Aug. 30th

It is cold windy and rainy this morning feels like fall to me. Last Wed. my cousin Rodney Wheeler and wife Joy came from SW NE to visit and see the area. Thur. morning we did the mine tour along with the tour of Antelope Valley Power Plant and the Dakota Gasification Plant. After lunch in Beulah we went to Washburn where we went through the Lewis & Clark interpretive center and Fort Mandan. On the way back home we toured the Knife River Indian site at Stanton. They returned to NE Fri. morning. We sure enjoyed having them come and enjoyed showing them the area. The week before that we had a couple from Georgia stop for one night they liked our camp ground and the area so much that they stayed for 5 days. We became good friends with them, I am sure we will see them again in our or their travels. He played the guitar and she the dulcimer they played and sang for us one evening. Both couples enjoyed trying some of the German foods (fleishkekla & Kuken) that you seem to only find in this area.

Fall is in the air

This weekend we have gone from the calm humid mid 90's all week to windy blustery high 60's of yesterday and 50 degree's this morning. This weekend the campground has again been nearly full. It is amazing the number of new campers that are using our campground because they have heard about it from someone else. We have a group of young men from South Africa that are camping here while working for a custom harvest crew in the area. They all come from farm backgrounds and are very interesting to visit with. One of them comes from a farm that has 5000 sheep and 500 cows, anothers family has a farm that raises pistachio's and some kind of fruit. I asked them what the reason was for working in the US and the reply was an opportunity to see the US and every dollar they make here converts to 7 dollars in South Africa.

Hazen Bay

This morning we left Murdo, SD about 9AM. This is the time for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally so we heard motorcycles going down the interstate all night long. Traveling the 20 miles east on I-94 we must have seen over 500 motorcycles headed west. Of the rest of the traffic probably 75% were pulling trailers with motorcycles on them. We arrived at Hazen Bay about 5PM with temps near 90 degree's but it didn't seem as hot as at Murdo, SD or all week in Imperial, NE. It seemed nice to be back. Mary Ann that filled in for Nancy said she had a whole new appreciation for what she does. She really enjoyed it but was ready to get back to town and attend to laundry etc.

Murdo, SD

Yes here we are in Murdo, ND again and the temp was 96 degree's when we stopped late yesterday afternoon just like it was a week ago when we were here. After 5 days in south west NE we will be back in Hazen Bay this evening. We kept busy visiting family and old friends. On Fri morning we attended the memorial service for my Aunt & Uncle that had lived in Louisville, KY and their son who had died several years ago. Their ashed were enterned at the cemetery in Wauneta, NE. Fri afternoon we attended a mini Wheeler family reunion at my sister Kathy Cook's house, there were 35 or 40 in attendance. Yesterday we stopped at Stapleton, NE and had lunch with Derb & Lewellen Frey one of my fellow sales reps. from when I sold Pioneer Seed Corn. It is going to feel good to be back in northern North Dakota where the temps are cooler and the humidity is lower.

Murdo, SD

Yesterday morning we left Hazen Bay for a week away from our camp host duties. We will spend the week back home in the Imperial, NE area visiting friends, relatives and a memorial service for my Aunt & Uncle that lived in Louisville, KY. Since we are ones that like to take new routes after arriving at Mandan, ND we turned south on ND 1806 traveling along the west side of the Missouri river. For a while the bluffs reminded us of the badlands. After entering the Standing Rock Indian Reservation we traveled through the rolling green grass lands filled with many herds of cattle. After entering South Dakota we turned east on US 12 crossing the Missouri river and Lake Oahe. Nearing Mobridge, SD we entered into the farming area covered with fields of ripe wheat, green corn & sunflowers. After turning south on US83 we began seeing the large combines harvesting the fields of wheat. At Pierre, SD we crossed back over the Missouri river and were back in the grass lands. We stopped at Murdo, SD for the night. The temp was 98 degree's and still was at 88 degree's when we went to bed at 11 PM. It is 75 this morning as I write this and it looks like it will be over 100 when we arrive in Imperial this afternoon.