August Activities

August started out very warm again.  It did rain a few days, so we did not have to water as much.  That worked well since we were without our car for several days until it was fixed. After Gary (and Chip) finished putting it together on Wednesday/Thursday, we went to Bob's and mowed after work that day.  Friday morning, Gary took the car to Hardin and had the air conditioner recharged and picked up groceries.  That afternoon, we worked the afternoon/evening shift for the first time at the park, 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM.  We found it was quite different as people arriving later in the day are very tired from their travel and (sometimes) not as friendly.  On our day off, we drove up to Sibley Lake and took the kayak out.  It was a beautiful day to be on the water and cooler in the Big Horn mountains than at the ranch.

The Captain and his ship

August was company month for us.  Kathy, Steve, Gretchen and Larry arrived on the 8th, staying at the park that night in the cabins.  We went into Hardin for Mass and then had supper at Three Brothers Pizza.  The next morning, we had them all over for breakfast before they continued west on their journey toward Glacier Park.  They returned on Thursday from their adventures of golfing, visiting Glacier Park and white water rafting.  We grilled brats for supper and had a nice evening. Friday morning, we all went to the Trading Post for breakfast before they headed back to Sioux Falls.

Sioux Falls friends

August 13-16 was the annual Crow Fair celebration in Crow Agency.  This is the biggest Native American gathering now in the United States.  In years before they have had up to 1500 tepees set up for the celebration.  There were many events over the days, ranging from costume contests, decorating the horses with blankets and draping, Native American dancing and the rodeos and Indian horse races. In the week leading up to the events, we saw how they covered their arbors with fresh cut branches, tarps and screens in the gathering area.  This was where the families cooked and relaxed, using the tepees only for sleeping.  Unfortunately that week, it was very hot again and the park where they were set up in was in a valley away from the breeze.
Saturday morning, Sandy, Deb and I went over to watch the parade.  The costumes and horses were quite elaborate and all ages participated.  That afternoon, Gary and I went to the rodeo. The Indian horse races were the most interesting, each team had three horses and one rider. The rider jumped on the first horse, with only a rope around his neck and ran the lap. The team members held the next horse ready and the rider jumped on the first and on to the second, made another lap and finished with the third horse.  The horses were fast.  We saw one rider fall off on his ride on the second lap. All around the rodeo arena, there were children of all ages riding their personal horses, having their own little races and fun. Most of them were riding bareback and a couple boys had quite a time getting their Shetland ponies to follow their directions.   After the rodeo, we went in to Hardin for groceries and had supper at the Four Aces Bar.

Indian princess

Colorful parade

Sunday was special - Miles and Deb prepared a Country Boil for all of us.  They had fresh shrimp and oysters shipped in for the meal.  We learned that you start the Country Boil with a large pot of boiling water and then add small red potatoes.  When those are 2/3 done, they added Louisiana Shrimp & Crab Boil seasoning and then put in small ears of corn.  When the potatoes and corn were done, they took the corn out and put in the shrimp.  It takes just a few minutes and the shrimp are done.  While the boil pot was cooking everything, they lightly breaded other shrimp and deep fat fried it, also grilled shrimp and breaded and fried oysters at the end.  During all this, Miles and Gary were eating fresh oysters.  Ooh, not us Debs!  At the very end, Miles took Pillsbury biscuits and fried them in the oil.  We transported all of the hot food in one of our golf carts to Sandy and Chip's house and enjoyed the meal together. Delicious - what a treat for us Midwesterners!

Shrimp frying

Country boil pot

Monday, my folks arrived to visit. Unfortunately earlier that day, Gary discovered our water heater was leaking, so he had worked on that all day and it still wasn't totally resolved.  We got them checked in to their cabin at the park and then had supper together at our house.  The next morning after breakfast, Gary and Dad went to Hardin to get parts and Gary fixed it when they returned.  Then we drove them over to see the Battlefield Memorial, to Crow Agency to see the tepees and showed them the ranch where we mow and water.  We had played cards and had supper here at our house.

Crow Days tepees

We were back to the work the next morning and my folks headed back home.  Work was busy this week, a large RV caravan and another group were staying with us.  The caravan had 20 rigs and the other group 15, so on Saturday night that week there were only three sites left for RVs.
Friday afternoon, Gary's brother Tom and his wife Rosie arrived.  We were almost done working, so they got checked in to their cabin and rested.  That night we drove in to Hardin for supper and then played cards outside on our picnic table until it got dark. Saturday morning we had breakfast here, took them to the Battlefield Memorial and then drove over to the Yellowtail Dam. We learned a lot about the building of the dam in the Visitor's Center and drove down to the marina.  We stopped for lunch outside of Fort Smith at Forrester's Resort, then went back to Hardin for Mass and had supper in town.

Last Stand Hill markers

Battlefield Monument

Yellowtail Dam at Fort Smith

Sunday morning, they were up early and headed home.  We were up and having breakfast when we got the call telling us the workampers for that morning were in town at the Urgent Care and could we come in and cover for them.  Of course we did.  I went in to the office and Gary took care of the park.  Chip was branding the calves that morning, had a neighbor and friend come to help and Neil and Miles were helping too. Some of our park guests stopped by to watch the process, there was a lot of noise in the park because the mama cows were not happy!  Sandy had us all over for supper that night, ham and beans, a Montana cowboy meal.

Branding day

Now it was our last week at the park.  Monday we went to Billings for groceries and errands. Tuesday we defrosted the freezer and starting putting things away in the motorhome for the travel ahead.  It was another hot week in Montana.  We mowed on Wednesday and continued watering.  Thursday morning we worked and went to Sheridan with Miles and Deb that afternoon.  Another stop at Boot Barn, Miles bought a hat and Gary bought cedar liners for his boots.  We had a great meal at the Rib & Chop house and then made the necessary stop at Walmart before heading home.  Friday night, Kathy, Moe, Gail and George hosted a pizza party for all of us and then we played dominoes.  We worked the weekend mornings, then did laundry, went to Hardin for Mass and groceries and continued to pack up.  Monday Gary mowed at Bob's for the last time, I did final laundry and we finished getting ready to move.  That night we went with Chip, Sandy, Deb and Miles for supper to Parkman, WY.