Horse Camp Up North - The RC Bickett Gang

With the 75th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally less than a week away, Brian was invited to take a night time security position at a campground. Since he would be busy during the day either sleeping or working, and then working nights, we thought it might be a good time to head up north to ride Auntie Darcy’s horses. So we packed up the car and found the best route that would hopefully have the least amount of motorcycle traffic and made our way to North Dakota.

Darcy’s Horse Camp

Ellie certainly learned quite a bit about horses and riding horse just in the few days that we were there. Before she could get to riding, she had to head out to do chores which included cleaning the stalls and feeding the horses. After that, she had to walk out in the pasture, catch a horse to ride, brush, blanket, and saddle it and then the rest was easy, just sit back in the saddle and enjoy the ride.

Out in the field catching Shammy. — Out in the field catching Shamie.

She had to carry and put on her own saddle.

She thought she was good enough by the end of her first lesson to ride backwards.

She even got to ride with "Aunt Stephanie" — She even got to ride with “Aunt Stephanie”

I was even able to pick up a thing or two and didn’t realize that Darcy has really fine tuned her passion over the years. She not only offers lessons but also breads horses and operates Dakota Rocky Mountain Horses.

Mark’s School of Wheels

Jackson, on the other hand, road everything but a horse. There wasn’t a shortage of steering wheels for him to get his hands on or tires to kick and Uncle Mark was happy to grab the keys and get the motors going. For the most part he was all smiles with exception to when he was in the cab of the tractor and could see the giant wheels moving. He even got in on helping put air in the tires of the 56′ Buick.

In the tractor watching the arms go up high.

Helping Uncle Mark put some air in the tires of the Buick.

Jackson loved the bouncy seats and big steering wheel of his Great, Great Grandmother's 56' Buick. — Jackson loved the bouncy seats and big steering wheel of his Great, Great Grandmother’s 56′ Buick.

Found the wagon and someone to give him a push.

In the side-by-side. — In the side-by-side, a little uncertain why his sister was in there too.

Mark put the boat on the water so Jackson could make a couple circles.

A Fly By

I was pretty excited when Uncle Mark asked if I wanted to go up in his new retro plane. I have only flown commercially — you know — get your ticket, check your bags, wait, wait some more, etc… so this was an awesome experience to just go in, open the hangar door and let the tower know you are taxing to the runway. Of course there is much more to it and I can say that watching Mark perform all the pre-flight checks has giving me a better appreciation to everything that goes into taking a flight. I was even happy to help him scrub off all of the bugs we caught on our little excursion.

Up in the air was quite the adventure. We flew for a total of an hour and made it all the way down to Garrison which means we flew over Lake Sakakawea — a small ocean compared to the lakes around here. It was really neat to fly over all of the small towns and bays that my family has grown up in. Contrary to what I heard (that it was like riding a county fair ride with a few bolts missing), the flight was great and the landing was smoother than all of my commercial flights. I was glad that we took the time to encounter North Dakota in a new way.

Darcy and Mark's home - see my car sitting there. — Darcy and Mark’s home – see my car sitting there.

Van Hook Community where Uncle Terry's new cabin is. — Van Hook Community where Uncle Terry’s new cabin is – just left of the green roof I think.

Parshall bay where my Grandpa Al and Grandma Ardy had a cabin.

Deep Water bay where my Grandpa Gordon use to camp.

What is left of my Grandfather's farm. So many good memories there. — What is left of the farm my Dad grew up on. So many good memories there.

A Visit with Family

Since we have quite a bit of family that lives around the Minot area, I was able to introduce Ellie and Jackson to some pretty important people during our visit. Great Auntie Pat (my Grandmother Myrna’s sister), Uncle Gayland and their daughter, (my second cousin) Lori came over for a tasty dinner where Lori lied right in front of her mother by telling Ellie she didn’t have to do dishes until she was 13. Of course Auntie Pat was right there to correct her.

It has always been pretty cool that my mother’s two brothers live up there too but being a trip during the week it was a little difficult to match our schedules up. So late Saturday afternoon we were able to pop down to see Great Uncle Terry and Auntie Dorian’s new cabin by the lake. I think it was fun for them to see Ellie swimming like a fish and Jackson digging in the sandy beach. I got a kick out of listening to my aunts and uncles reminisce about the good ol’ days.

Aunt Dorian, Uncle Terry, Meg the Dog, Mark, Darcy and Stephanie.

Unfortunately it didn’t work out to bump into my Uncle Todd. We were going to stay another day, but Jackson decided to boycott sleeping and woke up screaming the last two nights we were there which prompted me to throw everything in the car and leave early Sunday morning. Turns out Uncle Todd was probably fishing somewhere on the lake when we were at Uncle Terry’s. I have a feeling we will be up there again next year and will be sure to schedule more time with the Engelhard’s, in advance even.

Paying our Respects

It would be pretty difficult for me to travel north, where we would go visit often as a kid, and not think about the good ol’ days myself, back when I was able to squeeze all of my grandparents. So it only made sense in my heart to stop by their final resting places, say hello and have my children touch a bit of their history. I only hope that I can teach them the importance of enjoying their grandparents while they can because I often wish I could still sit with all of mine and enjoy their company just a little bit longer. Now, I take full advantage of pestering my aunts and uncles with 20 questions about their lives and hobbies.

We had a picnic with Grandma Myrna and Grandpa Dallas on our way through.

Visiting Grandpa Al and Grandma Ardy's resting place. — Visiting Grandpa Al and Grandma Ardy’s resting place.

Of course Jackson found Eric's toys! — Of course Jackson found Eric’s toys!

I had Mark fly me over Grandpa Gordon's grave site to wave and say hi. — I had Mark fly me over Grandpa Gordon’s grave site to wave and say hi.

Side Notes & Memories

We went to get groceries and Aunt Darcy b-lines it for the carts. I thought it was great she was going to get me a cart because I was carrying Jackson who is getting pretty darn heavy, and then I had to laugh. She came around the corner with the kart with the car on the front saying “I never get to use one of these”. Of course the kids loved the cart too because they never get to use one of them either.

Of course the kids loved this cart because they never get to use them either. — Cruising around the grocery store.

We also made a stop at the Minot Zoo which was something I remember my Grandmother taking us to. Ellie thought it was really neat to be able to feed the giraffes and Darcy was pretty excited that concessions had sno-cones on the menu.

Even though I packed us up and left in a hurry, it turned out to be a very fun filled and relaxing trip. In fact at times, I wasn’t certain who was smiling more, the kids or Mark and Darcy. I feel blessed to have a wonderful network of extended family and I couldn’t thank all of my aunts and uncles enough for helping create memories that my children will surely hang on to.

I’m certainly not taking part of the debate, but it was mentioned often to Ellie, by both sides of the family, that North Dakota is much more fun than Arizona. I guess we will have to keep going back to both — darnit.

The Rest of the Pictures

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