We had cereal.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
The Heat Waves had breakfast cleanup. Andy and Emily doing dishes.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Andy doing dishes.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Jentry.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Hailey clearing the tubs.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Donovan changing garbage.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Heat Waves cleaning up after everybody had packed their lunch.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Not going to lie, the Cowboys got probably the easiest work assignment. While most groups installed insulation and hung drywall, we puttied, caulked, and painted. Lots of window trim and doors.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Kolbe puttying.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Megan puttying.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Anna painting trim.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Mackenzie and Tiffany painting doors.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Lunch!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Megan and Cousin Kari painting doors.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Kolbe!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Anna!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Jordan and Anna!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
It still hadn’t stopped raining!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
A masterpiece.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Mackenzie!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Anna knocking out that door.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Jake from Missouri.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Megan!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Pretty flower!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
The Cowboys didn’t come to play (okay maybe a little bit)!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
More closet action!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Cleaning up for the day!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
More cleanup!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Mackenzie was our inventory master!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
A hard day’s work.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
More hard workers!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
A FEMA trailer. The woman who’s house we were working on lives in the FEMA trailer. She is 91 years old. I sent this picture to Flat Earth Joe because he believes that eventually we will all be rounded up into FEMA camps. If recent events are any indication, those FEMA camps will be abandoned Wal-Marts and Toys’r’Uses, but I wanted him to see FEMA at work.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Long shot of clean up.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
We took people to Sonic. That meant somebody had to go out in the rain to get the van.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Guess who that was?

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Sonic!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
This game is called Signs. Megan is really, really bad at it. She was always in the middle.

YouthWorks has a nightly cultural event. This was easily the weakest that we ever had. Monday night’s cultural event was listening to a speaker from Nehemiah’s Vision. She came to the building we were staying at and spoke for about 15 minutes. The bonus was that there was more free time before worship in free time.

Not pictured: Kolbe really likes the song CARAVAN and the boys from the other churches really, really like the song COUNTRY ROADS.

Houston (Vidor) Mission Trip – Day 2

This is my telling of my experience on the Boone First United Methodist Church Youth Group’s Mission Trip to Houston (Vidor). There were 18 people on the mission trip and all of them experienced the mission trip in a completely different way than I did.

Therefore, you should pull your tired bones out of bed on Sunday, July 8 and drag yourself to the basement of the Boone First United Methodist Church (703 Arden Street) between worship services (approximately 10 AM) and listen to the other 17 people give their testimony about the mission trip. I’ll probably run my yap as well. There will also be a video. Also, there will be refreshments.

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I woke up on the cold hard floor of the Methodist church in Saginaw. I got dressed and prepared myself mentally for the day.

Here are some pictures from the day:


Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Based on the amount of stores that cater to both, Texans LOVE donuts and pornography. I imagine some probably do both at the same time. I’m not here to judge.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Statue in the church’s beautiful courtyard.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Fountain in the same beautiful courtyard.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Their women’s group made us a delicious breakfast.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
A staple of every Methodist diet, egg casserole!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
The lady who made us the breakfast did taunt us with a description of dish she described as “too much”: Breakfast Lasagna. Sign me up lady!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Myrtle.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Donovan discussing the courtyard.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Jaxon still thinks it is a thrill to pump gas. I’m not afraid to exploit his youthful enthusiasm.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Gas station breakfast food. Hard pass.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
The church televises their worship services into their fellowship area. We get it, you’re good with technology.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Congregating to worship an awesome God!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
We went to their acoustic service. It was great music lead by a great musician!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
They sit in the front row at our church too…

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
The lady in the middle was a Pastor at the church. The one on the right was a member of the congregation that recently became a Pastor and was getting assigned to her first church. She gave the sermon. I loved this worship service. There were two things of note that happened. 1 funny and 1 tragic. The funny thins was that they discussed a couple in the church that had gotten married the previous day in “Detroit or Chicago. Some Yankee town.” The tragic thing was a member of their congregation was killed in a car accident on the previous day. He left behind a wife and 2 small children. Happy Father’s Day.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Maci taking Communion

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Kolbe taking Communion

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Mackenzie taking Communion

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Summer taking Communion

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Jentry taking Communion

Something else unique about this church was they did the light a candle thing in the corner. This is something I’ve always affiliated with Catholics because I’ve only ever seen it in Catholic churches. Really, mostly in movies. I lit 2 candles.
Shortly after the worship service, we hit the road for Vidor. Another 7 hours or so in the van coming up!


Houston Mission Trip - 2018
We stopped in a town where a buffet was recommended to us by one of the Saginaw Methodists, but it required a 30 minute wait, so instead we went across the street to a string of fast food restaurants: Jack in a Box, McDonald’s, Dairy Queen, Subway, and Texas Burger. I recall an unsavory taco experience at a Kansas City Jack in the Box on another mission trip with Shawn Karber. So Jack in the Box was a hard pass for me.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
I went to Texas Burger because I might never get a chance in my life to try Nolan Ryan’s Texas Beef Steak Fingers.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
They taste kind of you how you imagine.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
The next stop was Buc-ee’s in Madisonville, I’ve always been a big fan of Buc-ee’s. At least since Carla, Mom, Alexis, and I stopped at one on our way to see Elainie graduate in San Antonio.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
If you’ve never been to a Buc-ee’s, it is the single greatest gas station chain in the world. It is the exact opposite of that Road Ranger in Illinois.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
I wanted to buy a Buc-ee’s hat to make it my official Mission Trip Hat, but none of them were my flavor.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
The last 2-3 hours we drove through some major rain. But when we got to Vidor: BASKETBALL!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
On Sunday night we worshiped and we prepared for the next 4 days of hard work.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Worship!

After the worship service I found out I was part of The Cowboys. At YouthWorks they split you up into several teams. You work with that team the rest of the week on chores and at your work sites.

The Cowboys consisted of:

Humble Narrator
Tiffany
Kari – from Missouri, but really Madrid, but really Boone (who turned out to be my cousin)
Anna
Jordan
Kolbe
Maci
Mackenzie
Megan
Ellie from Missouri
Jake from Missouri

In the next 4 days, the pictures will concentrate heavily on those people because these are the people I spent the majority of my day.

The Cowboys had breakfast prep on Monday, so I had to make an attempt to get to bed early, to rise early. Even though trying to sleep the first two nights of a mission trip is a fool’s folly.

Not pictured:

Kolbe really, really likeS the song CARAVAN.

Houston (Vidor) Mission Trip – Day 1

This is my telling of my experience on the Boone First United Methodist Church Youth Group’s Mission Trip to Houston (Vidor). There were 18 people on the mission trip and all of them experienced the mission trip in a completely different way than I did.

Therefore, you should pull your tired bones out of bed on Sunday, July 8 and drag yourself to the basement of the Boone First United Methodist Church (703 Arden Street) between worship services (approximately 10 AM) and listen to the other 17 people give their testimony about the mission trip. I’ll probably run my yap as well. There will also be a video. Also, there will be refreshments.

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A few things I should clarify before I get into my mission trip experience.

For the 4th straight year, we booked our mission trip with YouthWorks. I have been on 7 youth group mission trips now. YouthWorks is by far the most organized group we have ever been with. They have you organized from 6:45 AM to 11 PM.

We decided to take our Mission Trip to Houston because of Hurricane Harvey. Plus it was farther away than our past mission trips, which appealed to the kids on the trip. A couple of them badly want to go on a mission trip to a foreign country. Texas is kind of like another country. So close enough.

This is the first year that YouthWorks offered mission trips to Houston, so it was a learning experience for them as well. When they got back to us about some of the details of the mission trip, they originally stated that we actually would be going to Beaumont, which is about an hour east of Houston. Then a few weeks before we left; Beaumont became Vidor. To this date, nobody I know knows how to pronounce Vidor.

Vidor is just east of Beaumont. If you do any research on Vidor, you will find out it is considered one of the most racist towns in America. It was a Sundown Town. Meaning at one time, white people were the only people that were legally allowed to be outside after the sun went down.

Vidor is allegedly not as racist as it once was, but I only saw one black person my entire time there. He didn’t live in Vidor.

Now that you have some context, let’s discuss Day 1 of the Mission Trip.

We gathered at the church about 7 AM. We took the obligatory group photo:


Houston Mission Trip - 2018
First without Autumn

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Then with Autumn. (Can you find her?)

We prayed and then hit the road. 2 big white vans and the Sharps in their own vehicle taking a separate route.

Houston is about 15 hours in the car, without stops, so we planned on stopping for the night in Saginaw, Texas at a Methodist Church to stay the night. It was going to be a long day in the car.

Some highlights:


Houston Mission Trip - 2018
We stopped somewhere in Kansas at a McDonald’s for lunch. The first time I’ve eaten McDonald’s since January 15, 2006.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Selfie with my van. Tiffany was driving. Maci, Mackenzie, Kolbe, Megan, Anna, and Jordan in Yogi Bear’s van.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Shortly across the Oklahoma border we stopped for gas.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
It was a gas station/casino. It had the grossest bathroom I’ve been in since a Road Ranger in Illinois that still haunts my dreams.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
We tried to stop in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma for supper, but the whole town lost power, so we went to the next town.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
We stopped at this super sketch A&W in a gas station. It only had 2 employees.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
They weren’t real happy to see 15 customers come in at once. But they managed to serve us.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
But behind the sketchy gas station: Goats!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Kolbe & Jordan enjoying the goats.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
I think Kolbe might have his own goats at home.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Megan, Jordan, and Kolbe

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Goats!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Jordan’s Selfie Game is Strong

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Very strong!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Goats!

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
One of the goals of the trip was to make it to Texas by sunset so we could take pictures with this. It threw me off how short the days in Texas are.

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Mission Trip Kids

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Plus Adults

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
MacKenzie, Anna, Jordan, Kolbe, and Anna

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Summer and Jentry

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Jordan

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Megan and Kolbe (who are significant others, but for some reason wanted to tell the YouthWorks kids that they were twins).

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Emily and Hailey

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Mackenzie and Megan

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
More Megan and Mackenzie

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Megan, Mackenzie, and Kolbe

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Tiffany

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Maci and Mackenzie

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Maci, Mackenzie, and Tiffany

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Emily, Jentry, and Hailey

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Jaxon and Jentry

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Jaxon, Jentry, and Alan

Houston Mission Trip - 2018
Summer, Jaxon, and Jentry

We got to the church in Saginaw about 9:30 PM. Staying there was quite an experience.

We met Dale there. He showed up wearing all Oklahoma gear, which I thought was awesome considering we were in Texas. Turned out that he played for Oklahoma. He played for Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl against Joe Namath’s Alabama team.

I was impressed with the church’s commitment to technology. They had audio visual inputs all over the place. They had a computer kiosk where you could make your offering. The checked people into their Sunday School with scan cards.

The Baptist Church we were staying at in Vidor had cots, so we made a calculation that we didn’t need to bring air mattresses for one night in Saginaw. This was a slight miscalculation. This church had the hardest concrete floor covered with the thinnest carpet in the world. It was a hard sleep, but the people at the church more than made up for the experience.

We went to bed and called it a successful Day 1.

Not pictured: Kolbe’s infatuation with the song CONVOY, which he mistakenly thought was from the movie SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT. Kids.

Some of this Brain is Off Limits; I’m Off in a World that You Don’t Get; ‘Cause You Ain’t Ever Been In It!

Reminder, you have until next Tuesday at midnight to vote on what pictures I enter at the Boone County Fair Photo Contest. Click on the link below to vote:

BOONE COUNTY FAIR PHOTO CONTEST ENTRY SELECTION

You must have a Facebook account or a Google+ account to vote. You vote by leaving a comment on a photo.

As of this writing, only 7 pictures have received votes. Thank you Sarah Karber and Michelle Haupt!

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A reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is BLACK:


Week 146 - Black

A BLACK photo is a photo of anything that is BLACK. Remember that there is multiple definitions for the word BLACK.

Happy photo harvesting!

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The world wasn’t ready for these FACELESS PORTRAIT pictures on Monday. I’m not sure that the world is ready for them now, but I can’t hold them back any longer:


Faceless Portrait - Alternate

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All of these pictures were taken with my trusty Pixel 2 on my recent mission trip to Houston (actually Vidor). There will be much more on the mission trip starting tomorrow. So buckle up!

You’re welcome world!

My Life Is A Mess, Better Watch Your Step When You Step In It!

The world wasn’t ready for these SELF-PORTRAIT pictures last Monday, mostly because I was in Vidor, Texas. The world also wasn’t ready for them this Monday.

I’m not sure the world is ready for them now, but I can’t hold them back any longer:


Self-Portrait - Alternate

Self-Portrait - Alternate

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Self-Portrait - Alternate

You’re welcome world!

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Reminder, you have until next Tuesday at midnight to vote on what pictures I enter at the Boone County Fair Photo Contest. Click on the link below to vote:

BOONE COUNTY FAIR PHOTO CONTEST ENTRY SELECTION

You must have a Facebook account or a Google+ account to vote.

The Mount Rushmore of Presidents Vol. 3

This is the final collection of photos from my trip to Mount Rushmore with my Mom.

Here are a few final facts about Mount Rushmore from the Wikipedia:

The Sculptor’s Studio – a display of unique plaster models and tools related to the sculpting – was built in 1939 under the direction of Borglum. Borglum had planned to make a secret room behind the hairline of Abraham Lincoln which was supposed to be a doorway to a chamber originally intended to hold some of America’s most treasured documents but was left unfinished due to his death. Borglum died from an embolism in March 1941. His son, Lincoln Borglum, continued the project. Originally, it was planned that the figures would be carved from head to waist, but insufficient funding forced the carving to end. Borglum had also planned a massive panel in the shape of the Louisiana Purchase commemorating in eight-foot-tall gilded letters the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Louisiana Purchase, and seven other territorial acquisitions from Alaska to Texas to the Panama Canal Zone. In total, the entire project cost US$989,992.32. Unusual for a project of such size, no workers died during the carving.

In a canyon behind the carved faces is a chamber, cut only 70 feet (21 m) into the rock, containing a vault with sixteen porcelain enamel panels. The panels include the text of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, biographies of the four presidents and Borglum, and the history of the U.S. The chamber was created as the entrance-way to a planned “Hall of Records”; the vault was installed in 1998.

Here are the balance of pictures:


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Now that the South Dakota trip is all published, might be time to get into the Independence Bowl Road Trip or finish up with the Caves Road Trip.

The Mount Rushmore of Presidents Vol. 2

Time to check in on more pictures from my trip to Mount Rushmore with my Mom.

One of the debate topics that occasionally rises is who is the next President to go on Mount Rushmore. Say that Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln were the 4 greatest Presidents of the United States before construction was started on Mount Rushmore in 1927, won’t there some day be a President as great as them, that should also be placed alongside them.

To be honest, I don’t think that they will ever add another President to Mount Rushmore. Our country doesn’t spend money on projects like this any longer.

But say that they would, the choice for the 5th President according to the Presidents & Executive Politics Presidential Greatness Survey is pretty obvious. Next to nobody else even got any votes:

1. Franklin Roosevelt – 108 votes
2. Barack Obama – 12 votes
3. Ronald Reagan – 8 votes
4. Dwight Eisenhower – 6 votes
4. James Madison – 6 votes

It would be hard to argue that FDR wouldn’t be the next President to go up. He steered the country through its greatest economic collapse and then most of the way through WWII.

Let us say that some day another face was added to Mount Rushmore, the truth is that it might not even be a President. In 1937, a bill was proposed to Congress to add Susan B. Anthony to the mountain. I’d imagine there would be a pretty strong movement to add Martin Luther King Jr. to the mountain today.

Although it would be hard to imagine putting a Civil Rights Leader on the mountain after the mountain was stolen from the Lakota in 1876 in violation of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

But I digress…


Mount Rushmore

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There are still more Mount Rushmore pictures coming!

The Mount Rushmore of Presidents Vol. 1

It is time to crack into the final spot I hit in South Dakota with my Mom last year. Mount Rushmore.

People (particularly bored sports talk show hosts) are always trying to make comparisons in the sports world to Mount Rushmore. Who would be on the Mount Rushmore of Iowa State athletics? (Dan Gable, Fred Hoiberg, Troy Davis, Jack Trice) Who would be on the NBA’s Mount Rushmore? (Lebron, Magic, Jordan, Wilt) Who would be on Cyclone basketball’s Mount Rushmore? (Hoiberg, Niang, Tinsley, Grayer) Who would be on Cyclone football’s Mount Rushmore? (Troy Davis, Jack Trice, Seneca, Matt Blair)

That type of thing?

But does the Mount Rushmore of Presidents have the 4 best Presidents on it?

According to the official results of the 2018 Presidents & Executive Politics Presidential Greatness Survey, they did a pretty good job.

A little about the survey:

The 2018 Presidents & Executive Politics Presidential Greatness Survey was conducted online via Qualtrics from December 22, 2017 to January 16, 2018. Respondents were current and recent members of the Presidents & Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association, which is the foremost organization of social science experts in presidential politics.

Here is their Top 10 Greatest Presidents

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. Franklin Roosevelt
4. Teddy Roosevelt
5. Thomas Jefferson
6. Harry Truman
7. Dwight D. Eisenhower
8. Barack Obama
9. Ronald Reagan
10. Lyndon Johnson

Therefore, the creators of Mount Rushmore did manage to pick the 4 top Presidents that were available to them. FDR hadn’t been President when Mount Rushmore began. He was President when it was abandoned however. During WWII, the United States couldn’t afford to spend any more on the project. At this point, it is safe to assume it will never be finished.

Here some pictures from the trip to Mount Rushmore:


Mount Rushmore

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A few more pictures of Mount Rushmore are still stretching their legs, waiting for the call to get into the game.

Custer State Park Vol. 2

Today is as good as any to check into the back log and post some more pictures from my trip to Custer State Park with my Mom.

I wouldn’t say that Custer State Park was a disappointment, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype. I do feel however that I had more time to visit Custer State Park, I would be way more impressed with it. I hope I do get to do that again at some point. Maybe do some hiking. Maybe find these buffalo that are allegedly all over the place.

But like I wrote earlier. The lack of buffalo was made up for by the awesome feral donkeys.
>br?
Here are more pictures from Custer State Park:


Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

I felt really bad for the donkey that stood facing the sign. I did talk to him and give him food. He eventually came out and joined the other donkeys.

There are a few more Custer State Park pictures in the hopper.