Trip to Michigan to help Mike and Julie and more............

Julie's  (our son Mike's wife) dad Loren Rigterink had a bad summer ---- to put it mildly.  He was finally diagnosed with a "fungus on his artificial heart valve".....surgery was needed.  Surgery would take place on September 9.  When Mike called to tell us about it, he said it would be nice if we could come out to give Julie a little relief.  A family of 8 is a VERY busy household and then add the time spent at the hospital....... Julie definitely could use some help.   As she said "we are making do OK"......but Mike just wanted her to be able to relax a little and not have such a heavy load.     We left for Michigan on Sept. 6.

So I tried to put a little dent in Julie's day.  I helped with the laundry --- loads and loads of laundry...... and made the evening meal.   Halle and Colton were being home schooled - so I helped keep them on track with their Reading assignments.

Gary had other tasks.........   Julie and Mike were in the process of moving the laundry room.  They had the room all prepared but now for the plumbing and so on.  Trenton and Austin and Mike and Gary all got busy and after some trips to town for plumbing needs and some scratching of the brain on the amount of "drop" needed in the drain pipe.....the whole thing became a reality.  What a nice room she now has ----- the laundry is  no longer part of the kitchen!!!

What's next....... could you put new brakes on the Suburban??  Yup.  That  wasn't too bad.

  A day's rest from car work brought Gary to Dennis and Holly's to see about the lights on the combine.  He got a few of those working but the ones on the auger were a complete puzzle.  Dennis will have to look into them a little more.

Then Rick wondered if we could come down to Kalamazoo on Wednesday evening --- he would like some help moving his few belongings to his new place of business.   He and a gal who is editor of the little paper Rick writes an article for are going into a business together. I really don't understand it completely so don't want to mess it up with writing something wrong...... but it's some type of "float tank for emotional - physical  - mental therapy" (best way for me to explain it).   Anyway......they found a place for this business and Rick can live in the back portion.    So would we be available to help move.   Yes - we can do that and also get to visit a little with Tim, Marti and Oliver and Keller. We got to move Rick AND enjoy a meal with everyone and spend a little play time with our 2 grandsons.

NEXT --- Austin's little black car -- a Hyundai --- had several needs.    Brake job and ball joints ......this on one of those "foreign" cars!!!!   AUGH!!!!!   Things were so ?? rusted together that the sledge hammer was called into action!!!  Parts stores don't keep those parts on hand so it had to be ordered. Thankfully, they came in the next morning.  Again....Austin, Trenton, Mike and Gary all got into the game on Saturday morning.  Austin and Trenton were given jobs......but it was also a good time of learning for them.   All in all it was a successful job.

Can't be all work ---- Mike and I celebrate a 9/11 birthday together--- so we went out for pizza with the whole family.  That too was a memory maker.  They wanted to try the new "Giordano's Pizza" place (Chicago style pizza).  When we got there we were told it was an hour and a half wait. .......so we put in our name and then headed out to Menards for some ??? parts and pieces for one of the jobs.  We got back to Giordano's at 7:00 --- waited until about 7:45 .....was seated .....put in our pizza order and was told it would take "75 to 90  minutes" for the pizza to be ready. (And they write that down on a piece of paper so there is no misunderstanding).  One good thing was that we "sort of" knew this was going to happen before we got there so there weren't any real big surprises.  And it DID take the 75 minutes.   We had a couple of appetizers and the kids drank tons of Strawberry Lemonade and we watched the people.....and we waited and talked and .......well you know.   The pizza was good --- ?????  but not that good. (My opinion).  But it WAS a fun way to spend time with the family.

We are now back in South Dakota --- took Halle and Colton along with us.  They will be here for a couple of weeks.    And Gary had a big job waiting for him when he got back.   OUCH!! I would say this hay hauler got backed into !!  NOT GOOD!!

Gary praises and thanks God for his talents ---- and I am thinking that the neighbors do too.
Fall is in the air and it is good.  We try to enjoy all the seasons ......our garden is finished for the most part.   There WAS one delicious muskmelon waiting for us when we got back.  I am thinking it will be a good project for us to clean out the garden plants and make it look better.

Later.............
Barb and Gary

Help rounding up cattle -- with God's protection ---and a new kind of project for Gary

Dan Tinant asked us to help round up his cattle out on the Hard Grass Ranch.....he had to vaccinate the calves and pour fly spray on both.   The pasture size is unbelievable!!!!....and the terrain is just as unbelievable!!!   We had about 300 pairs to round up.....with maybe seven 4 wheelers......    As Deon put it - we could use 40 more.

Hope you get the idea of the immense country we were in!!!!

We had to cross this creek two times...... The first time we went down the bank - thru the water for about 20 feet and then up the other side.    I wished I had had my camera out and clicking!!  Anyway, the second time - new place - I watched the young man go across ----- I could tell that he hit something that jarred him over but he just kept on going.    So I tried it -- but went too slow and the thing --- a big clump of dirt and grass stopped me dead in my tracks.  I got laughed at for going too slow - but oh well,  the strong boys got me out.

I  have to tell you this------- I was going up a hill and it just got impassable.....how do I explain it.  There were clumps of grass that had been sort of washed out and so it was VERY uneven ground.  I couldn't continue going up so I turned to change course.  That's when I felt myself tipping over and my left foot was going to be under the 4 wheeler in a bad way.    It didn't happen ---- God watched over me and kept my 4 wheeler from tipping over!!!!!  THANK YOU!!!!  Accidents can happen so easily and so fast.  Once again, I was blessed with protection from above!!!!!

Ron Patton, our mechanic neighbor......came to ask Gary if he could put his dehumidifier on this piano. They wanted it for their church.   Apparently, they had talked to a man who had this piano in his horse trailer.  It's a Wurlitzer --- I think that's about as good as they come.  Anyway, they could have it for $25 and had to go get it from about ??  ---- a pretty good drive.  When they got there the piano had been left outside in the rain!!!!  (the guy needed his horse trailer for hauling).......     AUGH!!!!!   So now the keys had swollen and it was unusable.  Ron thought that maybe taking the moisture out would help.  So Gary put it in a "tent" and let the dehumidifier do it's thing.   The other problem was, of course, the finish was a total mess --- blistered and peeling......even if he got the keys to work --- it needed a lot of TLC!!!  (We messed up and didn't get a good "before" picture --- but if you look close at the top picture you can see how bad it was.)   The whole thing would need to be stripped of the old varnish and then restained and varnished.

 It was a "labor for the Lord"   !!!!   Is that beautiful or what!?!?!?  Gary tinkered and tinkered with keys that wouldn't play....and parts that needed a ton of scrapping and sanding.   We had Sheila Stephens come over and their adopted daughter Jayce played "Trust and Obey" on it.  It doesn't even need to be tuned!!!   We thank God often for all the talents He gave to Gary.......and we love it when we can help our neighbors in so many different ways!!!
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And now on the humorous side....gotta have a little humor in life!!!

We planted a lot of carrots this year.......  One year we had long straight carrots ---- the last two years they were everything but  long and straight.  They start out nice and then they spread out into 2-5 skinny fingers.  Disgusting and aggravating!!!  I took one look at these two and just cracked up.....I will leave it to YOUR imagination!   :)  :)

Love to all of you.
Gary and Barb

ALASKA ---- WOW

We are home again in South Dakota......got home on July 29 (we left on July 5).  It was a truly fantastic trip ---- a 3 week adventure.  We have so many memories that I am almost afraid that my brain won't remember them all....thus photos!!!!   Thank goodness for cameras  that capture what we want to remember.   Thankfully I bought a new camera just for this trip.....Gary carried our old one and took some great pictures also -- but that one totally died about half way through our 3 weeks.  We would have  been shopping for a camera and I'm thinking we wouldn't have gotten a good deal!!!

My hope is to get with Shutterfly and put together an album of this adventure -- but I know that many of you are looking forward to something on this blog.  There were so many things that we did --- so this will be a short, short version....and then you will just have to come and see the photo album with more pictures and probably more of the stories.

Here goes......

 This is our luggage coming down onto the Tender (or is that Tinder - don't know for sure)Boat...these are boats that the "real" fishing boats that you will see below - bring their fish for sale.  This boat would take us most of the way over to Ollie's fish camp.

 Here's a better picture of the Tender Boat.....

 Here is the "Viken" --- one of Ollie's boats picking us up to take us the remaining way to camp.  We would later go out fishing on this boat.

 Here is a view of the fishing camp.  This picture was taken after Gary and I and
Abigail went up on  the Tundra to pick Salmon and Crow berries...YUMMY jam!!

 We are now ready for fishing.....we are excited!!

 This is a picture of the nets that are strung out and the fish that get caught in them.....

The motor to make the wheel turn was in need of repair so it was a hard pull to get the nets into the boat in order to remove the fish and put them in the tubs.

 We walked the beach quite often and I was able to get some awesome pics of this bald eagle and...

this golden eagle.

 We took a day and went to a Sport Fishing Camp with another aquaintance and caught this bear on shore.  The fishing wasn't the greatest but we did catch some fish....I believe they were Char (salmon).  It was a beautiful ride ---- we were surrounded by amazing scenery!!!

This is wash day at Ollie's camp.  The only electricity was supplied by generators.  We did have running water --- thanks to a spring that came out of the hill behind us that Ollie had a pipe hooked up to.  

Time to leave ---- the tide is out....so we were delivered out to the boat via an Argo.  The tides are truly amazing!!!  You could walk on the mud down here on the Nushagak River....up in Anchorage -- you are advised not to--------quicksand!!!   The mud will suck you in and you can't get out....and then the tide comes in.  Guess what........ NOT GOOD!!!

We left the Nushagak River with Ollie, Hannelore, Abigail and their crew of young people......and flew back to Anchorage where we spent the night and then boarded the Wilderness Express for a train ride up to Denali Park.  The following are just a few photos of the gorgeous scenery we enjoyed.....

 Upon arrival at Denali Park we were picked up by a Shuttle bus and driven to the Denali Grande --- our home for 2 nights.  This photo is of the Lobby and Restaurant.....our actual building was behind this.

From here we went on some special adventures.  Don and Jeannie took a Bus Tour of the park and enjoyed some fantastic scenery with lots of wild life --- most not real close but enjoyable just the same.   Gary and I got talked into a "Flightseeing" trip -- right up to the face of Denali.  

This was the plane that took us on the tour of a lifetime.......anyway so far.

 We were up among the mountains for a total of 2 hours.  Sometimes we would "go higher" due to turbulence....sometimes we would go lower.  The pictures really never do justice to what we saw and experienced........

 Glaciers looked like frozen roads....they were HUGE!!   Some were very dirty - others had blue ice in them.

Probably the only reason we went on this "flightseeing" trip --- is because a young man came up to us as we came out of a grocery store.   "Is anyone interested in a flightseeing trip --- we have to fill the plane and you can go for almost half price."   We had talked about it a lot --- so why not.   It was still a bit of a steep price --- but life is short ----enjoy it!!!!

After our plane ride, we decided we needed some exercise --- there was a trail up to that peak that you see in the background....Healy Point....described as "strenuous"!!!!   Yup --- you guessed it.....that was Gary's choice----- and I being the good little wife....followed.  It was up and up all the way.  But with several stops -- we both made it (I made it!!!)  When we reached the top -- the wind was fierce and it started to rain and actually there was a little snow mixed in with it.   So we didn't linger long.

 Then it was a train ride back south to Anchorage........don't they look happy!!  :)  This is the couple (Don and Jeannie Schelhaas) we spent 3 weeks with and still remain friends   :)  :)  :)

Then with our rental car --- we drove down to Homer on the Kenai Peninsula.....a 5 hour drive. The scenery was grand!!

 We had a little trouble finding a place to stay ---- but once again God Is Good.....and we discovered the Fisherman's Resort.   A very nice spot --- and we stayed there for 3 nights.  One of our "goals" was to go Halibut fishing ----anyway it was my and Gary's goal.....Don and Jeannie - being good sports joined us.  We had rather rough seas.....about 8 foot swells!!!  Some of the people (16 on board) got sick and had to hang over the side of the boat for a while.   We were lucky and stayed in good shape.  The limit for halibut is 2 (4 for the year)......We got our 2 --- but then just for fun we could continue to fish.    Gary took in 8 (had to release all but his 2) -- I got 3 (and then decided to stop).  Those fish on the picture aren't necessarily ours----but very similar in size.

This is the boat we went out on.......

The scenery was beautiful.....

And we had a good time.........

These Sandhill Cranes were regulars at the Beluga Inn --- our stay for 2 nights.

 And these moose were just in the right spot at the right time......good photo stop.

We also went to the Sea Life Center where we saw some fascinating sea life.

We also hiked to a glacier -- what a beautiful sight -- with the icebergs floating in the water.....

And true to form ------Don and Jeannie joined us...

We left Homer and traveled around to the other side of the Kenai Peninsula to Seward.  Another stop at the Chamber of Commerce and we were directed to the Jo Doug Inn (a Bed and Breakfast).   What a blessing.   They had fallen in love with Alaska about 10 years ago....sold all their belongings and moved from the Madison, Wisc area to Alaska.......bought a fixer upper...and the rest is history. The guys hit it off right away....hunting and fishing stories!!  

JoAnn and Doug

Another hike up to a glacier.....Exit Glacier.  And yes - Don and Jeannie joined us in the rain....a short 1.5 miles up and then back down.

 Can't not stop at the old boat yard.   Everyone thought this lift was the best!!!!

 And Gary loved this huge prop.

We had to leave Seward ---- our trip was coming to an end......we had to get the rental car back (it was starting to run a little rough -so we were eager to get rid of it) and then catch our flight out on Thursday at 6:00 a.m.   

However, we had a day to kill in Anchorage-- so we went to a Museum and then to the Alaska Zoo.   Zoo animals just are NOT the same as animals in the wild ...... Jeannie and I thought these two were wild enough :)

Our first "selfie".....yes!! we were ready to come home to South Dakota!!!!

What a trip!   Some things didn't go as planned but it all worked out in the end.  We have some names of good places to stay if you are ever in the need to know.  Some places that we stopped in for a look see were pretty bad!!!  And the price was still high.  So I don't know just how I would dare to make reservations ahead.  We lucked out on our flightseeing trip and got it for almost  (almost) half price.....so somethings are good to wait on..

Did we fall in love with Alaska and plan on moving?......no - not yet.  The long long days were fine (except for sleeping)...but I can't imagine the long long dark winters!!!

Hope you have enjoyed our "travels".  Take time to smell the roses!!!!

Gary and Barb