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 ;)...

Crashing in Williston, ND...

This past year has been hard.  Really hard.  To try and keep from crumbling, just totally falling apart from the enormity of it all...I kept busy.  Really busy.  An epic cross-country wander, just me and five kids, proved to be an excellent distraction.  So, what happened when the car stopped?  When I had time on my hands and didn't fall into bed too exhausted to think at the end of each day?  Well...it all hit me like a ton of bricks, that's what.  All the emotions I had been doing my best to run from, they had been doggedly chasing me all the way across so many state lines.  It wasn't pretty, ya'll...

When we first got to North Dakota, it was great.  We were back together as a family, in our cozy little home on wheels, and it felt oh so good.  Physically exhausted from all the traveling, we rested.  The kids (and I) were so excited to see their dad again, tell him of the wonders they had seen and present him with their special trinkets and souvenirs.  Oh the stories:)... 

Myakka Palm Cabins

Caspersen Beach

Everglades National Park

Robert Is Here

Key West coconuts

swimming at Fort Zachary Taylor...Key West

Sunset Celebration...Mallory Square

Conch Republic

Bahia Honda

Robbie's...Islamorada

Bahamas cruise

Nassau, Bahamas

Coco Cay, Bahamas

St. Augustine, Florida

Savannah, Georgia

Fort Pulaski cannon demonstration

St. Helena Island

lunch with Blue Dog in Frogmore :)

Old Sheldon Church ruins

Angel Oak

Charleston, South Carolina

King's Mountain

Cowpens

Carl Sandburg Home

Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Cades Cove

Mammoth Caves National Park, Kentucky

Lincoln Birthplace

Dayton, Ohio

Wright Flyer simulator

The Great Lakes

hello, Michigan

Herbert Hoover Birthplace

Priaire du Chien, Wisconsin

Pikes Peak, Iowa...Mississippi River bluff...

Pipestone, Minnesota

We had been in the Bahamas/Florida for Tristan's birthday, so we celebrated again as soon as we were all together.  Tris didn't mind ;)...

their dad always gets the fun birthday candles :)...aren't they neat?

That ton of bricks I mentioned?  They found their mark around the third day or so.  Everything from the previous months caught up to me and I was one sick girl.  I am not one to rush off to the doctor's office, preferring to let the body heal itself and all that jazz.  This time it was different.  I needed help.  So, the kids and I loaded ourselves up and went to the Urgent Care/walk-in clinic in Williston.  We got there right after they opened and were told to make an appointment to come back that afternoon.  Only in Williston, ya'll.  This town has grown so much, so fast, that everything beats to a brand new rhythm.  Here you need an appointment for the walk-in clinic...**there are so many people each day needing to be seen, that a list/appointment roster is started each morning for that particular day.  when the list is full, that's it for the day.  if you are lucky, you get seen.  if not, try again the next day...**

When I agree to go to the doctor, you know it is bad.  I did not feel like making a second trip in to the clinic, but go I did.  The doctor I saw was a lady and she was super nice.  I really liked her and appreciated the way she did things.  So...one appointment, a double prescription of antibiotics and some potent cough syrup later, and I was sent home to recuperate. 

That was the first week of June and it took me a good two weeks to start feeling like myself again.  During that time, the kids enjoyed all of their "rediscovered" things in the camper, they played at a little park/ball court that was just a few blocks away, made friends with the neighborhood kids... 

I got better and better and finally, it was time to get out and explore the area...

Bakken bound...

Our plan when we left Pipestone, MN, was to drive over to Sioux Falls, SD, and spend the night.  Remember before when I told ya'll that we don't usually make reservations?  We just "wing it"...  Well, this was one time when that didn't work out so great...

We got to Sioux Falls late afternoon/early evening.  I had wanted to get a hotel downtown so that we could go to Falls Park and see the lights after dark.  So.  We went downtown, I walked in my hotel of choice, and they informed me that they were booked solid.  No rooms available.  They thought that their affiliate hotel had a room or two left and kindly called them for me.  Yes, one room left and the price was $300+.  Yikes!  In Sioux Falls, SD?  You have got to be kidding me.  We passed on that one ;). 

I went back out to the car and got online to see if I could find anything at all available, downtown or otherwise.  They weren't joking!  The whole town was booked, I couldn't find anything.  Well, bummer.  We had wanted to hit up some of our old haunts but that just wasn't going to happen this time.  The closest hotel I could find that would work for us was 2 hours west in Chamberlain.  So, we made our reservations, made a quick pass through Y's Buys (awesome thrift store in Sioux Falls), grabbed some tacos, and headed for Chamberlain.

We arrived late and got up early to get back on the road.  We had planned to keep going west on I-90 towards Rapid City...the kids wanted to go to Wall Drug (love their donuts!), the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Custer, etc.  All places we used to go when we lived in Rapid.  I needed to go that way to take care of some business with our residency (we use a service in Rapid for our mail, etc).  Ok, so we got in the car to head that way.  But wait, I decided it might just be a good idea to call ahead and make sure the office was going to be open since it was the weekend.  Guess what...they were closed.  Doh!

What now?  Normally we would have just went on over thatta way and did our thing for a few days until they were open.  Normally.  But, the best alternate plan of all time became available to us and we changed course so quick we 'bout got whiplash (hehehe)...

This whole time that we had been slowly ambling north and west across the country we had an ultimate destination in mind.  At the end of our journey we had plans to meet up with my husband...in North Dakota!  He had taken our camper over from Pennsylvania and gotten it all set up for us in Nodak with plans for us to meet up on his days off.  Well, days off came early and we lit a shuck to join him.  Rapid City would just have to wait ;)...

early morning fog in Chamberlain, SD

We had an 8 hour drive to get to Williston, a long day to be sure, but it felt so good to be home when we got there.  That's one of the awesome things about having an RV...the town and everything in it can be brand new and strange but when you walk through that door it's all wonderfully familiar.  After way too long apart, it was oh so good to have our family back together under one roof.  After constant motion, it was time to be still for a bit.  To rest...

first impression of northern Nodak...not bad :)

***Are ya'll curious about life in the North Dakota oilfields?  Well stay tuned...we've been up here going on 7 months now... (yes, I am THAT FAR behind on this blog. ugh. time sure does fly...)***