Rapid City, SD - A cold town has never been so HOT!

Okay Mike, you're tired of hearing about this stop so you can cease reading immediately. Pics follow as well and you don't want to damage your Mac by punching it.

Dear reader, this stop rocked! We left Fort Collins and I made Jen stay awake until we hit the Wyoming border so I could prove to her that buffalo really do exist. Last time I saw them she was asleep and missed them and has sworn since then that I made it up (jokingly, of course). So we were all delighted to see a whole field of them!

We had a long day on the bus but finally arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota where we would play two shows and stay for three nights. The hotel was nice but there was nothing anywhere nearby. We hiked a mile or so to find food and discovered the Firehouse Brewing Company on the square downtown. We enjoyed their exclusive microbrews and I got Mike a fun t-shirt with a buffalo drinking their Buffalo Bitter ale. Funny shirt and finally a souvenir I thought he'd enjoy.

The next morning I headed down to the breakfast room to spread out and work on me and Mike's Christmas cards that I needed to get out while I was there. I sat working and one by one these amazing looking men filtered in and sat together at a table, eventually playing cards. One dropped a curse word causing the others to shush him "Dude, watch your mouth, there's a lady present!". I laughed and told them I appreciated it but I could keep up with them. After that we were fast friends. They asked what I was doing in town and I told them then asked the same. It turned out they were the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs minor league hockey team (THAT explained it) and were in for a game at the end of the week but had lots of free time until then. At one point Ashley came downstairs, saw me talking to them, and came in to "say hi to me". I got a text from her a short time later saying "Manly hockey players, yes please!". So I invited them to hang out with us that night after the show. Erin and I would host and all the single girls could enjoy some hot new men rather than the same guys we see everyday. No offense to our crew but thanks to the small number of straight and single men on this tour the girls were starved for some new guys to ogle. And I certainly enjoyed looking at them! Our boys were NOT amused by this plan and threatened to boycott the party and have their own. I persuaded them to come in part because we love hanging out with them and also because this was a bunch of men we didn't know and it made me feel more comfortable knowing our guys would be there.

One by one the boys showed up and it felt a little like a high school dance with the single boys and girls checking each other out. It was VERY amusing. We had a lot of fun actually talking with these guys. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that actually talked hockey with them being that I'm a fan of our own Hershey Bears! We danced and drank and talked until the wee hours of the night. I was actually propositioned by one of them and thoroughly enjoyed turning him down which I have a feeling doesn't happen often. He is a former C.K. model and as you can see simply gorgeous. Mike hates this guy but I reminded him I said no which is the most important part. And besides, I've been monogamous for twelve years so it's nice to feel attractive to someone else and good for the old married lady's ego! Right ladies!?

We had two good shows there and I enjoyed a private dressing room. This pic I just had to take and share. It's the "artwork" hanging in my dressing room. Yee haw!

Our last day there we took the bus and went to Mount Rushmore. Our excitement was somewhat tempered by some raging hangovers but the brisk air and joy at seeing this national monument quickly snapped us out of it! I just wish Mike had been there with me. I've gotten accustom to being away from Mike and how to live with it but I especially miss him when I get to do or see cool things and wish he could be there to share it. I actually called him before the party to tell him I wished he could be there as I knew he'd have fun talking sports with the guys and shooting the breeze. They really were cool guys, hot looks aside ;)

We couldn't wait to head south to some warmer weather and we were all starting to get Christmas break fever despite the long haul we were going to have to endure to get there. More on that soon as I continue to try to catch up on my blogs over the break!