Grandma Goes Kayaking!

Over the years Barb and I have read 100’s of books while traveling around the country. Some of our favorite authors include Patterson, Koontz, Crichton and others. We tend to gravitate to the murder mysteries and the like. I am amazed at how these authors can write books with so many plot changes, twists and turns. Now we have another author to add to our "favorites" list: Sobieck. For those of you who had read our blog for a while you have heard me mention the Sobieck clan more than a time or two. Bob Sobieck was my best friend in high school and his son Chris is partner of the Finken/Sobieck farm we frequent spring and fall. Bob has 3 other brothers who I have hung out and hunted with quite a bit over the years. The book I am referring to was written by Dan Sobieck last year. He and his wife Jeannie own Prairie Smoke Ranch outside of McClusky North Dakota.

Dan has written columns and articles for various publications over the years, a couple of which I have been honored to be part of. Last year he wrote and published Mad Grass: A Warrior Returns based on actual events that took place in that area of North Dakota in 1851. Previous to reading this book I had never heard of the Métis People. After learning about them, I can see how they struggled to fit in in that era. 

Beyond the fact that a friend of mine wrote it I was enthralled with the history of the area recognizing many of the towns and landmarks. Since it was based on actual events, it was evident that  Dan did a ton of research to portray the story accurately but also with character plots that captivated the reader. If you like to read I would highly recommend this one, you will not regret it! By the way if you are in the market for a waterfowl ranch in North Dakota, Dan and Jeannie just listed their place for sale as well!

We have been gone from Forrest’s for over 5 days now and have made it all the way back home to South Dakota. Our original plan was to take our time and fish our way back through Montana but two things prevented that from happening. Well, one thing….the weather. First it was too darn hot to leave the pups in the camper for any length of time while we fished and the second was that Montana enacted “Hoot Owl Restrictions” and some full closures on several of the areas we were going to fish. What are Hoot Owl Restrictions you ask? It is where they close a river or stream to fishing from 2pm-midnight due to drought resulting in low waters levels or extreme heat. If a fish is caught during the heat of the day the likelihood of it being successfully released after being out of the water diminish significantly. Why they call it that I have no idea. At any rate these two factors prompted us to head straight home instead of taking our time.

Before we left Forrest’s though we had time for one more adventure when he took Barb on a kayaking trip down a section of the Williamson River! He and I had floated it last year and we both thought Barb would enjoy it so away they went.

The first section has a few rapids so I stuck around to watch/video them going through thinking of the $100,000 I could win if I got a good wipeout on video.

But as you can see they made it through successfully and Forrest caught another nice Rainbow (no picture) to boot!

We left Forrest's on a Monday with one goal in mind. Get home. Barb and I talked it over and we both decided that we would rather drive in a truck with comfy air conditioning rather than sitting in the camper and being stationary whether we had A.C. or not. So off we went with no destination in mind. We took the southern route which would bring us through Nevada and into Salt Lake. We made Salt Lake after 11 hours of driving but it was still in the high 80's so we decided to keep on a truck'in. After 13 hours of driving we finally stopped for the night at a Walmart in Evanston Wyoming where the temperature was a comfortable 70 degrees. 

The next day we were off again bright and early. After a stop in Casper to do a little shopping we carried on and made it home about 5:00pm. 22 hours of driving in 34 hours. Driving is different when the weather does not cooperate and you are excited to get to a destination!

The next day was Wednesday and you know what that means.... Burger night at the Pringle bar! We met up with Dan, Bonnie, Kevin, Cheryl and Kevin's mom Martha who was visiting for a few weeks. We spent 2 1/2 hours catching up. Dan and Bonnie's house is coming along. The exterior is almost done. The rough plumbing and electrical is about done as well. The most exciting thing that happened was that Kevin and Cheryl had a baby! 

Cheryl bought a horse last September and over the months it started getting bigger and bigger. They were suspicious so they had a vet out and yup, she was pregnant. Then last week Cheryl woke up and there was a baby in the field standing next to her mother!

So, they basically got a free horse. Well, those of you who have owned horses know that there is no such thing as a "free" horse!

The other thing I was looking forward to was checking out the trail cameras posted throughout our property. Spring is such as great time of the year as you get to see the baby animals!

And for only the second time we had an elk on camera on our property!

But wait, there is more...... The momma elk had a baby on our property! At least this calf looks newly born to me. 

They hung around for about 6 days and took off to join their herd again. There were a few other critters on camera as well.....including a coyote and a red tail hawk visiting our water tank.

Ah, it is so good to be back. We had a great time with the kids but home is home and it is good to be back!