Roaming Through Retirement



July--Twas a Family Affair!
Family reunions were one of the many highlights of July--three to be specific, plus Glorine's 50th high school class reunion.  This is one of the many pictures taken to memorialize these events. Following the reunions, Carmen and her family joined us on a 12 day, 1,400 mile RV road trip through six national parks.  The remainder of July we spent in Mexico finalizing home improvement projects for another fun winter in Ajijic.

Our first stop in North Dakota was with friends Dennis and Betty Steele.  Betty treated us to a fabulous meal, followed by hours of reminiscing and catching up on our lives in retirement.	When Carmen and her family arrived, we took them to Abraham Lincoln State Park.  This statue recognizes the work of the CCC boys, who built the block houses, visitors center and the slant Indian villages.
The Ressler Reunion began with the introduction of family members, which also gave us a photo opportunity.  Glorine designed these t-shirts with the names of our immediate family.	After the introductions of family members we played "Getting to Know You Bingo" which helped to get the conversations started.  Catching up with one another was a tremendous success.
To memorialize those family members who had passed away, we had a balloon release--among them were Glorine's parents and four of 13 siblings.	Games kept us entertained throughout the day such as Ressler Trivia, Where the Resslers' Have All Lived and  Minute to Win It. No need for prizes--just doing them and getting them done was all we needed.
Karaoke was a hit which allowed some individuals an opportunity to "ham it up" a bit in front of family members.   Some weren't that bad!	Thanks to Koreen, Jodene and Glorine the Ressler reunion was a hit.  Over 65 family members attended--some as far away as Vermont, California and Mexico.
After the formal reunion activities ended, several of us convened at Harman Lake, just outside of Mandan to take in the sun and fun and enjoy more time together.	The Barnhardt reunion started with a trip to the country where it all began--the homestead.  The barn that Larry's father built now lies in ruin as dirt farming has given way to wind farming.
The Barnhardt surname is said to be of German origin, but Lorraine's DNA shows our ethnicity coming from all over Europe, including Italy, Greece, and Spain with a trace of British, Eastern Europe and Jewish blood.	Thirty family members joined Claudia, Jack, Bob, Lil, Larry and Gloria (Pete's wife) at St Vincent's  Church where we celebrated our parents' 90th wedding anniversary--an official start to the family reunion.
On Sunday evening, we used the Ramkota poolside for family member to  meet, greet and to catch up with one another.	After a big thanks to the reunion committee, heads of each of the seven families were introduced. It turned out to be wonderful tribute to the entire Barnhardt clan.
Over 100 family members gathered for the day-long get together at Sertoma Park in Bismarck.  Family Bingo, scavenger hunt, beer sampling and other activities kept us entertained.	It has been 23 years since our last big reunion which we hosted at our home at Lake Watab.  An additional generation has come of age since then and many of them now have children of their own.
Cousin Doreen hosted a cousin's reunion, made up of Larry's dad's siblings and their children.  She created this tree with ornaments representing the 11 surviving children of Jacob and Eva Bernhardt.	With all the reunions bunched up over the 4th of July, we did not get to spend much time at the cousins' reunion.  Larry stopped in long enough to have a beer and this picture taken with Bob, Dennis and Jerry.
After the reunions were over, we stopped at Doreen's to pick up this "Barnhardt" sign, made of wood from the barn on Grandpa Jacob's homestead and a chance to pose with a few of our cousins.	We introduced the grandkids to the traditional 4th of July Parade held in Mandan each year.  It had some floats and a few marching bands, but mostly made up of people advertising their wares.
After the parade, we started our big RV road trip with a drive along the 32 mile Enchanted Highway.  Here is one of dozens of huge metal sculptures including Grass Hoppers, Deer, Fish, Pheasants, Geese, etc.	The Medora Musical is a nightly performance that dazzled our kids.  This production was a tribute to Harold Schaffer, a millionaire from Bismarck, who used his wealth to create this lasting legacy.
The Theodore Roosevelt National Park is near Medora which was the first of six national parks we toured.  The Badlands consist of eroded hills that display different layers of colorful minerals filled with wildlife.	With 1,400 miles in front of us, the kids endured much of the windshield time on their electronic pacifiers (iPhones, iPads, etc.).  Here we had pulled over for a quick lunch in route to our next national park.
Devils Tower is actually a National Monument.  It is the result of a giant volcano.  After millions of years, all the dirt and surrounding rock washed away, leaving only the volcanic lava core that stands 1,200 feet tall.	In route to the Black Hills, we stopped in Historic Deadwood.  It started during the "gold rush era" and is noted for legends like Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.  Now it is known for its local casinos.
We spent the afternoon hiking along the front of Mount Rushmore.  It took 14 years for this Monument to be completed.  That evening we were entertained with a tribute to the great leaders it depicts.	We toured two caves that our designated National Parks--Wind Cave and Jewel Cave, both in the southern edge of the Black Hills.   Both are noted as the top five longest caves in the world.
Crazy Horse Memorial is a tribute to a Native American Hero.   In comparison to Mount Rushmore, where the heads are 60' tall, this monument will stand 564' tall.  The foundation does not except government funds.  They started in 1948--with no end date in sight!	We stopped by a local microbrew in Rapid City, owned by Glorine's niece's daughter and husband.  They make some pretty powerful brew, some as high as eight percent alcohol.  From here, Mike flew home to work and we continued vacationing for another week.
We caught a steam powered locomotive out of Keystone through the beautiful Black Hills to Hill City.  We took the same train back to Keystone, but this time it was powered by diesel locomotive.	In route to Custer State Park, we found this quaint spot along a lake to enjoy a picnic lunch.  It was sunny and warm and a wonderful way to relax and soak up the beauty of the area.
Inside Custer State Park we saw lots of wildlife, but these burros loved the attention they got from the kids.  We were told not to feed the animals, but noted other tourist treating them to carrots.  Darn!	Now these bison were not as gentle as the burros.  In fact, a couple of the bulls were at battle with one another, we assume over the girls.  One ran toward us, but darted around us at the last moment.  Scared the daylights out of us!!!
The roads into, through and out of Custer State Park was among the greatest scenic roads we have ever traveled.  Just breath taking.	The kids loved climbing the granite rocks that lined parts of the highway.  Here they stopped to pose for this picture on the very top of one of them.
This one-lane tunnel was blasted through sheer granite to create Needles Highway--a 14 mile stretch that includes three pigtail bridges, a dozen switchbacks and vistas to die for.	Our last day in the Black Hills, the kids spent time in a mock archeological dig at the Monmouth Site near Hot Springs, which boasts the largest concentration of mammoth remains in the world.
About 25,000 years ago this dig site was a sink hole 65'  deep and filled with water.  As animals came for water, some fell in and drowned.  As the sink hole filled in, these animals became preserved in the clay.	The Scotts Bluff National Monument was our next stop and home to the Oregon Trail Museum, which depicted the lives of early pioneers heading to Oregon, California and Mormons settling in Utah.  Tough duty!
Our next stop was Terry Bison Ranch south of Cheyenne, WY.  The ranch has this train that takes you to the middle of a field filled with bison.	They gave us bags of treats made of alfalfa and molasses which the bison loved.  They were eating them out of our hands.  Note their long tongues.
Carmen and the girls went for a two-hour trail ride out on the ranch.  The trail crossed into Colorado.  They all agreed this was one of the highlights of the entire trip.	Meanwhile, we stayed back with Hunter as he took on this wild bison and went for a phony ride.
We stopped along this road to take a short hike along the Fall River, appropriately named as it consists of a lot of water falls.  At this point, the road was lined with pine, spruce and Douglas-fir.	Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, consists of a quarter million acres of pristine wildness.  We took this one-way, one-lane gravel road (with no guard rails) to the Alpine Visitor Center, near the continental divide.
At 11,796 feet above sea level, we were way above the timberline and in what is called tundra, consisting of snow, ice, glaciers and during the summer, colorful wildflowers.  Burr!  It's cold up here.	The National Park System offers a Junior Ranger program which is an activity based program unique to each park.  When finished, they take an oath and earn a badge.  They each earned six badges on this trip.

July's web page includes July 1 through July 31.