Cowboys & Cowgirls

One day, last week, I was doing laundry, minding my own business, when a REAL cowgirl walked in.  :)  I knew with one look, that she was authentic.  She had beautiful ice-blue eyes, weathered, tan skin, and long braids, like you would picture on Pocahontas.  She was wearing a baseball cap, a long sleeved, button-down shirt, western jeans, belt and buckle.  Her boots were a worn, brown leather with worn-down spurs. :)
She might have been a little intimidating if it were not for her peaceful spirit and gentle smile.
We started talking, and sure enough, she was in Medora working a horse ranch for about a month, until she heads back to Minnesota.  She invited our kids to come out for some horse-back riding, too! 
The ranch is in the back, off a dirt road, inside of the Theodoore Roosevelt National Park, and the drive was just breath taking!  The roads winding up and down for miles and miles along the mountains seemed to never end!  We saw buffalo, elk, deer, and tons of prairie dogs.

When we arrived at the ranch, there was Cathy, the cowgirl, Jerry and Jimmy; the sweetest, most genuine cowboys anyone might ever meet!
They had the horses saddled, ready for a ride!  The kids were SOO excited!  Todd and I got to go on the trail too.  :)  We even crossed a creek!

We are definitely addicted now!  These horses were just precious.  They LOVED to be patted and rubbed and were SO patient with all the kids.  Hannah and Emily even got to ride all by themselves, trotting in a pen, and did very well. (Cathy was a wonderful teacher!)
Tanner also got his horse to a full gallop!  He loved it!

The kids are talking about saving their money to buy a horse or two!  Sounds wonderful to me!



After we ate some watermelon and had a great evening with our new friends, they warned us to be careful leaving the National Park as the sun was going down.  This is when the animals REALLY like to venture out......

So, we start off, and all seems fine, until Todd almost hit a buffalo that was standing ON THE PAVED ROAD!  HA!

Then, we saw this one trying to scratch his belly on a post!  He was only a few feet away! 

We were all staring in disbelief and excitement.  One minute, we were scared that it was going to turn and ram us off the cliff, and then the other minute, we were laughing in amazment!  It was cool!

Blessings,
Steph

Medora, ND

Driving through North Dakota looked a lot like this from the eastern side.
Then, we headed west:

Pictures, unfortunately do not show ALL the many colors in these beautiful mountains!  It was like turning on a switch, and all of sudden the plains and hills are gone, and buttes and mountains abound!  The kids really liked the sudden change in scenery, as they all yelled and whooped, as we drove by.

Medora, ND is a VERY small town; only 67 residents, that resembles an old town from the west.  The locals do a fantastic job keeping it authentic and clean, I must say.  :)

They have built a really inventive and fun playground in the town as well!

We strolled along the sidewalks admiring all the shops and cowboy gear, but we could NOT pass up the salt-water taffy shop!  They make it right there inside the shop, so got to see the process, before inhaling our chosen pieces. :)  Tanner and Todd actually chose some halepeno flavored taffy!  That's just wrong in my book!  YUCK.  They said it was, "alright," and it was not their favorite.  I could have told them that!  HA!

The next day, the kids and I went to the FREE Heritage Museum in town.  It is a memorial to one of their beloved residents, Harold Schafer.  He is the man who invented Mr. Bubble!  :)

It was a fun little museum, that also had a nice video sharing Harold's story.  He was quite the salesman, and loved to help others.  The Schafers gave so much to this little town, and it shows.

That quote just about sums it up!  LOVE it!

Blessings,
Steph

State #9!!! & Happy Father's Day!

We have reached Bismarck, North Dakota, our 9th state on this incredible journey!  I LOVE North Dakota!
It is just gorgeous this time of year, with miles and miles of green hills and prairies.  Did you know that there is less than 700,000 people in the entire state?  There are over a million in Houston, TX alone!
It is SO clean and safe.  LOVE it!
While we were in Bismarck, we decided to visit a little town about 30 miles north, Washburn, with a population less than 1500.  This weekend was the Lewis & Clark Riverboat Festival, so we decided to visit the Interpretive Center, which was FREE for the festival. :)

We also attended their parade and car show.  It was fun to see the modern and classic cars.  They threw TONS of candy to the kids, so ofcourse we ended up with a diaper bag full. :)

This was a first time experience for all of us too. :)  It was enjoyable being in a small town and watching everyone involved.

 Zach was totally pumped when he saw this corvette. HA!

They also had hot dogs and pickles for $1.00, so we all had our first Cloverdale PINK hotdogs!

This was a BIG moment for Parker.  Usually, he is too frightened to get close to animals, but he gathered up enough courage to go inside the petting zoo.  :)

While we were in Bismarck, Todd made an appointment with a local RV repair shop to get the valves and plumming fixed, however, I want to brag on my awesome husband, and say that HE FIXED IT!!!  He designed a new system, assembled it, and it is working beautifully!  :)
I am so proud of his perseverence and ingenuity.  He also saved us hundreds of dollars, too. :)

For Father's Day, Todd wanted to go to a local diner, so we went to Kroll's for breakfast.  YUM!

Happy Father's Day Todd!  I am blessed to be your wife, and raise our five children with you!  I thank God that HE gave me, YOU!  :)
I love you so much.

Happy Father's Day Papa Golden and Papa-Jack!
We all love you SO much!
Blessings,
Steph

Aberdeen, SD & Wylie Park & Storybook Land Review

This week we have been here and man, I am tired!  :)  It has been absolutely beautiful weather, with sunny days around 75 degrees and nights around 50, and SOOO much fun, fun, fun!

Storybook Land is inside of this huge state park in Aberdeen, SD.  There are many play areas with a focus from  many different Mother Goose poems. 

It also has large statues like this; Paul Bunyan and his big blue Ox!  We had fun strolling through the area trying to guess the theme of each one. :)

Hickory-Dickory-Dock, the mouse ran up the clock.....

Jack and the Bean Stalk.....look closely, and you can see the giant!

Hannah, Emily and Parker enjoyed it here, and also the wild life zoo in the park as well.

Large herds of deer, buffalo, elk, llamas, and reindeer......roaming "freely" in wide open acreage.
While Todd, Tanner and Zach went go-cart racing in the park, (having an awesome time!) the Littles and I went on the train ride.

But even that is not all!!
There is a swimming beach, and great playground equipment as well!  And did I mention, that other than the train ride and go-carts, it was ALL FREE!!!??  (the train is $1.75/person and go-carts are $5/person)  :)

Something else that is hard to get used to in South Dakota, is that it is not dark until about 9:30, 10:00!!  It makes for LONG days, and short nights, because the sun is up at 6:00!! 
The campground is really nice at $25/night, with our Good Sam discount, and has fantastic facilities.  Their bathrooms are VERY clean and the grounds are immaculate.  The staff is also so friendly and helpful as well, I would definitely recommend this for a couple or family to camp.  :)

Unfortunately, it has not been ALL fun and games here.  Yesterday, Todd started to replace some valves on the grey water and black tanks.  It is something that is pretty difficult, and taxing, just trying to GET in the spot in the cargo-bay to do the job.  After practically ALL day, (remember how long the days are?) he replaced them, but they were leaking.  grumble.....grumble...... :(
Then, today he tried AGAIN for about 5 more hours on it, and it still leaked!  He is so frustrated, and feels defeated.  I am hurting for my man today.  I wish I could help in some way.  Todd is very mechanically inclined and can most always fix things, but this one got him. 
Please pray! :)
We are planning on "roughing it" until Monday, when an RV repair shop can squeeze us in to hopefully fix this issue.  So, that means for 3 days, we can not use our sinks or shower or toilet in the RV.....no problem, as long as the next place has a shower house and clean bathrooms! 

It's a journey!  That is life!  There is a lesson in ALL of this, and I pray that we are glorifying the Lord even through the stressful times. 

Blessings,
Steph

De Smet, South Dakota & State #8!!!

We are in South Dakota!!  State #8!!  It is so fun, by the way, to put each new sticker on our map on the outside of the RV! :)

After we left Walnut Grove, we only did the next best thing, and visit the small town of De Smet.  The Ingalls family moved here after the grasshoppers destroyed their crops, and Pa was offered a job.  We traveled Hwy 14, which is also the official "Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway.  Even though Ma and the girls traveled by train, Pa went ahead on the buggy...it definitely made you thankful for automobiles! 
We have been reading another of Laura's books, By the Shores of Silver Lake, where it describes this move and their new life in De Smet, SD.

The museum in town has a great set up with a gift shop and wonderfully expressive tour guide.  She lead us to the Surveyor's house first, and then a replica of the school Laura would have taught in at the young age of 15!  Then, our guide took us to THE ACTUAL school that Carrie and Grace attended!  TOO COOL!

After this, we took a stroll down a few blocks to THE HOUSE that Pa built for Ma!  Grace and Mary lived here with Ma and Pa.  There were SO many artifacts in the home, like clothes and jewerly, and books and dishes. 

The house also had some of the original floors and doorknobs.  :)
Blessings,
Steph

Walnut Grove, MN!!

Oh, Walnut Grove.  The anticipation of reaching this destination was just too much for this "Little House on the Prairie"- junkie- family! :)
As we reached the small town of about 600, we were all singing the theme song....we just could not help ourselves!  HA!
We actually parked right beside the town's park, right in the center of the town. 

As we sat in the RV late that night, I just enjoyed the sight and sounds of this place.  It was something that I have never experienced first-hand.  I have read about small towns in books or admired them in movies, but here I was, in a small town, as the sun was setting, the birds were chirpping, kids were riding their bikes, a group of kids were playing a game in the park, people were walking casually, and it was SO quiet....
The houses were small, yards were kept, and the businesses were nothing mainstream Americans would recognize.

The towns people were friendly and welcoming as we strolled around.  There is a Nellie's Cafe, Olsen's Mercantile and a museum tour to enjoy.  None of the buildings are originals, as Nellie's Cafe was just something Hollywood added to the tv series, and OWEN'S Mercantile actually burned down. 

Now, what WAS really wonderful, was THE dugout spot and Plum Creek!  About a mile north of the town, we drove to a farm, who asks for a $5 donation, who have a special "trail" to the special spot where the Ingalls family first lived and where Laura loved spending a lot of her time.

The actual Dugout has fallen in, but this is the actual spot where it was, and it is very easy to imagine how difficult it would have been to LIVE in some little cave inside of a hill!  The pioneers are truly remarkable.  My respect for them grows and grows, the more I learn of their resourcefulness and perseverence.

Here is Plum Creek.  :)

Our day spent in Walnut Grove was simple and plain.  I would not have expected anything different.  I would have been terribly disappointed if it had been modern, busy and filled with "entertainment."

Although, it does not take much for the Golden Gang to be entertained!  Notice in this pic Hannah's serious look on her face as she tries to look like Pa.  And, notice little Parker stretching every ounce he has on his tippy-toes to be Ma!  :)  Funny kids.  :)

Blessings,
Steph