Every year the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation pick Hartzog Award Winners from the pool of people who volunteer at National Park sites. Finally, I can tell you that Tom and I were selected as Individual winners of the Hartzog Award for 2020. We learned we won the regional award at the …
One Year Since the Big Change
One year ago this month, Tom and I made some big changes in our life together. We bought a small house and traded in the New Horizons 5th Wheel and big truck for a 26′ Coachman Leprechaun Class C. One year later, I thought you might be interested in hearing how we are feeling about …
Demonstrations at Fort Union Trading Post
One of the luxuries of the summer was lots of demonstrations going on at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. With the addition of seasonal staff and Tom and me as volunteers, we had plenty of people to work each day and a couple of folks could do demonstrations. After the Visitors Center and …
Western Heritage Center in Billings, Montana
On our last morning together, Johnny, Val, Tom and I headed to the Western Heritage Center in Billings, Montana. As the only history museum in the largest city in the state, we were expecting an impressive museum. The exterior of the building was definitely impressive. The building was built by the Billings family in memory …
Billings, Montana: Biggest City in the State
With a population of 110,000, Billings is the largest city in Montana. It is sometimes referred to as the Magic City because it grew so rapidly after its founding as a railroad town in 1882. I think every state has a city with that nickname, for many different reasons. Billings is the largest city for …
Pompeys Pillar National Monument in Montana
A couple of weeks ago Tom and I met Johnny and Val Johnson at Pompeys Pillar National Monument near Billings, Montana. If you are a long-time reader of the blog, you might remember Johnny and Val from the seasons we worked at Grand Portage or San Juan Island. We haven’t seen them for three years, …
Zion Lutheran (ELCA) Church in Fairview, Montana
Tom and I have been attending worship at Zion Lutheran Church this summer. One of the wonderful things about the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is that they often have Wednesday night church services. We loved the Vesper services at the Trinity ELCA church in Hovland, Minnesota when we worked at Grand Portage. And we …
Museum Center in Dickinson, North Dakota
When Tom and I had to take the Prius in for a new battery, we made sure we had time to check out the Dickinson Museum Center. Consistently listed #1 among things to do in Dickinson, the Museum Center is a complex of four distinctive museums. There is a dinosaur museum, a regional history museum, …
Richardsons Ground Squirrels and Flying Things
The most frequent visitors / residents of Fort Union Trading Post are Richardsons Ground Squirrels. Tom and I had never seen these members of the Rodentia family before and we have been entranced watching them scurry around the fort. Richardsons Ground Squirrels – Urocitellus richardsonii – are small (adults weight about a pound) and look …
Trade House at Fort Union Trading Post
One of the places that Tom and I both enjoy working at Fort Union Trading Post is the Trade House. Tom gets assigned there once a week. I get assigned once every two weeks but I often cover the building for lunches and breaks. The Trade House is the most important building at Fort Union …