The day before or maybe the day after

It depends how you look at it…the day after we arrived. 

October 31, 2014  Indiana

The big discussion of the morning was where are we going?  Who is doing what when?

Chance, Ernie, Ronnie and I are staying home.  Chance and I do not want to get back in that car. Janice (Far Guy’s sister) is off to get her hair and nails done.   Far Guy, Andy, Jen, Noah and Adam head out for the Louisville Slugger Factory, a Bourbon Distillery called Evan Williams and Churchill Downs.

It is raining and the weather has turned cold. I straightened up the kitchen and had a nap, later Chance and I take a rainy walk.

The roses are covered with raindrops.

We checked out the Mums…looking much better with their black pots covered up!

Canada Geese on the lake.  Many many Canada geese.

Oh ya those Mums will be decorations outside the door at the reception tomorrow.

We helped load the cars with other Wedding Reception and Wedding “stuff.”

It kept raining and getting colder.

Later that day we got all dressed up and headed for the Wedding Rehearsal and Dinner.  We got to meet the groom’s folks from Delaware. The dinner menu was homemade rolls, Adam ate four or five, Haricot Vert ( fancy name for green beans with garlic and almonds), chicken, potatoes out of a box and gravy with apple crisp for dessert.  You could have wine…duh since we were at a winery…I had a soda.

Soon after we finished our meal it began to snow. Adam, Noah and I went out to watch it snow!  Many people from Delaware didn’t even bring a coat.  It rarely snows in Southern Indiana at Christmas and here it is Oct 31 and snowing…the bride was so upset…the wedding will take place outdoors the next day.  It is what we have travelled so far to see…Far Guy’s only niece on his side of the family…and we are her only Uncle and Aunt.

I am so glad I packed my snowboots.

On a side note there was no candy left out for Trick or Treaters and the only costumes I saw were a few devil horns that the bridesmaids wore, it was perfect for one of those maids. I expected to see groups of kids out and about…nothing doing…maybe it was the weather.  I missed seeing all our Trick or Treaters…this was the first year I have missed taking their photos.

Chance: We finally arrived

Hiya it’s me Chance.  We went on a long ride.  We stayed lots of different places with lots of different smells.   It is a good thing I know the magic words “Pee” and “Poop” and it is  fun to play ball in the motel room but a lawn is so much better.

October 30, 2014 Georgetown,Indiana

Ernie is here…he is still alive.  Didyaknow that a dog can live without any teeth?

Yup but teeth are what helps keep your tongue in your mouth.  Ernie is not allowed out on the lawn…he runs away..and since he can’t hear much…many people would have to run after him.

Far Side said “Chance stay out of the lake.”  She meant business too..as I was just groomed before we left home.

Brazil Lake

I think this lake has been single handedly stocked with fish.

Far Side sat outside in the sunshine with me for a long time.  Then Brother In Law Ronnie came back from his Tux fitting and we borrowed his Garmin and back in the car we went over to Louisville to Round House Trains and After Glow Beads.  Lucky for us they were only about a mile apart…we didn’t have any traffic jams…

Far Side bought some more beads…and Far Guy bought a Cracker Jack Train Car.  Far Side bought a train sign and they gave her one free because she gave them a bad time about customers who came the furthest to shop in their store.  Far Side said the place was a maze of trains and she hasn’t ever seen anything like it.  I wouldn’t know because I had to stay in the car.

Later that night Jen, Andy, Noah and Adam arrived without Miney and Little Elvis cause they came on an airplane.

Probably not this one… but a bigger one for people.

Madison Indiana

October 30, 2014

Far Guy found a smallish town along the Ohio River to visit.   There was a wonderful road that skirts the river.  There was no traffic.  It seems Madison is a summertime town.

We drove up and down, finally located a dog park…but guess what?  It was locked.  You had to sign up pay a fee and get a code that would unlock the park area…bummer…is that anyway to treat tourist doggies?

Oh well there was a large antique shop where we wiled away part of the morning.  I bought some old photos and a couple of trinkets that will be Christmas Gifts.

We headed for Main Street.

I saw a Bead Shop so we stopped and walked around.  Yes I bought some beads.  Inside the store I visited with the shopkeeper and a local…they said it’s SO cold…how can you stand it without a coat…(it was 45 degrees.)  The shopkeeper said “It’s going to snow here tomorrow night so I am staying here, because I have never driven in snow before and I live 45 minutes away.”  I told them “I am from Minnesota and we just brought the cold and snow with us as a special gift.”  They said “Thanks anyway y’all go back to Minnesota.”

Most of the old buildings in town have been renovated. There were many different shops…I could have visited a Psychic by the name of Mary.

Many of the old houses were beautiful, this is the Lanier Mansion.  It was built in the 1840’s by a lawyer turned banker turned railroad tycoon… we didn’t go for a tour…maybe next time.  In its day Madison was a destination along the river.

Far Guy and Chance at the visitors center in Madison.

All in all Madison is a pretty little town.   Many of the leaves were still turning there.

We left about noon, I tried to punch in two locations in Louisville Kentucky that we wanted to visit…but apparently our Garmin is full and deleted all states south of Indiana.  There was no way I was going to find where we wanted to go without a Garmin.  So we headed off to Far Guy’s sister and brother in laws home fifty miles away to unpack, walk Chance and borrow their Garmin.

November Snows

I think we are on our fifth, sixth, or seventh snowfall.  We don’t get much…it turns cloudy and dismal and spits some snow. The big snowfall missed us and the big city and  central  Minnesota got walloped. Tee hee. We like to share our snow.

See not even enough to shovel.

I have been working on finishing up some “stuff” for the craft sale on Saturday.  No worries after the sale I will list some carvings on the page on my sidebar.  I have not had a chance to start selling “stuff” on eBay yet…Facebook sales have been pretty good…no shipping involved!

I made Madison a bracelet that matches her dress for the winter formal.  I am working on Paige’s bracelet.  If the weather cooperates I will be their photographer.  For the winter formal girls ask their guys on the date.  Not that Paige has time for a guy…but someone caught her eye long enough for her to ask him to the dance.

Madison was our company over the weekend, she was hunting with my Dad and would show up for lunch and a visit.  They saw one buck…but missed it…I can’t recall my Dad ever missing a deer.  Missy didn’t miss it when it ran past her!  Josh has a wolf license…sure hope he gets one. (Josh is my nephew and he and his wife Missy live next door.)

 

Noah is coming this weekend to go deer hunting.  We have a big buck that skirts the woods behind the garages…Chance barks at him. We had a weasel or a mink in  the yard the other night…I went out to the garage and it ran through the yard.  We also have several bunny rabbits…funny what stories the snow can tell you.

 

Wistful Wednesday: Deer Hunting

I grew up deer hunting, first with my Dad just for an afternoon.  Later I got my own “stand” at Uncle Adolf’s place.  I had the campfire.  Uncle Adolf, my Dad and Uncle Andrew and various cousins would show up to check on me and warm up their sandwiches in the fire.  At the end of the day Dad would show up and unload my rifle and count the bullets…you only got so many.  Even with the shotgun I got three shots that’s it.

One year..I was old enough to have a Driver’s License and I was supposed to drive back into the farmhouse with Dad’s pickup…not sure why?  I cased my rifle and put it in the bed of the pickup.  Along the way I ran onto my cousin Hilda who was hunting squirrels.  I asked her if she wanted a ride..she did so she put her 22 in a case in the back of the truck.

I didn’t drive very far when a Game Warden stopped us.  The questions began. He checked my license and questioned Hilda at length about small game.  Then he wanted to see our weapons..fine…the only thing is they were loaded. (Ditzy girl hunters anyways.)  He gave us tickets and took our guns.  Oh boy…we had to show up at his office in Park Rapids a few days later with a parent.  He let us off easy with a warning and gave us our guns back.  He said “I hate to discourage young ladies from hunting…but next time unload your guns”  Ya…thank goodness we got off without a fine and the rifle I was using was my Mothers…I knew it would be back to the old shotgun for me.

In later years I would hunt with Far Guy.   We loved to be in the woods and we appreciated the venison.  Now we live in the woods and I hunt only with my camera.

 

Me and my Dad’s deer during hunting season about 1953.

Thanks Veterans!

If you are a Veteran…Thank You for your service.

In my family we have four Veterans.

My baby brother and his son were/are both in the Navy.  My Dad was in the Army and served in Korea.  My husband was in the Air Force and North Dakota Air National Guard for 26 years.

A few years ago the traveling Vietnam Wall was in a nearby town.  It was an awesome experience.  Since my husband served during the Vietnam era we know how hard it was to be a soldier and a soldiers family during that time.

Here is a link to the wall where you can search for soldiers who gave their lives in Vietnam.  In some cases there are comments…by old girlfriends, sisters, brothers and fellow soldiers.  On Vincent Shepersky’s page I read a note from an old friend of mine who has since died by his own hand after serving in Vietnam.

There were three soldiers from the Park Rapids Minnesota area on the wall a few years ago.

Donald Green  died May 31, 1966.

Vincent Lloyd Shepersky died August 14, 1969.

Gary Lee Rehn died November 9, 1967.

Since then James Wesley Ashley’s name has been added.

James Wesley Ashley died June 1, 1967

Gary Lee Rehn’s body was never recovered.  You can still get POW/Mia bracelets.

Take some time to thank a soldier or to read about one on the Vietnam Wall this Veteran’s Day.

Three I states in one day

Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. October 30 2014.

Back in Wisconsin…the Amish children were headed for school.

  

We did enjoy the scenery and most of the photos I took out the window at various speeds when Far Guy was driving.

Iowa

 

The Dubuque County Courthouse built in 1891 with a 14 foot tall Lady Justice on top…and gold leaf on the dome.

Terraced farming in Iowa.

Illinois

Wind Farms in Illinois.

Indiana

A mail pouch tobacco barn in Indiana.

Sunset in Indiana.

We saw corn and beans being harvested in every state we went through.  In Indiana corn is grown almost to the edge of the highway.

From Prairie du Chein Wisconsin to Madison Indiana was 537 miles.  We were tired of being in the vehicle.  It was dark, the first motel didn’t take dogs…but they did call another motel and they had room for us and Chance!  We settled in and then ventured out to Captain D’s for some fish and chips… supper was awesome! ( We don’t have Captains D’s up here.) We had a really large room...lots of room to play ball! The time change almost made us miss our continental breakfast the next morning…before we headed out to explore Madison Indiana.

 

***November 8…It snowed again, our 4th snow it is a tad chilly and the snow is staying on the ground.

Along the Mississippi

After we left Lark Toys we continued along the road that runs alongside the Mississippi River.

I am not sure where these bluffs were…south of Winona Minnesota for sure, but I didn’t take a photo of the town sign.

This is the far one in the previous photo.  I said “I wouldn’t want to live under that one…even if it was a beautiful house with a porch.”

This is the bridge at La Crosse Wisconsin, we crossed over to the Wisconsin side to follow the Mississippi River some more.

The fall colors were fading along the roadsides.

I almost missed taking a photo of this little town in Wisconsin.  My husband had a Desoto station wagon a long time ago.

We were both surprised at the number of islands and strips of land that are in the river.  What fun a young boy could have exploring!  There are a number of locks and dams too, I wish we would have had time to stop and see how the locks worked.

As you can tell from the photos it was a dreary day…we hoped to make it to Dubuque Iowa but it got dark and we were tired so we found a motel in Prairie du Chien Wisconsin…and a nice park where we could go for a walk.  The Motel didn’t have Wifi but a restaurant down the road did.  The motel was nothing to write home about but they accepted dogs and it was reasonably clean.  There was a yappy little dog next door but there was good lighting outside and an empty lot out back to walk Chance.  The shower was hot and the TV got lots of channels so we watched some old Black and White movies.

We drove about 413 miles that day..far enough for one day.

Minnesota Toy Store

Us old folks like to revert back to our childhood and visit toy stores.

Lark Toys has it all…a toy museum, a hand carved carousel, homemade candy, ice cream and a lunch counter.  A perfect place to wander and remember all the great toys we had when we were growing up.  I didn’t know about Lark Toys until fellow Minnesotan and blogger Nancy blogged about it.

As a woodcarver of small objects I can really appreciate all the hours that went into the carvings.

The carousel was designed by Donn Kreofsky, Tim Monson blocked up the wood (no small task) Bill Stark carved the animals and Mary Eversman hand stained them.  What a wonderful collaboration of talents.

Every animal is whimsical and candy for your eyes!

We had a wonderful time walking down their memory lane…they have quite a collection of toys displayed beautifully and behind glass.

We finally made it into the gift shop…where I was mesmerized by the marbles that you could buy by the piece…and Far Guy was busy looking at all the cars that are the right scale for his train set.  Chance ended up being the big winner with a blue Frisbee.  We had a nice visit with the lovely elderly woman in the gift shop.

We took a break and played Frisbee out by their picnic tables.

 

It is a wonderful spot to stop, if you ever get to Kellogg Minnesota I highly recommend it! 

Minnesota Bluff Country

We headed out on our adventure…first you have to get out of Minnesota.  We chose a different travel path.  OH I hate the traffic through Minneapolis/St. Paul.  At one time my Map Reader and the Garmin were at odds and I have no idea where we were except there were lots of lanes of traffic and I was on some road that I should never have encountered.  All was well…we only went an hour out of our way.

We have both been as far south and east in Minnesota as Red Wing…neither of us had been further south than that along the Mississippi River.   Minnesota Bluff country!  We were a little late for the leaves…but they must have been beautiful!

We have some friends who are thinking of moving to Lake City and I can see why…such a pretty area but real touristy in the summer.

We knew that we were early to see the Bald Eagles on the river, but we stopped anyway.

There are three turn outs where you can view the river/lake.  A young gentleman came along, he lives just down the road and had his binoculars along.  There were some diving ducks down on the water.  He encouraged us to come back in February and to visit the Eagle Center….and so I will put that on my bucket list.

Chance at Lake Pepin

Although he was on leash he got into some burrs…it took me a long time to get them picked out of his fur.

The area of the Mississippi River between Red Wing and Wabasha (Wa BA shaw) is a wide area of the river and it is called Lake Pepin.

We passed right near Wabasha (of Grumpy Old men fame) and headed to Kellogg Minnesota.