With that said, we always try to make to best of whatever situation life hands us and that has been another year filled with truck repairs. After our incident at the house, we were back to work and working hard when our Differential went out on the truck (an after effect of the driveway sliding fiasco). We spent 8 days in Dickinson, ND awaiting parts and repairs. Not a lot to do in Dickinson, so we enjoyed cooking out most evenings, lots of play time with Elmo and Titan, 2 seasons of Royal Pains and 3 seasons of Bones. Kuddos to the folks at Westlie Truck Center for their timely and quality work and their courtesy. Shuttle to and from wherever we needed to go (not that there were many choices), access to an electrical outlet for shore power, which meant we didn't have to run the truck or stay in one of their Small Town, High Priced Hotels ($100+ per night). You might be wondering why shore power when we have an APU (auxiliary power unit / generator)? Well, that too is not working and the unit needs to be replaced for the 2nd time in less than a year! Certainly hoping that this decision to be "compliant" with the Clean Air Act and to save some $$$ is not going to be one of those "wish we hadn'ts".
As you may suspect, freight in the Great White North is scarce. However, we were fortunate enough to get a load close by in Miles City, MT. Light load, good money, downside was that we were raring to go on Tuesday when the repairs were completed on the truck, but the load was not ready to load until Friday. Not a big deal. Loaded Friday, safe-havened until Sunday = more time sitting. Miles City is a little bigger town than Dickinson, the FAIR WAS IN TOWN and hotels were much less expensive. Checked into the hotel, quick shower and off to the grocery store for food and necessities. The hotel had a community BBQ grill so we took advantage and enjoyed some social time with other traveling folk.
Now is where the Ferris Wheel comes into play . . . it is one of the few rides I will ride at a Fair and the Eastern Montana Fair DID NOT have a Ferris Wheel! Nor did they have a Tilt-A-Whirl or a Scrambler, heck, they barely a Midway. I know these are "sissy" rides, but they are child-hood favorites and I am a BIG SISSY! No Elephant Ears, no Frozen Bananas, no Sno-Cones, no foot-long dogs, none of your typical "fair food", but on the bright side (and there is always a bright side), parking was $2, there was no admission charge (thankfully, or I would have been terribly disappointed), beer and Mike's Hard Lemonade were only $3 and what food they did have was also very reasonably priced. $12 for the tractor pull on Thursday evening and $12 for the NRA Rodeo on Friday evening.
People watching was fun for sure and I learned a few things . . . My jeans were not nearly tight enough, my shirt was not plaid print nor did I reveal enough cleavage and if you didn't wear a Cowboy hat and boots, you were most definitely in the very small minority. I'm also thinking it must have been a frigid winter back a couple of years ago, because every child I saw appeared to be about the same age with very few exceptions, hmmmmm!
CLIFF WOLFE, 2012 MONTANA COWBOY HALL OF FAMER
It was an absolute pleasure sitting with Cliff and his girlfriend at the Rodeo on Friday evening. Too bad more people don't spend time with the older generation, they are a plethora of knowledge and have some amazing stories to tell. You guys are most inspirational. May you both have many more happy and healthy years together and SMOOCHIE to your hearts content.
MEMOIRS
THURSDAY EVENING TRACTOR PULL
5 Full-pulls for the event, the first and 2 of which were women!
FRIDAY EVENING NRA RODEO
I can with all honesty say "THIS IS MY FIRST RODEO", but it will most likely not be our last. Beautiful animals and some very talented Cowboys and Cowgirls.
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