Thanks for taking us on your family outing. I really like the fact that a dugout still exists. I am learning about the travels of Kansas City beer and liquor. Seeing the St. Joseph beer case in Montana makes me think there may be 24 beer bottles out there somewhere.
Super pictures. I'm glad you had small children there.
Wow, there is something extremely evocative about those pictures. I can't really put it into words, but I get a sense of the optimistic determination of your pioneer ancestors; pitting their wits and wills against the vast expanse of nature in all of it's starkly beautiful, sometimes severe splendor. Stamping into the unforgiving land proof that they existed and in the face of such difficulties still managed to set the foundation for the nurturing and expansion of their younger generations. The old homesteads may be decrepit no longer needed, but without them, and all the years of blood sweat and tears invested, your whole family might not even exist now. Same for all of us, but to see all that in a picture is pretty powerful stuff. Absolutely fantastic, thanks for sharing the photos.
The reason this house is still standing is because (you will notice this in this picture) the boards on the inside are vertical and the boards on the outside are horizontal. And did anyone notice the dead sheep remains in the front of the building? There weren't any inside though.
I was also informed that the twisted log in the cellar is not cedar.
Great story and pictures. I noticed most family members are wearing boots. Is this because of vipers in the area?
Did you locate the privy? There are forum members here on standby wanting to dig it !! []