YCGL - Thursday, June 22, 2023 - It's Working Out.

 Whoa!  I think I've got it.  Here's where we are right now.  

First:  I took the pickup to the dealership on Wednesday.  The thermostat came in from Omaha on time, they replaced the old one and then found several other problems that could come up and will need to be taken care of when I get back to Laramie, IF they don't become a problem while on the road.  That's not comforting, but, after I got the vehicle back at 4:45, I hooked up the trailer and drove for six hours to Shelby, Iowa, 315 miles without an incident.  That felt better.  And, from Shelby, I got here to Austin, MN to meet up with my relatives at the Beaver Trail RV Campground!  A success!  Everything seems to be working fine on the truck...for now.

But, there is a story, believe it or not.  And I want you to understand, I'm telling this in my own humorous way like normal, and it may sound like I am mocking these people, but I'm really not.  Everyone is trying to be diligent and helpful and really wants everything to work out.  It's just that everything became bizarre really quickly and kept going until the very end.  (which was happy, by the way!)

But first, let me introduce you to my family.  (This isn't strictly necessary to follow the story,  but I think you'll appreciate it better if you know the players.)  (Of course, that's if you want to follow this story at all, but you can decide that.)

 My grandparents, Oscar Edgar and Thea Bungum, were married in 1913.  Dad was born in 1914 and his brother Maurice was born in 1916.  Unfortunately, Oscar had epilepsy and died in a farm accident while having an attack in 1927.   A local farmer, Richard Kyllo, was also a widower, and Richard and Thea got married in 1932.  Thea moved to Richard's farm, which was across the road from Richard's parents.  Richard had three children from his previous marriage and Thea had her two.  And then, Ralph and Raymond came along in 1934.  So, Ralph and Ray are my dad's step brothers, and hence, my "step uncles", i.e., my uncles.  

Richard died in 1954.  In the 1950's or early 1960's, Ray and Ralph took over the farms, Ray's took his mother's farm (Thea), and Ralph took his father's farm (Richard). (OK, a little more complicated than that, but close enough.)  Ray and Darlene first lived with his mother, my grandmother, in the old farmhouse, circa 1890 or so until they built a house for her in 1957 right adjacent to the old farmhouse.  So, the farm I think of as my grandmother's is actually Ray's farm, and Ralph's is across the road.  Mike, Pete and I each spent a summer or two working (kind of) on the farm and there are lots of stories... We would come up to Minnesota from Texas almost every year and stay for a couple of days, longer after Thea moved into the new house.  As Ray and Dar started having the girls, it became obvious they should be in the new house, so grandma moved back into the old house and that is really the farm and house I remember. 

Cindy, Debbie and Carolyn were born in 1960, 61 and 62 and I was there during the summer of 1963.

 

Maurice's son, David and me

Debbie, Cindy and Carolyn (1965)

  

Debbie, Carolyn and Cindy

Me, Ray and Darlene (2023)

Back to the story.

I pulled into the campground at 4:00.  Beaver Trails used to be a Jellystone Park campground, so it is big, very large.  I walked up to the front desk, told the lady "My name is Thomas Edgar and I'm meeting the Kyllo reunion here."  "Uhh, we don't have a reservation for you.  Are you sure you made one?"  "Yes, I called about a month and a half ago and made a reservation for one night."  "We don't make reservations for one night, there is a two night minimum.  And the campground is full."  After we both politely go through this another time or two, she and her partner agree that I could use a campsite that is reserved for tomorrow and they would only charge me for a night.  Great!  I go, I back the trailer  into the site and then go back to the office to find the family.  "We don't have any reservations under the name Kyllo."  "There are at least four families here."  

And now there is a problem.  If the reservations aren't in Ray and Darlene Kyllo's name, then one of the daughters's or husband's must have made the reservations.....and I don't know the husband's names or their last names....these are cousin's I haven't seen in close to thirty years.  I really want to see them, but now I'm wondering if some SNAFU has occurred and the reunion isn't happening.  I tried calling Ray and Darlene's number but no one answered.  (Ends up the number I have is their house phone.)  So, the family farms are about 15 miles away.  I'll just drive up and ask them face to face what's happening.  

I get to their farm.  (I love the old farm, except they tore down the barn a couple of years ago and the yard looks empty without it.) Knock on the door.  No answer.  Now, family dynamics.  Ray's twin Ralph lives across the road, so I go to Ralph and Wilma's.  I explain the situation to them and Wilma says she saw them drive out to the campground at about noon.  Ah Ha!  They are there.  "Now", I ask, "Do you have Darlene's cell phone number?"  "No, I always call the house number."  "OK, do you have the kid's phone numbers?"  "No, I don't think so.  I never talk to them on the phone."  "Well, do you have husband's names and last names?"  "Yes, I think I do, but I'll have to find them."  

After about 10 or 15 minutes of going through her address book, which looks very similar to my mom's, we are finally able to piece spousal names and surnames together, along with some very old and incorrect phone numbers.  But that's not a problem, because one these made the reservation and I can check them easily at the campground desk.  

So, I drive the 15 miles back to the campground to go the desk, and the office is closed.  Heck!  But, I know that Cindy is from Wisconson, Debbie is from Texas and Carolyn is from Minnesota as are their parents.  So I can go around the campground (with approximately 150 spaces), and look for license plates.  I make one outer loop and realize that the sun is starting to go down and I will soon have difficulty seeing the license plates.  I decide to go get my e-bike and cruise up and down the roads throughout the park.  

I got three of the six roads in this section biked over, when I heard "Tom!"  Darlene spotted me going one direction and caught me coming back.  I made it.  Three and a half hours after showing up.  

Not bad, All in a day's work.  Tomorrow, head for Windom and staying there til Monday, then back to Hayfield and seeing Ralph and Wilma.

If the creeks don't rise!!!