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Don Seick, remembers attending summer school as a young boy. It wasn't that he was in trouble or falling behind, that's just the way rural schools were 70 years ago.

The academic year revolved around winter when the roads went "from can to can't." School lasted for about eight months of the year until the snow got too deep for students to get to their one-room schoolhouses, he said.

In fifth grade Seick convinced his mother, who was a local teacher, to let him attend school in town. He rode his horse three miles to Yampa Elementary, brushing his hand along the sandrocks each time he passed. He and the other "country kids" put their horses in a stall behind the schoolhouse where a water trough and plenty of hay kept the animals occupied until school was dismissed. Seick said school was fine, but he longed to be outdoors.

"You know, country boys like to ride their ponies," Seick said.

Seick met his future wife in high school, but he would serve in the South Pacific as a torpedo man second class in the Navy in World War II before they eventually wed. Don and Ruth Seick celebrated their 59th anniversary July 15 and they said they've seen many changes since exchanging those vows.

Craig was once much smaller than it is today, Don said.

"You knew everyone and if you didn't know them, you knew their dog," he joked.

They've seen Craig grow and develop; they've seen it go from a two-telephone town to a place where kids ride their bikes while chatting on cell phones. They've seen developments materialize where hayfields once were, including Sunset Meadows, which they now call home. They've seen mud roads turn to pavement and they've gone from rustic living to the luxury of indoor plumbing and electricity.

Don and Ruth moved to a farm in Moffat County, where they raised their two children, Michael Seick and LaDawn Sexton. Don farmed and ranched and tried a number of different jobs throughout the years.

"It was a lifetime of hard work, trying to anticipate what was going to be good, so you could be a half-step ahead of the devil," he said.

He grew wheat, then when he figured there wasn't a future in wheat, he switched to raising grass seed. He raised trout for people to stock their ponds, but after fighting off the kingfishers and raccoons, the two-legged thieves eventually led him to give up that business. After that, he and Ruth raised angora goats, animals for which he has fond memories.

Other times, Don Seick drove 18-wheelers. He drove them in Alaska and he drove them for the construction of Flaming Gorge Dam. Eventually he became the boss of the trucking crew that hauled rock for the massive five-year reclamation project.

Moffat County is home for the Seicks and they're grateful that their family members, including a dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all live in Colorado. They also enjoy the trips they take with the Last Frontier Group. The group travels to historic sites in Colorado to learn about the past, or in some cases reminisce about a place they once knew.

A few of the members were discussing where they might go on their next trip over lunch Thursday.

"I don't care where we go," Seick said, "just as long as we go."