Saturday, July 25, 2009
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Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday July 21--In The Pool
jd and missy--hope you guys keep this blog handy whenever james complains that he never gets to do anything fun 
james and i have watched this little video so many times because you can hear mike laughing, and it's hilarious.
james and i have watched this little video so many times because you can hear mike laughing, and it's hilarious.
Tuesday July 21--James's First Real Baseball Glove
it was a sad state of affairs that, when james wanted to play catch, he either had to use a plastic toy glove or borrow his mom's glove. mike said, "plastic gloves are for washing dishes." so i said that, if mike would help choose an appropriate glove, i would buy it for james for his birthday. when this plan was decided upon, james said, "well, okay, but YOU'RE not going in to the sporting goods store--that's a not a place for GIRLS!"
well, perhaps girls are allowed if they serve as photographers and finance the transaction.
well, perhaps girls are allowed if they serve as photographers and finance the transaction.
Tuesday July 21--North Dakota's Main Attraction...
(hmmm...she said "main attraction". did she mean the restaurant Space Aliens or...)
james ordered the ribs and said he'd never had them before--a claim i began to believe when the ribs arrived and he tried to slice them up with a knife and fork.
james ordered the ribs and said he'd never had them before--a claim i began to believe when the ribs arrived and he tried to slice them up with a knife and fork.
Monday July 20--The Dunseith Turtle
This attraction was listed in the Dakota Day Trips book that mike gave me. james was convinced he would climb to the top when we got there, but it's built out of tire rims which turned out to be quite hot in the afternoon sun and he only got as far as the neck.
Monday July 20--Inside the Peace Chapel...
...where james tried to climb the walls--literally. obviously i haven't been letting him swim enough in the hotel pools.
Monday July 20--The Mummy
the day started out with james refusing to get out of bed. the night before he had shunned pajamas and, because i do not know anything, wouldn't believe that he would get cold.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday July 19--Good Lutherans, A Day of Rest
today we went to Gloria Dei Lutheran church about a half mile from our hotel. then we went (again) to Gramma Sharon's for brunch and were remembered by our waitress from yesterday.
mike told us our hotel was just down the road from his future office, so we checked it out. doesn't james look like he'd like to talk to you about some life insurance?
actually, mike had texted me, "the office is the second building SSW of Gramma Sharon's". i puzzled over these boy directions until james suggested, "use the compass!"
in the late afternoon we drove leisurely to Minot where james had his first (in memory) excursion to a laundromat. interestingly, there were special washers designated for "rig laundry". from people working on the oil rigs maybe?
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Saturday Afternoon--Fort Union, We Dip Slightly Into Montana
with the bridge of terror behind us, we drove on to Fort Union which james thought looked pretty boring from the oustide. he became slightly more interested when we had to park in montana and walk up a trail to the fort. along the trail were placards, telling us about the history of the fort as a fur trading establishment and asking us to imagine we were river travelers disembarking our steamboat and entering a hub of commerce on the plains.
have to admit, we were enchanted with crossing back and forth between the north dakota and montana state lines on the sidewalk.
at the moment we arrived, we were the only visitors to the fort besides two other people. james was the only kid and so got lots of attention from the re-enactors who man the fort. the first one had james convinced that he could be a cabin boy on a steamboat as soon as he turns 12 and maybe someday be a clerk making $300 a year if he was good at math. they were all interested that he was from st. louis because that's the end point for all the furs that were shipped downriver from there.
james found that there was LOTS of things to explore at the fort and climbed every staircase, rattled every doornob, tried every lock, and checked every cannon to see if it was loaded.
when i shared with a re-enactor that james would not be happy until something exploded, the actor got out a musket (or rifle or something) and demonstrated how to load it with gunpowder, wadding, a bullet, and a cap for spark. then he fired the gun which, if not an explosion, was still quite loud!
he also charmed the blacksmith (who was originally from around columbia/fulton missouri) into demonstrating all the tools and letting him pump the bellows. the blacksmith made him a little nail hook as a souvenir and talked to us about moving to ND.
before we left, james insisted we check out the teepees. the pic i took of him is from a distance because the prairie out there was buzzing ominously and i wasn't sure i could sing enough verses of Jesus Loves Me to keep from getting stung by whatever can make that deep of a noise.
have to admit, we were enchanted with crossing back and forth between the north dakota and montana state lines on the sidewalk.
at the moment we arrived, we were the only visitors to the fort besides two other people. james was the only kid and so got lots of attention from the re-enactors who man the fort. the first one had james convinced that he could be a cabin boy on a steamboat as soon as he turns 12 and maybe someday be a clerk making $300 a year if he was good at math. they were all interested that he was from st. louis because that's the end point for all the furs that were shipped downriver from there.
james found that there was LOTS of things to explore at the fort and climbed every staircase, rattled every doornob, tried every lock, and checked every cannon to see if it was loaded.
when i shared with a re-enactor that james would not be happy until something exploded, the actor got out a musket (or rifle or something) and demonstrated how to load it with gunpowder, wadding, a bullet, and a cap for spark. then he fired the gun which, if not an explosion, was still quite loud!
he also charmed the blacksmith (who was originally from around columbia/fulton missouri) into demonstrating all the tools and letting him pump the bellows. the blacksmith made him a little nail hook as a souvenir and talked to us about moving to ND.
before we left, james insisted we check out the teepees. the pic i took of him is from a distance because the prairie out there was buzzing ominously and i wasn't sure i could sing enough verses of Jesus Loves Me to keep from getting stung by whatever can make that deep of a noise.
Saturday July 18--Bridge of Terror Over the Yellowstone River
mike suggested we check out this old railroad bridge (no longer used for trains or anything but pedestrian traffic) that has a tunnel into a hill. the bridge itself has grating over the railroad ties, and the research i did on the bridge and tunnel depicted it as a charming little walking path with an adventurous flair; we brought flashlights as recommended because the tunnel curves (to prevent the wind from blowing through and filling it with snow) and looked forward to our little adventure.
when we arrived, James became quite scared of walking over the bridge itself. he walked a little ways, looked down, and began moaning and whimpering, "oh noooooo. we're gonna diiiieeeeeeee. i can't walk on this!"
meanwhile, i marshalled him over the bridge with constant reminders to look up, look out, look at the beautiful view and not his feet and the river below...all the while with my eyes on that black tunnel ahead, my stomach churning with dread at the idea of entering it.
when we finally got over the bridge and got our flashlights out, a few birds near the entrance of the cave were startled by our approach and took flight. james and i both JUMPED and screamed a little until i saw that they were just birds and pointed them out. but, the damage was done--i then thought that there might be BATS in the cave and couldn't stop myself from picturing all the possible horrors. it didn't help that a stale, musty, possibly rotting stench emanated from the tunnel. is that what a crypt smells like??
we hesitantly took a few steps in, calling each other, "Tunnel Chicken!!" i am not ashamed to admit--i truly am a tunnel chicken. i tried to be brave; i really did. we probably went a few hundred feet in, staying close to the edges because the middle of the path seemed muddy. or seeping. or something. james, on the other hand, seemed only slightly excited now that we weren't over the river anymore and kept urging me forward. the further we went in, the more stringy, wispy filthy things seemed to be hanging from the walls. i was the one who started to whimper and moan then: "oh noooooooooooo. we're gonna diiiiiiieeeeeeeee. let's not doooooooooooo this." every instinct i have told me not to take one step further.
i hit my limit of terror when james--who had filled his pockets with rocks in case we needed to fend off a cougar--threw a big rock into the cave darkness. did i hear a slithering? a scratching? a scritching? breathing? i don't know! but i began crying for real and turned back towards the sunlight. james reluctantly followed saying, "we came all this way for nothing!" but i reminded him that we had gone IN the tunnel, even if we had not gone THROUGH the tunnel. then i pointed out some animal tracks, which finally convinced him that perhaps we were not alone.
we walked swiftly back over the bridge, and james said, "this isn't as scary as it was before!"
indeed, no.
however, later on in the day we showed the picture we had of the tracks to a park ranger, and she said they were probably....puppy dog tracks. :)
when we arrived, James became quite scared of walking over the bridge itself. he walked a little ways, looked down, and began moaning and whimpering, "oh noooooo. we're gonna diiiieeeeeeee. i can't walk on this!"
meanwhile, i marshalled him over the bridge with constant reminders to look up, look out, look at the beautiful view and not his feet and the river below...all the while with my eyes on that black tunnel ahead, my stomach churning with dread at the idea of entering it.
when we finally got over the bridge and got our flashlights out, a few birds near the entrance of the cave were startled by our approach and took flight. james and i both JUMPED and screamed a little until i saw that they were just birds and pointed them out. but, the damage was done--i then thought that there might be BATS in the cave and couldn't stop myself from picturing all the possible horrors. it didn't help that a stale, musty, possibly rotting stench emanated from the tunnel. is that what a crypt smells like??
we hesitantly took a few steps in, calling each other, "Tunnel Chicken!!" i am not ashamed to admit--i truly am a tunnel chicken. i tried to be brave; i really did. we probably went a few hundred feet in, staying close to the edges because the middle of the path seemed muddy. or seeping. or something. james, on the other hand, seemed only slightly excited now that we weren't over the river anymore and kept urging me forward. the further we went in, the more stringy, wispy filthy things seemed to be hanging from the walls. i was the one who started to whimper and moan then: "oh noooooooooooo. we're gonna diiiiiiieeeeeeeee. let's not doooooooooooo this." every instinct i have told me not to take one step further.
i hit my limit of terror when james--who had filled his pockets with rocks in case we needed to fend off a cougar--threw a big rock into the cave darkness. did i hear a slithering? a scratching? a scritching? breathing? i don't know! but i began crying for real and turned back towards the sunlight. james reluctantly followed saying, "we came all this way for nothing!" but i reminded him that we had gone IN the tunnel, even if we had not gone THROUGH the tunnel. then i pointed out some animal tracks, which finally convinced him that perhaps we were not alone.
we walked swiftly back over the bridge, and james said, "this isn't as scary as it was before!"
indeed, no.
however, later on in the day we showed the picture we had of the tracks to a park ranger, and she said they were probably....puppy dog tracks. :)
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