John and I were up nice and early this morning because I had to be in town by 8:45 a.m. for my PT appointment.  We had more rain overnight which made our gravel road just about impassable.  The township graded the road a few days ago which left a lot of loose gravel on the surface.  With all the rain we've had the road has become very muddy with some major ruts and potholes.  It takes some cautious driving to get to the highway.

Once my PT was done, I hit the road to Bemidji where I took care of some banking, dropped off a bag of clothes at the Goodwill store, and then did some shopping in Target and Wal Mart.  The Wal Mart store was like a zoo.  They are in the middle of renovations and everything is moved all around and it's hard to find what you're looking for.  Even some of the employees couldn't find what I was looking for.  I finally gave up and headed across the road to the Target store.

While I was gone today, John got the entire garden planted and more of the grass behind the shop mowed.  Spring has truly come here to northern Minnesota as most of the trees are now boasting bright green leaves and our crab apples trees are in full bloom. 

 

We had a pretty quiet day around here due to the weather.  This morning we woke to heavy clouds, misting, and very high humidity.  Following breakfast, John headed out to work on removing the rest of the raspberry bushes from the garden.  He had moved some plants to his new patch before we left for Wyoming.  He would no sooner get out the door, then the rain showers would start, so he would come back in the house and do a little something there.  When the showers stopped, out he would go again.  This happened several times before he finally gave up and went down to the shop to make a piece of trim that Matt needed for the job he is working on now. 

Late this afternoon the skies cleared off, so John managed to get the last of the raspberry bushes removed from the garden.  We also got some Marigolds planted and the hanging baskets up along the front of the house.  Today I finished organizing our walk-in closet and photographing some items to sell on e-bay.  The clouds rolled back in this evening and rain is in the forecast for overnight and tomorrow.  Hopefully, we'll soon get a dry period so we can get the garden and our flowers planted.

John and I were up very early this morning as he had to be at Matt's place by 7 a.m. Matt borrowed a flatbed trailer to pick up his car and haul it to the repair shop.  It has been parked along the roadside since Monday evening where it broke down on their return trip from Wyoming.  The whole project, which should have taken about four hours, turned into an all day job.  Their truck broke down so the guys spent several hours at a Ford dealership waiting for a new alternator to be installed along with a new battery.  Once that was done, the truck seemed to run okay and they were able to get the car into the shop. 

My day was spent conquering the mountain of laundry that accumulated over our trip plus what was here before we headed out.  In between loads I continued sorting through the winter clothes, re-organizing our storage closet, and getting the bedroom cleaned.  I'm hoping to get finished sorting through stuff by the end of the week and then decide if I want to have a garage sale in a few weeks.

 

After sleeping in a little later this morning to help recover from two days on the road, John and I took our usual walk.  It was a little tough going as the road had recently been graded and the gravel was pretty soft underfoot.

Right after breakfast John headed for the lawn mower and cut grass for a large part of the day.  He now has it all mowed and just has the trimming left to do.  I spent my day unpacking, getting bags put away, and starting the process of sorting through our winter clothes and putting those we want to keep away.  

I had a PT appointment at 4:15 p.m. for another ultrasound treatment.  The therapist and I discussed my different options and she is going to talk to the pain management physician and get his opinion about getting an injection in my back.  Right now, as long as I don't do anything too physical, I am pretty much pain free.  The problems come after I do something like bending over to plant flowers, lift a laundry basket, etc.  The exercises she gave me to do are helping, but the structural damage to my spine is still there and no amount of exercise can heal it. 

Once I was done with the PT, John and I headed to Bemidji to pick up some hanging baskets, tomato and pepper plants, and a few other annuals.  We also stopped at BK for a quick supper before heading back to Bagley.  John hopes to get the garden planted sometime over the next couple of days.  Tomorrow morning he is heading out with Matt to pick up his car.  They broke down within an hour or so of reaching home on the return trip from Wyoming.  Fortunately Sara's dad didn't live too far away and was able to drop off  a vehicle so they could get home. 

After spending Sunday evening in Bismarck, ND, John and I got on the road by 8:30 a.m..  We made it to Fargo a little before noon, stopped off for some lunch, and then drove the final leg home to Bagley.  When we left 11 days ago the trees were still bare and the grass was just beginning to turn green.  This afternoon as we pulled into the driveway, we found the grass was about six inches tall and our wild plum, cherry, and apple trees were in bloom.  We also found quite a crop of dandelions.

Following a quick supper, John managed to get some grass mowed before dark and I attacked the unpacking.  It's always fun to take a trip, but it's also good to be home again. 

We had another beautiful day here in Gillette.  John kept busy helping Amy put in her garden while I did some cleaning up around the walkways and yard.  Matt and Dave finished up the deck and got the carpet installed all before lunch.

This afternoon we all headed over to the Gillette recreational center where we spent a couple of hours swimming and enjoying the hot tub.  Matt's family then stopped in at the local Wal Mart to pick up some souvenirs to commemorate their first trip to Gillette.  John and I are heading out first thing tomorrow morning for the first leg of our trip home.  I'll blog again on Monday evening as we'll be on the road for the next day and a half. 

John and I were up and out the door a little after 8 a.m. for the return trip to Gillette.  We traveled a different route which took us through the southern end of the Big Horn Mountains.  The scenery was absolutely breathtaking even though the road was a little scarey at times.

Big Horn Mountain at the summit

We stopped for lunch in Buffalo, a little town at the base of the mountains.  From there it was about a 45 minute drive into Gillette. 

Matt's family arrived in the wee hours of the morning and the guys have spent most of the day taking apart the old deck and starting on a new one.  That project should get finished up tomorrow.  Have been having a great time visiting with family and will be sorry to leave here on Sunday.  

 

John and I slept in a little longer this morning before heading down to the breakfast provided by the motel.  After a leisurely breakfast, we got cleaned up and headed out for today's adventure.  The weather was just about perfect with a few low clouds hanging over the mountains.

We decided that our first stop of the day would be the Buffalo Bill Dam located about six miles west of Cody.  This dam was built in the early 1900's and at its completion, was the tallest dam in the world.  The main purpose for its construction was to provide irrigation to approximately 93,000 acres of farm land.  Right now the water level is at it's lowest point of the year, but continues to rise as the snowpack is melting and the water is running into the river.  In a few weeks the water level will reach within a foot or two of the top of the dam.  At that time water will be diverted upstream and sent through pipes that will empty into the river below the dam.  It was fascinating to see how the dam was built.

Reservoir formed by Buffalo Bill Dam
 

   
Once we toured the visitor center at the dam and walked across the top, we headed a little further west along the lake and found a place to stop for more photos.  John also found quite a few pieces of driftwood he'll be bringing home for wood carving.  We then drove back into Cody and went to the Buffalo Bill museum to see the sections we didn't get covered yesterday.  John and I started with the Buffalo Bill area and then took in the Natural History rooms along with the Cody Rifle rooms.  This museum has over 2700 rifles in addition to handguns on display.  Some were used in the Revolutionary War.  We also saw some extraordinary animal displays.

 

It was late afternoon when we left the museum after having taken in as much information as we could absorb.  We hit a few outlet stores where we found some great sales on shoes and then visited the Wild Ram Exhibit. By this time we were pretty tired, so it was back to the motel to rest for an hour before heading off for some supper.  Cody has a new Wal Mart, so we made a stop there to stretch our legs and walk off some of our meal.  While out and about today, we discovered a DQ, so the final stop of our Cody adventure was there for some ice cream to top off our last day.  Tomorrow we head back to Gillette where we'll meet up with Matt's family at Amy's.  John and I had a great time and learned so much about the history of the West.  We think we might come back in the fall and visit Yellowstone again. 

 

This morning we left Sheridan and headed over the Big Horn Mountains to Cody, Wyoming.  The trip took awhile as the road was steep and had many hairpin turns.  We also made many stops to view the beautiful scenery.  As we started out, the skies were overcast with low hanging clouds which made it difficult to see the mountain tops. As we neared the summit, the clouds gave way to a beautiful sunny sky.  There was plenty of snow at the higher elevations and the lakes were still covered with ice; however, the mountain streams were flowing full force and created quite a noise as they headed down the mountain sides.

 

As we came down the mountains, we ran across a little roadside cafe called "Dirty Annie's" where we stopped to take a break and had a very good lunch of cheeseburgers.  Once we got back on the road it was a very nice ride into Cody.  

 

Once we reached Cody, our first stop was the visitor center where we picked up information and decided what we wanted to see while here in the area.  The visitor center contained a nice collection of local art, so we spent some time there looking at all the many items on display.  While at the center, we also purchased tickets to The Buffalo Bill Center of the West.  This center consists of five different museums--The Plains Indians, Yellowstone, Buffalo Bill, Western Art, and Cody Firearms Museum along with a research center.  We were told it takes about two days to go through the whole facility, so we purchased tickets that will get us in for two days.  This afternoon we went through the Plains Indians and Art museums.  We saw many works of art by Remington and many other famous western artists, some of which are over 100 years old.  John and I also learned a lot about the Native American tribes and their culture.  If you are ever in Cody, this is a must see historical center.  We also saw a raptor presentation with several different birds who have been injured in one way or another and ended up at this facility for educational purposes as they can no longer live in the wild.

John and I plan to head back tomorrow to the museum and cover the rest of it and, if weather permits, drive out of town to see the Buffalo Dam.  We explored a couple of shops after supper at a little local cafe and hope to get back to a few shops that were closed for the evening.  Time to call it a day.

John and I said good-bye to Amy's family, packed our bags, and headed off for a few days in the Big Horn mountains.  We were only about 15 minutes out of Gillette when we could see the Big Horns off in the distance.

Our first stop was Buffalo where we thought we would explore the downtown; however, the Visitor's Center was closed, so we decided to get back on the interstate and continue on to Sheridan.  We made several stops at roadside pull offs and took a few photos of the beautiful scenery.  Even though it was a sunny day, the mountains where covered with some haze.

Big Horns outside Buffalo

 

Wyoming wildflowers in bloom

 

More Big Horn photos

 

 
Our first stop when we reached Sheridan was their visitor center where we picked up some brochures of sights to see and talked to a lady about the best route into Cody.  She told us the northern route just opened today at noon and advised us to take the southern route when we travel there tomorrow.  She also directed us to an excellent museum downtown.

We found Kelley's Saddle Shop and Museum without any trouble and spent an hour or so touring through it.  This shop is still making saddles and other leather goods for sale today.  We learned that cowboys from all over the US order their rope from this shop.  I never knew there were so many different types of rope--there was roll after roll hanging on the walls in the production area of the shop.  We saw saddles that sell for $10,000 with the cheapest at $3,000.  The museum had saddles that were made over 100 years ago that were used by ranch hands and famous rodeo riders.  The museum also had quite a bit of Sheridan's rodeo history as well as the history of the different Indian tribes in this area.  

When we finished with this museum, we took a walk around the downtown area and explored several shops.  We decided to eat an early supper and found a Perkins not far from our motel.  After checking in, we walked across the street and spent another hour or so in the Sheridan County historical museum.  It was then back to the motel for a little rest and then another trip to Perkins for a piece of pie before calling it a day.

Kelly's Saddle shop

 

Example of the famous Sheridan design

hand carved on the leather

We had a pretty quiet day here in Gillette.  The weather was rather miserable with very strong winds and rain that hung around the entire day.  After Amy and Dave dropped the two younger guys off at school, they came back to the house to pick us up and we headed off to the town's rec center where we walked the inside track for some exercise. 

When we returned home, Dave left to work at the church office and Amy, John, and I visited, did some household chores, and worked on the computer making hotel reservations for the next couple of nights.  We're planning to leave tomorrow morning for Sheridan and then take the Big Horn scenic highway into Cody where we'll spend two nights.  There will be plenty to see in the area and we're looking forward to this little side trip.  We'll be back in Gillette on Friday where we'll hook up with Matt's family who will be arriving sometime early Friday morning.  John and I will stay a day and then head back to Minnesota on Sunday morning.    

We have been enjoying our time here in Gillette visiting with Amy and Dave and especially the grandkids.  The weather has been cool with rain showers which are greatly needed in this area as they have been in a severe drought for over a year.

John spent much of Saturday helping Dave install a new toilet in the downstairs bathroom and doing some yard work.  Amy got some of her flower pots planted along with some new shrubs in the front yard. I kept busy playing card games and doing other activities with the kids.

This morning we got to the church nice and early for a special breakfast celebrating the end of Sunday school for the summer.  We were also blessed to be here this weekend as Caleb and Isaiah were bapitzed along with three other people at the close of the service.  The rain showers were pretty steady today, so we spent the afternoon playing some cards, taking a quick trip to WalMart, and then watching "The Hobbit" movie this evening.  John and I were planning to head to Sheridan and the Big Horn mountains tomorrow, but the rain and wind are suppose to continue through tomorrow, so that side trip will have to wait until Tuesday.

The big Buffalo at Jamestown, ND

 

Bridal Falls, Spearfish National Forrest 

 

Scenic drive Spearfish National Forrest

  

Football time with Pop Pop

 

 Isaiah and Caleb on right - Group that was baptized

   
 

Well, after a day and a half on the road, we made it to Gillette, Wyoming.  We had good travel conditions for most of the trip with some rain across North Dakota yesterday afternoon.  John and I made a stop in Jamestown to see the world's largest buffalo and to take in the buffalo museum.  Learned a lot about the history of the buffalo in the Dakotas. 

We spent last night in Dickison, ND.  That town is really booming from the oil business.  John and I got on the road early this morning and arrived in Spearfish, SD a little before noon.  After eating lunch at BK, we took a little spin through the Spearfish National Forest before heading off to Gillette.  The kids were not home from school when we arrived, so we were able to spend an uninterrupted hour or so visiting with Amy and Dave.  Once the boys got home, it was nonstop talking and showing us their many school projects.  I sold my Kindle to Caleb, and he immediately got busy downloading some apps.  We plan to visit for a few days and then do some exploring of the Sheridan area.

We had another sunny day and the weather was good enough this morning that we were able to get a walk in to start the day.

After breakfast John headed up to Matt's to load and haul home the final load of split wood.  That was the last of the wood available to us at Matt's place, so now we need to get hold of a logger and order a semi-load of wood.  Hopefully we'll be able to get a lead on someone when we get home from our trip.  John then spent most of the day taking care of a few chores and getting some tools, etc. packed.  Amy and Dave usually have some little project for him to do around their place.

My day was spent sorting clothes, doing some cleaning, and getting cameras, kindle, and laptop ready for travel.  Late this afternoon I had another PT appointment and then we stopped at the local pizza place for some supper.  I took a little time to check out the garden the other day and I can definitely see signs of life there.

Pond is overflowing and ready for a duck family

 

Garden looks a little bleak right now  but the

strawberries are starting to come to life

 

We plan to hit the road around 7 a.m. tomorrow for the first leg of our trip to Gillette, Wyoming.  I probably will not blog as tomorrow will be a travel day.  Talk to you all again on Friday.  

The sky was overcast when we got up and showers were in the forecast for the morning, but John thought we could get our walk in before anything showed up.  He was very wrong.  We only walked about five minutes when it started to thunder and light showers began.  We made it back to the house before the heavier rains arrived and avoided getting soaked.

John and I were just finishing up breakfast, when the clouds moved off and the sun came out.  However; along with the sun came 35 mph winds that lasted throughout the day.  I told John the only positive thing I could see was that it wasn't 30 below with this wind. 

Matt and John had made plans the other day for Matt to help with wood splitting this morning, so right after eating, he headed up to Matt's where they finished the last of the wood John had cut.  They got it loaded into the trailer and then took off to Bemidji to pick up tile for Matt's next job.  As you can see from the photo below, John has a long way to go to get the shed filled for next winter.  

I kept busy this morning taking care of some house cleaning and packing for our trip.  The phone rang mid-morning and it was the computer repair shop letting me know my laptop was ready.  It seems it just needed a good interior cleaning and some junk removed.  Since I want to take the laptop on our trip, I also headed to Bemidji.  While there, I returned a dishwasher installation kit to Sears, did a little shopping, picked up the laptop, and made a stop at Arby's to grab something for supper.  I didn't know when John would get back and we had to be at the school for a band and choir concert  by 6 p.m.  Fortunately, John was home unloading wood by the time I got there, so we were able to relax a little before leaving for the concert.  The kids all did a good job and it was an enjoyable evening.

Josh playing trombone third from left

 

Rachel with her flute 2nd from right

 

 

 Jenni playing a piano solo

   

 

Today we had our first taste of summer with the temps reaching into the 80's.  It felt great to be able to walk outside without bracing for a blast of cold air.

Since it was such a nice day, John spent the morning working out in the yard.  He took the lawn mower and bagged up some of the leaves he raked the other day.  We're suppose to get some pretty strong winds tomorrow, so he thought he best get them gathered up today.  Next he got the garden tilled--won't be able to plant anything until we get back from our trip, but at least the ground is ready to go.

Matt called mid-afternoon and said he would be right down to help us install the new dishwasher and dryer.  Of course, I just loaded the dishwasher and started it running.  I quickly stopped the wash cycle and unloaded the dishes into the sink.  Fortunately, the clothes I put in the dryer were just about finished, so I just took them out, got them folded and out of the way.  As usual when moving out old appliances, that means an opportunity to clean where they once stood.  So, out came the vacuum cleaner and a quick cleanup was done.  Matt stayed and visited once the job was finished and by the time he left, we were well past our usual supper time.  A quick dig through the freezer yielded a couple of hamburgers that we defrosted in the microwave and John grilled.

After eating, John headed up to Clearbrook to pick up the wood splitter.  We received a call this afternoon saying it was ready for action once again.  That's pretty much what took place today.

Our day was sunny but the temps once again stayed on the chilly side.  John and I were up bright and early as I had to be at the church by 9 a.m. to take pictures of the confirmation class.  Today was Confirmation Sunday with Sam and Hanna among those being confirmed.  All the members of our family that live in the area were in attendance and it was especially good to see John's stepsister and her husband as we don't get to visit with them very often.

Following the service there was an open house with lunch in the church basement for Sam, Hanna and two other kids that were confirmed.  John and I spent an hour or so visiting with family and then headed back home where we spent the afternoon watching the PGA.  We just finished watching the finale of Survivor and it's late, so tonight's blog is short. 

It was sunny but cold and windy all day.  John bundled up after breakfast and headed up to Matt's to split the wood he had cut the other day.  He got a trailer full done before the splitter began leaking gas and stopped running so he then hooked it up to the truck and hauled it into Clearbrook for servicing.  John went back to Matt's, hooked up the wood trailer, and hauled it back home.  After lunch he stacked the wood in the shed and decided that was enough outdoor activity for today.

This morning I kept busy working in our home office bringing the finances up-to-date and washing up snow pants and winter hats for summer storage.  We spent the afternoon watching the PGA, reading, and working on the computer.  It was just too windy and cold to be outside.  Hopefully by tomorrow this cold front will move out and we'll get some warmer weather.

The last of the big snow pile in the backyard finally went today.  There is still a little one down by the shop, but that gets shade in the afternoon, so it will probably be hanging around for another day or so as our nighttime temps will be dipping down into the 20's.  A cold front is moving through with very high winds and tomorrow promises to be a cold and windy one.  Not a great day for the opening of the 2013 fishing season.  Not sure how many folks would be out anyway as there is still some ice on the lakes we've seen.

This morning John headed back up to Matt's to cut more wood.  He now has a big enough pile to warrant bringing in the splitter.  If it's not too cold tomorrow, he hopes to get started on that project.  Following lunch, he worked out in the backyard and got most of it raked up.  He hoped to do more after supper, but it just got too windy.

I was gone just about all day.  I started off with a PT appointment where I received an ultra-sound treatment and a couple of more exercises to start.  I'll go back to see the therapist on Wednesday afternoon before we head out on Thursday for our trip.  Once I was finished with therapy for the day, I headed to Bemidji and dropped off a couple of bags of clothes for Goodwill.  From there it was a stop at the computer repair shop.  Our laptop has been overheating, so I thought I better get it in and see what was happening with it.  Hopefully I'll get it back before we leave on our trip.  Next was a stop at Gander Mountain and the mall for a little shopping and to exchange a shirt that was too large.  Somewhere in between those stops, I did manage some lunch at BK and then headed off to Wal Mart for a few grocery items.  There was also a quick stop at Subway to grab something for supper.  

After such a busy day, John and I are ready for a quiet evening with the Kindle and a little TV.

It was another sunny day with temps that were a little cooler than yesterday due to strong winds.  First thing this morning John headed up to Matt's where he spent an hour or so cutting firewood.  He'll cut a few more times before he starts splitting the wood and hauls it home to the woodshed.  

While he was gone, I did some more laundry.  I'm trying to keep it caught up since we'll be heading out to Wyoming in a week for a little vacation.  I also got the last of my ebay sales boxed up and ready for shipping.  Sears called yesterday to let us know the appliances we ordered were in, so as soon as John got home, we hooked up the trailer to the pickup and headed off to Bemidji.  Since it was well after lunch time, our first stop was Arby's for something to eat.  From there we went to the UPS depot to drop off a package, Home Depot for a new light for JD, and then to Sears where, within a few minutes, everything got loaded. We made one final stop at the post office to drop off the ebay shipments and then headed on back to the house.  Hopefully, we can get the new dishwasher hooked up sometime over the next couple of days.  

 

We had another beautiful day with the temps reaching into the 70's.  It was back to tee shirts and shorts for at least one day.

John took advantage of the dry, warm weather to work on the driveway.  First thing this morning he went up to Matt's to borrow his four wheeler as ours is in the shop for servicing.  Once he returned home he hooked up our little drag and spent the next hour or so going round and round the drive working out the ruts and potholes.  Our driveway is nice and smooth now.

  John dragging driveway.  You can see grass is

beginning to green-up

With the warm temps today, our snow piles are just about gone.  We only have a couple out back and some snow still in the roadside ditch in front of our house.

John and I decided today was a good one to wash all of our window screens.  We set up some sawhorses out on the driveway and John hosed them down while I scrubbed.  I then washed the bedroom windows and put in the screens. With the warmer weather it tends to get stuffy upstairs and we're not ready to leave the windows open without the screens as some flying insects have started to stir.

Spring is definitely here.  We have been seeing plenty of robins and Canadian Geese as well as some other varieties.  The trees are also beginning to bud.