Clearing Skies — July 17-31, 2016

Mom continues to improve.  Karl & Julie Bergh stopped in to see Mom on the 17th, and the Tadewalds stopped in again on the 19th on their way back to Minneapolis after vacationing in points west.

On the 20th Barb and I drove to Rochester, MN, so that I could see my rheumatoid arthritis doctor at Mayo Clinic.  After my appointment we drove back on the 21st as far as Wahpeton, ND before stopping at a motel.

Next day we met, at Ft. Ransom, Karl & Julie, who took us to see North Dakota’s only waterfall.  Lovely 2 mile walk in through prairie and forest, and then back out the same way.   By any standard, the maybe six-foot spring-fed falls themselves are less than impressive, but the day was beautiful and our wine and cheese picnic at the destination was a welcome bonus.   On the way to the trailhead, we passed a “tractor trek” traversing the Scenic Byway.

When we left the falls area, we followed Karl and Julie up to the old farm near Kathryn where Mom spent some of her early childhood living with her Norwegian grandparents.  (When Mom entered the first grade, she could only speak Norwegian and had to learn English.)  On the way to the farm we stopped at the former site of a mill.  Across the road was a log cabin that has been restored.  We also stopped at a rural Lutheran church, where we found the gravestone of Torbjor Hovde Bergh (originally spelled Berg), Mom’s mother.  There were a lot of Norwegian names in the graveyard.

Mom’s old home was last occupied by two Norwegian bachelor farmers, Ole & Clarence Hovde, uncles of Mom.  When they died, the home was abandoned, leaving farm equipment in the yard and a remarkable amount of “stuff” in the house.

In this final picture of this post, you see Cathy’s kids Cole & Katie, as well as Zona and Mom. Mom has been declared “graduated” from Home Care, which means smom-2he can venture out in public.  We had a nice Italian dinner.  We must remark on what a tremendous host Zona has been during our stay in Bismarck.  (Photo by Cathy.)

 

One thought on “Clearing Skies — July 17-31, 2016

  1. Jon

    BRAVO to everyone who ‘pulled together’ to weather the storm! Here’s hoping ‘clearing skies’ are followed by some smooth sailing. That surely should be the outcome.

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