Summer Vacation 2008

Summer Vacation
By
George French

I had a fun summer vacation. We planned a vacation trip to the National Grasslands west of the Badlands west of Medora, North Dakota, at Buffalo Gap.

Monday was Labor Day, the first day of September. We packed up our tent, ground cloth, gear, sleeping bags, folding chairs, mattress pads, blankets, pillows, cookstove, dishes, food, clothing and reading materials. We started out on Tuesday and left our apartment at Sandstone at 10:00 a.m. We got to Fargo, NoDak about 2 p.m.
And after a short stop at Hobby Lobby and Barnes and Nobles were on the road again towards Bismark. We got to Bismark about 6 p.m. and it was sprinkling and the weather forecast was for showers. So we were rained out the first night. We walked over to a nearby restaurant for supper, then strolled for a couple miles around the Capitol grounds.
Wednesday we woke up and headed west. I was not feeling the best, and thought it might have been something I ate the night before or being dehydrated, since I have had that issue before. We got to Dickinson and stopped at the local grocery store for our perishable food items and ice for the cooler. This was about nine a.m. When we got done shopping Arly took a look at me and said, you look funny, we are going to the hospital. I was feeling so poorly that I did not even put up a fuss. So by ten we were in the emergency room. By the way they treated me and the questions they asked I could tell they were suspicious I was having a heart problem. So there I was, in hospital gown and BVD’s (Hanes for you younger folks) being prodded and poked and looked at in my eyes, ears, nose and throat. My BP was normal, temp 99, no out ward signs of infection, no pain at all (which was strange, because I usually have a pang here or there). So I wait because I could hear they had more urgent cases in the ER with me, but finally a Dr. comes in. He does a bunch of neuro exams, and finds I have a twitchy right eye, which told him my left inner ear gyroscope was on the fritz. So he goes away and in comes a nurse to do an ekg strip, and a hemo guy to get my blood. Then about ½ hour later the Doc comes in again to tell me I passed, not dehydrated, no heart problem, no hidden infection, and all I need to do is take Dramamine Meclyzine formula for the next six days. Well I had psychological relief from the news but I was still dizzier and spacier than a hoot owl. So The Doc said I would be ok so we headed towards Medora, 37 miles away. As we pull into town about three in the afternoon it starts to rain, continuously, with occasionally heavier showers. So we find another motel room for the night. That worked out ok. On TV it said that we got down to 35 that night with occasional patches of frost.
The next morning we went to Beach. We saw a cowboy riding the range checking out his doagies for fall roundup. The fog was below the tops of the Buttes, We had Breakfast at Rose’s Café. The best meal of the trip. I don’t know how she stays in business. Arly’s Omlette was big enough to serve four. My Haminex was likewise of enormous portions and proportions, meat as thick as Dad’s thumb, with a load of spuds, and a grain car of bread and some of Kenya’s finest to wash it down. Over easy. Dark toast, Strawberry preserves.
So we decided to go to eastern Montana, which was a mile away, and then go south to Baker. Cow country par excellence`!
We had to stop and take a nap cuz we was so plump and the sun was warm. I was still feeling dizzy so Arly was Driving.
We Turned left at Baker and headed back into North Dakota. This was about 79 miles after we had brunch. We came across a ghost of a town that had seen its better days. Manmouth had 10,000 souls in its prime and was the railroad cattle shipping center for three states, Montana, SoDak, and NoDak. It had Sandstone Buildings, and brick buildings, and not much else. We stopped at a store that sold rattlesnake skins and dinosaur bones, paper and clothes, and antiques. That is where we found out about the new NoDak Hillbillies, even without hills. It seems that some of these folk have got so much so fast from the boom that the young folk have to tell grandma, that she needs to deposit them $50,000.00 checks in the banks, cuz they is only good for so long!

Arly bought something. I had to hike around town to find the only public loo open. Nice little Bar, clean and friendly.
We were thinking that since the sun was out maybe we could camp. We headed southeast to Bowman.

Another nice prairie town, but again it started raining. We went north to get out of the rain. It started raining more. Went by the highest point of NoDak, White Butte, and it was raining. Got up to Belfield, and it quit raining but the wind was forty mile an hour from the W/NW and it was aboot 50 degrees. We decided God was telling us to “git oot o’ here” so we hoisted our sail and blew back to Bismarck, 80 miles east. So we did. And ate at a little Italian place I liked that starts with “W”, but Arly didn’t have as good food as me.
So Friday Morning after our commune with God we felt we should go back to Sandstone and finish starting our business.
I am still not feeling well, though I am not feeling sick, either. Sort of a weird limbo.
And that is my summer vacation.