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.

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.

July Adventures in Montana

We worked the first three days of July, Gary helped round up more cows and calves one day. We took July 4-6 off from work for a family visit.  Saturday morning we packed for our trip that day to the Black Hills to join my family celebrating my folks' 60th wedding anniversary.  My brother, two sisters and their families were all there for the weekend.  We stayed together at my folks' home which is just outside Rockerville, southwest of Rapid City. Our kids had other family commitments and were not able to join us this time.  We had a great time looking at family pictures, watching home movies and playing games.  Sunday we went to church together and then brunch at Minervas. Monday morning my brother and his family left to drive back home.  The rest of us drove over to see Mount Rushmore and enjoyed walking the trail and looking at all the displays again.  We had lunch at folks, then went into Rapid City to see the new Habitat for Humanity offices, where my sister Heidi works. Supper in town and a visit to Dinosaur Park that night completed our day.  (And a special visit to Armadillo's for one of their specialty ice cream dishes for dessert).

Round em' up, cowboys

Family pic

Visiting the boys

The girls on Dinosaur Hill

Tuesday morning, my sister and her family left to fly back to Tampa.  Gary and I packed an overnight bag and drove up to Spearfish to meet Gary's cousin Kela and her husband for lunch. We had a great lunch and conversation and then went with them to tour the D. C. Booth National Fish Hatchery.  One of those places we always thought we should visit and never had.  The historical home there was very interesting to tour. That afternoon we drove to Lead and bought tickets to the opening night of "Deadeye's Wild West" musical comedy taking place at the historic Homestake Opera House. We had a beverage at the Stamp Mill Restaurant Saloon and Hotel. They have two rooms above the restaurant they rent, but we decided to walk just a half block up the street and booked a room at the Town Hall Inn.  This was Lead's town hall building, built in 1912 and housed many of the town's civic offices.  The Homestake Mining Company housed their general offices there for nearly 50 years and the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They have twelve unique rooms available, ours was very comfortable and we had a nice continental breakfast the next morning.  After checking in and freshening up, we walked back to the Stamp Mill for supper and then went to the show.  We had time before the show to look around the opera house. It was built in 1914 with a theater that seated 1000 people, a heated indoor swimming pool, billard hall, library, bowling alley, and lounges for the men and women.  In 1984, the theater portion of the building was nearly destroyed by fire and then sat empty for 11 years.  Their nonprofit organization is now working very hard to restore the theater and have it in condition to have performances there again.  Our friend, Sarah Carlson, who had sang with us in the Cathedral Choir for many years, is the Executive Marketing Director for them.  Sarah was one of the star performers for the show that night. She did not know we were going to be there - toward the end of the show, she (Badlands Bessie) and Deadeye Dan had to run through the audience and it was fun to see her surprise when she saw us. We had time afterward to visit with her and her husband Richard afterward.

Stamp Mill Restaurant and Hotel

Fire damaged opera house

With our star, Sarah!

Wednesday we drove back to my folks home via Sturgis and Bear Butte.  Nearby, we stopped to see The Buffalo Chip Campground, the newly incorporated biker town.  Close by was the famous Full Throttle Saloon, the "biker bar".  We walked through the bar, saw the motorcycle racing ramp and all the stages being prepared for the Sturgis Rally, this year the 75th. (In September 2015, the Full Throttle burned down!)  Continuing on, we stopped and toured the Pactola Lake museum and had lunch in Hill City.  The Black Hills were very green for July, it was beautiful and all the lakes were filled up again.  That night, our daughter Katie and her family arrived to stay and visit for a couple days.  They were returning from a family reunion in Colorado, so Riley and Sam (twin grandsons) had many stories to tell about all they had seen there.

Buffalo Chip entrance

Sculpture at The Full Throttle Saloon

Pactola Reservoir

Thursday we all went to Mount Rushmore so the grandsons could see it.  Afterward, we went to Reptile Gardens to pet the tortoises and snakes and see all the other creepy crawlers.  We had lunch at the Prairie Berry Winery and then went back to the house for supper and games.  The boys enjoy playing Left, Right, Center. Friday morning it was time for us to head back to work in Montana.  We picked up coffee in Deadwood, groceries in Broadus and then we were home again.

Jordan, Riley, Sam and Katie

Family picture before leaving

Back to work on Saturday morning, the excitement that day was six RVs arrived all at the same time for check in.  On our off hours we concentrated on keeping the lawns at Bob's watered, it was still warm and windy, which dried up the ground fast.

The sun keeps shining!

The next week we got up on Tuesday to pack the car and explore.  We did not leave as early as expected, because when I opened my dish towel drawer that morning I saw that we had had visitors.  Mice again!  I took the time that morning to wash all the towels and clean out and disinfect all the kitchen drawers.  I sprayed peppermint oil outside around the perimeter of the motorhome and we set all the traps outside again. Yuck.  Finally on the road, we drove on Hwy 14 & 14A through the Big Horn mountains and arrived in Powell, WY.  We found out there was no room at the inns in Powell. Tourist season and the local fair that week.  One hotel there told us we would have to go to Cody or Red Lodge.  We stopped and had lunch in Powell, then headed north for Red Lodge.  I called ahead and got us a room there.  High season for tourists, the rate was much higher than the room was worth, but we had to stay somewhere. (I had not made reservations ahead of our trip because we were not sure what day we would be able to leave that week) We checked in and then went to the Sam's Tap Room/Red Lodge Ales brewery for a beverage.  We drove around town to see the sights and then had supper at Foster & Logan's Pub & Grill.

Early Wednesday morning, we left Red Lodge to drive the 68 mile Beartooth Highway, Hwy 212 between Red Lodge and the Wyoming state line, continuing to north Yellowstone.  Called "the most beautiful drive in America" by Charles Kuralt, the summit at Beartooth Pass is 10,847 feet above sea level. Our goal and the reason we were up driving early, was to see moose or bear as we drove.  We did see a young female moose lying high up on a mountain meadow and we had a female elk bound across the road in front of us at one point, but nothing closer and no bear. :(  We stopped at the Top of the World store and took a few pictures at Beartooth Lake.  We saw a marmot there.  It is a beautiful drive with many switchbacks and the vistas were incredible.  We drove up to the Clay Butte Ranger Tower and loved the incredible views and the wild mountain flowers covering the ground on the mountain hillsides.  Gary wanted me to run out in them and sing "Sound of Music".  We reached the end at Cooke City and stopped and had brunch.  Then we went on further into Yellowstone Park and drove the northern loop, still hoping to see bear. (Lots of bison, no bear!)  We did see elk lying in the lawns at Mammoth Hot Springs, we were told they like the grass grown there.  After completing the north loop, we drove out of the park, up to Gardiner, MT and north to I-90.  We were back home about supper time.

Switchbacks to the top

The high mountain plains at Beartooth Pass

Beautiful vistas

Mountain wild flowers

Beartooth Lake

Thursday, we took our kayak and drove southeast to the Tongue River Reservoir to go boating. Once there we realized it was too windy for our little paddle powered boat to be on the water. We could have traveled one way with the wind, but we wouldn't have had enough crew power to get back.  We drove on south on Hwy 314 to Decker, MT and then made the loop back to Dayton, WY where we had a picnic lunch in their city park. We played cards that night at the park.

Friday, it was time to mow again at Bob's and catch up on laundry and cleaning before working again. That week, Gary was on the horse again working the cattle.  We had the excitement of finding a nest of mice in the cabinet behind our living room TV, so we had to clean and disinfect all of that area. We found the big hole around the washer pipes where they came in, so we corrected that with fine mesh screen and Great Stuff foam. (No more mice inside for the rest of our stay)  It was windy and rainy this week, so we did not have to water lawns every day.

Thursday afternoon, we went to Sheridan with Miles and Deb.  First stop: Boot Barn. Miles found a pair of boots and Gary bought polish for his dress boots.  It was Crazy Days and the opening night of the weekly Farmers Market, so we browsed in stores and bought fresh cherries at the market.  We had a beverage at the historic Mint Bar and then supper at the Wyoming Cattle Company. 

Friday we were off, so Gary decided to change the oil in our car.  Working on that, he and Chip decided to find out why we had been leaking oil and ended up taking most of the front of the car apart!  They discovered a rock had put a hole in the transmission cooler.  They ordered the part and put it back together on Wednesday when the part came in.

I pulled out my sewing machine and finally sewed the cover for our extra couch cushion. Saturday night we cooked Peppers and Shells for everyone.  Sandy let us use her kitchen in the house and had the big pots we needed, everyone enjoyed the meal.

Looks like trouble!

Putting it back together

June in "Big Sky Country"

We started a second part-time job at the beginning of June.  A friend of the Watts, Bob, hired us to water and mow the yards for the two houses on a ranch that he manages nearby, about four miles away. The first day we mowed it all, on a nice riding lawnmower, and we trimmed branches.  Then we set up the watering.  An irrigation ditch runs along the property, so we positioned the pump to pull the water from the ditch for the spigots.  We worked quite a few hours in June, with all the trimming and mowing that needed to be done.  Most days we would go over and set the sprinklers to run for four to six hours, then move them to the next dry area.  Several times we saw good size bull snakes, but they went their way and we went ours.

Upper lawn at Bob's

Irrigation ditch pump

Lower house lawn

Sunset beauty

Morning sun on the bluffs

One day that first week, Gary got to be a cowboy again and round up cows and calves. He said the horse knew what to do, he just had to hold on.  Then he and Chip separated the calves one by one from the cows and tagged them.  After all, that is what you do on a ranch! That afternoon, we restrung a window blind for Gail and George, fellow workampers.

Helping Mom out

Gary on Billy

Week 2 - we had five days off again, we went to explore some of the southwest area of Montana. The first day we drove to Butte and went on an underground copper mine tour at the World Museum of Mining.  The guide took us down to the sixty-five foot level of the Orphan Girl Mine.  He told us about how the mine started, progressed and how the miners lived and worked.  This mine produced 7.5 million ounces of silver while in operation. A great tour!  We stayed at the historic Hotel Finlan, built in 1889, designed after the Hotel Astor in New York City.  Located in the historic downtown, we enjoyed looking at the other historic buildings restored there.  We stopped by Headframe Spirits, a micro-distillery and had a great supper at Metals.  The next morning, we walked over to see the Berkeley Pit, a former open pit copper mine.  Underground mines became too costly in the 1950's, so they switched to mountaintop removal (open-pit) mining.  As more rock was excavated, ground water seeped up and when they shut the underground mine pumps off in 1983,  the pit continued to fill with toxic water.  It is now one of the EPA's largest Superfund sites, trying to contain the toxins. Leaving Butte, we drove on Hwy 1 up into the Beaverhead/Deer Lodge National Forest to Philipsburg. Philipsburg was a mining town, known now for sapphire mining in the area.  Several businesses let you pan for sapphires, it was too hot that day for us, so we bought a bag of sapphire mine gravel - that I still need to mine.  We did not know that sapphires develop in every color but red, the red stones are garnets.  Philipsburg is restoring many historic buildings, one we visited housed the Philipsburg Brewery.  Quite a selection, we tasted and enjoyed. We stayed at "The Inn at Philipsburg" that night, a one level 60's road hotel, but it was very clean and roomy.

One of the old gallows headframes

World Museum of Mining Tour

                                                       

                                       "Tap Her Light" - originated in Butte

CopperWild Brewery & Trimbo's Pizza   

Butte architecture

Lobby of the Finlan Hotel

Berkley Pit Mine                                           

Headframe at Berkley Pit Mine

Beer List in Philipsburg

Philipsburg buildings

The next day we were up early, had breakfast at a little coffee shop and started on our drive south on Hwy 569, over the Continental Divide, then on Hwy 43 to Dewey.  Very scenic, we drove down to Dillon, then back up Hwy 41 and reached Virginia City.  Virginia City and Nevada City nearby, are historic gold & silver mining towns, now tourist towns.  We found Virginia City interesting because many of the buildings are filled with never used items.  We were told that when the mining was depleted, some of the shopkeepers just locked up their businesses and left.  When the buildings were purchased to move to Virginia City, everything was left as is.  The General Mercantile store had boxes and boxes of new shoes, clothing items, toiletries, bolts of fabric, etc.  One building displayed arcade and other vintage musical machines, including the "Verbal Fortune Teller" from 1906.  This is the only verbal animated fortune teller machine, unfortunately they do not have it running for the public. Our destination for over night was Ennis, MT.  On the way, I tried to find a hotel room for the night, most on-line sites showed everything full.  Once in town, we checked and found out that the Montana EMT and Paramedic conference was there that weekend (this was Thursday night) and most places were full. We finally found a room at the Rainbow Valley Lodge, a hunting/fishing lodge just outside of town. In Ennis, we visited Willie's Distillery, well known in Montana for their bourbon, whiskey and chokecherry liqueur...and grappa!  Gary had his first Moscow Mule drink, they called theirs Montana Mule using their bourbon.  The next morning we headed back home, enjoying our drive through the Madison River Valley - known well for its great fly fishing, to Bozeman and then back on I-90 to the Ranch.

Georgetown Lake, near Anaconda, MT

Our moose sighting

Entering Madison Valley

Rainbow Valley Lodge

Madison River fly fishing

Beaver-slide hay stacker.

Rainbow x2

The next week proved interesting.  Gary, Miles and Chip were cowboys again and rounded up the next group of calves. We continued to have wind and rain storms, but were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow one night.  While working one morning, we discovered that a little dog had slipped out of its motorhome when they stopped in the parking lot and got left.  I tried to call the owners, but they had given us their home phone number, so I could not reach them.  The poor little thing went back and forth from the office to the RV park, trying to find his house. Finally, another camper was able to catch her and fed and watered her.  The owners eventually missed the pup and so the husband drove back 100 miles to pick her up.

Old cowpokes at work!

7th Ranch Teepee for rent

Rental Van  painted with Looney Tunes

Approaching storm front

Sunset at 7th Ranch

Lightning Show over Montana

Friday morning, on our first day off that week, we went over and mowed at the other ranch and set up watering.  Gary went back over to turn off the hoses late afternoon, just before another storm was rolling in.  This one looked different coming at us and it was!  Hail!  Many were golf ball size and ended up breaking the windshield of our car, denting the side and hood of the car, broke pieces off our TV antenna on the motorhome, but just a few pocks on the motorhome itself.  Other campers did not fare so well.  We had one Airstream trailer that really got dented up and had all their skylight/vent covers broken (Airstreams are the silver metal tube shaped campers) Other campers had some damage, one owner had left his awning down when he left and the wind caught it up and broke it. The owners' buildings and vinyl siding on their house were damaged heavily too. We spent time helping some of the campers fix their damage before having supper that night.

Showers in the immediate forecast! Turned out to be hail!

Golf ball size hail & smaller

Broken windshield on Taurus

The next morning we went over to the other ranch to check damage.  Several windows on the houses and out buildings were broke, Gary boarded them up while I picked up branches.  We found out that our RV park was on the south edge of the storm, everything north of there had larger hail and worse damage.  The wheat field at this ranch was ruined by the hail too, we had taken a picture of the beautiful field just the week before.

Wheat field before hail.

Sunset colors on I-90

Sunday, after Mass, we drove to Sheridan to watch a horse polo match.  Another first time event for us.  There are two polo clubs and fields outside of Sheridan and the view of the surrounding mountains are incredible.  One of the women that help run the polo group heard us say we were new to polo and she took time to explain how the game and teams operate.  Each player has three or four horses at the ready and they change them out each quarter, especially when the temperature is high - like it was that day.  We had supper at the Wyoming Cattle Company and went home.  Driving back from Sheridan late afternoon evening on I-90 was so pretty.  The sun hitting the bluffs, changing every five minutes is so amazing.

Polo in the shadow of the Big Horn Mts.

Monday, Bill and Darla came for a visit.  We took them up to the battlefield and then went out for lunch at the Trading Post before they went back to Billings.  Tuesday, we went in to Billings to have the windshield replaced on the car.  Then back to work on Wednesday.  This was our busy weekend at the park, the local Little Bighorn Days event was taking place.  Hardin,MT has a celebration and rodeo and it is the anniversary of the Battle at the Little Bighorn.  Special events were held at the national monument and a private group does a reenactment of the battle.  We had a lot of people checking in to stay at our park for the events. Thursday night we slipped away to Sheridan to have supper with the Grives family.  They were traveling through the area on their summer vacation, coming from Yellowstone Park that day.  Dr. Grives was one of Ben's professors at South Dakota State University and now lives in the Chicago area.  It was great to visit with them.

Friday after work, we met Wally and Jan in Hardin for the rodeo.  They stayed in Hardin at an RV park with friends and then moved to our park Saturday morning to stay and visit for a couple days. The weather turned really warm, high 90's for the weekend, so we decided to go sightseeing in cool places.  Saturday, we drove to Sheridan and went to the Bradford Brinton Memorial ranch.  This is a memorial to Western Art and History established on the ranch of Bradford Brinton who collected art from many of the well known western artists, including Charles Russell, Frederic Remington, Will James, John Audubon and many more.  We enjoyed the art displays in the museum and then toured the Brinton ranch house, decorated in period furniture and many more original western paintings and sculptures.  Unfortunately they did not allow pictures to be taken there. We showed Wally and Jan some of the sights of Sheridan and had supper at the Wyoming Cattle Company.

Sunday was hot, 100 degrees.  Gary and I went to Mass at the Crow Agency parish, St. Dennis.  It is their tradition to have Mass on this weekend outside in the yard of the church.  Everyone put their chairs in any shade available, the priests had a canopy tent over them.  We were all very warm by the time Mass ended.  We had planned to take Wally and Jan to the reenactment event after lunch but mutually changed our minds realizing how hot it would be to sit for two plus hours on open bleachers.  We drove them through the Battlefield Memorial and stopped at the museum.  We all took naps afterward and that night Wally made lamb chislic for us. We were able to take a walk through the park that night after it cooled down.

Monday, we packed the car and headed for the cooler mountains with Wally and Jan.  We stopped and hiked a trail winding through the Tongue River Canyon.  It was beautiful.  We only went two and a half miles because the temperatures were rising.  We drove up to the Big Horn mountains to Sibley Lake.  Only 75 degrees there!  We enjoyed the picnic lunch we had brought along and then hiked a little area of the lake.  We drove on to Burgess Junction before turning around to go back home.  In Dayton, we stopped at the general store/antique shop and browsed.  Back home, we took naps and then grilled for supper.

Hiking with friend in Tongue River Canyon

Tongue River Canyon near Dayton, WY

Bridge overlooking Tongue River

Looking east from the the top of the Big Horn Mts.

Picnic at Sibley Lake--a cool 70's temp

Sibley Lake & Dam

Tuesday morning, Wally and Jan left to continue their travels to South Dakota.  We went over to Bob's and mowed, trimmed and turned on the hoses for watering.  Still a hot day and windy, at home we caught up on our laundry and computer work.

Big Sky Country!