Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, North Dakota

Our final stop on our vacation was the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota, just a hop skip and jump away from the Canadian Border.

Our intent was for Jerry to see where he was born, and learn about the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa so we could tell the kids when they were older a bit of their heritage. Jerry spent his first 4 yrs on and off the reservation (Between living in WI and on the reservation basically).

He hasnt seen his mother in 30 years. He doesnt care why thats between his mom and dad. He has casually looked for her throughout the years using her maiden name. We've called everyone with her maiden name on the reservation and no luck. We assumed she had remarried and he would never find her. And so- this trip was just to learn about the tribe.


We arrived in Belcourt, ND and ate lunch at a little cafe. I had found the Heritage Center online, and we thought we would visit it first. We set out to find it, and could not. There was a daycare in the building that I was pretty sure should have been the heritage center.

We stopped a man standing outside talking and asked where it was and he explained it had moved- he thought they were starting a new one at the casino about 5 miles out of town.

He asked if we were looking to buy or sell something and Jerry explained he was born there, his Mother is a member of the tribe. He asked her name, and when Jerry told him he said just a second and went inside the building (which turned out to be the newspaper building)

He came back out and said- She's at work. Do you want to meet her? Jerry said Yes! We followed him out to a bar/dining hall/bingo hall.. something..

Apparantly, inside the newspaper building was a woman who knew everyone- I assume that would be a good thing for a newspaper! She called the bar and the owner told her Jerry's Mom was working. I guess she said the name Gerald Gerber and his mom overheard and started crying. She told her JErry was on his way out to see her.

We pulled up to the bar and she was in the doorway- Jerry got out and they hugged for a long time. The picture above was taken from inside the RV before she knew she had a daughter in law or grandkids! It was a mass of emotions. The kids and I got out of the RV and walked around and she realized she was also a Grandma! From there it was hours of Jerry and his mom talking and talking and meeting relative's. (and oh my goodness- there are alot of them!) He really likes his Uncle Paul- and has memory's of a "big indian man" from his childhood, that he guesses is Uncle Paul. He says he could listen to Paul talk for hours. I agree- he's got a way with words. His wife Laurie and youngest child, Misty welcomed us into their home with open arms! We hooked up the RV to Paul and Laurie's house and from there the phone's must have rang across the area- There were relatives stopping by until 11 that night! I dont think Jerry stopped smiling the entire time.

He seems a bit more at peace the last few days- I think seeing her again and filled a hole in his heart and he seems somehow more complete.

It was interesting to me to see the family resemblance- check out the pic of Jerry standing side by side with his Uncle Paul. Amazing - the eyes have it!

He couldnt find her in the past when he looked- because she kept the name Gerber in case he ever looked for her. He always looked under her maiden name. She just moved back to the reservation a few months ago.

Josie and Buddy like having another Grandma, of course it brought more questions from Josie about Marraige and Divorce. She wanted to know who else we know that has been divorced. That kid has a question for everything! Which is good- but it keeps you on your toe's. (oh and Grandma Candy- she wants to know why you can live with Miles if you arent married. I passed the buck and told her to ask Grandma Candy.. heheheeh)

Buddy insisted we call him Gerald like Grandma Joyce kept calling him. I told my mom that and she reminded me when my nephew Taylor was 4 he insisted his mom change his name to George. Of course, Gerald is Buddy's real name, and he knows thats his name (but he only hears it from me when he is in trouble- which is most of the time hahaha.

So, we hope to hear more from Jerry's Mom and the rest of that side of the family. We enjoyed our time in North Dakota. We'll see what the future holds...

Wall Drug and the Badlands

We're home now! It's been a whirlwind last few days on the road to say the least. I'll break up our final travel's into two posts (because you know my blogs are just used to force you to view pictures of our children - hahahahah)

Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota was pretty neat to visit. It survived the depression by offering free ice water to people driving by.. and has just expanded.The kids thought the "backyard" was alot of fun, with a huge jackolope to sit on, teepee, wagon, a dinosaur that roared every 8 minutes, and other photo ops. We ate a buffet breakfast there- and usually buffets are so-so.. the food is a bit cool, not to much flavor, etc. This was the exception! Very good! I'm still craving more of the potatoe's. And the store itself was HUGE!! To big for 3 kids. We looked at some of it, but there was no way we could visit the whole thing without completly boring Buddy. (Josie- she's a shopper like Mom. I can take her to a store and I'm the one saying- ok, I've had enough- we've got to go now!)

After Wall, we drove to Badlands National Park. Buddy kept asking me if they were really naughty! Why were they bad? Um... well little man, they didnt DO anything to be bad. I think by the end of our conversation he understood why they are called BadLands. Both Josie and Buddy added another Junior Ranger badge to their collection. They learned how rattlesnakes got their rattles and what animals live in the badlands.

Gunner slept

through most

of the drive

through the park,

But Josie and Buddy

were able

to get out

and walk around a bit.

They both thought the landscape

looked cool. But- once again-

with a 4 and 5 yr old, landscapes

only are cool for so long and then its "where are we going next?". We did visit the Minuteman Missile but it was naptime and Buddy was getting grouchy. We ended up not taking the tour.

We then drove to North Dakota to learn more about the indian reservation Jerry was born on...

Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Bear Country USA

Now I'm losing count of how many days we've been on the road! Hahahaha! We visited Mount Rushmore today. The kids were bored half the time and having fun the other half. (Seeing the presidents heads was fun for only 5 minutes. Then it should be play time right?) We went on a hike, (which said "hard" ok.. they are four and five and Gunner was in the front pack again so all should be well. ALOT of stairs, steps, up, down, etc. By the end the kids were pooped (YAAA!) but then again- so were we. We ate lunch with a nice view of Mount Rushmore, and left to go see Crazy Horse.

The kids had more fun at Crazy Horse (though it was funny trying to explain that the carving on the mountain wasnt done- that brought up some questions only a 5 yr old would think of)

They had Teepee's inside the cultural center, and we also found a flag for the Turtle Mountain Chippewa (where Jerry was born). The kids thought it was neat, but I dont know if they "got it" or not. They liked the teepee and wishing well better.

Then we went to see the 1880 Train. Oops- Bad Parent moment- the train leaves at 10 AM and 1:30 PM and it was 2:30... Buddy was disappointed to say the least. Atleast we didnt work him up to it. We just said we were going to visit a train station. Hopefully a train ride when we return home will be ok with him.

Bear Country USA made him forget about the train, for now. That was pretty fun- You drive through this HUGE park. You can see Elk, Bears, Bighorn Sheep, Wolves, etc right from your window. Shoot- I could have rolled the window down and petted one of the bears, and maybe a bighorn sheep as well. Then you get to walk through "babyland" with baby bears (so cute climbing a tree), Raccoons, Fox's, a coyote (and thanks to the movie Barnyard, Josie is deathly afraid of coyotes- in fact we saw one in the road one day and I said- HEY_ its a coyote and her eyes were the size of oranges and she says "you, ough you, you mean COYOTES ARE REAL????? I thought they were pretend!!! in the cartoon!) Anyways, you get to see alot of animals close up. Very neat!

Well, its on to Wall (to see the famous Wall Drug Store, and then the Badlands... and then eventually we plan to make it up to where Jerry was born)

Day 13, Deadwood, South Dakota

We decided to stay at the Koa right next to Mount Rushmore, instead of driving to the Air Force Base so we can get an early start and see some of the sights in this area instead. So far, we havent made any reservations so we can ensure we can be flexible with our plans. You never know who may need a nap or where we may find some extra fun and stay longer then planned.

For example, today we thought we would swing through Deadwood on our way to Mount Rushmore. Maybe spend an hour walking downtown and see a shootout or something. We didnt think the kids would have much fun there. Then we spotted the old tyme photo place. We had to get our pic's taken. Josie and Buddy LOVED it! We chose the western theme so Buddy got a gun- that made his day. Josie loooooooved her dress. She wanted to buy it (mind you they are made to go over your clothes and dont fully close in the back- she didnt care), and her hat. Gunner looked so funny as a Cowboy Baby. He doesnt smile at strangers- so as we expected he didnt smile for the photos- but that was fine- we chose a "serious" one anyhow.

Then we went into Saloon No. 10 where Wild Bill Hickok was killed. We decided to eat, and watch a re-enactment of Wild Bill getting shot. Jerry was chosen out of the crowd to play Captain Bill Massie, who was playing cards with Wild Bill and gets shot in the arm when Bill gets shot. Pretty cool to see the whole thing played out. They have the chair Bill was sitting on when he was shot above one of the doors. When we told Josie someone actually did get shot- I'm not sure she believed us. "really for real he got shot?" Yep. But this was pretend. Yep. For real he died? yep. For real? yep.

Very cool. They brought us up in front and Gunner and I sat on a bar stool, and the kids got to play with the sawdust on the ground while "Wild Bill" went over his history, etc. Pretty neat and Josie and Buddy thought it was cool Dad was in the show and got shot as well. We got some photo's with Wild Bill after and Buddy wanted to hold his guns. That boy and guns..

We stopped in a few shops and by the time we were

done it was already 7 PM. Guess we'll see Mount Rushmore

in the morning...

Below is a creek Jerry was nice enough to take a picture of for me... hmm..

Day 10, 11 and 12- Grand Teton and Yellowstone

We're in Cody, WY tonight. Home of Buffalo Bill. We've spent the last three days in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I think we could have spent a week there easy! Buddy and Josie are now Junior Rangers for these parks as well. Gunner has had a cold and teething - his poor chin is so chapped from all the drool and being outside so much! Poor guy! He is a sweet baby. He doesnt smile at strangers usually. Josie and Buddy asked why people always come up and say Hi to him. I told them its just something about baby's -- they do the same thing when they see a baby. One Grandma type lady came up and said Hi to Gunner and she is the only stranger who got a huge smile. Baby's can just tell Grandma's and Grandpa's! Its Movie Time so I dont have time to write much more! We may not have internet access the next few days... I'll write more when I can. We are headed to South Dakota and are planning on staying on a Air Force Base Campgrounds near Mount Rushmore.

We

Day 9-- Happy Birthday Jerry! and Grandpa goes home :(

Happy 35th Birthday Jerry!!! Jerry spent his 35th Birthday driving! Wyoming was pretty to drive through- I've only seen it from the Interstate before when I drove to California 3 years ago.

Grandpa went home today.

Sad, because we would

have loved him to

stay with us for the

rest of the trip,

but he had planned on

hunting and driving

home while we took

the scenic route. The kids miss him (Buddy says " Grandpa isnt following us anymore!!!) He was very worried, we had to remind him

several times that Grandpa went home. I think having Grandpa

along is an experiance the kids will never forget, and we've been talking of coming back in 8 yrs when Buddy can hunt (youth hunt) with Grandpa as his guide.

We drove to Dubois, WY today. Its a "real" old west town... very nice downtown, and not to touristy. They had a soda shop, an old mine, and some other neat little gift shops. Jerry wanted pizza for his birthday, so we walked to a pizza place that made stone oven pizza, It was so good! We camped right next to the river, surrounded by Mountains. Josie and Buddy found three tree's planted closely together and made a jail. They had a great time. Buddy LOVED the river. I swear, between Mountains and Rivers, and anything else he could possibly fall in he will give us a heart attack before we turn 40!!!

Day 8 Junior Rangers and Daddy's Birthday Dinner

Josie and Buddy became Rocky Mountain National Park Junior Rangers today. Very cool!! They learned about the park, the different parts of the mountain, the animals, plants, etc in the park, and more. They were tested on their knowledge. It was really cute- during Buddy's test, they asked what he would do if he got lost. He said "use a map!". Josie answered all her questions - she's a little sponge. The ranger added their names to the roster (buddy was nice enough to tell him how to spell his name). Technically the junior ranger program is for 5 and up, but.. well we snuck Buddy in. I plan to do the same thing in Yellowstone if we can. If he can understand the information then who does it hurt? He's very curious about nature- especially anything he will be hunting. He has the hunting bug thats for sure. I wonder if Jerry was the same as a 4 year old?

It is rainy and icky so Grandpa and Jerry brought us into town for a bit of shopping and a birthday dinner for Jerry (his birthday is tomorow!) We got some awesome elk jerky and a few souvineers and ate a great dinner. Gunner spend some of it trying to eat the table. If babies only knew the gross things they try to put in their mouths.. ugh! I have to admit, as our third, he gets to put alot more in his mouth then Josie would have been able to! I can already see the difference in first time parenting to now...