The Return of Ranger Jake

So... long story short... France did not work out for personal reasons, but I am UBER thrilled to be back at my 3rd home: Keystone, South Dakota!!  The Rangers seemed quite happy to have me back, and I am forever grateful that my job was still available :-)

I am kind of bummed that I missed the 4th of July at Mt. Rushmore, but luckily I will be here for the Sturgis Rally in a few weeks... it's the largest biker-gang rally in the world; thousands of Hell's Angels and all the other motorcycle gangs come through western SD... it's gonna be CRAZY.

Speaking of crazy, the shenanigans that have occurred here at Mt. Rushmore--even in the few days that I've been back--continue to be more and more ridiculous each day.

...Yesterday, a man with no teeth tried to argue with me about the difference between a mountain and a hill.

...Let me preface this next anecdote by saying that the weather here in the Black Hills has been in the 90s and 100s the past few days... perfect time to accidentally lock your keys--and your baby--in your car, right?  The law enforcement rangers had to break into the car for the frantic man to rescue his baby.

...I especially enjoyed the visitor with the misspelled tattoo... I decided not to point it out to him, as I thought it'd ruin his Mt. Rushmore experience.

...At the evening program last night, the boy scouts who were supposed to lower the flag at the end of the ceremony tried to bring their fake (yet very real looking) machine guns on stage to do some color-guard routine... when Andrew told them that wasn't allowed, the bugle player boy scout cried... boy scouts? Oy.

Finally, I found a book today that pretty much sums up my life... ;-)