A Weekly Offering of This n That

Rainy Day is my alter ego. She is the little angel that sits on one shoulder and whispers in my ear to forgo that 6" piece of triple chocolate fudge with the four scoops of ice cream on it; she is also the little devil who sits on my other shoulder and convinces me that I can eat just one bite of each and be satisfied, and then laughs with such great abandon when in fact, I eat the whole thing, she falls off my shoulder. Mostly, Rainy Day helps me see the humor in living and, mostly, she encourages me down the right path. Not necessarily the straight and narrow one (how fun is that?) but the path that offers the most adventure and fun.


Monday, March 24, 2014

Starting the Road Trip

Happy Monday to you all! As I write this, it's in the mid 30s outside, and the sun will soon make its showing, turning my across-the-street neighbor's house into a warm pink. Our high today in the Washington desert will be 68 or so. (I so love the desert, I'm often tempted to put two 'ss' in it, and call it dessert;-)

Flat Grandkids
I thought I'd take you on a virtual road trip with my friend Judith, and me. I drove and she navigated and pointed out sights. And we each took our favorite Flat People. Remember Flat Stanley? Judith took her Flat Grandkids, and I took Flat Kay (my usual travel companion) so you'll see the Flat Folk every so often ;-)
Flat Kay

The object of the trip was to drive as much as possible, or at least as close as possible, the trail that Marie and Co. walked, so we hustled back to Bismarck ND for our 2d night on the road. Almost didn't get a hotel room, as there was a humongous Indian Pow Wow in town, but we found a room, and gratefully collapsed. The next morning, we crossed the Missouri again, to Mandan, and made our way down the Missouri as close as the road would let us, to the bridge from Mobridge and highway 12. (Mobridge, SD is where they built the bridge across the Missouri, hence the name MObridge).

Fort Rice
Along the way, we stopped at Fort Rice. Fort Rice was not there when Marie made her trek, and they didn't get quite that far north, but it was still an interesting stop. The buildings are gone, unless you count the Prairie Dog apartments buildings, but the corners of the buildings are marked, and there is a good map showing where everything was. It was quite impressive. It was also very cloudy and gray. But at least it had stopped raining.
Prairie Dog Apartment (hundreds of these ankle busters)


The Missouri, like most of our great rivers, is dammed (damned?), and Fort Rice now sits on the edge of a lake, really. What did the Muddy look like 200 years ago? Beats me!

Just above Mobridge is where the Grand River joints the Muddy, as the Missouri was often called. There were three Arikara villages on the north shore of the Grand, and it was here that Wilson Price Hunt decided to lead his Astorians overland instead of following the route of Lewis and Clark.




The Mighty Missouri from Fort Rice
My neighbor's house now has a nice golden pink glow about it. The sun is up. This is not my neighbor's house, but a marker at Fort Rice.

Next week we'll head across country, into then uncharted and unknown country, and start by following the Grand River. Well, as closely as possible.












Pleasant Journeys,
          Lenora

Monday, March 17, 2014

I'M BAAACK!!!!

Yes, indeed, I'm back!

It took a while, but the novel is not only finished, but also published! Yes, after much research, a road trip, and many rewrites/edits Madame Dorion: Her Journey to the Oregon Country is now available at your favorite Book Seller. (You may have to ask them to order it – the ISBNs are:  ISBN-10: 1494225492 and ISBN-13: 978-1494225490. However, your bookseller can look it up by title and or author (that's me, folks;-) )

If you buy a hard copy and want it signed, send me a SASE and I'll sign a clear sticker you can place in the book (or you can come see me and bring the book;-) If you buy the electronic version and want it signed, well, send me a SASE and I'll sign the sticker and you can stick it on the back of your eReader.

Unfortunately, I can't remember how to get into the back of the blog to change some of the whatsits along the side bar, but you hardly ever read them anyway ;-)

Marie, or Madame Dorion lived a couple hundred years ago, and her story is truly one of heroism. I will be posting bits and pieces about her, and the road trip a friend and I took as part of my research, as well as bits and pieces of this n that. I'll do my best to get the updates posted on Monday, but you know how we authors are – sometimes we get lost in a world of our own making and totally space on things like calendars, blogs, and meals.

This is the front cover of Madame Dorion: Her Journey to the Oregon Country. That's some of the scenery she saw as she walked to the Oregon Country.


It's good to be back. I've missed you. I hope you've missed me. Just a wee bit.