Round About in North Dakota - The RC Bickett Gang

Even before we left Horse Camp last year, we made tentative reservations to return for another week of Horse Camp this summer. Little did we know that by then, Brian would be making client trips to North Dakota and it turned out that both sides of my family planned family reunions in North Dakota — on the same day. So this year, Horse Camp expanded to a Round-About in North Dakota where we were able to camp along and see (plus meet some for the firs time) a whole bunch of family.

Work Before Play

Since we were going up anyways, Brian was able to work on the way which meant our first stop was Hettinger, ND. While he worked we familiarized ourselves with the town and drove around it about five times. We visited the grocery store for donuts, the dollar store for random dollar store stuff and then of course found the little quilt shop on main street.

Reunion #1

It was my mom’s cousins on my Grandma Ardy’s side who planned a gathering up at Parshall Bay, which is where my Grandpa Al and Grandma Ardy had a cabin. It was great to be back there again and see all of my mom’s siblings and her in the same place. There was some big kites brought by Aunt Sherri and we even had time slip down to the lake for a little dip. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay long and had to get going to the next party. We’ll have to go back when we have more time and show the kids how big Lake Sakakawea really is.

It was way fun looking at all of the old pictures.

The Engelhard's family picture. — The Engelhard’s family picture.

Reunion #2

We loaded up the kids and napped them on the way to Towner, ND where my dad’s aunt on my Grandma Myrna’s side, Aunti Pat had planned a 90th Birthday party for Uncle Gayland. We made it just in time to get in line for dinner and cup cakes. After a short visit, I was convinced to check out the local watering holes with Trisha and Stephanie. I’m not certain how, but we lucked out and found a great Uber driver that night. The memories continued with a campfire snack before bed hosted by Darcy.

The Thompson's family picture. — The Thompson’s family picture.

Horse Camp — Finally

We finally made it to the most anticipated part of the week for Ellie. She once again got right in the barn and did her horse chores so she could saddle up for her horse lesson. The rest of the time she was hanging out in the barn feeding the horses hay from the stack. Jackson had a little bit more help finding wheels to ride since Grandpa Doug was there too. He found his way into Uncle Mark’s tractor and loved to “pushita the buttons”. We were all in for a treat when the Binder (Dad’s 56′ International Truck) was rolled out of the shop. Ellie and Jackson were able to bounce around the cab before it was loaded on a trailer headed for the farm.

Got to do your chores before riding lessons.

Jackson pushed enough buttons to convince Uncle Mark for a spin around the driveway.

Grandpa found the keys. — Jackson’s next driving lesson was with Grandpa on this other tractor.

Back to Work

And then it was time to head home. We were able to camp a night in Medora with Dad & Robin. Somehow Grandpa and Jackson got ahead of us on the walk to dinner and found the ice cream shop first. The next day Brian made one last stop in Hettinger again for another meeting, and then we came home through Rally traffic in Sturgis.

So it was a little bit of the same with a little bit of work and a whole lot more family to see this year. I know we didn’t get much time with everyone but we were sure to get our hugs in. I was glad Brian was able to make it with us and that his great idea included the camper. Next year we will get to see the exciting upgrades that Horse Camp is making. We send our thoughts and prayers to Auntie Darcy and Uncle Mark for a safe move.

More ND Pictures

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