Nebraska Wildlife Safari Park - 2017

So, like I said... months ago... I am way behind on my photography. Like, WAY behind. In 2017, the summer after I "Graduated" (I'm still working toward the degree, I just need to finish my internship and then I'm totally done) my cousin Sarah and I went on a series of excursions, all around Iowa, and a bit of Nebraska. I took tons of pictures, and then never did anything with them. I started editing some of them, for use in my portfolio, and the rest ended up just kind of languishing in folders.

But I'm trying to change that! I have sorted through all my pictures, put them all on a thumb drive, and I am slowly but surely editing them while I work my overnight shifts. Sometimes. Occasionally. Okay, the pictures in this post were sitting on my work computer for like 2 months before I decided to actually get to work on them.

Anyway, let's not dwell on my failures, let's just keep moving forward, and celebrate the fact that I actually accomplished something with these pictures! And not just these, I actually made a whole other post on my photography blog! I edited those pictures for use in my portfolio and my photography blog, but they only made it into the portfolio at the time. I have finally got them up on my photography blog, so make sure you check that out when you're done here.

So to begin with, for those of you who don't know, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo owns a wildlife safari park in Ashland, Nebraska. This is a wildlife sanctuary that you can drive through and get up close and personal with all kinds of native, American wildlife. Bison, Eagles, Elk, and more! It really is a cool experience, and I highly recommend it.

Back in 2017, Sarah and I wanted to do something that summer, and since we didn't have money for an actual, proper vacation, we decided to get out and do as many free and inexpensive things close to home as possible. The first place we went was the Wildlife Safari Park. We've always loved the zoo, and we knew that they had this park, but we'd never been there before. We didn't really know what to expect, but we wanted an adventure, so we went anyway.

The first thing we discovered was that you actually drive through this place. There are places you can get out, but for a lot of it, you need to stay in your car. Exhibit A.

These things are right off he road as you're driving. They're fine with the cars on the road, but I would not get out of your car.

I have a long lens for my camera, so I was able to get some great shots that would otherwise not be possible.

After the Elk, there is a place you can park, which leads off to a variety of trails you can walk.

The birds weren't part of the official display, but I love getting good bird pictures when I can.

There were several flocks of pelicans around the park. It seemed weird to see them in the middle of Nebraska, but many of the animals at the park are being rehabilitated, so maybe that had something to do with it.

It's always cool to get to see an eagle "Up close."

These weren't quite as close as they seem, my lens helped a lot here.

There was also a hill you could climb to see a couple of bears.

Obviously these were secured a bit more than the Elk, and other herbivores.

One of the coolest exhibits was a valley of wolves. There was a high walkway that went up and over them, so you could watch them down below.

They could also watch you.

It was really cool to see them running around.

I got a lot of great pictures here.

The wolves would also howl. And they were LOUD. I wish I would have thought to take a video of them. Oh well. Maybe next time.

In another part of the park there was a huge tower you could go up and look down to see a ton of different waterfowl.

Cranes.

More pelicans.

After the parts you could walk around in, you get back into your cars, and then drive some more.

There is another herd of Elk. Unless the first one moved, which I suppose is a possibility, we were there long enough.

And then you get to the main attraction. The bison.

There is even a white one!

After that we saw a whole bunch of wild turkeys.

And that was all for the main park itself. After that you get to another parking lot where you can find their main buildings, including the gift shop. We were in the park long enough that all the main buildings had closed, but we did find one more attraction.

Prairie Dogs.

They were really cute and fun to watch. 

I think this was my favorite picture of them. :)

And that was it! This park is really fun, and if you're an animal lover like we are, you definitely need to check it out one day. If you'd like some more pictures from that trip, I saved some of my best ones for a separate post on my photography blog. You can find that post HERE.

And as much as it feels like I've neglected this blog, only posting once or twice a month, that one hadn't been updated since 2016! And the pictures I'd posted were from 2014! I really hope I don't let it languish like that again, I'd really love to get back into photography, plus I have plenty more from 2017 I can work on, I just need to actually do it.

Anyway, there are more pictures coming, I won't make any promises as to when, but there are more coming, so stay tuned! :)

Grandma's Obituary

I wanted to share my grandma's obituary here on my blog, both as a way to archive it for myself, and as a way to share it with anyone who may not have been able to make it to her funeral. If you missed my previous post about Grandma I will link that for you HERE. I wrote that the day after she died, and it was significantly harder to get through than this one. I actually haven't gone back to read it since then.

Also, while he was home for the funeral, my brother Jared went over to grandma's to take some pictures before everything inevitably changes over there.

Four Generations
Jared, our dad, Jared's son Jackson, & Grandma.

I'm including a couple of his pictures in this post, but if you're interested in seeing them all, I'll link you to his album on Facebook HERE. Not sure what his privacy settings are set to, but hopefully at least family and friends will be able to see them. Those pictures got to me almost as badly as writing my original blog post.

Grandma's obituary was written by my cousin Sarah, who took care of my grandma just about every day in her final years, and got her to share many of her stories from her years back in Canada. Sarah probably got to know my grandma the best of all her grandchildren, and was the perfect choice to write the obituary.

Sarah also shared a bunch of pictures with me, to use in this post, so the obituary will be a more illustrated version than the one in the funeral program.

Also, just to be a completist, before I get to the obituary itself, I wanted to include the inside of the program as well.

Marion North

1926-2018

Marion (Carleton) North was born November 14, 1926, to Clayton Carleton and Lillian (Dawkins) Carleton. She was raised on a farm in the tiny town of Orkney, Saskatchewan, during the Great Depression, living without electricity and hauling water, tending and butchering chickens for the family, shooting prairie dogs for the money by the tail, and attending a little schoolhouse by foot, or horse and cart, with her siblings.

It was at this school that she met her friend, Rose Marie, with whom she would have a friendship spanning over eighty years. Marion loved to ride her horse "Babe" across the prairie to break up the loneliness of living in Orkney, and would ride for miles in order to visit Rose.

Her paternal grandparents homesteaded near their family farm, and Marion would walk down to visit her Grandpa Charles, whom she called her "boyfriend".

They would eat apples and read each others letter's. Marion had pen pals early on, including a couple of young ladies from England. Her dedication to letter writing would shape her life, and others, for decades to come.

When she was 16, her future husband was hired on, as a farm worker during WW2. She kept in touch over thousands of miles between their home towns, writing letters by the light of a coal oil lamp, seeing him only during harvest season, for years.

 

Then on July 3, 1946, Marion Carleton, and Roy North, were married in Malta, Montana. She traveled, by train, with him to live in Ontario, where she was treated to many luxuries; like running water, and bread delivered to their door. In 1950, they moved to Transcona, Manitoba, and started a mushroom farm.

At this operation she was in charge of payroll and bookkeeping. In 1951 their first child, William, was born, and would be followed by five more children: John, Daniel, David, Andrew, and at last, her beloved daughter, Ruth. In 1971, the family moved to Spencer, Iowa, and then to Harlan, Iowa, in 1976.  

It was as a young married couple that Roy and Marion would profess Christ as their Savior. She would go on to teach Sunday School, do charitable work with other Christian ladies, and happily show much hospitality to preachers, missionaries, friends, and family. She loved to cook and bake for others, embroider, collect china, and cactus.

She was very faithful writing letters and sending cards. She kept written records of birthdays, anniversaries, addresses, and when she sent responses to letters. Through shaky handwriting, and memory struggles, she still made efforts in later years to write and call others, to keep in touch, and be an encouragement.

On October 7, 2018, her gentle spirit was taken from her home into the presence of her Savior, having attained the age of 91 years, 10 months, and 23 days.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Roy, brothers; Stanley (Lois) Carleton, Kenneth (Jean) Carleton; and her sister Mae (Thomas) Woods. She is survived by her children; William (Linda) North of Wheaton, Illinois; John (Cindy) North of Harlan; Daniel North of Harlan; David North of Harlan; Andrew (Sherri) North of Harlan; Ruth (Nathan) Klindt of Granby, Colorado; 11 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; brother, George (Sophie) Carleton, of British Columbia, Canada; other family members, and friends.

Thanks to everyone who came to grandma's funeral, or sent their support. It meant a lot to everyone, and thanks again to Jared and Sarah for the pictures. They mean so much now, and will mean so much to us all in the future.