Summer 2018, Wedding, Grandkids & Fort Missoula

Monday, June 11th - Thursday, Nov. 15th

We left Helena on Monday and arrived in Hankinson, North Dakota on Tuesday evening where we camped at the City Park for the next week in order to attend my niece's wedding at the Lady on the Lake Bed and Breakfast and Barn/Event Center on lovely Lake Elsie.  It was a beautiful wedding and lots of fun.  Thanks for inviting us, Morgan and Hank.
Six minute video of entire day below.

Dad and Mom.

Grandma Clem

Sisters

Father Daughter Dance

Nephews and Ring Bearers

Flower Girl Kenna

Braylon and Briella

The whole clan, so far!

From there we went to Brookings for a few days for our annual checkups and visits with old friends.  Nice to see everyone and catch up on all the local news.  Then we stayed a week at the Fairgrounds in Sioux Falls to spend some time with Dawn.  She cooked us a couple very nice meals while we were there which we enjoyed very much.  Thanks Dawn!  We drove over to Emmettsburg, Iowa one afternoon to visit with John's Aunt and cousins and had a nice visit with Helen, Denny, Kathy, Deb and Darrell.  On the 3rd and 4th of July we made a short trip over to Le Center, Minnesota to visit more friends.  Thanks Betty and P.J. for all your hospitality.  On our way back to Sioux Falls we stopped in Fairmount, MN. to see more friends.  Thank you Mark and Sue for your hospitality, also.

We moved to Cutty's Resort in Des Moines on July 6th.  Saturday we went to Hu Hot for lunch and World Market.  Sunday we gathered at the lovely country home of Craig and Teri Barcus near Osceola with four of John's high school classmates and spouses for a very fun afternoon.  Thanks so much for hosting Craig and Teri.  It was great to see everyone all together again.  Tuesday we drove over to Greenfield for a short visit with another of John's cousins, Ralph and Pat and old neighbors, Bob and Elva.  Then we went kayaking on the Little Raccoon River with friends and had supper at a Mexican place in Stuart.  A fun day!  Thanks for taking us Bruce and Gerry and thanks for supper the next night, a gourmet feast, sea scallops and risotto, delicious as always!  On Thursday we headed back to Hankinson where we had supper at my brother and sister-in-law's on Lake Elsie.  My niece, Brooke, and her hubby, Kevin, made delicious French Dip sandwiches.  Saturday we all met at Cupcakes Restaurant in Hankinson for a yummy breakfast.  Thanks, Claude and Jodi!  Monday we took Mom up to Fargo for her eye doctor appointment and Tuesday we headed back to Montana and brought Mom with us for a two week visit with the great-grandkids.  We stopped in Billings on Wednesday for a short visit with Mom's brother Adam and wife JoAnn, then hurried on to Helena where the grandkids were anxiously awaiting our arrival.

These three nice looking bucks stopped by to visit several afternoons this summer.

Ever the monkey, no place is too high or too hard to get to.  Where there is a will, there is a way, and there certainly is a will.

Stay out of the way, Benny!  I should mention that Dallas John Wald's adoption was finally official on July 10th, while we were gone.  But he told us all about his party and presents when we got back.  It only took 4 and a half years to get it done.

On August 7th we celebrated Keira's 3rd birthday three days early.  She is holding her favorite chicken, Toppy.  Those kids will just not leave the poor chickens alone, but the chickens don't seem to mind.  Our good news is that Keira's adoption is scheduled to be final on Dec. 18th.  About time, she will be 3 and a half years old by then.  Only one more to go, Benjamin, the last one?  John took Mom home on August 8th and went down to Sioux Falls to spend a few more days with Dawn and help her with some more yard work.

More fun with the chickens.

Red seems to be okay with a ride down the slide and a push in the swing.

All that play time doesn't seem to slow down their egg laying.  They have seven chickens and get at least five or six eggs a day, sometimes more.  The eggs on the left side are very large eggs.  The huge one next to them had two yolks.  The kids were really excited about that one.

Tally and Benny.

Summer Sledding

Benny and Keira.

Climbing trees at the Fairgrounds Park.

Dress-up Day

There is a baseball game almost every day, sometimes several times a day.

The only audience today was Benny and he had other ideas.

Golf anyone?

Benny's 1st birthday at The Carousel. 

Hang on, Benny!

Ice cream and presents.  Tally and Benny's half-sister, Annika, in front of Hilary.  She and her Grandma were special guests.

Annika's Grandma

Playing in the park outside after the party.

Watching cartoons with Mom.

Monkey Maneuvers. 

Wait, let me try!

Dallas can't wait for his little brother to get big enough to wrestle with him.

No water in the pool today.

Harvest Festival Mid-September

The rest of the kids were scared to go in and feed the goats, but Keira was right in there running all around.  Goats were chasing her trying to get her food, but she was running after other goats that she preferred to feed.  They were pushing all around her and she was hugging them and petting them.

Kids welcoming us to come and visit the fort they made in the trees.

Decorating their new fort in the trees.

Whenever John is in the camper, this is where you will find Digger.  They are best of buddies.  Grandpa never forgets to feed and water him or pet him and bring him treats.

He can't even walk yet, but he loves to ride bike. 

Here you go, Benny!

Hey, wait a minute!  Wasn't somebody supposed to catch me?

Friends are always bringing them fun stuff.

Both of these cars and about a dozen bikes so far, all sizes.

Picking yummy plums.  They have a plum tree, a raspberry patch, strawberries and two apple trees.

Hiyah!  Ninja warrior.

View from the deck.  Sometimes there are horses in the pasture.

On Saturday, Sept. 29th Tierney and Tally had an early birthday party together

with 25 little girls!  What a mad house!  We had a more quiet family party on Wednesday after Jeff's folks arrived for a visit.

We went to Missoula Thursday and Friday for a little break while Jeff's folks were here.  We stayed at the Stone Creek Lodge and enjoyed the hot tub.  We went out for lunch at HuHot and supper at Fiesta En Jalisco, both very good.  Friday we toured the Fort Missoula Historical Museum.  It was established as a permanent military post in 1877 until 1947, along the Bitterroot River near Hellgate Pass.  It was built in response to request from townspeople and settlers for protection from western Montana Indian tribes.

Quartermaster's Root Cellar built in 1908 with metal vents on top to circulate air and keep the temperature constant.

Noncommissioned Officer's Quarters built in 1878.

The fort was Northwest Regional Headquarters for the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1933 until WWII.  Then it became an Alien Detention Center for 1,200 non-military Italian men who happened to be in the U.S. when we joined the war, plus 1,000 Japanese resident aliens (mostly prominent business men from the West Coast), 123 South American Japanese and 23 German resident aliens.  The Japanese men were rounded up by the FBI immediately after Pearl Harbor and sent to the fort.  Enemy Alien Hearings were held here to determine their loyalty to our country.  It is one of the most intact WWII internment sites with most of the major buildings of the era still in use.  The fences and guard towers have been removed.  The Italians were the first to arrive by train from Ellis Island.  Some of them had been workers at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City.  On arrival they declared "Che Bella Vista" (What a beautiful view) and many stayed on after the war.  By May 1941, 16 wood-framed barrack buildings like this one were shipped to the fort and assembled by the Italians.  Another 14 had been shipped and completed by August.  Each barrack held 40 to 60 men with a military bunk and 40 sq. ft. per man. The cost to keep each man per day was 49 cents, food 40 cents, clothing 5 cents, laundry 2 cents, medical needs 2 cents.  Canada also detained 23,000 citizens of Japanese descent along the West Coast, as did many Latin and South American countries.  The Japanese Empire also interred citizens of the U.S. and its allies.  The U.S. wanted to create a reserve of prisoners to trade. So, in cooperation with many South American countries, they transported more than 2,200 people of Japanese ancestry (80% from Peru) to the U.S. in a quazi-legal kidnapping program.  Many were deported to Japan who had never set foot in their ancestral land.  After the war the barracks housed 1,250 court-martialed military personnel between 1944 and 1946.

Tipi Burners or Wigwam Burners (45' to 55' tall) covered the Montana skyline with 11 in Missoula Valley.  They were used to burn the sawdust and other by-products from the saw mills.

Picture of a log sled used by Anaconda Forest Products ca. 1890.

Log sled and boom model in museum.

In 1896 Lt. James Moss organized the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, the first of its kind in the country, made up of black soldiers and white officers.  They made several short journeys before making a 1,900-mile trip to St. Louis, Missouri.  They road 50 miles a day from June 14 to July 24.  Lt. Moss graduated at the bottom of his class at West Point in 1894 and was assigned to Fort Missoula.  His commitment to military cycling launched him on a successful military career.  He never married and authored many military training books and is the founder of Flag Day, June 14th.  He retired as a colonel in 1920, was killed in a car accident in New York City in 1941 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Forest Fire Lookout Tower.  After the Great Fire of 1910 these pre-packaged towers were manufactured in Columbia Falls and shipped throughout a four-state region for assembly on mountain tops.

Artwork on the grounds.  There are lots of old logging machines and equipment on the grounds.

Picture frame made out of gum wrappers.

We had a late lunch at The Trough next to The Olde Dairy.  It was very good.  Then we headed back to Helena.

Apple picking crew.

Pretty in Purple.

Piggy Back Rides

Fun down on the Farm

DaDa

I took the kids to the Hwy. 55 Diner where they got to meet Elvis and get their meals served in little cardboard classic cars from the 50's.

Mom with her oldest and youngest.

I love you Grandpa, or is it just your phone with the videos?

Putting the candles on Grandpa's birthday cake.  How many?!?!

Me, myself and I posing for Dallas.

Hey, what are you guys doing in there?  Taking pictures of our butts!  Yuk, Yuk, Yuk, Yuk!

I took Dallas for his first professional haircut a couple days before Halloween.  He was so well-behaved and had a very nice conversation with the lady cutting his hair.  He told her what he was going to be for Halloween and where he got his new Ninja costume and what Ninjas did and how awesome they were.

What are you going to be for Halloween, Dad!  The ultimate Green Bay Packers Fan!  

Two pirate girls and a ninja warrior.

Oct. 29th I took Tierney, Tallia and Dallas to see Treasure Island at the Grandstreet Theater.  Halloween we took the kids downtown for trick or treat.  Wednesday, Nov. 7th we all went to Pizza Ranch for John's birthday and games for the kids, all six grandkids from 19 year old to 1 year old.  What fun!  On Nov. 2nd, the day between John's and my birthday, Tierney fell 10' out a tree and broke her arm.  The good thing is that she gives Tally a little more chance to play Momma with Benny now and lug him around, which she enjoys very much.

Our sweet baby girls!

Dawn arrived for a week's visit on Saturday, Nov.10th.  I can't believe we are still here!  It's getting very cold and snowy.  Tuesday Dawn and I took Tierney, Tallia, Dallas and Keira to see the new Grinch movie.



Dawn and Benny



Playing games with Dawn



Goodbye supper.  We head south tomorrow.
Thursday, Nov. 15th we are finally out of here and heading for Pollock Pines about 50 miles southwest of Reno.  We will be in Hanford, California with John's sister Thanksgiving weekend and Yuma for Christmas, I think.

Happy Turkey Day All,
Tarra