Stanley, North Dakota (GA602)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 5,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.
Sadly Mary is struggling with health issues. To see the latest about her situation, click here

To view past blogs, scroll to the bottom of this page and use the menu.

I’m currently in my 24th year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click here

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The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails RV resort in Palm Desert, California. I’m scheduled to depart here March 26th.

 

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

  In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

This entry was posted September 6, 2013…

 

 

 

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the 101 miles from Towner to Stanley, North Dakota.

 

 

We continued traveling along U.S.Highway 2 West.

 

 

Along the way we passed through Minot, for which we could not find a good reason to stop. These many last days of basically traffic-less driving on Highway 2 has come to an end. Once we left Minot, the traffic picked up noticeably as we are entering North Dakota’s oil boom area. You can read all about it in this Wikipedia link about Stanley… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley,_North_Dakota

 

 

 

 

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

This was one of the few times we were not accompanied by a number of trucks…

 

 

 

 

 

Arriving in Stanley, Mary and I took a walk down Main Street to find something we had not seen before. On every street light pole was a large speaker playing rock music! Mary and I both found it most irritating…

 

 

 

 

We were in search of Stanley’s claim to fame. The only remaining original operating Whirl-A-Whip ice cream machine left in the country located in the Dakota Drug Store which still has the soda fountain…

 

 

 

 

 

Terry, the owner, showed us the machine…only it is no longer functioning. The motor had burned out…

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the cover of the machine…

 

 

 

 

 

He told us the newer model is the same internal machine, but now covered in a stainless steel case…

 

 

 

 

 

What’s so special about this machine? Well, other places may advertise 100 different flavors and have to keep them in stock. With this machine, by having only three flavors in stock and then adding unique ingredients, you can create hundreds of flavors. So, of course we just had to try it. Here’s the menu of flavors…

 

 

 

 

 

I had the chocolate ice cream and added Oreo cookie, whopper (a malt ball) and bit o’ brickle (a crunchy granola-like substance) which cost $4.00.. Here’s what it looked like before the machine processed it…

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s what it looked like after the machine processed it. Kind of like a flavored softee ice cream. It was tasty!…

 

 

 

 

 

Terry, the owner, contacted Bruce Rohtenheiser and told him we were interested in the history of the machine. Bruce, together with his son owned the drugstore for more than 50 years. Bruce, who is a lively 83 years old and once served as the mayor of the town, filled us in on the history of the machine. Here he wears a T-shirt identifying North Dakota’s two most valuable commodities…grain and oil…

 

 

 

 

 

The drug store even has Whirl-A-Whip T-shirts for only $13.75. We did not buy one…

 

 

Here’s a YouTube Video showing the Whirl-A-Whip machine at the Dakota Drug Store in Stanley… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDnuGwHPYBw

 

 

 

 

 

The once free municipal campground is no longer free and full of oil boom workers. Bruce put me in contact with Harry Braddock, a past Commander of the local American Legion which no longer owns a building in town. Harry was kind enough to offer to let us park across the street from his home…

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the usual dinette window photo…

 

 

Yesterday was a lousy weather day. 96 degrees with high humidity. Today’s forecast is for 94 degrees. Tomorrow is forecast 89 degrees. YUKKITTY!

 

 

We’ll continue our westward travel later this morning.

 

 

Enjoying unique Whril-A-Whip ice cream machines is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

 

 

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of North Dakota. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW!

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/new-and-old-americana/

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

Forecast for today is sunny and 81 degrees.

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

 

“Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.” –James Madison

 

 

“Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all of one’s lifetime.” —Mark Twain

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2019

MURPHYS CHRISTMAS PARADE.

Jim left my place on Monday. The weather here has been pretty cold for a weather wimp.

He waved goodbye and struck out for southern climes.  He reached Palm Desert yesterday and they’ve had a cold spell with some gusty wind.  You just can’t predict the weather. I’m chuckling a bit at his expense.

Every year I head downtown Murphys for their open house held the first Friday in December.  This year I went early because the Mountain Melody was putting on a concert at 4:00. TILT. I had the wrong date, the Black Bart Players Theatre was locked with a sign: Concert 4:00 Saturday. I’ll be attending a memorial service and won’t make it. With time on my hands, I took some pictures. Somehow,  an outdoor decorated tree doesn’t look right during the daytime. Now, with a little snow… My mid-west roots are showing. I miss a white Christmas.

I poked around some of the stores, admiring the tree trimmings for sale. I used to make a point of buying one new ornament each year. I have over 2000 ornaments, so I’ve quit that. A ridiculous problem for rat packers. Guilty.

I ran into some friends, but did I take a picture of Lynette, Ginger and Roger, Suki, Eleanor, Richard or the Gilmores?  No, I was too busy yaking. But I did take a picture of this cute baby with her daddy bursting with pride. He was just glowing.

I thought I’d have dinner as the restaurants were opening up. They were overwhelmed with long lines or reservations to get anything to eat. Finally, it got dark enough for the Christmas Parade. But, the streets were mobbed, everything is surreal from the camera lens.

Everything goes by in a blur. But, I had to include this picture because my kids attended Bret Harte High. This pick-up load of football players was rocking the truck back and forth so forcefully with their weight, it tested the shocks on the truck. I had never seen anything like it. Such fun. Both my sons played football for Bret Harte.

The lighted floats and entries were really nice. Even with a clear shot through the crowd, by the time your flash can focus, you still get a blur.

The young kids were enjoying the parade and that is what parades are all about. Enjoyment, not photography. It was cold. I left early. And on the way to the parking lot I  got a decent shot of these draft horses.

And this parade entrant getting its fancy gear removed. Aha! Now I know how to photograph a parade. At the beginning, before they get moving. Or, at the end. I returned home and ate cookies and ice cream for dinner.

BLAINE MARINE PARK, PEACE ARCH PARK

Memory is not dependable. We knew we had visited this area in 2011. The problem was, we visited both parks in 2009, not 2011. I remembered so well the marvelous blackberries but forgot to bring a container.  Luckily I had a plastic bag in my purse. The Blaine Marine Park must have a mile of blackberries in several different stretches. But here we picked once before.

The plants were bigger and meaner. Blackberries grow on new growth, so the old canes are big and sharp. We contemplated that the park must have to mow the whole works down at some point to keep them in such tight control.  I ate my fill and picked enough to take home. We had a big lunch earlier at Lizzies, all wonderful, homemade cooking. So we decided to stop at the store for ice cream before going home.

We walked the docks where all the fishing boats come in across from  Semiahmoo point. The breeze was heavenly and ruffled the feathers of the gulls. They are messy and bomb the wharf with clams to break them open, but we enjoyed watching them for about an hour.

They seem to know where to find the biggest clams.

When they fly around, we tend to think of them as white, but they really have a lot of variation in color.

Then I noticed this pigeon. I didn’t think pigeons hung around salt water. And look at those red feet.

This must be mama, though she seemed to be chasing him. She is bigger and less colorful than the male.

We walked out through the commercial buildings on the dock. This truck belonged to a Crab Buyer but his logo is a lobster.

We were following the raucous sound of the birds. These cormorants were screaming and hollering to a similar colony across the water from them,  along with some gulls.

Then we drove over to Peace Arch Park.

We wandered through the gardens and then walked to the Canadian Side of the arch, first.

Then, the U.S. side.

On the inside of the arch is this commemoration from 1914. On the opposite side, the same gate with the statement, MAY THESE GATES NEVER BE CLOSED. It is refreshing to see this wide open border between our countries and sad to think of the horrible gates between the U.S. and Mexico.

 

The gardens and sculpture on display at the Peace Arch Parks, both Canadian and American are spectacular. I’ll post some pictures tomorrow.

At home,  we ate blackberries and ice cream in place of dinner. Jim and I both realized in the five years we’ve been together, we’ve never bought ice cream, other than a cone here and there along the way. Neither of us are big on ice cream. But, it was heavenly with berries.

BLACKBERRY PICKING, PLUS…

Norma, Jose and the kids missed the family & friends reunion, but we both were able to squeeze in an afternoon for a bit of berry picking and barbeque Sunday last.

Jose was scheduled to work, but decided he needed the day off more than the work. He commented on how quiet and peaceful it is here, especially when we walked up the canyon and got into the berry patch. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. Six year old Abbie got something picky caught in her sandals. Help dad!

 

The berries were fat and plentiful and early this year.

Doug and Jose did most of the picking and we put a quart of berries in my freezer, and another in Jose’s ice chest.

Anthony agreed that berries and ice cream is delicious.

Little miss Abbie had a  good time with some hair ornaments that were headed to the Good Will. She has the most beautiful, lush hair you’ve ever seen. Of course, I’m jealous since I inherited my father’s thin strands instead of my mother’s beautiful tresses.

It was nice to take an afternoon away from a far too busy schedule.  I’m still fielding work progress on the Oregon property. Yesterday, I did a final program on the Quyle Kiln’s 60th Anniversary for Public Access Television. Today, I’ll finish a written piece for Ceramics Magazine. I finished my inventory for insurance, a massive photo project, that took five days to complete between refining the watering system to withstand the water reduction requirements of the drought. (I always take on projects instead of saying no.) And, finally, I can think about what I’m going to pack to return to the Motor Home. I’m looking forward to being back on the road.

NEW AND OLD AMERICANA

Long distance biking is very North American; In the last twenty years bicycling has grown to mega proportions. This Canadian couple, Ollie Ewing and Anna Szkraba pulled into the little city park at Towner where we stayed and I wondered what their experiences were like.

Because they are on bikes, they stop in towns, ask questions, shop for food and a place to shower; they mingle with more people than we do on the same trajectory. They find that people are friendly and helpful wherever they go. They’ve been invited to stay in people’s homes, five times between Ottawa, Ontario and Towner.  Their destination is Vancouver, B.C. They plan to spend a night with friends in Stanley.  Our goal was a to visit Dakoa Drug Store in Stanley where the only working Whirla-Whip Ice Cream machine is still pouring out a specialty treat.   They do about 68 miles a day, more or less.

In the morning, they pulled up stakes and hit the road. We wished each other well, me with a little ache in my heart as I thought of Essya Naballi and Martha Wright and their unfortunate encounter on Highway 101 Oct. of 2011.

http://marysramblins.blogspot.com/2011/10/black-monday.html

We’ll be following them on F.B. Isn’t that cool?

We drove to Stanley and the terrain is changing;  more hills and mining, some oil wells but we aren’t deep into fracking country yet. Stanley is just on the edge of it all.

Beautiful colors of green and gold; a field of winter wheat just threshed.

It seems a strange mix, farming and oil. We and the biking couple have been warned away from Williston where the oil boom is most evident. A city that went from 14,000 to 40,000 almost immediately. High crime and danger is what we are repeatedly told as the reason to avoid the place.  In fact, Stanley City Park where we had planned to stay has been taken over by permanent renters from the oil boom. They hold a few sites open for travelers but we decided to find another place to park.

Welcome to Stanley where the street lights have speakers on every pole. Music is piped out to the street wherever you walk, just like elevator music in a grocery store. We thought it was strange.

The Dakota Drug Store fountain to see the only Whirla-Whip machine in the world beckoned.

Terry, the very helpful pharmacist took time from his busy day to take us into the basement where there were probably thirty of the 100 pound machines. The last working model needs rewiring and it will be up and running, soon, he promises.

At the fountain are the new light weight Whirla-Whip machines invented by Claude Reed, who once owned 40 ice cream parlors.  But it was  Bruce Rodenhizer, at this drug store who made them famous. Terry called Bruce Rodenhizer and asked him to come meet us, the former owner now in his 80’s and retired.

While we waited for Bruce, we chose our flavors. The fountain boy told me one guy orders dill pickle, bacon bits and brickle. Hmm. I decided on dill pickle, blueberry and brickle. It was delicious. What Claude Reed realized is you don’t have to have 50 different flavors of ice cream in a great big refrigerated counter, you only need two. Vanilla or chocolate. Then you add the flavors.

Bruce Rodenhizer told us his story. He came here fresh out of NDU at Fargo with a wife, a degree and no money. He worked for two years in Williston, and went into partners in the Drug Store with a lawyer. He was the pharmacist and eventually bought his partner out. The partner wanted to get rid of the fountain and his wife said NO! The fountain stays. When the original Whirla-Whip machines began to need parts, he would  buy every one he could get his hands on to keep them running.

These machines were invented before Dairy Queen and other soft ice cream machines came out.  This machine takes hard ice cream and turns it into a smooth concoction with flavors added. Bruce and his wife and son ran the drug store for 50 years. People still come in and say, “I want a peanut butter on chocolate,” and the fountain person knows exactly what they mean. They bring their kids from miles around to taste an authentic Whirla-Whip delight. Bruce was interviewed by PBS in 1989 during N.Dakota’s Centennial Celebration. His fountain was considered “old Americana”.

The Whirla-Whip inventor, Claude Reed visited the Dakota Drug Store and met Bruce and his Wife after CBS did a program on he and the machine he billed as the only Whirla-Whip machine in the world still running.

Bruce is a friendly, nice guy who was mayor of Stanley at age 31-33. “They practically ran me out-of-town because I spent too much money,”  he said. “Now they thank me for being farsighted enough to improve our infrastructure.”  He is now an ambassador for both fracking and wheat, North Dakota’s two biggest enterprises.

Stanley, North Dakota

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the 101 miles from Towner to Stanley, North Dakota.

We continued traveling along U.S.Highway 2 West.

Along the way we passed through Minot, for which we could not find a good reason to stop. These many last days of basically traffic-less driving on Highway 2 has come to an end. Once we left Minot, the traffic picked up noticeably as we are entering North Dakota’s oil boom area. You can read all about it in this Wikipedia link about Stanley… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley,_North_Dakota

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

This was one of the few times we were not accompanied by a number of trucks…

Arriving in Stanley, Mary and I took a walk down Main Street to find something we had not seen before. On every street light pole was a large speaker playing rock music! Mary and I both found it most irritating…

We were in search of Stanley’s claim to fame. The only remaining original operating Whirl-A-Whip ice cream machine left in the country located in the Dakota Drug Store which still has the soda fountain…

Terry, the owner, showed us the machine…only it is no longer functioning. The motor had burned out…

Here is the cover of the machine…

He told us the newer model is the same internal machine, but now covered in a stainless steel case…

What’s so special about this machine? Well, other places may advertise 100 different flavors and have to keep them in stock. With this machine, by having only three flavors in stock and then adding unique ingredients, you can create hundreds of flavors. So, of course we just had to try it. Here’s the menu of flavors…

I had the chocolate ice cream and added Oreo cookie, whopper (a malt ball) and bit o’ brickle (a crunchy granola-like substance) which cost $4.00.. Here’s what it looked like before the machine processed it…

And here’s what it looked like after the machine processed it. Kind of like a flavored softee ice cream. It was tasty!…

Terry, the owner, contacted Bruce Rohtenheiser and told him we were interested in the history of the machine. Bruce, together with his son owned the drugstore for more than 50 years. Bruce, who is a lively 83 years old and once served as the mayor of the town, filled us in on the history of the machine. Here he wears a T-shirt identifying North Dakota’s two most valuable commodities…grain and oil…

The drug store even has Whirl-A-Whip T-shirts for only $13.75. We did not buy one…

Here’s a YouTube Video showing the Whirl-A-Whip machine at the Dakota Drug Store in Stanley… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDnuGwHPYBw

The once free municipal campground is no longer free and full of oil boom workers. Bruce put me in contact with Harry Braddock, a past Commander of the local American Legion which no longer owns a building in town. Harry was kind enough to offer to let us park across the street from his home…

Here’s the usual dinette window photo…

Yesterday was a lousy weather day. 96 degrees with high humidity. Today’s forecast is for 94 degrees. Tomorrow is forecast 89 degrees. YUKKITTY!

We’ll continue our westward travel later this morning.

Enjoying unique Whril-A-Whip ice cream machines is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of North Dakota. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust