(10pm) After our stroll down through the park, dad and I drove up to Mayetta. (We stopped at the new casino the Native Americans built there. (Pretty weird!)) (We had lunch in town at a blue-collar diner there. (My kind of place!) (I signed their guest book, so they could add Montana to their list.)) (Then we went out to the farm. (He has sure done a lot of work up there since I left! (The terraces and waterways are all in.)-(He has one small pond stocked with catfish, but hasn’t gotten around to building the big one yet. (It sounds like, in the next few years, the government will pay to build that one, to help keep the watershed cleaner.))-(Most of the land is either trees or native grasses. (Kind of weird that the government pays him to grow grass instead of crops, but I guess that helps the watershed also.))-(He does have sixteen acres of the bottomland in soybeans. (Hopefully the weather will hold so he can get the combine in next week.))-(There are still a lot of trees up there, but I noticed coming across Western Kansas that they have taken out a lot of the wind breaks. (People never seem to pay attention to history.))))
We got out the 22 pistol and rifle and shot some holes in cans. (It had been a long time since I shot, and I didn’t hit much.)
Then we went over to a sighting range that one of his buddies built and shot a few rounds with the 30.06. (I hit the target 4 out of 6 times. (Good enough to take down a deer, but nothing in the bull’s eye.))
Hopefully things won’t get bad enough that I have to hunt for food. (With my eye hand coordination and lack of skills, I would starve.)
The DOW was down over 200 today, but someone started buying again. (They drove it back up, so it was only down 10 by close.) (The dollar and the Japanese markets did take a beating.) (Tis suspicious how the other indicators have been sliding downwards; but the DOW, which is the one the masses notice, has been propped up.) (The other thing I have noticed this week is that the long bond is slipping. (For awhile now it has been going up as people have moved money out of stocks, but now they are running to cash or short-term bills. (Further signs of weakness.))) (Dad has most of his money out of the market, but I wish he would move the rest out. (Oh well, maybe their efforts to get investor confidence back up will be effective.))
Dad finally fired up the hot tub tonite so I could try that out. (It would be nice to be able to afford one!)
I took another batch of pictures today of the casino and the farm. (Hopefully they will all turn out. (Erica loaned me one of her cameras, so I have been taking pictures with both cameras in case one of them isn’t working right.))
10-9-98
(6am) Orion and the moon were really close together this morning. (I am glad it has been clear!)
It has been nice visiting, but I am glad this part of the trip is coming to a close.
(12pm) I drove around to all the schools I went to and all but one of the houses I lived in here, to take pictures today. (The way things are changing; some of them may be gone by the time I get back this way again.)