Goofy and the Gopher

Let me tell you a story about Goofy and the Gopher if I may. My youngest grandson, Leo, is quite a guy. He is in grade two, absolutely loves math, knows his way around race cars, space ships, video games and has a room full of weapons. He definitely has the family sense of humour and has picked up a nick name because of that. He is known very affectionately around most parts as "Goofy Leo".

Now let me get back to the part about the room full of weapons just in case you were wondering about that. When asked, he will tell you that he is proficient in all types of guns whether they be pistols or rifles, has an extensive collection of swords including light sabers, and has a working knowledge of explosives and martial arts weapons. Not bad for a seven year old, eh? He has now added a new weapon to his arsenal....traps.

It all started when his Dad noticed a lot of gopher activity in the front yard and was wondering what would be the best way to eliminate them. His dad remembered that when he was young he knew that I always had traps hanging in my shed . So Matt asked for my advice. Being the Grandpa that I am, I told them the story of how I declared war one year on the gophers in my garden because they started to take over and destroy all the produce. I used the best trap made for eliminating gophers and that year had a very productive garden. After telling the story, and when Leo's eyes became normal size again, He said, "Let's set some traps and see what we can get!!!!!!!"

The next morning Leo and I got up early and went out to check the traps. I thought his eyes were big when I was telling the story of declaring war on gophers but you should have seen them when we pulled on the chain and found this!---------

Traveling in the weather

In May of 2010 I had a trip planned to go to California. I am a delegate for my church and our annual Synod meeting was to be in Shafter, CA this year. This time I decided to drive out there pulling my 5th wheel trailer. I suppose the main reason I wanted to go with the camper was to see if in fact, I could handle it all by myself and still navigate the highways. The previous couple of years I drove out there once with my cargo trailer full of stuff for the girls and another time just with the pickup. Both of those times I drove about 900 miles a day. This time I had my living quarters with me and I could stop anywhere I wanted to spend the night, so I put a limit of 200 to 300 miles a day. The month of May is usually a pretty nice time of the year so I thought I would have a really nice trip this time. Well.......this is what I woke up to on the day of my scheduled departure:
Because this was a late season snow storm, it only lasted a day and by the time I got to Wyoming it was all gone. I visited friends in WY and by the time I got to the southern part of the state I ran into another snow storm. Then when I got to Salt Lake City, I hit another storm over the mountains with sleet and ice. There I just put my 4-way flashers on, pulled in behind a semi and just crawled over the pass. I still thank God for His traveling mercies.


This year, March of 2011, I decided to drive out again after having flown out in January but I drove without the trailer this time. Now in March we can still have some winter weather but I thought I could shoot between storms this time. Not so. The Friday I had planned to leave was the day that North Dakota got pounded. It was such a blizzard that Interstate 94 was closed across the whole state. It wasn't until Monday that the roads were open enough so that I could leave the state. Even at that, the road from Butte to the Interstate was ice covered and there was some fog that morning. I just love living in the Northern Plains!!!!

Across Montana

As I continued on my homeward way after visiting my brother in OR during my March/April 2011 trip, I had one more stop to make to visit a very good friend of mine. Daryl and Joan are in the process of retiring and they too decided to move from CA and head to Montana. Their move has taken several years of planning and searching for the right place to settle. Right now they are in the final stages of finishing their "cabin" along the edge of the Rock Mountains of MT. I will be the first to admit that their cabin is a little different from my brother's cabin, but Daryl and Joan have plans of entertaining and mentoring which require a facility for that purpose. Besides, it's what they want, and they are able to do it. Nice place, guys!!

I really enjoyed taking my long morning walks around their property. The only warning I recieved was to watch out for bears....and I only had my .22 pistol with me on this trip, not my 9mm. But I learned that pepper spray is more effective anyway. Daryl told me that he has another cabin on their property as well so one morning I headed that way to check it out. Now that is my kind of cabin!! I think that it would be ideal for me...with a little fix-up of course:

My hosts took me on several tours of the area and hiking trails. The snow pack had been tremendous here as well so the streams were running at full speed and snow still covered many of the trails.

I love the mountains,especially after having lived in Colorado for a while. But I am accustomed to the rolling, wide open plains of ND now so all I can say is that the mountains are a great place to visit but I like where I am.

The right idea

On the way back to North Dakota from my March/April 2011 trip, I decided to go north through Oregon, Washington and across Montana this time so I could visit my brother and sister-in-law. They had moved to OR a year or two ago from Montana to be closer to their children in northern California.

Wes and Becky need to be admired for their practice of living the simple life. When I look around and see the "stuff" that most people (including myself) have, it warms my heart to see that someone can still live without "much". And as they have proved, you don't need much to be happy. In fact, I am beginning to see all over again that "stuff" does not bring happiness. A warm relationship is worth more than rubies and gold.

Their house, or "cabin" as they call it, is an 8-900 sq. ft. home. Inside, they have all the basics for living which in my opinion make life more livable when there is no clutter staring you in the face. They do all the work themselves when remodeling and decorating. After all, that is what makes a home a home, right?

Thank you, guys, for being an inspiration to those of us who want to "simplify our lives". I thoroughly enjoyed my visit with you. You have the right idea.

Only in Nordakoda

The rest stops along the highways in North Dakota are rather limited. I'm not sure if that is because the traffic is rather limited too or because everyone is accustomed to stopping at cafes along the way every hour or so for a cup of coffee. Of course the two Interstates here have their share of them and a couple of the US highways have one or two. But to find a good rest stop along a state highway or especially on a county road is almost impossible.

Now I like to drive the back roads as much as possible so you can imagine my interest when I spotted one way back off the beaten path. I was on my way up to Devils Lake the other day to visit a very good friend of mine when all of a sudden I spotted it. Not only was it a nice rest stop but the scenery all around was so picturesque. I just had to stop and take a picture of it.
It's not everyday that you find such a well maintained and fresh smelling rest area as you travel this wonderful state of ours.

Jose' ,can you see?

I don't know where she got it because there isn't a whole lot of musical talent in my family that I am aware of anyway. But my sweet, lovely, and talented granddaughter Abby sure has a basket full. When I brought a trailer full of Nana's stuff out to all the girls a couple of years ago, there was a second piano that Lisa wanted. She thought that it would be good if Abby could take piano lessons so I loaded it up too. I figured that Abby would just dink around on it and the piano would just be a nice piece of furniture in their house. Wow!! was I wrong. Mommy lined up a terrific teacher and Abby went to work! I just love sitting around her piano while she is practicing and enjoy the beautiful sounds she makes.

She also has a voice by the way. She has been in her school and church choirs for years. While I was out there on my March/April 2011 trip, I had the honour of hearing her sing. Her school has a Monday morning assembly during which the students say the pledge of allegiance. During the flag raising, someone will sing the National Anthem. And lately that someone has been Abby. The way I understand it is that she really wanted to sing but was a little shy about doing it in public and as a solo. But one day she took the plunge and there has been no turning back. In fact she now volunteers for the job! Way to go Abigail!!!
Your voice is absolutely lovely Abbs. And I can't wait until your first cd comes out!!!

Tin Can Tree

A tree that grows tin cans? Well look, right in the centre of this tree at the top is a tin can. How else could it get there if the tree didn't grow it there? I guess you would have to ask a (almost) teen-age boy that question.
It all happened out at Gramy Sharon and Grandpa Steve's place while I was visiting this past spring, March/April 2011. The whole family got together one day for a huge lefse baking party. The girl cousins were running around outside and the young boy cousins were doing their thing, so what does a (almost) teen-age boy do? Thankfully, Grandpa Steve has an assortment of firecrackers on hand. And Steven, being the young inventor that he is, puts his inventive skills to work after just shooting them off in the street got to be old hat. With tin can in hand he punches a hole in it just big enough for a firecracker. Wow! That sends the can up in the air pretty good! How does a young man's mind work? I remember well from when I was his age: If one firecracker will do that, what will two or three firecrackers do? Will they perhaps put the can into orbit? Well the rest is history. He finally got the can to blast over the top of the tree.


Then on one of the blast-offs, the can turned open-end-down and on its decent, settled right down on a branch at the top of the tree. Will wonders never cease? We all just stood there, munching on lefse, looking up in amazement.

Grandpa Steve came up with the brilliant idea of starting a pool and putting down a guess as to when the can would come down. For one dollar a guess, the one that would come closest to the time would win the pool. That lucky lady was Hope, after a big wind storm several days later.