The Visit At Fort Abraham Lincoln

Fort Abraham Lincoln is a favorite stop for Jack, and what made it even more fun were the two Ben Stiller movies about how things came alive in the museum, where Stiller was a night watchman.

Jack loved both films, but the second one is where Custer appears for the first time. Our trips to Minnesota made it easy to appreciate history, especially the historical figures who appeared in the films I just mentioned.

Mount Rushmore was a lot of fun for Jack. We went there at least four times.

Fort Abraham Lincoln is a spot we've visited twice. We made a second trip there after I lost the camera with the pictures. They set it up in an interesting way.

For the first visit, the guide was completely in character. Everything was frozen in time, so when we told him where home was, he corrected us by letting us know that we lived in the Utah Territory. For a brief minute, my life as a carrot snapper passed through my mind. I smiled as I contemplated the meaning: I would never have to merge politely into a lane after a sign appeared letting me know the one I was in would end, because I could drive like a madman to the end and butt into traffic; I could speed up when someone turned on a blinker to signal entering into my lane, because I could forget common courtesy; I knew I should feel no remorse when my schedule meant I had to ignore basic principles of safety and courtesy, because I knew I was the new center of the universe.

And then everything came crashing down as I realized at the end of the tour that my "new" life was an illusion.

I was from Idaho, the place where the wind always blows, because Utah sucks.

Everything in the quarters, once used by Custer and his family, was set in an interesting way. It was almost as if they left to do something outside, and they would return in a few moments, but given my knowledge of what things were like in an area like that where roads and everything else was quite dusty, I have to admit that I know the house was very clean.

In fact, no dust was visible at all. The only thing that let you believe for an instant that dust might be a problem was the fact that dishes on a table were set upside down.

There are always things you do. Experience makes people pragmatic. When my dad and I worked at the ranch, we didn't have time to do dishes, so we bought a large box of waxed paper. For each meal, we would tear off a sheet, place it over the plate, and put our food on top of it.

After finishing, we simply threw the paper away, placed the plate in a neat spot on the table, and rinsed off our utensils. The process irritated my mother, so my dad and always tried to ensure that we put those dishes away before she came to the ranch in early summer after the conclusion of school. But sometimes we forgot to do that.

For me it was alright, because my mom tended to correct only my father for that, so it was even a bit of fun allowing the scene to remain for my mom's eyes to discover.

I was a kid with a warped sense of humor.

It's what you do when you sit on a tractor for a long period of time. It's not madness or anything. It's just a realization that some things are funny. Most people, I guess, don't have the opportunity to think that much about it.

Jack loved the things to be seen in the "Custer House." The second tour was not as good as the original. At one point, the guide shows a small box in Custer's desk. I guess the general kept a mouse in it.

The first guide last year let Jack look at the tiny thing inside it. It wasn't a mouse. No one in their right mind would allow a rodent access to a place with all those fun things to gnaw on during free time.

For the second visit, I waited in the car.

There just wasn't enough time for me to walk the 300 yards to the site. Ann and Jack went in to get pictures, and I waited. The time was going to be close, especially since we had an appointment for the river boat immediately after the tour.

Jack was excited about that too, but the weather on this day wasn't the best. It was a bit cold, and clouds were threatening. It was as if we brought the Idaho Falls spring weather with us to Minnesota.

In the weeks before we drove, the temperatures during the day and at night were warmer in Rochester than in Idaho Falls.

We began our trip, and by the time we arrived, we spent one day of living in summer temperatures, and then it became cold and rainy there too.

It's what happens when you look forward to a trip so much. I saw that happen in Germany a lot.

Sometimes it rained for weeks at a time in Germany, especially in the North, where storms came in from the North Sea. My memories of Berlin are vivid, and I miss it, but I also remember that some years the rain would continue through May well into the end of June.

In spite of the poor weather during the fist leg of our trip to Minnesota, everything was so beautiful, and it gave Jack a second chance to hear tales from a different storyteller.

It's always interesting to get the same story from another perspective, which is also the reason why today's news is often unreliable.

Fox News is like the Forest Gump channel--you never know what you're gonna get, although you can count on it being radically anti-Democrat, appearing pro-Tea Party, maintaining a thorough feeding of an ultimate cuckoo mentality.

But that's my take on the whole thing. I really don't like modern journalism, yet the whole Custer enigma is an example of how individuals can shape society's perception.

When I was young, the status quo was that Custer was a brave leader, standing tall in the face of ultimate defeat.

I never knew how much his wife had to do with maintaining that view, and it persisted even through the 50's and very early 60's.

My Government teacher was the first one who caused me to question what really was at play, and I realized during the next decades, that people with a political agenda, like Custer obviously had, are dangerous. You have to feel saddened by the brave men who followed Custer's poor judgement.

My grandson knows more about Custer than I knew when I was a senior in high school. He spent time at The Little Bighorn. Jack also did two tours at Fort Abraham Lincoln, which was the last place Custer served before the fateful day when he and his troopers set out on horseback to find renegade Sioux.

The area around Fort Abraham Lincoln is so quiet and serene. The grassland is beautiful, and while I waited for Jack and Ann to finish the tour, I listened to a meadow lark.

The day was not busy when we were there.

My only regret was not buying my grandson Tommy an army hat while we were there with him and Anna and Jack last summer. I bought one for Jack, but Tommy chose not to get it.

He regretted it immediately. I took care of that mistake during this trip.

One of Jack's funny responses was hearing the tour guide talk about the "chamber pot" during the presentation. Jack didn't like the idea of using something like that, and then leaving it in the same room.

I think it made him realize just how great it is to live in the day of indoor plumbing, I-pod movies, kid's meals.

Shooting dinner is not something that endears Jack to the past. He understands that he is eating what once was an animal, but he doesn't like talking about it. My Annie feels that way about some of my former high school principals.

And I agree now, you recognize the bad ones for what they are, but it would have been nice to place them in a porcelain pot and place them under something.

These trying times for Jack also meant that it was not an era with the convenience of anti-bacterial soap.

I even remember one professor at the university complaining about his family, who refused to poor wine into a well to kill the germs in the water. It was a 19th century way of dealing with water purity issues.

The family did nothing, and they lost a number of children to sickness because of bad well water.

But the billiard table--that was another story entirely. I guess a little bit of Pop Pop had an effect of my little grandson, because I always liked playing pool. Playing on our table my dad bought when I was in my sophomore year of high school was something that relaxed me.

I loved the sport, and Jack likes playing too. Any time we are in Boise at Homewood Suites, Jack and I try to take advantage of their having a pool table. It's something we love to do. And next time, I plan to play a little chess too.

The books were interesting too. I wish I could remember why they placed them like they did. Most museums like this, regardless whether in the United States or in Europe, have things of interest from the time period. I'm not sure if the things were authentic or not.

The hunting trophies, however, were authentic as I remember. Custer was an avid hunter, and there were many things about the house that were interesting.

Jack is not a fan of displaying dead animals like this. It's interesting how they develop views like they do.

When he just small, maybe four or five, he discovered my four point deer head hanging on a wall in the basement.

The thought that Pop Pop shot Bambi or Bambi's father was not a popular idea with Jack. He looked at me with sad eyes for a while, and then he became desensitized to the idea somehow.

One thing for certain, Jack loves museums, and as young as he is, it is fun for me to see how he absorbs information and thinks about the things they tell him.

It makes it easy for me to want to visit something historical. He appreciates it more than some high school students I once took overseas.

It's probably why I want to take him to Germany so badly. And I hope I can take Tommy too.

Little Samantha Visits Idaho Falls To Meet Pop Pop And Grandma

Samantha, at an early age, began growling. While Tommy and Anna stayed at our house last summer, I showed them the old copies of Wolfman with Lon Chaney, Jr. During the black and white movie done in the 30's, I would occasionally howl and bite at the arms of Tommy and Anna and Jack. They giggled.

But that night, the three tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. My Annie had to drive to a meeting the next morning, and I was not popular the next day at 3612 Creekside Dr.

But the tradition began. Whenever I talked to the little ones over the phone during the next year, I would howl and occasionally growl. And then Samantha came along.

Immediately, she began to growl, and so after I heard her on the phone once or twice, I would have Lydia put the phone on speaker. My howls and growls became a favorite with Samantha, who looked at the phone and studied it.

At the conclusion of the first clip,however, just as there is a bit of silence. Samantha spelled relief in a way that only my little princess occasionally can do. It surprised everyone that day, or at least it shocked those who hadn't heard her do that occasionally.

The Visit To Fort Abraham Lincoln And The Mandan Indian Village

We waited on a bridge for the guides to take us to the display of a Mandan Indian village.

I find the tribe incredibly interesting. First, they were a light-skinned tribe. Some tried to make a connection to a group of Welsh people who, according to legend, traveled to the New World in the 12th century. The theory is not accepted at this point.

Other tried to draw a connection with Viking settlers, but that too also became discounted by scholars.

The fact remains that the tribe was a light-skinned people. The Mandan people, whose language was Siouan, first came in contact with European settlers in the mid 18th century.

What I find intensely interesting about their folk lore is the fact that they were not your typical nomadic tribe.

They grew corn and squash, and their earthen lodges were made of large timbers, rising high into the air.

These lodges were very comfortable, and although it was a bit warm, the inside remained cool during the summer and warm during the winter.

The people themselves were friendly and looked at contact with European settlers very favorably, which explains why their numbers were so decimated by small pox and whooping cough.

A last full-blooded member of the tribe passed away in 1971.

Outside the main lodge were these two poles. I wish I could remember why they were important.

The lodge itself was massive, and there was a huge opening in the top to let smoke out. The construction, although a remake, was very impressive.

Originally, we stopped last year to visit this site, but all the pictures were on my Annie's camera that someone stole from me while I was D.C. last August.

I was excited to go back and get these photographs. The funny thing about the whole scenario is that these pictures were superior.

I love the last pictures, especially the one of the roof and the hole to let smoke escape.

The Largest Cow

On the road between Minnesota and Idaho Falls, there is this huge statue of a Holstein milk cow, the largest in the world.

It's one of those things that you see on the road like the world's largest roll of twine or any number of other weird things that occasionally appear.

Ann took the picture, and if you look closely at the bluff at the left, there is something standing on the edge. It's the famous cow.

We didn't stop, but it did make us smile on that long trip across Montana and Wyoming and South Dakota and Minnesota. And let's not forget North Dakota, because I really can't remember whether this statue was in North or South Dakota.

I most likely wouldn't stop, because I've seen old heifers before. The meanest one was my fourth grade teacher. She was like a female version of the Minotaur, except she walked with a bit of a limp. And she also had this permanent sneer on her face. It was like Sylvester Stallone meets Elvis.

She was the meanest woman who ever lived.

There were a couple of strange professors I had in the English Department, but they mostly just eccentric.

One, who taught graduate classes at USU only knew one challenge in life, putting on lipstick. She would come to class, and it honestly looked like she tried to apply it like any average rodeo clown--tuck in the lips, and with a firm back-and-forth motion, violently apply it to the area above the lips. I could just never quite understand how she always smeared the rose-colored stuff on her teeth. I guess creative people just have trouble coloring within the lines.

The other one was my second grade teacher. She wasn't mean. She wasn't eccentric. She was just violently strange.

She did, however, drive a pink Thunderbird convertible. But the incredible car didn't make any excuses for her. She was still violently strange.

My Favorite Picture Taken By My Annie

It was a great time of life. Everything seemed to be going well. I was still feeling well and working two jobs. Lydia and Jeff just had their wedding reception in November.

Originally, they chose a day in December, so we reserved a condo in Ramona, a red neck area in the hills above San Diego.

While there, we passed a picture like this every day, and Ann took a picture of it one day for me.

We spent an incredible week that year in December. Daytime temperatures were 85 degrees. We didn't need a coat even in the evening at Disneyland.

We drove home to Idaho Falls after a week to weather that was drifting snow and temperatures that reached 25 degrees below zero. There was over a 100 degree difference in temperature, and I never again looked at winter the same way. I decided I wanted palm trees and warm weather, and I still long for that.

The Trip To Minnesota, Another View of North Dakota

The trip to Minnesota was something I looked forward to taking. Last August, the Holocaust Museum asked me, as a member of the Regional Education Corps, to attend a meeting, but it didn't work out.

There were problems with my legs, and I couldn't be in Denver for the meeting, so as soon as my supervisor determined that I was going to be in the D.C. area in August to see my son Cles, he asked me to arrange the flight, so that I could meet with him.

Typical of airline travel, the carrier cancelled my flight, and although they promised me at ticketing that my new arrival time in D.C. would be sooner than I planned, it was not. I arrived two hours later.

I missed the meeting, so I spent wasted money to be in D.C. one day when I could have been in Virginia relaxing with my son.

I tried walking. That was not a good plan. I lost my Annie's digital camera, and the pictures still loaded in that camera were ones we took of North Dakota. This trip was one I wanted to repeat, because I wanted to retrace our steps.

I wanted to have pictures to replace the ones in the lost camera.

We actually did better than that for the most part. Like the stop at this spot along the highway.

Jack loved it. Not far from Teddy Roosevelt National Park, it showed all the animals native to the area.

And it was here that we bought a few things for the grandchildren. It was a good stop.

And we took some great pictures.

Jack was able to look through the binoculars to see the beauty of The Black Hills in North Dakota.

The temperatures were still a bit cold. In fact, the rains began the day we left Idaho Falls, and the storm seemed to follow us all the way to Minnesota.

We were glad we had the jackets we brought with us.

My Little Anna, The Blond Long Haul Driver

We visited Mall of America while we were in Minnesota in June of 2010.

I had some appointments at Mayo Clinic to check my legs because of the swelling problems I had had, due to the chronic lymph edema I developed after surviving chemotherapy.

The trip to Mall of America was fun. This ride was one that Anna loved, and Jack enjoyed it too. For me, it was an absolute scream to see my granddaughter's blond hair and chocolate brown eyes sparkle, while she went on this ride.

She savored every minute, and the grandchildren went on it at least three times.

Anna's signature grin was what made it so fun to see her on the ride. I've heard of adults, who don't spend time with grandchildren like this.

I guess I just don't understand something that silly. Life doesn't get better than seeing the passion that little ones have for things like this.

And besides, it was fun to see them skip and jump and run from ride to ride.

Jack and Tommy enjoyed the ride too. It was a very good day, and it further explains why Jack has so much fun with his cousins, although he would enjoy the moment just sitting in an apartment playing or running outside or experiencing a new playground in Rochester.

It explains his response when I asked him where he would like to go on a trip. I thought he would say Disneyland or Legoland or even Universal Studios in L.A.

"I want to see Tommy and Anna," he would say each time. Jack loves being around family. And I love to see the fun all of them have together when they play.

Jack Sitting in The Front of The Double Decker Bus

I was in the upper level, but Jack enjoyed a great view at the crowded street full of tourists, waiting to get to the "other Disney" rides. However, the driver took a liking to Jack and let him sit in the front seat.

Occasionally, the driver would refer to Jack over the speaker. I loved the ride, but like my own children, I could see the look on my grandson's face when we finished.

The look expressed words that didn't need to be said to know what the little boy was thinking: "O.K. Pop Pop, can we ride on a real ride now?"

But I liked the short drive down Main Street just fine. Like I mention in another blog, the rides were part of a perfect day on our latest Disneyland trip in early July of 2010.

The Trip To Minnesota And Back

On the way back from Minnesota, we drove through North Dakota. The view of The Black Hills is breathtaking, and what makes it interesting is the fact that it is different than what you see in South Dakota.

One major difference is the view from the highway. The pictures in South Dakota are incredible, or at least that is how I remember them; however, you have to drive a distance to get the best pictures, and even then, some hiking is also a good idea.

North Dakota's version is probably the same, yet there are beautiful pictures from the road.

We made a short stop at a rest area, and Jack loved the chance to look around a bit. There was also a bit of sign of buffalo that would wander near that area. Jack found first hand what a "buffalo chip" was, but it was from looking and not stepping.

The rest stop also had some great books and a few other things. I found Jack and Tommy these books and a few other things that each boy found interesting.

Jack liked the archeological thing I found, even though it was a bit "hokey." I thought I was buying something with a real fossil, but it turned out to be just a piece of plastic that he could scratch at to get a feel what those people actually did when they were in the field.

I found Tommy this book on stars, and for Jack, who was also interested, I found a small chart that showed the constellations as well.

It was a very good stop. There are not a lot of places you find along that stretch of highway that have restrooms, and all small boys have one thing in common: not mentioning the need until it is a "dire" need.

My son was like that. Jack is like that, and Tommy does the same thing. It's the frantic tone that catches my attention, even when I'm listening to the Iron Butterfly drum solo on In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.

No one wants to contemplate the alternative, not the boys and certainly not Grandma or Pop Pop.

My only regret about the drive through North Dakota was not being able to stop at Teddy Roosevelt National Park. It is very small, but I love the scenery.
Prairie dogs, wild horses, deer, buffalo, elk are just a few of the things you see, and the best time to be in the park is also the most dangerous, right at sunset or as the sun begins to disappear.

The colors are beautiful, not just the shades of orange and yellow and brown and blues that the sun makes as it disappears, but the canyons also have these rich colors.

Darkness happens quickly, and then you have to watch for animals. The advantage is that it is small. Driving slowly is a must, and it doesn't take all that long to exit safely.

We plan to make the trip one more time to North Dakota, so we can see that park one more time at least.

I have to have some pictures. I figure it will be a fantastic road trip some summer, when we need a bit of time away from the high plains dessert of Idaho Falls.

One thing for certain is that the must of cedar and sage will draw me back. It reminds me of my life on our family ranch and farm.
My father would have loved to see that park. First, he always loved to see deer and elk and buffalo, but the wild horses would have reminded him of his his father.

I only knew my grandfather for three short years before he died of a massive heart attack at the age of 48, but my memories of him are vivid.

And I tend to blog about him often. His passing was in early February of 1956, but I find myself thinking of him often, just like I have my entire life.

And now, I also think of my own father, who died at 57.

I guess there are advantages of dying young. You never get the chance to be a burden to your children. My father used to say that and smile. He would say that it was something to look forward to in your senior years, but he never really had the chance to do that.

And he never had the chance to enjoy life. My grandfather didn't either, yet I say that and realize how much they enjoyed what they did.

Their passion was farming and ranching. It was all my father ever wanted to do, and my grandfather loved to rope wild horses and break them. It was how he spent his free time on weekends.

That's why my dad would have loved Teddy Roosevelt National Park. The feral horses would have reminded him of his dad, because that is what it did for me.

The first time I saw one, I thought of all the stories my father told me about the horses my grandfather caught on the extremely large Holmgren Ranch, just West of our place. I remember my dad telling me that they owned 80 sections of land.

They viewed my grandfather as a friend, and besides, they didn't want the horses on their place at all.

Disneyland in July of 2010

Doppeldecker was a concept I never earned until I was in Berlin during student exchanges.

The transit system had many, and in outer areas with established trees, it was not out of the ordinary to hear tree branches rubbing on the roof of the bus.

I always loved to sit at the top, because the view was spectacular.

Touring busses were the same way. Any time I took a trip with students via bus, we always took the top deck when possible for the same reason.

The last day at Disneyland made me realize that it had been decades since I rode the wagons, bus and antique cars at the park, so while waiting for Ann and Jack on the last day, I took advantage of the little bit of time.

Jack and my Annie joined me on this particular ride.

It was another end of a perfect day during the course of five days at a wonderful place.

We hoped to go to Legoland the next day, but that evening my right foot felt like I had a stress fracture. I stayed home. Ann and Jack did some things, while I stayed in the hotel.

It worked well. The next day I was able to travel home without pain. I will always love the "vibes" at Disneyland.

Night Shots At Disneyland In July 2010

Before Lydia and my three grandchildren arrived, we decided that it would be a good idea to make one more trip to L.A. We decided two days before our departure.

I had told my Annie to let me know, when she wanted to go, and she did. It was a strange set of circumstances, because we both felt we needed to make this trip.

We packed the car. And the next morning, we left quite early for the trip toward warmer weather. Spring had still not arrived in Idaho, although it was the first part of July. I couldn't get rid of the cold that had come and gone repeatedly since January, and Jack had had the same problems this year.

We left and began the trip. Jack watched movies in the back seat of the car. I listened to my I-pod. Grandma was exhausted. The first stop was well into Utah, and although I could have made St. George on a single tank of gas, we did make one extra stop just before Cedar City.

Arrival at our hotel was on the first day of our trip. We were off the next morning early, because without an early entrance, I would not be able to get an electric cart--something I could not do without while there.

The park is just too big, and my legs are not flexible enough to walk the entire day. For me, it's the worst part of the trip: realizing that the days of walking on my own is no longer feasible.

This particular night found us riding the teacups. It was our last night there, and we had not done that ride a single time. My memory of that ride was with Tommy and Jack laughing hysterically, while I turned the wheel.

They were two or three, and they could not sit upright during the ride.

For me personally, I would make the trip if it meant only walking into the park and sitting on a bench to absorb the vibes.

I would enjoy the music, and just thinking about all the memories with my Sweetheart, my grandchildren, my children make it something I love to do.

Few people understand that point of view. But I see those who understand every time I arrive at the park.

They sit in a wheelchair or an electric cart at the entrance and watch the days festivities. They know what it means "to feel and absorb the vibes."

It's what you do when you enter the front gate, unless of course you fail to remember a single trip there with little ones.