Sunday dawned bright and early, and we were on the road by 8am. I'd only been up to Langdon, ND, once before and that was in the dead of winter. So, while I normally detest long car rides, I was determined to enjoy this one. Anne drove the first leg while I finished the book I was reading, then I took the second leg up to Grand Forks. We stopped for lunch at a delicious pizza place (Rhombus Guys); sadly, the pizza was circular and not rhombus-shaped, but it was very tasty! And it was nice to sit outside on their roof-top patio.
Mike drove the last leg to Langdon and I finally had the front passenger seat, which allowed me to take lots of photos of North Dakota farm country! (Please ignore the glare from the car windows!)
It was such a beautiful day for a long drive. And I was amazed at how FLAT it was. I thought the Twin Cities area was flat, but ND gives "flat" a whole new meaning. This means it's perfect for farming not only food crops but also wind. The area around Langdon was teeming with wind mills.
We arrived in Langdon in time to stop by at Lisa's house (Mike's aunt / Dean's wife), then went to the wake. There was a nice slide show playing with pictures from Dean's life, which gave me a better sense of him as a person. Many of Mike's extended relatives were also at the wake, so I had the opportunity to quiz myself on who's who and how they are all related. That evening we were invited to a dinner hosted by the "church ladies" (all the casseroles had beef in them, so Mike filled himself up on pickles and desserts), which I thought was delicious and so generous of them to have provided. We then went out to visit Mike's grandparents' farm. I'd actually never been on a real working farm, so it was pretty cool to see all the big equipment...
...and the acres and acres of crops.
We then stopped by Lisa's house again before tucking in for an early night.
Monday again dawned bright and early for me (party because they bed we slept on was SOOOO uncomfortable - but hey, it was a free night's sleep, so I'm not complaining!) so I went out early and took some pictures around Langdon. It was only 1.5 blocks to the fields at the edge of town, so I started there.
Then I wandered into the cute downtown area:
We were only 17 miles from the Canadian border. Is it weird that it's still called a "port of entry" even when there's no water around?
I also took a couple pictures of the church where the funeral would be later in the day.
I went back "home," got ready, we ate breakfast, then it was time for the funeral. Maybe this sounds crazy, but I think there could be a market for "funeral photographers," just like for wedding photographers. If a funeral really is supposed to be a celebration of life, this would be a great way to commemorate the event and to have pictures of all the people who attended. Like at a wedding, I imagine the grieving family is not able to adequately converse with everyone who was there! And, unlike a wedding, there are no RSVP cards so you know who was in attendance. I don't know, but I think the idea could take off -- especially as baby boomers age.
Anyway, the funeral for Dean was very nice. The whole church was packed! The priest got through the service in record time, but Lisa gave a beautiful eulogy. I took a couple photos at the burial afterward.
Mike was worried I might offend people if I took too many pictures, so I didn't get any of the beautiful thing they did at the end where they passed out some of Dean's harvested wheat and everyone put a handful on top of his coffin. So touching!!
And then we were off again to get back home. We were only in Langdon for 23 hours, but I'm so glad we were there to support Marsha and her family.
P.S. Incidentally, Monday was also our anniversary. Attending the funeral that day really hit home how precious each of our days are together. I love you, Mike!
2 comments:
So sorry to hear about Mike's uncle. I thought you were done with funeral leave! PS Happy Anniversary!
Sorry about Mike's Uncle. Glad you guys were able to make it. Loved the pictures, see there's a few more trees there since we moved away. I remember all the flat land driving back and forth to Mom's house. Not the most exciting drive. Hope all's well!
Post a Comment