River Remembrance Story 2 – Santa

by | Oct 13, 2016 | Rollin' On The River 2016 | 0 comments

When I first began being Santa (a little reluctantly at the time) I was roaming and greeting guests at one of the Hermann Wineries for Kristkindl, a German Christmas Market. A young lad of 5 or 6 approached, accompanied by an elderly woman who I took to be his grandmother. The boy was excited and absolutely effusive. He could barely contain himself on meeting ‘Santa’ face to face. He pulled a small toy car from his pocket explaining that it was part of a set that I had brought to him the previous Christmas. He said it was his favorite toy and that he and his dad played with the cars together. He went on and on until Grandma said it was time to go. As they were getting ready to leave, she whispered to me “He never talks.”

It turns out the boy was in the autistic spectrum and most of the time, very quiet. When I realized what a gift I had received by being able to make a difference in the life another, I knew that being Santa was something I would do for the rest of my life. One of the most remarkable things about this little guy was that he didn’t ask for anything. He just wanted to thank me for what I had brought to him before. I still cry whenever I share this story.

River Remembrance Story 1

by | Sep 30, 2016 | Other Fun Stuff, Rollin' On The River 2016 | 0 comments

This was told by one of the really fun couples I met:  All I will reveal is the the husband often has to get up very early to do irrigation on his crops.  When he returns, he often finishes the night on the couch to avoid waking his wife, and sleeps a little later to compensate.  The wife, on the other hand, happens to be a very early riser – a morning person.

After one such round of irrigation duties, the husband is asleep on the couch around 4:30 or 5 am.  He awakes to the knowledge that his undershorts are slowly being pulled off.  Here’s the exchange:

Husband (groggy and puzzled):  Honey??

Wife:  Sshhh!  I’m laundering whites!

Ten Things I Think I Think

by | Sep 15, 2016 | Rollin' On The River 2016 | 0 comments

  • I used to think “Big Sky Country” was merely a slogan.  Now I think it’s an understatement.
  • I think it’s a minor shame that Lewis and Clark named each of the rivers at the “Three Forks” and decided the Missouri started there (instead of at what are now considered the ‘real’ ‘headwaters & source’.)
  • Speaking of Lewis and Clark, I think that expedition was so MUCH more amazing, courageous, and even ‘lucky’ than I ever thought!! What an amazing, tough, ‘can-do’ group of men (and woman)!!  As one example, I think it’s unbelievable that Lewis and Clark portaged ALL their gear across 18 miles of hilly country to get past the string of 5 huge waterfalls in the area now known as Great Falls, Montana.
  • I think I felt somewhat cheated (river-wise, NOT beauty-wise) going through South Dakota.  The string of reservoirs there prevents views of ‘the river’ itself through much of the state.
  • I think we must be going to have the best highway system in the world soon.  Almost everyplace I went I encountered “Work in Progress” or “Watch for Delays” signs, frequently more than one a day.
  • I think I wish I could have seen the “Missouri Breaks” in northern Montana – a beautiful stretch of river so deserted that it’s almost impossible to see (I tried!) unless you’re floating it.
  • I think I agree with one of my hosts as we drove through a vast open area of South Dakota (where Dances with Wolves was filmed):  “People who say there’s nothing to see here, don’t know what they’re looking at”
  • I think I also agree with the same host who noted that the Missouri River, going south through the Dakotas, “may not be a continental divide, but it’s a cultural divide”.  Cowboys to the west, farmers to the east.
  • I think I was surprised at how quickly and visibly the ‘feel’ of River and the surroundings began to change right about Sioux City, IA – right at the SD/NE/IA state lines.  Starting there, I left the wide open country behind, and began encountering increasingly bigger cities with increasing frequency.

Ten Tidbits of Trip Trivia

by | Sep 15, 2016 | Rollin' On The River 2016 | 2 comments

Looking Back
  • Counting mileage from Branson back to Branson, I put 6271 miles on the Blue Goose.
  • I left Branson on July 22, arrived in Three Forks on July 26, started following the River on July 31, and returned to Branson on September 10, putting me on the road for 51 days.
  • My trip took me into 9 states, with overnight stays (of at least 2 nights) in all 7 of those which contain the River, with Montana and Missouri [start and finish] getting the two longest visits.  I was technically not in Illinois, but the Missouri almost borders it as it empties into the Mississippi.
  • I visited (with stays in) all 4 of the state capitals along the River.  (Actually, I stayed in Ft. Pierre – across the River – rather than Pierre, in SD, and those are different, but . . .).
  • I visited (for more than 15 minutes) 27 towns and cites, with overnight stays in 23 of them.
  • By rough count, I stayed in 15 hotel/motels, 8 B & B’s, one Resort, one Casino, and one 10 x 10 ‘castle’ with an outhouse, and no electricity [but a GREAT view of the Milky Way!].
  • I  took right at 4500 pictures!
  • I encountered 80 bridges over the River – I have photographs of almost all of them. (See another link.)
  • I crossed 2 of the 3 remaining free ferries left on the Missouri River.
  • Once the river part of the trip began, I spent considerable time heading EACH of the four directions EXCEPT west, essentially a direction the River never flows.  One of my (many) surprises is how far northward the River flows at the beginning!