First Overnight Camp With My Daughters

The following is transcribed from my field journal. There are typos, misspellings and editings as there would be for transcriptions of other period journals. This entry is from an overnighter I did with my daughters in October, 2014

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2014
FIRST DADDY/DAUGHTER OVERNIGHTER – FT. UNION
     The girls, Signe & Brynja, & I finished packing after school & then headed out to Fort Union. This is the first overnighter that the girls & I have done together. Tommorrow I will be portraying a fort hunter for a group of Boys Scouts coming down from Minot, ND. As I understand there will be four or five stations they will go through. The girls & my brother Haans will be assisting me when we talk to the boys about Indian Sign Language.

     When the girls & I arrived tonight the sun was starting to set so we had to hurry. One of the hand carts our local muzzleloader club built was brought up to the fort to use at my hunter camp demo. The girls & I loaded our gear into the cart & brought it into the fort over by the carpenters shack. Our camp consisted of ground cloths, our blankets all together & a ground cloth on top of us. Supper was to be a small stew of meat & potatoes but I need to quickly make a fire. When I opened my fire kit I realized my error. I had onlyl two small pieces of char cloth left. I had intended several times over the past month to make more, but I never did. So much for being prepared. I tried my darndest to get some brome grass to catch flame, but to no avail. I think it could have been too damp. Maybe I just choked. Either way, I had fail to start the fire with flint & steel & had failed in front of my daughters.
     Fortunately I had a small match safe inside of our small lantern & quickly got a fire going. While we waited for the stew to come to a boil I read to the girls from a book I found in the back of the library work room at school that was no longer a part of the regular inventory. It was called “Jerry the Muskrat”. Before I new it we had been reading for over forty minutes.
     The girls & I wolfed down the stew as it was now past nine in the evening. After we finished eating

we cleaned all our cookware & got water for coffee tomorrow morning.
     The moon & stars were bright tonight & we talked for awhile. The girls & I saw a meteor, which they were fascinated by & lead to a discussion on wishing on falling stars. We talked about coyotes & how they can’t climb the fort’s walls, how tall the walls were & how they want me to take them bird hunting. They asked me an onslaught of questions & were then finally ready for bed, which was good because I was rapidly running out of words. We crawled into the bedding & lay down to sleep. The girls were out in short order. The was a good evening. I really enjoyed the good one on one time away from distractions with the girls. They’re troopers for doing this with me. Hope it doesn’t get too cold for them tonight.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2014
FIRST DADDY/DAUGHTER OVERNIGHTER – FT. UNION
     Lastnight got down to 34 deg. F & stayed about 72 deg. F under all the blankets after we readjusted things in the middle of the night. We ended up snuggling close to each other, me, Signe in the middle & Brynja on the other end, all sharing the blankets. I also tucked the top ground cloth under our feet & around us. After it was tucked under it made a big difference because it kept the wind from entering through the blankets & helped keep heat in. The girls did great. We were up & going before staff arrived.
     We first set to roasting coffee beans in a small pan & I then ground them in the pan with the back of my axe head. I dumped them into the kettle & set it over the fire. I was able to get a fire going from the few coals that remained from lastnight’s fire. We slept with our feet under the cart.

     About the time I had a well established fire going, Ranger Carr, Taylor, Kris & my brother Haans arrived in short order, followed by Sawyer & Ranger Sanden. The girls talked Kris into reading them more from “Jerry the Muskrat” while I began to fry up our bacon for our breakfast of bacon cheese & flat bread. We always have to have bacon now since they started to learn Indian Sign Language. Dave F & Mike arrived as well.
     Taylor was able to use the fire for his cooking demo station. He made cow tongue & collared beef. Both were very good.
     We made a second fire, where I had my hunter camp set up to roast “hump ribs”, “buffalo stew” & actual buffalo meat.
     When the scouts arrived at my station we talked about the duties & benefits of being a fort hunter, how they hunted buffalo & ways they cooked it. We had the boys prepare willow branches to roast the ribs. Then one by one they each got to roast a piece of the real buffalo meat. The Scout leaders really

enjoyed that. From comments we got later that was their favorite part of the hunter camp. We also showed them how to roast coffee beans, grind them & make coffee & worked with them on short phrases in Indian Sign Language & also how to sign the Scout Oath. When their time at the fort was done they thanked us all for putting on today’s stations for them. Some of them took pictures with us & of me & my girls.
     When it was all done Taylor & I set up a buffet line on the wooden bar for all the staff & volunteers

with food we’d prepared today. If anyone went hungry it was their own fault. Kim & Garrick made it out & got to eat with us.
     Even though it was a short outing I really enjoyed the time with my girls. I hope this is the beginning of many more daddy/daughter campouts.
--Leifer

October 2014 Aux Aliments Du Pays

The following is transcribed from my field journal. There are typos, misspellings and editings as there would be for transcriptions of other period journals. This entry is from a three day, 2 night Aux Aliments Du Pays in October of 2014

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16^th, 2014
WILD GRAPE AUX ALIMENTS DE PAYS

     The last food I ate was about 8:30pm yesterday. This morning the only thing I have consumed has been water. By 10:30am today I was on the trail. Things were wet & misty out with cloud cover. It was about 50 deg. F.
     By good providence I came across wild grapes. Amazingly there were still some that were still grapes & hadn’t turned into raisins yet. Considering this area has frozen a few times this was a great find & boost to morale. I would have something to eat today. I picked a bunch & put them in my blue check scarf & tied it to my braces. I picked both the grapes & the ones that had turned to raisins.
     About an hour later I dropped my manty pack & began to pursue a quarry of pheasant I had stumbled upon. It seamed to not matter that I was trying to be slow & quiet while taking off the pack. I loaded my 1790s contract rifle with #4 shot & pursued the bird for several hours. I fired three times & slew no birds. At least I had the grapes. Tommorrow will be another chance. I backtracked & got my pack.
     I came across the stream that is fed by a spring & crossed it. I found the clearing that I had found while scouting the area some months back & set up camp in a sheltered spot underneath some trees.
     Taking my rifle with me I scouted the area more & found some pippins! A crab apple

tree! They weren’t to tart. That’s now two food sources I can return to over the next two days if I can find nothing else. No signs of rabbit or squirrel. I did find some large cactus. A third food source.
     Collected water from the stream in my lidded copper kettle & filtered it with a SAWYER filter. The water tastes good. I now have roughly a quart of water, not counting what is in my guord canteen.
     I started collect wood for a fire. There is so much available dead fall that I really don’t need my axe. A half axe or large hatchet would have been sufficient & lighter. I don’t have one of those yet. One of those tear down buck saws would have been great to as they are smaller & lighter.
     I pulled out my fire tin & retrieved a piece of char cloth & some strips of dry bark tinder I had collected earlier. Used a piece of flint & my oval fire steel hanging from my belt I quickly got a small fire going.
     I opened up the scarf that held the grapes & began to pic the raisins off the bunches &

put them into my tin cup until it was about a quarter full. I then filled the cup with water & sat it next to the coals to warm up. While I waited I slowly ate the small grapes off of the little bunches with my mouth. They tasted good & contain two seeds, which I ate as well, chewing them up finely. I also ate some of the pippins. The raisins reconstituted themselves well enough in the hot water. They now took up half the tin cup. The water was now purple & the hot diluted grape flavor water felt good as I drank It.
     I built a small tripod over the fire & hung my pants on it to dry. Then my socks & mocs. When everything was dry got redressed & let the fire burn down to coals. I then pulled my rifle, bag & horn into my bedroll & hunkered down for the night. My gloves & extra shirt I used for a pillow.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17^th, 2014
WILD GRAPE AUX ALIMENTS DU PAYS
     It got down to 38 deg. F lastnight. Was nice & warm & comfortable. I would wake up roughly every hour to the sound of animals. I was able to identify the sounds of: dogs, coyotes, owls, birds, deer & even a feral cat. The coyotes woke me up three times. They got within an 1/8^th to ¼ mile of me. #4 shot loaded in the rifle & only needed the pan primed to be put to use. I know I was most likely safe, however, when you are alone your mind can have a tendancy of running wild. Throughout the night I would end up playing my jaw harp, singing loudly “Over the Hills and Far Away”, “The Regular Army O” & “God’s Own Child I Gladly Say It” as well as spending many moments in conversation with my creator asking for protection, peace of mind & bravery if I should need it. I awoke again at early dawn, it just starting to get light. I said one final prayer & slept soundly for several straight hours.
     I awoke to sunshine! Such a happy change from yesterday! I ate a several small bunches of the wild grapes & some pippins. I really haven’t been eating all that much & seem to be doing well thus far.
     I decided to scout the area more to try to draw a crude map of the are & the places I had

been. I found a downed willow & was able to cross the stream without getting my feet wet. I picked another batch of pippins & put them into my blue scarf tied onto my braces. I ate some while I walked. The area is pretty with the fall colors. Took several shots at pheasants but they eluded me. Finally I got one! However, it landed on the other side of the water so I hat to backtrack to be able to cross it. I searched for half an hour or so & could not find him. Did he float down stream? Was he only winged & hobbled away while I made my way to the other side? I’ll never know.
     Mid afternoon I made my way back to camp to drink some water. After I drank my fill I grabbed the lidded copper kettle & the SAWYER & filtered another canteen full of water.
     I scouted more of the area for my map.
     When I made it back to camp I gathered additional wood & started a fire to make another cup of hot grape tea for supper. I put the remainder of my wild raisins into my tin cup, filled it with water & set it next to the coals to simmer.
     I decided to see what kind of a spread & pattern my rifle was doing with the #4 shot I was using by firing at the trunk of a dead tree. After I fired I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. At the top of the hill, not one hundred yards from me a coyote darted, stopped & looked at me & sauntered away. “Ok,” I said out loud, “time to evade the enemy.” I pulled my tea off to the side of my gear to let it cool & grabbed my kettle. If I acted now, within forty-five minutes I could pack my camp, douse the fire & be a mile down the trail.
     After several trips to the stream with my kettle had my fire thoroughly saturated. I quickly packed my gear, downed my tea, mantied the pack, loaded my rifle, donned my pack & was down the trail.

     It can be an eerie thing, headed down the trail, it almost dark, trying to make as little noise as possible. While I rather have a confrontation with coyotes than biped pursuers angered by my presence, I’d rather have no confrontation at all.
     It was dark when I finally stopped about a mile from my previous camp. I found a low hanging tree & made my bed under its branches. Looking up at the sky & seeing the stars shining brightly, I had a good idea tonight was going to be a lot colder. At this point I was sweaty pretty good & my hair was drenched. I quickly got my bedding sorted & tore off my shirt. I dried my hair as best I could & wiped myself down. I stood in the cold for several minutes trying to air dry off before I put on a dry shirt & fresh dry socks. I aly on top of my bedding until the cold was too uncomfortable & then crawled into my bedding, rifle beside me, only needing to be primed to be put to use.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014
WILD GRAPE AUX ALIMENTS DE PAYS
     After a long while I finally fell asleep lastnight. While I was feeling more secure in my hidden location I did not fair any better for sleep in comparison to the previous night. About once an hour or so I would wake up. The wind blew off & on all night. It was noticeably colder & the fact I had began to sweat on my evasive hike lastnight had not aided things. It got down to 29 deg. F.
     I got up at early dawn & donned my capote & mittens. I was glad I had brought them. I

headed off on last time to hunt & scout the area.
     The birds eluded  me again. Sever times geese flew overhead, & I think I may have had an honest chance, however, I did not have a stamp for geese.
     I came across a large bird on the ground. It was a hawk. Yesterday I heard shot gun shots from this area. Had they accidentally shot him? Was he in the wrong place at the wrong time? It couldn’t have been there more than a day.
     Came across sign of beaver activity. Two dams across the stream, slides & a possible castor mound. Didn’t see the beaver.
     While on the trail I discovered there was a person on a horse with two dogs. Maybe I could avoid interaction. About the time I decided to step off the trail & into cover to avoid being detected the rider turned the horse & started coming at me. I figured I may as well continue on down the trail at this point instead of possibly creating a negative situation. When the dogs got closer I stopped & took a knee & held my hand out. I made sure that the muzzle of my rifle was pointed behind me as it rested on my knee. When the rider, a woman, got close enough I stood, began to walk again & said, “Looks like today is much nicer than a few days ago.” The rider responded with,”Yep. Today is gorgeous.” As we passed each other by the encounter ended. I wan’t sure how anyone would react to seeing me, dressed as I was & was glad I caused no apparent alarm.
     Mid morning I stopped & picked more pippins the last I would have on this trip. I ate them while I continued to scout & enjoy the scenery, knowing my time here was about done.
     I ventured down into the lowlands & followed a canal that went through a friends farm land. There were a group of men working on a garage. I attempted to avoid detection initially, but decided I would follow the canal the whole way down before I head back to pack up camp. I difiniately caught those poor boys off guard. “What the hell is that?” I heard one of the men ask followed by conversation I couldn’t discern.
 

    I kicked up some pheasants along the canal. When I reached the end I returned back to my camp where I packed my gear & then returned to my vehicle. It was a good experience. I fared well enough. I should have drank more water thant what I did. I was feeling weak from the sleep deprivation but good enough to make it home safely. I am proud of how things went overall. I would do some things differently next time, however, I survived. Which is good. I wouldn’t have to worry about my wife killing me for dying on her out in the woods.
-- Leifer

2014 Fort Union Living History Weekend

The following is transcribed from my field journal. There are typos, misspellings and editings as there would be for transcriptions of other period journals. This entry is from the 2014 Fort Living History Weekend.

"2014 Fort Union Living History WeekendFriday, August 29, 2014

     Kim, the kids and I arrived at Fort Union three hours after school was done today. At the kids’ request we set up camp in between to “uncle” Paul’s camp and Keeta and Gailen’s camp. The kids helped us unpack everything then Kim and I got our main tent set up with the kid’s small tent attached the back of it. When we were done we headed into the fort to the kitchen area for supper. We found out that several of our friends who were planning on being here this weekend were unable to attend.
     After the kids went down for the evening we sat and talked with friends. We brought out a bottle of our recently made schrub and Dave F. brought out some that he and Arlene had made. Paul also shared a beverage. It was a fairly quiet evening and the sky was clear. I enjoyed hanging back at the porch to the bourgeois house and just listening to the sound of campfire, people talking and the sounds of nature from above and outside of the fort walls. The stars were very brilliant tonight. Went back and spent time with the group after enjoying my surroundings.

2014 Fort Union Living History Weekend
Saturday, August 30, 2014

     Sleep was interrupted twice lastnight. When a train went by the fort it woke up and

scared Garrick who high-taled it out of his tent and straight into my head. He dropped down and began to bore his way between me and the blankets. I was able to get him calmed down, snuggled up next to me and covered up.  Later on I heard some rustling. I thought it was Garrick, who had apparently crawled out from under the blanket, gone back into his tent and grabbed his blanket and then laid back down next to me. I pulled my tuque up so I could see with my blurry vision to get Garrick to stop moving. Garrick was fast asleep. I continued to listen and was able to figure out that the sound was coming from the wooden box by the door to the tent.
     I woke Kim up to find out where the match safe and been placed and then shined the light on the area of the box. Two black eyes from inside the box stared back at me. Kim wasn’t exuberant about this new found information. Handing her the light I pulled the wiping stick out of my 1790s contract rifle and began to pull items out of the box. I moved it closer to the door of the tent and tilted the box over. The mouse started to run out of the tent and then broke hard right along the front of the tent, pulled another hard right and started running along the side wall. I quickly swiped down with my wiping stick, landing the blow just inches in front of the beedy-eyed fiend. The mouse quickly back tracked along the wall, the front of the tent and then out the door.
     I inspected the contents of the box. I half block of cheese had not been put into one of the lidded nesting kettles when we put everything inside the tent. I tossed it out the door to take care of it in the morning. I put my wiping stick back into the barrel of the flinter, almost tripped over Garrick and then curled back up under the blankets to go back to sleep.
     Breakfast this morning was baked oatmeal. I know there were other items as well, but

all I remember is the baked oatmeal. It is one of my favorites. Had tea with my breakfast. The girls learned how to wash, rinse and dry our tinware and utinsels. They even helped wipe down the engages table.
     After breakfast I worked on my Indian Sign Language. I used a set of flashcards along with my copy of Tompkins. Badger and Rod observed. Others who were they asked me what different signs were. I shared the ones I knew and looked up the ones I didn’t. About ten or so of us were in on the fun, with Brynja participating as well. Throughout the day I would work on my sign language for twenty or so minutes at a time. Badger would offer suggestions and tips for making it logical and Rod would be following along too.

     Until the rain came today my rifle was with me wherever I went. Spent time in discussion with Mark Morain and Kim Koenig at their camp within the walls. They have a great trade item display during this event each year and let me take pictures. Mark had muskrat spear end and let me handle it. I now have a few ideas of how to make one in the blacksmith shop. My previous two attempts have been failures.
     Due to the weather there was a possibility that the Last Bell tours was going to be cancelled tonight, but they decided to still do them anyways. This year it’s about Paliser’s time at the fort during 1847 and is comprised of five different stations. I was assigned to the first station where the engages are looking back at the hard winter when everyone got sick, something like mumps, and Denig and Paliser were the only ones who didn’t get sick. Denig did some doctoring on the employees and as all the fort hunters were sick Paliser was the only one who could go hunting to provide food for the fort. Guy, our fort blacksmith, Collette, one of our interp rangers and myself lead our group at the first station. I thought everyone did a good job. After the tours were over and all the visitors left we enjoyed pie and sarsaparilla, and more shrub. Went to bed shortly after.

2014 Fort Union Living History Weekend
Sunday, August 31, 2014

     Was visited again by the mouse during the night. This time the culprit was a completely sealed small summer sausage. Kim would not let me shoot the mouse.
     After breakfast I sat on the porch to the bourgeois house and continued working on my sign language. Bryn, for a kindergartener, is very interested in Indian Sign Language. She would flip the cards and do the signs with me. Badger and Rod with there with us and were doing the signs as well. I was able to pass off on my Indian Sign Language! Badger and Rod were both happy with the progress I had made. Badger suggested to me that just because I had fulfilled the requirement that I should not stop working on my sign. It would benefit me to keep working on and using it. Rod and Badger have been a good encouragement as have the rest of my fellow FUMLA friends. It looks as though we’ve sparked some interest in this skill.
     Today we began to build the second hand cart for the fort. We built the first one last

year during Labor Day weekend. I was able to help some and was then called to the blacksmith shop. I was able to help Taylor with a candlestick holder project. He had made one yesterday and had given it to Kim. Taylor is a hard working high school guy who much more proficient in the blacksmith shop than myself. Paul offered suggestions as we worked. One of his projects today was to make a spoon. I was able to talk to him later today and he was fairly happy with his first attempt. Tomorrow he plans to make another one. My project was to make a pair of hooks for attaching to the ridgepole of our tent to be able to hang my rifle from. This would keep it off the ground, not someplace the kids might bump into it, but yet still be accessible to be able to use should the need arise. I have already make what I call “nail hooks” that are tapped in to the vertical poles and ridgepole to hang a lantern from and my shooting pouch and powder horn. I will wrap the hook ends in leather to protect my rifle. The other end was pounded into a flatter tear drop

shape and I punched a square hole into the ends to allow a square cut nail to pass through. I let the ends get a bit too hot. Aside from my displeasure with the final appearance of the teardrop ends, they are still fully functional and will hold the weight of my rifle. My motto in a number of situations has always been “Function over Form.” However, if I can have function and form, that is most desireable.

     The wind picked up and started to wreak havoc on the different flies that had been set up in the fort walls. The guys working on the hand cart were holding down ropes, tightening and trying to straiten out the fly they had been working under. Taylor, Kim, Kris and myself tried to do likewise with the fly over the blacksmith shop. A fair amount of particulate was getting kicked up into the air and into my eyes. I was trying my darndest to push and pull on the poles and help retighten the ropes, but it was getting increasingly difficult to stay focused due to the irritation in my eyes. I was beginning to get down right ornery and was trying to not let my frustration come out towards anyone. When we finally got the fly readjusted I grabbed my gear and high tailed it to the bathroom. My eyes were bloodshot and were in rough shape. I rinsed them well and kept bathing them with eye drops. Finally the irritation began to subside. Ranger Yellowbird commented to me that it caused him pain just to look at my eyes.
     Tonight was the night that we were issued rations. We got some meat, beans, barley, carrots, potatoes and some small onions. We could prepare them however we liked. So I made our family a stew. Paul offered us the option of cooking over his fire and we accepted. Kim pulled out her nesting kettle set and we filled the largest one with water. We would use it to scoop water out of with a tin cup to pour into another kettle for the stew and to scoop water out to drink. Taylor and I cut up the meat, the potatoes, onions and carrots. Kim had been soaking the beans in a smaller kettle earlier today. Into the kettle everything went along with a mix of spices that I always keep on hand.
     While the stew was cooking over the fire, Rod came up an enthusiastic smile on his face

and signed to me. “AFTER-YOU-EAT-YOU-ME -RIFLE-FIRE” I responded with “Absolutely! Uh…I better check.” We both looked at Kim and she said that it would be  alright. The stew tasted great and as always it was a pleasure to eat in the company of friends in Paul’s camp.
     After supper I grabbed my pouch and horn and my rifle from its hooks on the ridgepole of the tent and met up with the rest of the guys. From the distance we were shooting was able to hit a couple of times. I was happy with my rifle’s performance. I still need to spend more time with it, but I’m feeling pretty comfortable with it. The group consisted of Taylor, Rod, Kim Koenig and Mark Morain. Taylor doesn’t have a rifle yet and Rod offered to let him shoot his Derringer double trigger rifle. I’ve shot Rod’s rifle before and it is a fine work of craftsmanship, put together by Mark Morain. Mark is making me an English Pattern J. Henry rifle. Taylor hit his target every time. Well done kid.
     We did have a situation where a ball needed to be pulled. I happened to have my ball puller in my pouch so we were able to get it moved partway up the barrel before the screw dislodged from the ball. Some powder was pushed into the barrel through the flash hole. The rifle was then primed and fired. We saw flame come out of the barrel. I think there was enough force behind the ball when it came out of the rifle that it could have knocked a prairie dog unconscious.  Despite the fact that a member of our group had this unfortunate experience happen, it was good to be around to see ways to take care of having a dry ball down the barrel. I feel fairly confident that I could fix the problem if I experienced it in the field. For that I am grateful. I will now always keep a ballpuller in my pouch. This is a way I can help contribute to the benefit of whatever party I am with.
     Kim K. and I both shoot a .54 caliber rifle. We talked about how some barrels seem a bit

snugger than others and our trial and errors as we tried different size ball. I started with .535, but had to wipe the barrel between each shot to comfortable load the next ball. I have since then been using .526 and only have to wipe the barrel every several shots or so. I still only use the bigger wiping stick that I keep in the barrel because I’m always a bit worried about the rifles wiping stick snapping on me. Kim K. said he has experience the same thing and now used .520 ball and no longer has any issue. I will try this later on. If I find this works well for me I will order a new ball mould. My .526 ball mould is made by Larry Callahan. I should have no problem selling this mould to help get a different one if needed.
     We met up back in the trade room where Mark had been cooking his and Kim K. supper. The room was illuminated only by a few candles and the coals from the hearth.  Rod cleaned his rifle and pulled out his bottle of shrub. He didn’t have the number of oranges on hand that he usually used so he substituted in some tangerines. It was a nice shrub! When the Libby boys (Mark and Kim K.) were done with their dinner we joined the rest of the crew outside of the carpenter shack. Bottles were passed around the group to be enjoyed by everyone. Shrub and a few other drinks. All told, there were five different varieties of shrub that were enjoyed this evening. Shrub was brought by us, Rod, Kim K., Mark and Dave F. The joke around the fire whenever you were handed another bottle was “Oh look! More schrub!”
     Kim gave me a hug and said to enjoy the rest of the evening and she retired back to our camp. I stay with the group talking as people slowly trickled back to their camps for the evening. What an ambience it is, standing inside the fort walls, a fire dwindling, stars out, the rustle of leaves, talking to friends about days long past, before our time, in this historic place. Moments like this I would not trade for anything. I wish I could have experienced evenings like this while Kurz and Denig discussed topics on the porch or balcony of the bourgeois house.
   A book was suggested to me that I will order when I get back home. “West of the Revolution.” Another one, historical fiction, that is part of a series is called “The Frontiersman” part of the “Winning of America” series.
     We talked about winter camps, keeping warm, bedding, gear, the lives of men we’ve read about, the experiences we’ve had as we’ve tried to experience the lives of these me, research, and the places of the different subsets within this lifestyle: muzzleloaders, buckskinners, reenactors/living historians &tc. I hope to make it to the western end of the great state of Montana to camp with these brothers. This is something I should do. It is good to learn and experience things from others you know. As much as I love this area, my brothers in the western side of our great state have actual mountains instead of badlands! Not that mountains are better, but it would be nice to experience them. With regret, but boosted excitement, I as well retired for the evening.

2014 Fort Union Living History Weekend
Monday, September 1, 2014

     We got up earlier today and headed to the kitchen area to help out where we could. This is the last meal we would share with each other for some time. Bryn had me pull out the Indian Sign Language cards again during breakfast and review some more. She’s doing a wonderful job of catching on. She asked if we could do them again after we got home.
     When the Libby boys, Mike, Mark and Kim K. were ready to head out they came back to the kitchen area and said goodbyes. I look forward to staying in communication with these men. Kim doesn’t use the computer much, so I’ll get to continue the practice of hand-written letters, which, I believe, is a dying art.

     Kim and I helped out with dishes and with packing the boxes of the cooking equipment. It took us a while, but we were able to get everything to fix in the wood boxes, even with the addition of new gear. We were rather proud of ourselves. I helped Gailen move the heavy boxes into the northwest bastion where they would stay until next year.
     While Kim and I tore down our camp, the girls and Garrick played with Ranger Boothman’s daughters. I guess visitors kept taking pictures of the gaggle of kids in period attire. Kim and I were surprised at how much easier it was to pack things up with the kids being occupied. When we were finished we made our rounds and said goodbye to the few remaining muzzleloaders at the fort. When we were finished we walked back to our camp area and helped Paul load his tent and some gear before the rain came. We then said goodbye and loaded the last of our gear and left the fort, behind us, leaving 1851 and returning to 2014.
     When I’m by myself it doesn’t take all that long to pack. I’ve been paring things down more and more. With the whole family, we bring more gear and it takes more time. Kim said to me on our way out, “You know, I’ve asked myself as we’re loading gear at the end of an event, which can be a lot of work, if it’s actually worth it. I think it is.” You’re right, dear. It’s totally worth it.

-- Leifer"