DAY 20 - July 1, 2013 - BILLINGS TO SPOKANE -- HOME

The day started out a bit slowly even though I was on the road early. What "big" city allows for a VERY long freight train to cross downtown during rush hour!?! That would be Billings, Montana...twenty minutes later, I finally hit the freeway.

The drive was pretty monotonous but at least some portions were pretty and it really wasn't too hot. I did experience a little problem with my cruise control...at one point it would not set but eventually did...and then...it would not click off even though I hit the brakes. I was doing about 80 and had a car in front of me. That was a little scary but it did turn off manually. So much for using my cruise control the rest of the way home. I must now get it back into the shop to get it checked out.

Arrived in Spokane to see that the place I live HAS THE MOST EXPENSIVE GAS ON THIS ENTIRE TRIP! Yowsers!

My friend met me and helped me unload and then I just chilled...for days. :)

RECAP:

20 Days

9 States (Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota)

4,316 miles -- just the portion I drove. This does not include southern Minnesota, Iowa, or Wisconsin driven by my cousin, Marcia.

29 new cousins

All in all, a very good trip but I probably will not do this again...at least driving. I may need to go to Minneapolis to conduct more research but I am thinking maybe next time to take the train?

DAY 19 – June 30, 2013 – Fargo to Billings

Left fairly early this morning from Fargo and arrived in Billings early enough to go out to dinner. Billings was the first place I stayed on the way to Minnesota and the last place I chose to stay on the way home. I am even staying at the same place. J

The drive across North Dakota and Montana is really boring…I saw a couple of “ugly” accidents in Montana that I am guessing were caused because the driver “fell asleep” while driving. That is just my guess but considering the location of those cars that left the road, I think my guess is pretty accurate .

North Dakota’s gas was the most expensive I have seen on this trip although there was one small town in Montana that was advertising for $3.84 (I did not stop there).

At the Theodore Roosevelt National Park rest area in North Dakota, they had a scenic viewing area overlooking part of the Badlands. Pretty cool.

All in all, a pretty boring day although I am three disks away from finishing my third audio book. I am saving those three disks for the portion of the Montana Rockies that does not receive satellite reception.J

Home tomorrow!

 

DAY 18 – June 29, 2013 – Bemidji to Hillsboro and Fargo North Dakota

Have not slept well the past couple of nights so have been on the road early. Apparently last night’s raucous group was a women’s softball team…I just kept the TV on to drown out the noise. Tonight, in Fargo, it’s a class reunion. OKAY….

I scanned a lot of pages last night from the Nielsville book that Curtis loaned me. He came by this morning to pick it up and then I was on my way to Hillsboro. I travelled the back roads and it did not take as long as I thought it would.  I was also a little surprised that Hillsboro was as small a town as it was. Fred’s sister, Inez and her husband Russell drove down from near the Canadian border to join us for lunch. While we were waiting for Inez, Fred told me about a cousin, Kim, who was looking for information on the Schmidt line. I contacted her and we are now talking about skyping once I return…I have her ancestors and she has the continuing line. A match made in heaven (for genealogists).

I decided to stay in Fargo tonight and give my grandparents one more opportunity to “show themselves”. I checked in early afternoon then headed over to Moorhead and my fourth trip to this cemetery. They must have been listening because I FINALLY found them! I cleaned up the headstones as the grass was quite tall around the edges.

Tomorrow, my plan is to stay in Billings then be back in Spokane sometime on Monday.

DAY 16 – June 27, 2013 – Thief River Falls

Marcia was able to safely leave last night or should I say this morning? The train was late in leaving but we got there early. She arrived safely in Winona only an hour or so late.

The lovely Grand Forks Train Station

What a great day – sunny and warm and an afternoon with two/three/four new family members.

Okay, most of the time it was just Roma and Clayton but Roma’s son, Roger, was there for a short time and Clayton’s wife stopped by for lunch.

Clayton and Roma

It was an easy drive and I found the place with only one “miss” of the turn off. I hate it when the signs are so minimal. I did see the turnoff for Highway 32 but it was directionless so I just kept driving. Turned around about five miles later and only missed one turn after that. J  I did not follow Roma’s directions because I did not really understand them so used my phone’s GPS instead. I got there just fine but she sent me a different direction when I left…it was much easier.

We had a nice lunch, exchanged personal information and I promised to send them the “whole enchilada” when I got back to Spokane. Roma is super sweet and Clayton has a great sense of humor so there was plenty of laughter. I am so glad that I was able to have the opportunity to meet them and spend some time getting to know them. Roma showed me her hand-woven rugs and the pile of quilts she has finished for Cora. Then, she brought me back to her “room” where I got to see her loom and the embroidery work she is finishing for a new quilt.

I returned to Crookston for my final night here and actually stopped at the nearest grocery store to buy some lettuce for dinner…that is all I will need after the great and filling lunch I had with the Jacobson/Stigen families.

Tomorrow I get to visit my long-time love, Paul Bunyan and his trusting companion Babe…and of course, Curtis and his wife Bonnie. J Saturday I get to meet Fred before I start my journey west towards home. It has been a great time.

DAY 17 – June 28, 2013 – Bemidji

Today was the first day I encountered rain during a drive. It wasn’t too bad but still annoying.

 I stopped at the Headwater of the Mississippi and because of the rain, the mosquitoes were in full feed mode. I did not stay very long. J

 

Par for the course, I took a wrong turn somewhere and although I found Curtis’ house, it was not with the directions he provided. I met his wife, Bonnie, we spent some time getting acquainted then went out for dinner (actually it was lunch…welcome to Minnesota).

I had asked Curtis if he had ever heard of Aure, Minnesota which was the postmark on a postcard my grandmother had received from her cousin, Nora. WOW, the place really exists and they even had a cemetery. Maybe it was a bigger place “back in the day” but now there is only the cemetery and a telephone building. Nora was not in the cemetery but there were Petersons/Pedersons so I might have a starting point in tracking down this elusive cousin.

After our trip up to Aure, we stopped by to see Paul and Babe, then went back to the Smith house and looked over some old photos.  I have spent the evening scanning pages out of the Nielsville Centennial Book. Curtis is going to stop by in the morning to pick up the books before I leave.

 

Thankfully, I had decided to stay here in Bemidji so did not have to travel far tonight. Tomorrow it is off to Hillsboro, North Dakota and meeting my final cousin on this adventure.

 

 

DAY 15 – JUNE 26, 2013 – Moorhead and Climax

Last night’s storm caused a lot of havoc in the area. The Moorhead/Fargo area had up to nine inches of water…it was not as bad up here but still somewhere around three inches.

We met Art at the Corner where he enjoys coffee each morning with his friends. His son, Dave (the Mayor of Nielsville) dropped off a cake for the afternoon coffee group and then we were off.

Dave and Art

On the drive to Moorhead, many of the fields had flooded over night and crops were probably lost.  My third attempt to find my grandparents was another epic fail. I guess they just do not want to be found. I even left a message for the caretaker and still have not had a return call. I did find most everyone else I was looking for while on this trip so it has not been a total loss. And, the two cousins we were supposed to meet were no longer living in the area.  L

Because it was Art’s birthday today, he wanted to drive us back to Moorhead and take US to lunch. We arrived back to Climax just in time to cut his birthday cake. His friends were all there waiting for him and both of sons brought him a cake. The cake was shared with everyone who was there and the second cake will be eaten tomorrow morning at coffee time. He definitely had a great time.

Behind the bar at the Corner...anyone willing to take a chance?

Unfortunately, I never did connect with the Vigness cousin although I have left a message for him. His wife runs the town library so if I don’t hear from him, I can still send a message. J

We are now back in Crookston and Marcia is getting prepared to leave tonight. The train leaves at 1:00 AM and the station does not even open until midnight. I am hoping I can find my way back in the dark. J

An easy trip tomorrow to Thief River Falls to meet Roma and Clayton.

 

DAY 14 – JUNE 25, 2013 – Crookston Area

We started our day with a trip to Grand Forks, North Dakota in search of the train depot. We found it without much problem only to find its hours of operation to be midnight to 8:00 AM -- So much for Marcia purchasing a ticket for her return to Rochester tonight. As it turns out, a severe thunderstorm has now hit the area so she may have to wait another day anyway.

Today was a research day that started in Ada, Norman County. Their history center is located in a log cabin with an outdoor “museum” area consisting of a number of old buildings that have been relocated to this site. The inside was very well organized, mostly with obituary and old church cemetery information. In addition, they had books of old newspaper clippings with the obituaries that had been published in the local papers. We spent a couple of hours here and then headed back to Crookston for the Polk County records.

The Polk County center was not nearly as well organized and the research portion was in a very cramped back office. I was able to get a copy of the platt map for my g-grandfather’s property and was surprised to see how many of his neighbors were also family (or near family). I also found a list of the St. Petri confirmations, by year…found my ancestors and may have found a connection to my elusive Peterson family. More work and research will be required to prove this lead but it is a beginning.

Stopped for a late lunch and then a nap but the way the weather is currently not cooperating, the nap may not have been needed. There is now a tornado warning for the area so I don’t think I will be driving to the Grand Forks train depot tonight.

Tomorrow is Art’s birthday and he wants to take me to Moorhead to visit a couple of cousins who live down there and a third attempt at finding my grandparents. The storm should have passed through by then. There is a Vigness cousin living in the Climax area who I hope to meet tomorrow night…he is a friend of Art’s son, John. I am pretty sure that many of the unidentified photos from my g-grandmother’s photo album might be Vigness relatives.

I have made contact with a couple more cousins and will be heading to Thief River Falls on Thursday and then Bemidji on Friday to visit them. I still need to contact the last cousin in North Dakota for a Saturday visit and then I will be heading home.

(I left my camera in the car and don’t want to go get it in this storm so will add photos tomorrow.)