It's The People, And Sometimes The Dogs....

4th of July at Jason's

Have you ever stopped to think about how many people you've met in your lifetime? Until recently, neither did I. Living in an RV gives one the opportunity to meet many people, from all walks of life, and since we've been in Minot, ND this summer, that list has grown ever longer. I would like to introduce you to some of them now.

Let's begin with Amanda. She is the manager here at Rough Rider RV Park, and has to be one of the kindest and most forgiving people I've ever met. I wish nothing but wonderful things for her and her kids. One of those kids being Lydia, a kid of many talents: hunting, drawing, music and God only knows what else is in store for her. Watching her strum Dad's (Mike's dad) guitar was really quite special.

And there's Amanda's other daughter, Heidi. She's one of the toughest people I've met. She has just beat stage 4 cancer. The cancer doesn't define her though. She too, is an artists in her own right, and her photography is no joke.

Also working here this summer is Denise. She helps with check-ins, reservations, and housekeeping. When I say "housekeeping", this woman could clean the stripes off a zebra! Damn!

Now onto Jason's crew. For those that haven't been following along, Jason is my nephew and the reason we came to Minot to begin with. I can't list all the names, but in the above picture are some of his crew and all but one are serving their country. Each face has a story, and I'm immensely proud that we got to spend the 4th of July with them. In no particular order, I give you; Bundy, Smalls, Maxim, Nick, Chowdah (my nephew), Jara, Jaronius, Dirty Dan, Lewie, Smaller (Small's little brother-the only non-serviceman), and Sklyar. Thank you all for your service.

Moving on to the "Allen" show. For some reason, we have had the fortune to have all of the Allens that we've met be really cool people. It began with our original being Allen Lake, our long-time friend and secret keeper back in Keene. This summer however, we got to meet 2 more. One being Allen Bittner, who Amanda and I affectionately called "The problem child". We are hoping to see him in Arizona this winter.

The next one is this guy.

Allen Bartlett and us.

Not only is he another very cool Allen, but his wife Gayle is a sweetheart in her own right. He's retired Navy and they are on a long over-do adventure, and I wish them nothing but the best and hope they get to all the museums along the way. (That was an inside joke...right, Allen?)

There was also a fellow New Englander on her way back to Massachusettes. Deb Larson is a solo RVer. Her story is not mine to tell, but let's just say, she is one of the strongest people we've met in quite some time. She was so kind that when she left, she put a note on our windshield. It was really sweet and unintentionally funny, as she addressed the note to "David and Kris", even though she has our number in her phone under Kris and MIke @ Roughrider. Just too funny.

Camper: "What's your name?"

Me: "Kristina, with a K"

Camper: "I'm Jami, with an I"

Me: "It's almost the same thing"

Jami: "It really is"

That was the conversation that took place while checking in a couple from Montana during Fair week. They came to Rough Rider, like so many others, to enjoy the State Fair that comes to Minot every July. We also met a couple that I like to call "Mr and Mrs Bulldog". They are fellow workampers that have 3 English Bulldogs that were so loveable it was ridiculous. Also in attendance for the fair was our neighbor, Cindy. She had many questions about becoming a workamper. Although we aren't experts at it, I gave her the information I could and she left feeling really excited about the idea of becoming one.

Not to be left out is Jolene. She's our summer neighbor. We don't spend time together, but we've chatted some and what's really cool about her is the fact that she has 2 really cool dogs. Yeah, I said that. Everyone knows I'm a cat person, but Zeke and Zeus are big and beautiful and only bark when necessary and that's what I appreciate about them.

Eric, the GREAT, Great Dane

Speaking of big dogs, Eric has to be the biggest dog I've ever seen. In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't get the name of Eric's human, but I mean seriously, I was just a little (okay ALOT) distracted by this pony that barks. He was a really well behaved dog and as it turns out he's one of two that this man has. Fun Fact: He doesn't walk his dog with those cute little poop bags. This job requires a flippin' grocery bag.....lol.

We only have 2 weeks left here in Minot and there were others we've met, most were kind, some were stupid (including us a time or two) and I was going to share with you some of my favorite people from the Oak Park Farmer's Market, but I think they deserve their own special blog.....

Until then, Be Well, Be Happy, and Safe Travels.