Month: August 2018

Posted on in Traveling

Ya Sure, You Betcha!

Minnesota saying for certain! Found myself saying “You betcha” before we left Minnesota. We ate at Kroll’s Diner. It looked just like Cruisers Diner near our home.

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Way different things on their menu, though! Fleischkuechle, kuching, and knoephla soup. Sauerkraut and cheese buttons do not appeal to me, but I tried the soup and chicken wrap. The soup was a  rich chicken broth with potatoes and dumplings cut in rectangles. Also called lumpy yellow soup! It tasted good, but my body protested the next day! Billed as authentic North Dakota cuisine with a logo of “Sit down and eat” just like your Mom might tell you!

Posted on in Traveling

Hill City, South Dakota

If you see enough signs, you have to stop and see what Prairie Berry Winery is all about!

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The billboards advertised Red Ass Rhubarb wine. Mom made rhubarb pies, not strawberry rhubarb, but plain rhubarb. But rhubarb wine??

Another billboard said, “ Wine is simple. If i like it, I drink it. And if it’s award-wining, with free wine tastings, even better!” So we stopped!

Red Ass Rhubarb was not my favorite, but Pumpkin Bog was pretty good! It was a semi-sweet with a blend of pumpkin and cranberry. No cinnamon and spice in it! Lovely pumpkin flavor.

Posted on in Traveling

Near theMissouri River in South Dakota

At the Chamberlain Rest Area we found the Dignity sculpture. This 50 foot sculpture of a Native American woman is depicted wearing a traditional star quilt. The 128 stainless steel blue diamond shapes were designed to flutter in the wind, but were not moving when we arrived. The quilt represents respect, honor and admiration in Native American culture.

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I love the fact that even her leggings are decorated as most formal wear among Native Americans.51865E6E-C826-4DEE-A1A1-361BB02BAC2A9897A2CC-55EB-4C69-A06F-4DDD043354C6

 

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Nature, Traveling

Oh Give Me A Home

where the buffalo roam, and the deer and the antelope play!

How about traffic stopped by a heard of bison? Think Custer State Park, South Dakota.

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Do not ever remember seeing bison calves before this! Well worth the wait in traffic!

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The herd came down a hill and crossed into the meadow. We were uncertain if the traffic was stopped because of gawkers or the herd. In a while two men in pickup trucks arrived with warning lights flashing on top. Turns out they were “herders” there to move the herd along. They encouraged them to cross the road again. And eventually the traffic began to move again.

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Posted on in Nature, Traveling

We Went to the Dakotas

One of our main goals was to see the massive sunflower fields in bloom. And we found them. Here is the first series of sunflower fields in North Dakota.  Here is my favorite photographer capturing the flowers. Most had already lost their petals.

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I really admire the non-conformists! Most of the flowers move with the movement of the sun. We learned that when the seed heads from the flowers get too heavy, they simply face east rather than turn with the sun.

Imagine having a harvest so heavy that we would simply face east watching for the Lord!

Posted on in Family

We were traveling!

That is why I have not posted lately. But oh, the sights we saw! One of my favorites was the synchronized diving white pelican, but I cannot post the video. Absolutely cracked me up one of our last days on the road when we stopped for lunch in Granite Falls. I also had no idea there were pelicans in a fresh water river. I had only seen them at the ocean.

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So here are these big birds, with really big feet, sitting around. Then they start to swim together and all at once they dive together!

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Bottoms up, boys!!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Nature

Well, Maybe Not Quite Plain Sight!

Manatee

By U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey – Photo from U.S. Geological Fact Sheet 010-99; FS-010-99, Public Domain, Link

Have you been to Florida? Or a zoo? Have you seen the Manatee? Also known as the Sea Cow, Wikipedia describes them as slow plant eaters, similar to cows on land. They sometimes sleep up to 50% of a day! They range from 800 to 1200 pounds each!

Imagine my surprise when I discovered Water Bears. They have a remarkable ( to me) resemblance to these giant Manatees, but they are microscopic!

These guys can survive radiation as well as extremely low and extremely high temperatures, pressure, dehydration according to Wikipedia! I have a small photo of both the water bear and the manatee on my kitchen bulletin  board to remind me of the diversity and creative of our awesome God! Someday I hope one day to see a water bear under a microscope for myself!

Posted on in Marriage and Memories, Traveling

National Cowboy Museum

Someone told us the Cowboy Museum was a great place to visit. We had not added Oklahoma to our list of States visited, so we headed there one late autumn.

Approaching the museum I was amused by this statue. What in the world was that Indian Brave doing carrying that umbrella? Was it a joke of some sort? Not very funny I thought to make fun of the Native Americans that way!

(I know, not the best light for a photo, but wait! Wait! There’s more!)

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As I went around the side of the statue, look below for what I found! (Again not the best light, but a joyous surprise!)

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Such love, trust and devotion captured in a statue that at first seemed to mock. From then on the museum was one surprise after another. Yes, it celebrated both Cowboys and Indians. Stop in if you ever get a chance to visit Oklahoma City.

Here is another exposure

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The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts.

Posted on in Family, Nature

I’m SO Excited!

A few minutes ago I was dancing in the street, literally, singing, “I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it! I’m about to lose control and I think I want to! Want to!”

Last year we had monarch caterpillars in the garden on the milkweed. The third day I went out to see if they had formed their chrysalis yet and every single one of them was gone! Assumed something ate them.

This year we have two large milkweed plants that Bob had to stake because they are so tall. They have already formed seed pods. And this morning, oh glory! Caterpillars on those two and on shorter plants, also!

I am hoping these will come to adulthood. I am going to enlist a good buddy to help tend them and feed them from our garden, keeping them until they are ready to fly.

Will keep you posted!