NORTH DAKOTA (and a public service announcement)

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Makoshika State Park near Glendive, Montana. It is a beautiful place with lots to do in the area. Whether a destination or just a stop over, this place should be on every traveler’s list of good places to go! Although our activities while at in Glendive took us into North Dakota a couple of times (previous posts), Coach had not been there yet, so we didn’t really count those as having been to a new state! Keith and his family had spent a couple of summers in ND in the 1960s as his parents were involved in selling land in Arizona to those folks in ND who might want a warmer place to spend their winters. It is a totally new state for Joanette.

Our home in ND is an Army Corps of Engineers campground about 15 miles North of Valley City, ND. There is a very long lake called Lake Ashtabula on the Sheyenne River We are at the West Ashtabula Crossing Campground, on the West side of the lake and a very popular area with the locals. With a boat dock, fishing pier and fish cleaning station. West Ashtabula Crossing is about 16 miles north of Valley City, North Dakota, quite a gem of a small town.

• 

• 

I have to mention here, that we left Glendive, Montana on Saturday morning and arrived here Saturday afternoon. But it is what happened while still in Glendive that we must address. Consider this a public service announcement. When your medical care team suggests you get the shingles vaccination, you should not carry the prescription around with you for months, JUST DO IT! Joanette had seen that Keith felt bad after getting his shot back in June, so she was putting it off until we were somewhere for several days which would allow her to have a ‘down’ day. Well, instead she started feeling a ‘pin prick’ in her right nostril. After a couple of days of that there was this stabbing pain near her right ear, so on Friday, knowing that this was the beginning of shingles and after some tough love from Keith and Paula, she went to the Urgent Care Clinic in Glendive and sure enough, diagnosed with the shingles. Thank goodness I did that! I got started on an antiviral medication and told that if got worse or began to involve the right eye to go to an ER. Well, let me tell you, it got worse! On Monday we made the trip to Fargo to the ER at Sanford Hospital. What a blessing that doctor was! The shingles blisters were in my nose, on the roof of my mouth, my upper gums and in my ear (all on the right side!). And the pain traveled that trigeminal nerve across my face, around my ear and around my head (right side only). Gosh darn it, I don’t want anybody to ever have to feel that pain. Dr. Hushka got me started on a course of prednisone and a few pain pills (that I cut in half and doled out to myself in a very miserly way!)

We ended up going back to Sanford Eye Clinic having woke up one morning with a very blood shot eye. It was just that, a broken blood vessel, but the eye doctor wanted to see me the next day also. So all in all, I had one urgent care visit in Montana, one ER and two eye doctor visits in Fargo, North Dakota. I finished the course of antiviral and prednisone and although week one was horrible, week two was somewhat better, I’m feeling 80% better, but the sharp stabbing pains have not totally gone way, the inflamed mouth and gums have run their course. I will refrain from posting pictures of this but suffice it to say, get the vaccination!

After the second eye doctor visit we decided to stay in Fargo and go to the Cass County Historical Society Museum and pioneer village, Bonanzaville. This kept us entertained for three or four hours! It was the pioneer history of North Dakota, Cass County in particular. There were streets with pioneer cabins and homes from the bonanza farms of the day (the bonanza farms were the very large and well managed wealthy farms of the area). There were buildings full of early trains and memorabilia, horse drawn vehicles, fire and law enforcement of the early days.

Friday was the day for us to do the Scenic Byway drive that we had seen on the things to do list of the area. This was a 63 mile one way drive through the Sheyenne River Valley starting near West Ashtabula crossing, traveling through Valley City, Kathryn and ending in Lisbon North Dakota. We deviated getting to Lisbon, but followed the entire scenic route back home.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Educational, relaxing and a bit of rural America. We are enjoying doing and seeing some of the attractions that our beautiful country has to offer at the grass roots level!

On to Minnesota!