Writers Retreat on Dead Lake

I had the good fortune of being invited back to my writer friend's cabin on Dead Lake.  Author Julie Saffrin and her husband have what I consider the "perfect" cabin.  Unlike some of the more popular lakes in Minnesota with one cabin about every 20 feet of shoreline, Dead Lake in Otter Tail County has a minimal number of homes even though it is a very large lake. 

The weather was perfect each day...beautiful sunshine, warm temps, a nice breeze off the lake.  (And let me tell you, "perfect" and "weather" rarely coincide on the same day in Minnesota!)  The Saffrin's dock is surrounded by cattails on both sides and there aren't any other cabins or homes visible...which I love.  Earlier this year I wrote a historical fiction piece titled, "Cries on the Prairie", about a tragedy in 1870 that actually happened on Horse Head Lake in Otter Tail County.

On Friday afternoon I went down to the dock alone, the cattails were dancing in the wind, I saw several eagles flying overhead, and it made me wonder...is this what it looked liked for my great-grandparents when they homesteaded on Horse Head Lake in 1870?  Maybe...maybe not, but it made me feel like I was seeing what they could have seen from their cabin.  Goosebumbs...

By the way, I entered "Cries on the Prairie" in the Writer's Digest Short Story Contest, and have another six weeks before I find out if I placed or not. 

My real goal in coming to the retreat was to work on Michigan and Rookie...Guardians of the Night, my next book project.  I was able to get a lot written for Chapter One, including writing in a dog's POV for the first time ever!  Anyway, I needed a quiet place to allow myself to get this book started...and Julie's cabin offered that for me.  It's amazing what you can accomplish in a couple days without any interruptions!

Author Joy DeKok joined Julie and I for the weekend.  As all writers know, when so much of our time is spent alone, it is all the more rewarding to come together as friends and lift each other up in our writing journeys.

Let me give a plug for both Julie and Joy; please check out both of their websites: 

Julie Saffrin, at www.JulieSaffrin.com, author of the forthcoming book, BlessBack, Those Who Shaped Your Life. 

Joy Dekok, at http://www.joydekok.com/, author of Rain Dance, Under His Wings, and several children's books.

All for now and blessings to all,
Barbara

Sundance, Wyoming...Town of One Author's Dreams

The hubby and I have been spending time in the beautiful Black Hills every summer since 2003 when we stayed in the historic Franklin Hotel, downtown Deadwood.  We were there to attend the grand opening of Kevin Costner's Tatanka museum, since Brule' was the guest performer for both day's opening festivities.  We followed that visit up the next summer with the Kevin Costner motorcycle ride from Sturgis to Tatanka, and another Brule' concert on the Tatanka property, overlooking the valley below. 

Starting in 2005 we found a campground near Hill City, adding another day or two each year to stretch out our visit.  One year while studying the map I noticed the hills actually spread a short distance into the eastern edge of Wyoming.  The town of Sundance, Wyoming caught my eye. 

Sundance...what a cool name!  It sounded so cool in fact, I told the hubby we had to check it out that summer. 

We hopped on our Harley and took scenic Highway 16 west from Hill City into Wyoming, coming into Sundance from the south on Highway 585.  My expectations were high; it was Sundance, after all.  Sundance, Wyoming, even.  As we drove down Main Street I studied the typical store fronts, and I have to say they looked "ordinary."  Honestly, I was a bit disappointed.  The hubby turned and said, "This is where you want to live?"  I had to admit there was no magical sensation or pounding heartbeat to indicate this was anything other than an average small town, except for that fact Henry Longabaugh, a/k/a the Sundance Kid, did spend time in jail there once, thus the nickname that followed him. 

Me and The Kid, July 2010
Downtown Sundance

The famous Sundance Film Festival, however, is in Utah, where the celebrities and Hollywood types all flock each September.  Sounds exciting, but I think I'll stick to "my" Sundance in Wyoming, where my affection has re-blossomed having visited there several times now.  Situated at the base of the Bearlodge Mountains, Sundance has a picturesque backdrop that pulls you in and a quaint, western appeal I can't really put into words.  My dream is to one day have business cards that say:

Barbara Marshak
Author
Sundance, Wyoming

Until that day comes, however, my life is centered in plain ol' Minnesota where the hubby and I have good jobs, a nice home, lots of friends and close family.  Yeah, bottom line, I'm pretty lucky to be right where I am. 

Barbara

Hill City Book Club

Granted, Hill City, South Dakota is a long way to go to visit with a book club, but since the hubby and I camp in the beautiful Black Hills just south of Hill City every summer, it was only a short ride into town from our campground.  Paula DeMars, Library Director of the Hill City Community Library, invited me to lead a discussion with their book club about Hidden Heritage...the Story of Paul LaRoche. 

Since Paul, a/k/a Brule', has performed several times in the Hill City area, readers of the book were eager to hear a little more about Paul's family and their transition from Minnesota to South Dakota; from mainstream America to Native America. 

I chose five discussion points in the book:

1 - The prologue with Sister Mona Kirwan, the nurse who was in charge of the nursery when Paul was born and remembers both his mother, Arlene, and taking care of Paul as a newborn.

2 - When Paul and his family are returning to Lower Brule from Pierre on their first visit to the reservation, it is late at night on a gravel road that follows the Missouri River.  What did Paul, Kathy and their kids think, to see the reservation like that for the first time? 

3 - The decision to include Chapter Five - The Ancestors Speak, which tells a quick review of the history of the Lakota people using Paul's ancestors listed in his lineage, including Paul's great-great-great-grandfather Strikes the Ree, an influential Yankton chief.

4 - The fact that Paul wants everyone to realize it took both worlds to create his story and his music; the love of his adoptive family and the heritage of his birth family, together created Brule'.

5 - The story of Hidden Heritage touches people on multiple levels:  race, culture, adoption, a love story, and following a dream. 

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the members of the book club.  It was a wonderful evening, both with the discussion time and enjoying some tasty treats.  A great big "Thank you!" goes out to Paula and the Hill City Library for inviting me to speak to their group.  It was a fun evening!

Barbara

Rez Ride 2010

Lucky me--it's time to pack up the camper and head west once again!  This two-week adventure will be a combination of A)  part Rez Ride 2010, B) part family vacation, and C) part Harley ride through Wyoming with friends.

A) What is the Rez Ride 2010 you ask?  Let me share... Hidden Heritage-the TV show features 13 episodes per season, one of which is a motorcycle ride through reservation land in South Dakota.  In 2009, our inaugural season, we filmed segments in three locations:  the Black Hills, Bear Butte, and the Pine Ridge Reservation.  Because Paul LaRoche has only a short window of time to break from his live performances and film the ride, it's a little tricky to schedule with other people's vacations.  In 2009 we only had three bikes participate for the Rez Ride, but it didn't stop us from having a blast.  Due to the late hour we had an unplanned overnight stay in Sturgis and spent several hours on the patio of the Holiday Inn, telling stories and laughing until our sides hurt. 

Shane LaRoche, videographer and audio technician, did a fantastic job handling the camera and audio equipment.  It's not as easy as you think, considering he has to capture footage of the bikes riding through the curves and turns on the always busy Needles Highway.  Heading out to the Pine Ridge Reservation was a little easier with a straight road and less traffic, with the Wounded Knee Memorial as our destination.  Little did we know that the Wounded Knee Memorial Run--in honor of Chief Big Foot and the American Indians killed in the Wounded Knee massacre--was enroute to Wounded Knee.  Moments after we arrived roughly one hundred bikers rolled in and parked their bikes, having started the run in Fort Yates, North Dakota.  The timing couldn't have been scripted any better.  With cameras rolling, we captured footage of the ceremony in honor of those killed at the massacre in 1890.  We all had the sense that it was no accident for us to witness and share such a moving ceremony as part of the Rez Ride 2009.                                                                                    

This year, in 2010, our plan is to capture footage and scenery on the Lower Brule and Crow Creek Reservations in central South Dakota along the famous Lewis and Clark Trail.  And as of today we've upped participation in the ride to four bikes! 

B) For our family vacation we'll spend one week at the Horsethief Campground south of Hill City.  Our youngest son David will join us, along with another family and their three kids.  We'll do some of the typical family traditions, sightseeing, little bit of tourist shopping, and end each day with dinner back at the campground, followed with an evening campfire.

One author note:  On Tuesday, July 27, I've been invited to speak to the Hill City Book Club at the Hill City Library.  We'll be discussing Hidden Heritage...the Story of Paul LaRoche.  Since many people in Hill City are fans of Paul LaRoche and Brule', it should be a fun evening!  I am looking forward to our discussion. 

C)  On Sunday, August 1st, four other couples will join John and I for a circle tour through Wyoming.  We're leaving from Hill City and taking some of the back roads west to Sheridan, then up to Cooke City, Montana.  From there we head south into Yellowstone National Park and will spend one night in Grand Teton, Wyoming.  Next we head east to Buffalo, and back to Hill City on the fifth and final day.  We'll finish up our vacation with a couple days of riding in the always-beautiful Black Hills before returning to Minnesota. 

My husband and I have been going to South Dakota at least once--and quite often twice--every summer since 2003...and each year part of the reason has involved Hidden Heritage and/or Brule'.  On that note, let the adventure continue!

Barbara

Real Poetry--Wyoming Style

When I won a residency at the Devils Tower National Monument back in 2008, I had the good fortune of having lunch with several members of the Bearlodge Writers group, who cosponsored the residency together with the park.  One member, Pat Frolander, (back row, lavender sweater) also worked at the park and served as my liaison, graciously greeting me when I arrived in Wyoming on the heels of an early winter storm. 

Pat lives on a ranch in Sundance, Wyoming and writes poetry.  Real poetry.  A couple posts ago I shared my feeble attempt at poetry during the Landscape & Literature of the Horse Retreat I attended back in June at the Vee Bar Ranch west of Laramie.  (Okay, yes, I feel drawn to Wyoming and use any excuse to venture westward!) 

I'll be the first to admit, however, there's a difference between Pat's poetry and mine.  In fact, Pat's poem "Denial" was recognized in June by Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate 2004-2006, in the American Life in Poetry.  With Pat's permission, here is her poem:

Denial

He called it "his ranch,"
yet each winter day found her beside him
feeding hay to hungry cows.

In summer heat
you would find her in the hayfield--
cutting, raking, baling, stacking.

In between she kept the books,
cooked, cleaned
laundered, fed bum lambs.

Garden rows straight,
canned jars of food
lined cellar walls.

Then she died.
I asked him how he would manage.
"Just like I always have," he said.

Amazing!  Through a minimal amount of words I can picture each decade of this woman's life.  Anyway, Pat shared her good news with me earlier this week, and I felt it was worthy to pass on.  If you by chance pick up a copy of Grassland Genealogy (Finishing Line Press, 2009) you will see that Pat's writing style is in one sense heartwarming, like "Requiem In Lace", and in another sense frank and forthright, such as "Wringer Washer", a short poem that speaks of a woman's tenacity. Pat shares a way of life in the contemporary west through fragmented sentences and rhymes that speak to the heart and draws the reader to her spirit.

As we all know, one of the best things in attending writers events is connecting with other writers.  And sometimes the 'connecting' goes deeper than we first realize.  Like finding out Page Lambert, the author/speaker who facilitated the retreat I attended in June, is a former member of the Bearlodge Writers and helped found the residency...and happens to be a good friend of Pat's. 


Maybe as our world gets smaller (as it sure seems to!) Wyoming will get closer to Minnesota and I won't have so far to drive next time! 
Barbara

(*Group photo is by Alice Liles, Muleshoe, TX; Landscape & Literature of the Horse Retreat, 2010)

Seconds Matter

Those who live in or near my hometown of Wadena, a picturesque farming community in north-central Minnesota, are familiar with the neat yards and tree-lined boulevards, similar to many other Midwestern towns.  That all changed on Thursday, June 17th, when an F4 tornado ripped through Wadena.  The tornado hit with such ferocity that it destroyed a good portion of the town in a matter of seconds.

Thankfully there was enough time to send out warnings for residents to take cover, including my relatives who still live there.  My sister's home was only two houses away from the tornado's path, yet hers had no damage.  My brother was a patient in the Tri-County Hospital and he was escorted to an underground tunnel for safety. 

In the southwest section of town--my old neighborhood--over two hundred homes were damaged or destroyed.  Stately oak trees that stood for generations in the cemetery were uprooted or twisted off at the base.  The county fairgrounds, complete with century-old buildings and beautiful trees was devastated.  The municipal pool--by far the most popular spot all summer--was in ruins.  Sections of the community center and agriculture building were wrapped around other business, literally ripped from the foundation and swept away.  School buses and rail cars were tossed around like toothpicks.

The high school (senior high, junior high, and district office) had the roof ripped off and authorities later found the building had started to crumble.  Plans were in place for an all-school reunion the following day, which would have meant many more people in the school. It was eerie to walk down a street a block from where I grew up that was unrecognizable.  Trees my dad planted (bottom left photo) in our back yard were toppled. 

The outpouring of help has been incredible.  First responders and volunteers came to help from communities statewide.  Wadena will rebuild, much the same as other communities that have been hit by a devastating force of nature.  That's when we realize it is the people who are at the heart of each town--big or little--who make the difference, reaching out, helping each other across this great nation of ours. 

So on this Fourth of July it seems all the more appropriate to give thanks to our military friends and families who dedicate their lives and sacrifice more than we'll ever know in the name of freedom.  I'm thankful to live a country with God and freedom at our very core . . . and I'm thankful for the type of upbringing I had in a small town like Wadena. 

Happy Fourth of July to all,
Barbara

Vee Bar Highlights

Howdy!  (FYI, that's how you greet someone in Wyoming.)

Let me backtrack for just a minute...last Christmas I received a beautiful travel journal from our daughter Summer & her husband, Grant.  Knowing I was already registered for the Literature and Landscape Retreat at the Vee Bar Ranch in Wyoming, I saved the journal specifically for my trip west. 

Right after returning home from Wyoming, however, I had a chain reaction of events that kept me from having access to my computer, subsequently delaying any posts or making a fun photoshow, like Page, Jenny and Alice did.  And now, since a whole month has passed, I thought the best way to share the experience is to simply make a list of some of the highlights.  (My new journal even had a space to record the highlights!)

Day 1 - listening to the rushing of the Little Laramie Creek & the birds singing, watching the sun going down--all from the Adirondack chair on my front porch, with a glass of wine in hand.

Day 2 - watching the wranglers--Tommy, Darcy, Dave, Connor, Brent--bring in the whole herd of 60 horses from the pasture to the corral

Day 3 - riding bareback on Jello with Tommy telling stories; the beauty of the Little Laramie River Valley in every direction

Day 4 - a few, brief moments where I felt like I belonged in the saddle with Lollipop! 

Day 5 - writing the poem, Little Laramie

Day 6 - view from the camp up on Centennial Ridge at the neighboring Deerwood Ranch, about 9,700 feet elevation

Added to that were all the nice people I met, sixteen writers from all over the US and two from Canada, plus Page and Sheri who facilitated the retreat, and all the wonderful staff at the Vee Bar.  As I get back on track here at home and relive some of my thoughts from Wyoming, I'll share more about this unique experience.

Blessings,
Barbara