When Ellis and I started toward Plentywood it was still daylight. We had about another hour of hunting time. Ellis planned to shoot his deer that evening in spite of my cautious questions like, "Where would you put a deer?"
"How would we be able to see to do all the things you have to do to a deer after you shoot it?"
The deer we saw in that last hour stood on private land and watched as we drove by.
(Almost as if they were thinking, Nah Nah Nah Boo Boo!)
Ellis could only hunt on state land or forest service land.
It soon got dark and the deer were safe for another night.
Then we got a call from Jorgan. Something was wrong with the van.
They were at a gas station, fortunately, not on the edge of the road.
What to do?
We batted ideas around. Ellis thought we could drive to the town where they were stranded.
Get a motel. Krysta and I stay in the motel while Jorgan and Ellis drive home to get a trailer,
turn around and drive back, load the van on the trailer, turn around and drive back to MN.
It soon gave me the feeling of that riddle of the man trying to get a bag of corn, a duck and a fox
over the river without the duck eating the corn or the fox eating the duck.
Instead we got a motel room with two double beds so Jorgan and Krysta could get some sleep.
The manager even drove to the gas station to pick them up and give them a ride to the motel.
This is a friendly town in ND with helpful people willing to help stranded people.
Ellis and I continued on to the north eastern corner of MT. Ellis and his brother hung the harvested deer in the shed to cool. Ellis was able to make arrangements to borrow a truck and trailer from his cousin. We got some much needed sleep then started out the next morning to pick up Jorgan and Krysta and the van.
We got to spend the day together traveling to northern MN where Jorgan is working this winter.
We arrived safely in spite of snowy roads. We said "Good-bye" to Jorgan, then continued on to southern MN. We got a few hours of sleep before Ellis had to get up and go to work Monday morning.
Now the happy news of this whole dilemma. Ellis and I turned around and took the truck and trailer back to MT over Thanksgiving vacation. We got to visit with Dea, also Jeremy and Liz were able to come up for the week end. There were lots of nieces and nephews, cousins, sisters and brothers to visit. Last, but not least, Ellis got his deer before the hunting season was over.
"Over the river and through the woods - to Grandmother's house we go -
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh thro the white and drifted snow . . ."
