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On October 17th through the 19th I had the opportunity to go with several class members to the Hutmacher farmstead out in the Western part of the state. We arrived in Dickinson on Friday night and started work on Saturday morning. We did a lot of work on the farmstead mainly rebuilding a large section of the house's roof. There were several layers that went on top of the rafters, including a layer of branches before we added straw and then two layers of mud, one with straw mixed in. There is one more layer of mud mixed with rocks to put on top, but we ran out of time on Sunday morning to work on it. After we finished working, a lady who had lived in the house during her childhood came and talked to us a little bit about what it was like to live there and some of what life was like for her. I think it was really cool that we could help restore this farmstead so that other people can see a little bit what it was like to be able to live and work with just what the land provides, not buying everything and paying other people to do your work. One other interesting thing about the trip was the different restaurants we ate at coming to and from Dickinson. We saw some of the different culture that each town has, and some of the ideas that they identify with. I think this trip was a lot of fun, and I'm glad to have learned a little bit more how some earlier North Dakotans lived.