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2020 Spearfish, SD - Hoots VIII
September 1 kicked-off the eighth HOOTS in Spearfish, South Dakota. It was a year of change for HOOTS, with several of our traditions cast aside out of respect for the COVID pandemic. For the first time, the HOOTS logo owl wore a now-familiar face mask, potluck meals were not to be, and the always-entertaining coach stroll was given the year off. And the hugs! Countless hugs among old friends and new were gone to waste!

But, we still had HOOTS and we had a great time, we just had to find new ways to go about it. In spite of the year of fear, we had 45 coaches make the trek to Spearfish after the initial registration sold out in 16 minutes.

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Badlands Jeep Adventure
More than 20 Jeeps signed-up for Jeep Adventure, so we divided ourselves into two groups and headed out for the hills above Spearfish and Deadwood. Far different from Michigan’s sand dunes, we were treated to incredible views and challenging trails. Of course, a good time was had by all!

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Elkhorn Ridge Golf Tournament
Blustery winds and occasional Fireball treats made the day for 27 adventurous golfers at the HOOTS Elkhorn Ridge Golf Tournament, another HOOTS first. Based on the after-game comments, it looks like we can expect more golf at future HOOTS.

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Bison Feeding
Not one single person who participated had ever hand-fed a bison before this, but everyone who did claimed to have a grand time. There was a down-side…it turns out that bison slobber over their treats and several hands and arms required a good cleaning. Fun and memories!

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…In Summary
The ladies went wild over the Jewelry-make class!

Newmar execs joined us again – for the first time via Zoom meeting.

It snowed! None of our previous HOOTS have reported snow, but on September 8, our last day, it snowed. Many of our group listened to the weather forecast and bugged out a day early, but about a dozen coaches enjoyed a little of the frozen white stuff for a day.