Memorable Twist to Good Friday

Yesterday was a one week celebration of sorts. I will share the experience with you from my point of view.

Our Easter Road Trip was moving along smoothly on Good Friday afternoon,or so we thought...That is until we reached a bridge with a big bump north of Fargo. The edge of the bridge can be seen at the far right of the picture. Time wouldn't allow for a second chance to get another shot.  Unexplainable things began to happen after we hit the bump, the car pulled hard to the right. Well, it didn't take long to decipher that we had just lost a very important part to keep everything working to power the Voisinmobile. The Serpentine Belt had successfully decided to make a split....one of those eternal vacations.

Today's Smartphones sure are a Blessing when you need to go looking for help. We called here and there in Grand Forks to try to locate the right belt. Tried the little town of Hillsboro not far to our south, but they had nothing that would match. Kyli checked in Langdon before coming to help.

We spent four and a half hours keeping this bridge company until our daughter Kyli arrived to chariot us away, back to Fargo, to pick-up a Serpentine Belt.

On our return from Fargo we attempted to fix the difficulty with the tools Kyli had gathered from the home arsenal.The method we chose brought close results,almost fixed in other words, so many times ,but after fighting a long day, getting hungry and temperatures dropping after sunset in a wind cooled location we gave into the "We'll finish it tomorrow" mode. The next morning we gathered more tools and used another method thanks to Youtube to get the job done.

If you happened to see this guy running around in the Fargo, Grand Forks...etc...areas , I wasn't far away.

I have to smile really big. The Mazda came around Christmastime. So, I thought some vanity plates to complement the little Voisinmobile were in order.                                This is the view that kept us entertained while we waited. I spent time musing about what people were thinking as they passed by. It gave me a laugh to keep my anxiety at bay.

It was time to draw on our resources in God. This event was not one you wish on anyone...especially on a holiday weekend.

The State Trooper that stopped to see what he could do to lend aid, offered information that we might find it difficult to find stores open to get a replacement part.We had anticipated some issues with holiday and time of day. However, we were pleasantly surprised to discover the process wasn't as hard as we originally thought.

We had already started the rescue process with confidence that one way or another EVERYTHING was going to workout. 

Thanks be to God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ for everything we experienced...

Tripping to North Dakota

Time for a trip to North Dakota...We added a side event to our route to visit our daughter and her husband in Jamestown. Hubby wanted to visit a man in rural Barney who was building a couple of planes by a design/builder from Missouri named Bob Bosley. Hubby and Tex belong to a discussion forum that hooks people up to share current aircraft building projects. Those who belong gain knowledge from others who have built and may, or may not, make choices of what planes could be a part of the next project in the hangar. We ended up finding a very deep soft spot in Tex's drive as the frost is just coming out of the ground from the winter . The driver's side front wheel was lodged soundly in a hole...Tex was able to get us out with his bobcat. It could have happened here at home just as easily. Tex said in jest"Welcome to North Dakota." All of us broke out in a laugh. Sadie and I spent our time in the car which became a sauna due to the warmer temperatures that accompanied us northward. Although we weren't alone, we too ended up having a visitor. There was a BIG dog running around the farm, not knowing her temperment for sure we,Sadie and I stayed put. Eventually it was discovered that the BIG dog whose name was Piper(yes after a plane "Piper Cub")was a BIG teddybear. Definitely a sweet GreatDane-Mastiff mix. After Hubby spent some time with Tex getting aquainted and snapping some pictures we were back on the road again. There was a building I saw when we turned to go to Tex's place that caught my attention. Before we left the area I took a picture to keep it in the same condition forever in my memory. Today we don't see many one roomed schoolhouses still in this shape. In our west-northwest trek towards Jamestown we saw other one roomed buildings but not in the same condition as this one. You never know when there won't be anymore to mark the passing of our past generations and the community gatherings that happened there...

The Mandan at Ft. Abraham Lincoln

On Monday ,September 24th ,we found ourselves back tracking westward on I-94 ,over miles we had seen the day before. There is a good reason the decision was made to do so. We traveled 7 miles south of the town of Mandan on highway 1806 to reach our destination. Three years ago we,my grandson Nick, daughter Kyli , her husband Justin and I, got to visit the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck. It was a wonderful experience that started in the prehistorical periods. We saw some artifacts of the prehistoric native americans which sparked an interest in the settlement discovered by chance at Ft. Abraham Lincoln. Our guide for the On-a- Slant village was of the Sioux tribe from the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota. He mentioned that they had one person on staff of Mandan descent that does conduct tours. He told us the site they are working on rehabilitating was inhabited from 1575 - 1700's. Due to the exhaustion of natural resources they left the area and returned years later when the resources were once again able to sustain a community. This year we included the sight seeing of the adjoined area as well in our one day side trip with our daughter. She hadn't had a chance to see it yet since moving north. Each of us purchased an "Interpretive Pass" and the cavalier had to pay to enter, even had her own sticker to say she could take us where we wanted to go since everything was pretty spread out. George Armstrong Custer had been apart of the history at Ft. Abraham Lincoln. In the next few days I will be sharing more about about what we saw and heard during our visit. It was a cold, rainy day ,but enjoyed none the less...

Checkin' Back In

Did you have a good holiday ? We had a nice visit to North Dakota at the New Year. Got to experience some winter weather the day after our arrival . We woke up to falling snow on Saturday December 30th. It was accumulating on everything before our outing to Fargo . As we traveled to Fargo the weather had several changes. There was the mix between snow/rain, sleet/ice, freezing rain then to all liquid by the time we got to our destination at the "Fargo Air Museum". Spending not more than three hours in Fargo was a good idea! Our return to Valley City was really interesting as we retraced our tracks westward the weather had become more intense in our absence. Visibility declined even more just a mile west of Valley City where our family continued on their trek to reach home to the delight of their three doggie kids; Kahlua, Peaches and Peaches' son Champ. The Pheasant season has not concluded here in Iowa yet. By Wednesday the 10th it will be time to allow the population to have a chance to re-coup. I don't know of anyone who took any roosters from the adjacent area, not to say there wasn't success. Had to laugh this morning as I viewed the bean field outside my house. The rooster pheasant that comes at 8:20 to feed daily, more or less was running from his entrance point to the cover of longer foliage in the pasture on the other side. He was trying to avoid the attention he had received from the gun the last three days. Yes , It's true! He still lives to run the neighborhood... Haven't opened my Christmas present from my husband yet but I do know that it is a shotgun...Others have openly asked me how I like my "new shotgun"? I just smile and tell them " don't know I haven't opened it yet ; )" It isn't as if I won't get to use it this year...just not for another 9 1/2 months.