We've never met these cousins before and we hit it off right away. Gunnar speaks excellent English and his older brother Knut seems to follow along well.
While they ate dinner with the 100 other members of the tour, we were on the phone making arrangements for their connections to the Rolfsrud Ranch in western North Dakota on Tuesday night. Our cousins will skip part of the organized tour for a chance to see a working cattle ranch operated by their kin in the middle of the Bakken Shale oil field.Their great-uncle Nils Rolfsrud claimed the land in 1905.
Gunnar has done his homework (he's seen the movie of his host featured on this blog. Click here to see it. ) and was enthused about the opportunity, happily giving up Wednesday's wild west tourist stage show for a close-up look at an honest-to-goodness farming operation.
Cousin Harold, for his part, promises a full report to us on his guests' ranching activity.
Harold, Gunnar, Stan, Linda and Knut have the same Rolfsrud great-grandparents. Gunnar and Knut remember meeting Stan's father, Erling, in Norway back in the 60s. (Erling would be their grandfather's nephew.)
We all had a good chat tonight, more to come, very easy to converse. Really nice people. But, after all, they ARE Rolfsruds! Big thunder boomers coming through Roseville tonight. Hope the travelers can get some rest! Do they have thunderstorms in Norway?
Velkommen to America!
 |
| FAMILY TREE: Here's the clipboard notes used at the hotel to figure out the names and branches of our Norwegian relations. Great-grandparents Halvor Eriksen Rolfsrud and wife, Ragne, started it all. Did you know she smoked a corn-cob pipe? |
 |
| Cousins: Knut Rolfsrud, Gunnar Rolfsrud, Linda Rolfsrud Letnes, Stan Rolfsrud. |
