A lot has been going on since the last time we posted... Busy with work, camping and also finding out that we will be adding an addition to our family!
Here are a few pictures of our life.....
Just showing you what a drilling rig looks like. This is the first stage to a oil well. It is pretty crazy that from start to finish a well from drilling to putting the pump on only takes about 28-30 days.
Three pumps just about ready to go and they are in a small area, which means a big pocket of oil, crazy.
Switching gears a little to trips that we have taken in the past couple of months.
This is a picture from our 4th of July trip to South Dakota. Badlands are just as beautiful there as they are in North Dakota.
This is just a side picture of George Washington on the boardwalk under Mt.Rushmore.
The Needles Highway. Highly recommended if you go to the Mt.Rushmore, Custer area of South Dakota. What views!
This is just a beautiful lake by Custer, SD.
Here is our base camp on labor day weekend. We went to our old stand by Lewis and Clark State Park. It was busy there that weekend, but it was nice.
This was just a cool spot. We went for a drive one day and we ended up at Fort Buford, there is a lot of history in that area, but this was one of the interesting things. About 1/2 mile away from the actual fort is the grave yard. Now the actual grave sites have been moved to a national cemetary, but they did put down replacement markers for the original people that had been buried there.
Each one was of course labeled with the name and date of death, but then there was the explination as to what caused their death. It was very interesting reading through them all.
This was all during the time when fur trading was big along the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers.
More recently we took a nice long camping trip to Interstate State Park in Minnesota to meet up with family and friends. Then we ventured off to the North Shore of Minnesota to enjoy a long awaited, very needed vacation.
Here is the gang with their campers, ready for the weekend!
Here are Ruth's nephew's and niece. They look so innocent, but we know better. Ha ha ha! It was nice to see them, it had been a long time. Have to love the smiles!
Here are the adults of the weekend, enjoying some needed time without wrangling the kids.
Here is why the adults could enjoy their supper! Cute...so much concentration.
There is a story behind this (you needed to be there), but this is Bob. He is so proud of the future rock he is going to grow!
This is the group on the last day! It was fun, and as usual, time went by so fast. It was good to see everyone again!
At this time we parted ways from the family :( We headed up to Cascade Falls State park for the next leg of our journey. We don't have any pictures from Cascade Falls due to when we got there on Monday it was raining and there was a burning ban there due to how dry it had been during the summer. We did go to Grand Marais and visited the shops and local eateries. We tried to make the best out of the weather, but by Wednesday we ended up moving to Gooseberry Falls State Park. There wasn't a burning ban there that's why, but when we arrived the weather did let up. Good thing because we saw some cool things.
For instance, we went for a drive one day up to the Canadian border and we decided to stop by another park. While driving through we came across a dumpster that was tipped over. When we drove past it we could hear some noises, so we backed up and listened. It was an animal making a whimpering noise. Immediately we figured there was a bear stuck in there! So we drove up to a local restaurant/general store, and tried to get a hold of the DNR, or someone. We couldn't, so what ended up happening was the owner called his dad and we all drove to the dumpster. It was an ordeal but what ended up happening was we pulled the bar that holds the lid shut out and pulled open the doors for the bear to jump out. It did , so everyone left. Well we were the last ones to pull away and then we heard another noise. Man there is another bear in there! So we ended up just grabbing the strap that was still attached to the doors and pulled it open, and then the other bear came running out.
Here are the two bears that were stuck in the dumpster. It was an ordeal, but they seamed very happy to be free. They sat and played by this tree for about 20 minutes before they walked over the hill behind them to get back to mom. It was a good feeling to help them out!
Out on a drive, Kevin witnessed a helicopter doing what seemed like drills. He would drop down below the tree line and then after a few minutes come back up with a basket and then fly over to another area and drop back down below another tree line. He said this went on for about 20 minutes before he left, but he never found out, for sure, what was going on. Just cool to see. We were sure it had something to do with the fires that were burning only about 50 miles away.
Another cool site along the North Shore of Minnesota is the Split Rock Lighthouse. It is the only remaining light house in the world that still turns by means of a grandfather clock mechanism that floats on a pool of mercury. When you walk up into the top of the Lighthouse you can see the glass prisms turning yet and it is silent. Rather amazing. The prism was made in 1909 in Paris France. It was purchased back then for $10,000. Today it is one of the only remaining of its kind and is valued at nearly $1,000,000. Another area with a lot of history to it.
This is the last day of our trip. We decided to explore the park that we were staying at, Gooseberry Falls State Park. Really cool, there are 5 falls within a 30 minute walk from the main office and this is just one of them. The water was rather low this year, but it is still a beautiful site.
There is a trail that runs all around the falls area, and it is nice. A lot of time is spent maintaining them. There are even a couple of bridges to cross over the river to walk up and down on both sides. Well while we walking on the trails we came across a sign that we just couldn't pass up to take a picture at!
Classic!!!!
After a long week we were ready to come back to the normal daily lifestyle, but it was hard. We do miss the area and all of the things to explore, but we also enjoy the area we are in. It's just another chapter in our lives!
