Pioneer Village Rugby, ND Part 2

Our trip through this pioneer village continues.

This is the train depot-buy tickets and check schedules here.

The waiting area-not very comfortable looking!

Every building in town has a stove like this for heating the room.  The North Dakota winters can be very chilling.

The station master's office

The heat stove for the waiting area.

Here comes the train, well, the caboose anyway.

Guess I was wearing my sweetie out with all the walking.  Taking a nap in the caboose.

The stove to heat the caboose and for cooking.

Not far from the train station would be a hobo camp like this.

Transients looking for work would camp in these sites.

This is the land office where settlers filed their claims.

This is the cook car that fed the harvest crew as they traveled from farm to farm.

Cooking took place in the back of the car and workers were piled in right next to each other to feed as many men as possible.

It was amazing to see how stark the environment was whether traveling or working on the farms.  There was not a lot of luxury in their lives and from everything I have read they were very grateful for every small blessing.

How much more we have to be thankful for today. 

Come back tomorrow as we continue our trip around this village.

Pioneer Village Rugby, ND

The Pioneer Village in Rugby, ND is really a great place to visit.  The village consists of 31 buildings each containing a unique variety of early American artifacts.  It will take several days to share all that we saw so stay with me and enjoy the photos.

The village has 2 of these columns in the front.  Each column is composed of a rock from one of the 50 states.

The first building has about 6 different rooms or sections and is overflowing with eveything from Native American items, to a gun room, to a room full of everything for the home.

This is a spinning wheel.

This Native American artwork shows the beautiful beadwork they created.  Each picture is composed using tiny seed beads and they really are lovely.

Native American dress

The game of Quoits

A handmade raccoon coat

Hand carved toys, decorations, pens, buttons and musical instruments



This is a home permanent wave machine and hair dryer, boy, we have come a long way, baby!



A larger spinning wheel

A weaving loom

Do you remember these? My mom had a similar washing machine.

These are the really early versions

These were under glass but I would have loved to flip through the pages.

Crochet and knitting patterns for 15 cents.  That was then and this is now!

Carpet sweepers on top and typewriters on the bottom

My favorite section lots of old sewing machines.

and even more sewing machines



High fashion clothing of the day

Well, that is just one building and there are 30 more to go. I promise not so many pictures from the rest of the buildings but just enough to remind us of how the pioneers lived.

Sunday Phunnies

Now that I'm 'older' (but refuse to grow up), here's what I've discovered:

I started out with nothing, and still have most of it.

My wild oats have turned into prunes and All Bran.

Finally got my head together; now my body is falling apart.

Funny, I don't remember being absent minded.

All reports are in; life is now officially unfair.

If all is not lost, where is it?

It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser.

Some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant.

I wish the buck stopped here; I sure could use a few.

It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere.

The only time the world beats a path to your door is when you're in the bathroom.

If God wanted me to touch my toes, he would have put them on my knees.

When I'm finally holding all the cards, why does everyone decide to play chess?

It's not hard to meet expenses ... they're everywhere.

The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth

These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about the hereafter. I go somewhere to get something and then wonder what I'm here after.

Geographical Center of North America

A little know fact, at least to me, is that the geographical center of North America is located in North Dakota.  Minot is only an hour away so we decided to travel to Rugby, North Dakota and check this out.

Rugby is east of Minot and we haven't traveled that way since our terrifying trip from Wisconsin.  The river has receded off the road but is still way outside of its banks and it would not take much rain for it to cover the road again.

Heading east we passed this restaurant and it reminded me of the old Steve McQueen movie, The Blob, so we decided to stop for breakfast.  It was really good and I am happy to say the Blob did not attack us.

The road to Rugby is very much like all the other roads up here, lots of flat prairies, and yet so beautiful to see.

We finally made it to Rugby and saw this marker showing the location of the center of North America.

Just had to include a photo of this cute guy, my hubby. sitting in the center.

Also, in Rugby is this statue of the Northern Lights. The Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, is a naturally occuring light show in the northern latitudes.  This phenomenom can sometimes be seen up here in the evening skies.

We also visited the Pioneer Village in Rugby which is really well maintained with 30 buildings and tons of artifacts from the days this territory was settled.  I will share more about this part of our trip next time.

The Bad and The Good

We have had some interesting experiences since we began our trip, some good and some bad, but all interesting.

I have to say the worst thing about being in Minot, North Dakota is the housing situation.  Not being able to find an apartment and living in a hotel is okay, but we can't settle down and plant any roots. 

We are very thankful for the room we have because many people are having to travel for miles and miles just to find housing.  However, this is still the worse thing we have had to deal with on our trip and, if it remains the worse thing, we will be very happy!

The absolute best thing about being in Minot is the weather.  Our home is in south Mississippi, hot, muggy and wet-definitely not a fun place to be in the summer.  Minot, on the other hand, has gorgeous weather.  As I write this, we just returned from a walk across to the mall and we had to wear jackets-not cold, just a little cool. 

There has been a lot of severe weather passing through the Dakotas and the rest of the midwest but Minot is so far north that most of the severe weather has missed us.  We have had a few rainstorms but nothing serious.

The temperature drops to the 50-60 range at night and the daytime highs are in the 70-80's.  There is always a nice (sometimes too nice) breeze which makes it feel cooler.  It is absolutely wonderful to walk outside and feel the fresh cool air.  At home we would be sweltering in 90-100 degree temperatures with humidity that made it feel 10-15 degrees hotter.

We have decided that summering in Minot just might be a good thing for us in the future!

Sunday Phunnies

Observations

"When I die, I want to die like my grandfather, who died peacefully in his sleep ... not screaming like all the passengers in his car." -- Author Unknown

Advice for the day: If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle: "Take two aspirin" and "Keep away from children" -- Author Unknown

"Instead of getting married again, I'm going to find a woman I don't like and just give her a house." -- Rod Stewart

"The problem with the designated driver program ... it's not a desirable job, but if you ever get sucked into doing it, have fun with it. At the end of the night, drop them off at the wrong house." -- Jeff Foxworthy

"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there is a man on base." -- Dave Barry

"My Mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out in the lake and threw her off the boat. I said, 'Mom, they weren't trying to teach you how to swim.'" -- Paula Poundstone

"A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills than men. I just want to say to the authors of that study: 'Duh.'" -- Conan O'Brien

"Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant? I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my gosh ... I could be eating a slow learner." -- Lynda Montgomery

"I think that's how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west.'" -- Richard Jeni

"If life were fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead." -- Johnny Carson

"Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography." -- Paul Rodriguez

"My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty, and that's the law." -- Jerry Seinfeld

"Remember in elementary school, you were told that in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a
single file line from smallest to tallest. What is the logic in that? What, do tall people burn slower?" -- Warren Hutcherson

"Suppose you were an idiot ... And suppose you were a member of Congress ... But I repeat myself." -- Mark Twain

"Our bombs are smarter than the average high school student. At least they can find Afghanistan." -- A. Whitney Brown

Space Aliens

Just a few blocks from our hotel is this neat restaurant called Space Aliens.  We have a grandson, Caleb, who would love this place.

Since it is so close to the hotel we decided to walk.  You would have thought it was 2 miles if you had heard the complaining from my sweet hubby!  In all fairness, I go walking everyday while he is working so a few blocks is nothing to me but it was a warm night and it seemed much farther to him.

We were told the food was pretty good, so we headed over with camera in hand to get pictures for Caleb.  This is what you see as you approach the building-pretty cool!

The entrance to the bar from Mars.

The first sightings when the aliens came to earth was in Roswell, NM.

The mother ship-suspended from the ceiling of the restaurant.

The planets they passed through on their way to earth.



Ever wonder what an alien looks like-here is your chance to take a peak!

What a fun place to visit, and yes the food was good.  Sure wish Caleb could have been with us!