Katie's cousin Jason was getting married so of course we had to be there! The wedding was to be held in Russell in western Manitoba, which is an area neither of us had visited before. For cost reasons, we chose to fly in to Minot, North Dakota, and drive from there. Katie's family chose to fly to Regina and drive from there - the driving distance from the two isn't very different.
We arrived in Minot around 5pm on Friday the 24th. After renting a car and grabbing dinner at Hardee's, we were heading north to Russell. The border crossing and drive up were uneventful except for our stop to gawk at the giant banana in Melita, Manitoba (I highly recommend reading the linked article about the banana). We arrived in Russell just after 9pm and after checking into the Russell Inn (aka "the homotel" due to it having both internal and external doors on each room) we socialized for a bit with the family before heading to bed.
On Saturday I had a nice run around town before being asked to provide some technical assistance on the slideshow that would be shown at the reception. Once the slideshow was in its proper state, I grabbed a quick Subway lunch and got ready to head to the ceremony. We all headed over to the United Church in Russell where the wedding was held. The ceremony was great and featured Jason's four year old nephew Logan as the shy ringbearer. After celebrating the marriage and taking a few pictures, we went back to the homotel to socialize (and enjoy a few beverages) before the reception. The reception started at 5pm and featured a very nice dinner (mmm, perogies) along with an open bar, slideshow, speeches, first dance, cake cutting, and dancing. We all had a good time (though I had too many beers) and some of us chose to walk back to the hotel around 1:30am!
On Sunday we enjoyed a very nice brunch at the reception hall before all parting ways and heading back to our respective homes or airports. Our drive back to Minot was very unexciting and I was forced to listen to the Vikings game on the radio. At the border our car was searched, which hasn't happened in quite some time. In Minot we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express which was disappointing in that it was very noisy due to the nearby pool and thin walls - thankfully Katie brought earplugs! Our dinner in Minot was at the Pizza Ranch which made me feel like I'm too old for pizza buffets.
On Monday we woke up at 5am to catch our flight back to Boise. By 10:30am Katie was at work and I was by 10:45!
Lucas-Ross Wedding Pictures! - due to a camera malfunction, I lost all of the pictures of the ceremony, the town of Russell, and the giant banana :(
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Waggoner 60th Wedding Anniversary!
My grand-aunt and grand-uncle celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on September 10, 2010! Congratulations Pode and Elma Jean! Incidentally my Mom was part of the original wedding party as the flower girl!
To celebrate the occasion, my cousins Julie and Dave arranged a dinner on the 10th and a celebration on the 12th and invited everyone in the family. Many people I hadn't seen in 20 years (or ever, in the case of the many new additions to the family), and it would be Katie's first chance to meet almost everyone. Thus we had to go! Due to a miscommunication, we booked our flight before we realized there was a dinner on the 10th so we sadly missed that part of the festivities.
We headed to the airport after work on Friday the 9th. We flew to Denver and arrived around 9pm. We were able to grab some dinner at the Ted's Montana Grill before retiring for the night at a Sleep Inn. The most memorable part of dinner was getting a dish of pickles to munch on before our meals arrived. Saturday we embarked on the highly boring drive from Denver to Alma along US-36, arriving in town around 3pm. We checked out Alma a little bit before meeting up with family at the Alma Super 8. From there we visited the recently built park and pathway along the Alma waterfront before having a nice family dinner at The Station.
On Sunday we all attended the reception celebrating Pode and Elma Jean's anniversary. The event filled the reception venue and was highlighted by Pode and Elma Jean renewing their vows and a great family slideshow put together by Dave and Randy. Pode and Elma Jean looked great and it really was a beautiful scene! After the reception, the family had a nice dinner at Little Mexico in Republican City.
Before departing on mid-day Tuesday we had some good quality family time, visited the final resting places of various ancestors, visited cousin Paul at his insurance agency in Alma, looked at the former homes of Grandma and other relatives, visited second cousin Emily at the Alma City Hall, and did some family research in the Alma Library and the Franklin Library.
On Tuesday we drove home through Norton, Kansas, and Benkelman, Nebraska, doing a little bit of quick genealogical research at each site. We got to Denver around 6pm and proceeded to eat dinner at the Tilted Kilt in downtown Denver. The place had incredible waitresses and some good British beers that aren't usually found in Idaho. On Wednesday morning we had a quick jaunt around town and lunch at Chick-Fil-A before heading to the airport and ultimately home.
It was awesome seeing everyone and once again, congratulations to Pode and Elma Jean for 60 years of marriage!
Waggoner Anniversary Pictures!
Mom's Pictures!
To celebrate the occasion, my cousins Julie and Dave arranged a dinner on the 10th and a celebration on the 12th and invited everyone in the family. Many people I hadn't seen in 20 years (or ever, in the case of the many new additions to the family), and it would be Katie's first chance to meet almost everyone. Thus we had to go! Due to a miscommunication, we booked our flight before we realized there was a dinner on the 10th so we sadly missed that part of the festivities.
We headed to the airport after work on Friday the 9th. We flew to Denver and arrived around 9pm. We were able to grab some dinner at the Ted's Montana Grill before retiring for the night at a Sleep Inn. The most memorable part of dinner was getting a dish of pickles to munch on before our meals arrived. Saturday we embarked on the highly boring drive from Denver to Alma along US-36, arriving in town around 3pm. We checked out Alma a little bit before meeting up with family at the Alma Super 8. From there we visited the recently built park and pathway along the Alma waterfront before having a nice family dinner at The Station.
On Sunday we all attended the reception celebrating Pode and Elma Jean's anniversary. The event filled the reception venue and was highlighted by Pode and Elma Jean renewing their vows and a great family slideshow put together by Dave and Randy. Pode and Elma Jean looked great and it really was a beautiful scene! After the reception, the family had a nice dinner at Little Mexico in Republican City.
Before departing on mid-day Tuesday we had some good quality family time, visited the final resting places of various ancestors, visited cousin Paul at his insurance agency in Alma, looked at the former homes of Grandma and other relatives, visited second cousin Emily at the Alma City Hall, and did some family research in the Alma Library and the Franklin Library.
On Tuesday we drove home through Norton, Kansas, and Benkelman, Nebraska, doing a little bit of quick genealogical research at each site. We got to Denver around 6pm and proceeded to eat dinner at the Tilted Kilt in downtown Denver. The place had incredible waitresses and some good British beers that aren't usually found in Idaho. On Wednesday morning we had a quick jaunt around town and lunch at Chick-Fil-A before heading to the airport and ultimately home.
It was awesome seeing everyone and once again, congratulations to Pode and Elma Jean for 60 years of marriage!
Waggoner Anniversary Pictures!
Mom's Pictures!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Galena Peak Climb
Matt and I settled on a climb of Galena Peak in the Boulder Mountains on the Saturday before Labor Day. It would be Matt's first visit to the Boulder Mountains and possibly our last time above 11000' for the year.
We left Boise just after 6am and were climbing just after 9am. We were pleasantly surprised at finding a nice trail up the peak and a very straightforward path to the summit. The route, though direct, was a pleasant mix of forest and alpine terrain and passed some interesting mining debris. We also saw two mountain goats on the ascent!
Summit views were outstanding, however it was a little windy and brisk on the summit. We had considered a traverse to nearby Peak 10835' however the terrain, changing weather, and our late start caused us to skip the side trip. After chatting with another hiker on the summit, we started our trip back down to the vehicle. We had a pleasant descent and the trip made for an excellent conclusion to the summer hiking season!
Trip statistics: 4.58 miles, 3474' elevation gain, 5:43h
Galena Peak Pictures!
GPS Track
We left Boise just after 6am and were climbing just after 9am. We were pleasantly surprised at finding a nice trail up the peak and a very straightforward path to the summit. The route, though direct, was a pleasant mix of forest and alpine terrain and passed some interesting mining debris. We also saw two mountain goats on the ascent!
Summit views were outstanding, however it was a little windy and brisk on the summit. We had considered a traverse to nearby Peak 10835' however the terrain, changing weather, and our late start caused us to skip the side trip. After chatting with another hiker on the summit, we started our trip back down to the vehicle. We had a pleasant descent and the trip made for an excellent conclusion to the summer hiking season!
Trip statistics: 4.58 miles, 3474' elevation gain, 5:43h
Galena Peak Pictures!
GPS Track
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