Moving along...

This past summer was...what?  I don't know what it was.  It was good, some parts were bad, it was busy and at times slow.  It was full of new things, firsts...and at the same time it was all familiar in a way.  I guess when I stand back and look at it...it was just life.  Our life. 

Summer has turned to fall and now winter.  My mind is so full of things I want to say, get down before I forget.  I'm trying...

At this point, I am just going to go through my pictures and tell ya'll about some of our favorite things from the summer/fall.  So here goes...

We got a library card in Williston.  This was a big deal for us...we love to read and as full time travelers we have found that many places won't issue a card or lend books unless you are locals.   I understand their reasoning, but it sure is nice when we find a library that will.  We did have to provide an address to get it, but they accepted our camper lot address (and $20 per card). 

Just across the street from the library is a nice little park.  We have taken picnics there a few times and enjoyed the green grass, trees, and play equipment...

a pump jack see-saw, only in the oilfield...

Speaking of things that grow, North Dakota's wide open fields are a sight to behold.  The sunflowers, flax, canola...all the flowers are just beautiful...

Another thing that is pretty up here is the water.  There are little lakes or ponds all over the place and they are the deepest shade of blue...

a little park at the Kota-Ray Dam

I always slow down and stop if I can when I see a weathered old building standing in the middle of a field.  They intrigue me.  I wonder about the hands that built it, the lives that lived there.  Where did they go?  Why?  There are quite a few of these places up here...

We visited the site of the first oil well in the state of North Dakota.  The Clarence Iversion No. 1.  There is only a marker there today, but the history is interesting...

Small town celebrations are the best.  We went to the Ray Grain Palace Days in Ray, ND.  Parade, Ice cream/pie social, burgers grilled up by the fire dept, rodeo...a full day of fun :)...

gathering candy...they made out like bandits :)

when you are only an hour from the border, both the American and Canadian anthems are sung...

We found a couple of great little thrift shops here in Williston.  I love a good junkin trip, but I don't go often because I always find a treasure that has to come home with me.  Always...

That quilt and those vintage trays?  Less than $20 total!

Home.  What does that mean exactly?  For us the physical-ness of it changes often.  Home for the summer was our RV.  We knew we didn't want to spend a Nodak winter in it though.  No thank you.  So we looked at apartments...and finally bit the bullet and rented one at the end of the summer.  They are SO expensive here, it is ridiculous.  Seriously, google it...you'll see what I mean.  We didn't want to spend the money, but we wanted to be together as a family.  Family outweighs cost.

Our apartment is cozy.  It is 1200 square feet and there are 7 of us.  Compared to our camper, it is huge...so I guess it's all perspective :).  We like it ok.  We've never lived in an apartment before, so it's something different.  The kids say it's like a nice hotel and I guess really, it kind of is in a lot of ways.  We are warm, safe, and together.  Life is good.

the moon from our balcony <3

What about our camper?  Welllll....we thought about putting it in storage.  We even had reservations at a facility just over the line in Montana.  When I was cleaning our stuff out of it to move to the apartment I decided to get everything out.  Every last scrap.  Then I told Dan he could sell it if he wanted to.  Say whaaat?  Uh huh.  I did.  And he did.  He put it up for sale here in town and it sold.  Very quickly.  I was a bit surprised, I didn't really think it would sell hahaha!

the very last time we would pull this camper.  our home.

Do I regret it?  Nope.  Do I miss it?  Maybe.  The thing is, it's not the only camper in the world.  We had already been looking at different models that would better suit our family but we didn't proceed because we had the Eagle.  To trade it in would mean taking a pretty hard loss financially.  We decided the only way to do it would be to sell ours and then buy a new one.  Well, now ours is sold.  We'll just have to wait and see if the buying a new one part is in our cards.  Maybe...

Right now we are in an apartment in Williston, North Dakota.  We won't be staying here forever by any means, just for a while.  Change is already swirling around us, talk of the next adventure.  Where do we go from here?  Well, you'll just have to wait and see ;)...

Fort Union Rendezvous

Fort Union was not a fort in the usual military sense, but a fur trading post...

A little history for you:  Built in 1828 by the American Fur Company, this post provided a spot for many different Native American tribes to trade their furs for manufactured goods.  Situated at the confluence of two rivers, the Yellowstone and the Missouri, this post became the longest lasting and the most famous in American history...

It felt SO GOOD to get out of the house and we could not have asked for a prettier day to do it.  It was sunny, warm, and just a beautiful day...

We had gotten a newspaper the week before and in my boredom I actually flipped through it.  On one of the pages was a schedule for the Fort Union Rendezvous.  Fort Union is managed by the National Park Service, so I was intrigued (we love us some NPS!).  One of the Rendezvous days was to be a kids day...perfect for us :)!  I'm so glad it worked out for us to go.

Parking for the fort is in Montana...

...the fort itself is in North Dakota!  Haha!  Pretty neat :)...

If you visit the confluence area in the summer, take some bug spray!  Oh my goodness!!!  The second our car was stopped we were literally swarmed by a cloud of mosquitoes.  The kids saw them through the windows and I thought it was a cloud of gnats.  SO NOT GNATS!  More mosquitoes than I have ever seen at one time in my life and I am from Florida, the land of swamps and biting insects.  So anyway, I don't like using the stuff but I couldn't wait to get my hands on some after the swarm descended on my arms and legs (and face...it was BAD).

The walk up to the fort is short but pretty.  It is so quiet out there!  I loved it :)...

Just after we entered the gates, we were greeted by a gentleman in period dress.  He invited us into the trade room, shared some hardtack with us...

...and stories of traders and trades made in that very spot so many years ago.  That fireplace?  Those hearthstones?  Can you IMAGINE the people that have stood right there?  Warmed their tired bodies, shared stories...Jim Bridger, John James Audubon, Indian Chiefs, Prince Maximilian, George Catlin...

After leaving the trade room, we headed into the center courtyard of the fort.  The girls spotted a Park Ranger and wanted to go ask if they have Jr. Ranger books.  It doesn't say online that they do, so we weren't expecting it, but they wanted to ask just in case.  Well, it pays to ask...they DO have a Jr. Ranger program there!  The kids were happy and we headed into the Bourgeois House to get the books...

We perused the museum, visited the blacksmith, the carpenters, the guy cooking meat over a fire, then we went into a room off the courtyard where a lady was telling about life at the fort.  She had some really interesting things that she passed around for the kids to touch and examine...early toys, beaded clothing, etc...and she also told of the hard realities of living way out there so many years ago.  Stories of harsh winters and unwashed masses cramming into small rooms to sleep and share body heat.  Not the prettiest of pictures...

Next we went into the tipi...

It was a lot bigger on the inside than it looked! 

There were buffalo hides spread on the ground for us to sit on during the Ranger presentation.  We all found a comfy spot and listened/watched as he told us a story while also using Native American sign language. 

The kids really enjoyed this!  When it was done, we went into the bookstore and bought our own copy of the book that teaches this form of sign language.  So fun :)!  (The kids have been reading it and quizzing each other...if we go back to Rendezvous next year, maybe they can "chat" with the Ranger).

While we were in the bookstore, the kids turned in their Jr. Ranger books for review.  This park, to honor their fur trading history, does the program a little differently than we have seen before.  The kids were each awarded their badges and certificate...AND they were each given a little felt "buffalo fur".  They were given the option of keeping their fur or trading it for a manufactured good.  How fun is that???  The girls went for the beads, one boy got an AMFCo pennant, and one boy kept his fur...

With treasures in hand, we headed out the other side of the fort to check out the things that various folks had brought for sale.  There were beaded items, leather items, carvings, bones, all that kind of stuff.  We walked around, bought a few small things, and enjoyed the views...

Back inside the fort, we noticed a craft was going on over to one side.  Some ladies were teaching the kids how to made corn husk dolls!  How cute :)...

he made that for me <3

By this time, it was getting late in the afternoon and we were hungry.  Time to head back to Williston for a late lunch/early dinner followed by our most (UN)favorite activity of all time.  Can you guess what it is?...

Haha!  Yep, laundrymat time.  Woohoo! 

The fun never ends, ya'll ;)...

Celebrating Sunset...

Sunset is my favorite.

Always has been, always will be.  There is just something about it...

It is magical and oh so beautiful.  A gift.

It invites a pause at the end of each day.  A time to stop and just breathe...

When we heard that there was a daily Sunset Celebration on the island of Key West, there was no doubt in our minds that we had to go check it out.  After a fun filled day touring the town, we headed down to the waterfront in time for the show...

Celebration is right!  There was quite the festive atmosphere going on (and no, I don't mean partying, I mean simply festive :).).  There were different street performers entertaining the crowds with their zany talents.  Fire jugglers, sword swallowers, acrobats...

future sunset performer?  maybe ;)...

There were artists selling their crafts and vendors selling all different kinds of things.  The one that caught our eye was the Coconut Man (of course :)!).  He was just setting up and a little boy walked up to him, admiring the coconuts.  He smiled at the little boy and told him if he could tell him the Spanish word for coconut, he could have the very first one...free.  I don't know what the boy said, but he must have gotten it right (enough) because he left smiling and carrying his very own coconut :).  So sweet :).

A couple of the kids wanted coconuts, so they went over and asked him the price.  He told them the price was whatever they wanted to pay, and if they couldn't pay that was ok, too, they could have one for free (I'm telling ya'll, we met SO MANY kind people there!).  Of course we paid and he pulled out a huge machete type knife and "chop, chop, chop" cut a few slices off one end to slope it and then one more chop and he cut the end off exposing the yummy insides.  No straws, no problem :).  The kids happily sipped on their coconut water as the sun slipped lower and lower...

It was really neat, everyone had been milling about checking out this performer or that vendor.  But as the sun began to disappear beyond the horizon, it all just sorta stopped.  Everyone stopped, found a place to sit, and just watched...

Beautiful :)...

When the last little sliver of light had slipped away, the festivities resumed.  By this time, the coconut water was gone and the kids were ready to eat the rest of it.  We went back over to the Coconut Man to get him to cut them open and he told us that our coconuts were jelly ones (this is in young coconuts when the meat inside hasn't hardened yet, instead it has a jelly like texture...very good for you and also delicious).  He cut a thin piece from the outside of the coconut to use as a spoon and then he split the coconut in half to expose the jelly.  When he handed Tristan's back to him he told him if he couldn't eat it all, to bring it to him and he'd eat it.  No worries of little man not finishing the special treat, he pretty much licked it clean :).

Coconuts completely devoured, we wandered back over to the edge of the water.  There was a steady stream of boats going by, full of folks celebrating life ;)...

At this point, it was getting completely dark and the mood was shifting to more of a party type atmosphere.  Time for this family to call it a day...and what a great day it was :)!