September - Back to South Dakota

Sept. 1 - Time to say goodbye to our new friends and adventure at the 7th Ranch RV Camp. Miles and Deb said goodbye before they left to visit Red Lodge and Chip and Sandy came by for a final goodbye.  This was a great summer, once again we have good friends to keep in touch with in the months and years ahead.

Saying goodbye to Sandy & Chip

That day we drove south and ended our travel in Douglas, WY. We stayed at the City Park, no hookups but a nice area to stay.  We took the car and visited the Douglas Railroad Interpretive Museum.  We were able to walk through a dining car, a passenger car and sleeping car. Many of the rail cars there had been used until the 1970's.  Douglas claims to be the home of the Jackalope and there was a large statue in the square.  Driving downtown, we came upon the Headstrong Brewery, newly opened.  They had a nice Kolsch and Red Ales.

Rail cars to explore

The Captain loves engines

Sept. 2 - south on I-25, then we angled southeast on Hwy 26 into Nebraska.  We stopped to see the Fort Laramie National Historic Site.  It was hot and windy so we did not walk to all the buildings on the post, but went through the museum.  The fort was an active post from 1849 until 1890 when the Indian Wars ended.  We considered staying at Lake McConaughy near Ogallala, but wanted to go a little further that day.  We ended the day in Sutherland at a small RV park run by the golf course there, along the Platte River.

Fort Laramie grounds

Sept. 3 - we were up early and on the road to go see the Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center in North Platte.  This is the Union Pacific's Bailey Yard, the world's largest rail yard.  It is where east meets west on the Union Pacific line and handles 10,000 cars each day.  The volunteers working there were very knowledgeable, many having worked there for years. Quite a view from the upper floors, both inside and outside.  We continued on our travel, staying at Hastings that night.

North Platte rail yard

Rail width

Sept. 4 - we drove on old Hwy 6 from Hastings to our destination south of Lincoln, NE. This Labor Day weekend was a Cousin's Reunion, for all the cousins on my Mom's side of the family.  My cousin Jon lives on an acreage southeast of Lincoln, near Bennet.  I had called and found a spot for us to dry camp in a church parking lot near there, but it was going to be a hot, humid weekend in Nebraska and we knew we needed to plug in for air conditioning that weekend.  We drove to the Wagon Train State Recreation Area, which had first come, first served campsites.  We got there about noon that Friday and there were two sites open.  Yay! And only three miles to my cousin's place.  After we were set up and cleaned up, we went in town for groceries to take to the reunion and stopped at Lazlo's for a late lunch. That evening we went to Jon's and had pizza supper with the cousins that were in town that night.

The reunion gatherings were Saturday afternoon and evening for the cousins and then Sunday afternoon and evening for extended family, all our parents and children/grandchildren of the cousins. Thirteen of the sixteen cousins were able to attend.  We were able to get a good group picture and then pictures of the families.  It was a wonderful opportunity to see everyone. Sunday night after we were home, quite a storm came through the area.  Lincoln had some hail and high winds, but everyone came through it okay.

Thirteen of the 16 cousins

Labor Day - we left Lincoln and drove home to Sioux Falls.  We took the motorhome out to Jan and Bob's acreage and stayed there that night. We packed a bag to stay at Katie's for the next couple nights.  Tuesday we went in early for my blood test and then I had my doctor appointments that afternoon.  We had fun playing with the boys after they were home from school each day.  Friday we moved the motorhome to Newton Hills and had the boys there for a camping night.  We played on the playground equipment, had a campfire, played games and watched movies. Saturday we moved the motorhome to the campground in Sioux Falls and got set up with the boys help.  That night we were invited to supper at Lyn & Diane's.  Sunday we spent the day with the kids and later that week went to our dentist and doctor appointments. Supper Wednesday night with Kleins, and Thursday we moved the motorhome back out to Jan's.

Outdoor chat time

Morning cartoons

Boys exploring

Campfire boys and friends

Sept. 18 - we drove the car up to Minneapolis to see Ben and Kelsey in their new home.  Had an early supper with them before Ben had to go to St. Paul for staging practice.  We took Kelsey with us and went to the IKEA store nearby, getting ideas for our little home in Arizona. Saturday morning they made breakfast for us and then Ben took us downtown to see the Minnesota Opera offices where he works. From there, we went on a walk along the river.  It was a beautiful day and the tree colors were beginning. We stopped for a late lunch and watched football at the Freehouse Pub, window shopped and then went to the Deschutes Brewery Fest being held that afternoon. Listened to a great band, browsed through the vendor stands and people watched. Went back to the car and then dropped Ben off at the Light Rail station, so he could get to work that evening in St. Paul.  Sunday morning we walked to St. Helen's church from Ben and Kelsey's and walked through their Fall Festival booths after Mass. Back at their house, we had pizza for lunch and watched football before we had to leave to drive back to Sioux Falls. It was wonderful to see them, we realized we had not been with Kelsey since New Year's Day 2014.

Ben & Kelsey

Minneapolis skyline

Time to head north for Sugar Beets.  We packed up Monday morning and drove the motorhome to Brookings.  We stayed there one night in the City Park - Gary had some shopping he wanted to do. He needed to replenish his SDSU attire and bought a long sleeve shirt and new cap.  We did some window shopping and then stopped at the Wooden Legs Brewery and later supper at Cubby's.

Tuesday we drove to Grand Forks.  After we were in North Dakota, we began to see the big fields of sugar beets.  We arrived at the Red River State Recreation Area campground in East Grand Forks and got set up.  Later that day we went to Walmart and bought new bike tires and tubes for my bike.  Gary worked on those, so we could ride along the bike trail during our stay there.  Wednesday AM we reported to the Express Employment office and completed our paperwork for the harvest.  They confirmed we would work the night shift as piler operators. That afternoon we went for a long bike ride on the bike trail system Grand Forks put in when they built the levees after the 1997 flood.  Friday I went thrift store shopping, found a sweatshirt, hat and mittens to wear for the harvest.  We caught up on projects in the motorhome. I sewed a new cover for the couch pillow and mended Gary's jeans.  The days passed by, we had a piler operator meeting on Monday afternoon, but it really was too many days to just sit around.  We were told to report for work at 10:00 PM September 30.  The harvest officially began at midnight Oct. 1.