We made it back home early this afternoon in beautiful Nevada weather - sunshine and 79 degrees (and no humidity). Easy drive across Nevada on I-80 - don't need any navigational skills on today's trip. Get on I-80, drive for six hours, get off I-80.
Nice to be home and everything was in ship-shape which is always nice. We had a great trip and enjoyed seeing everyone. The wedding was awesome and well worth the trip. Always fun to see everyone.
Take care and enjoy life.
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Friday, June 28, 2019
Wendover, NV
Back in our home state after spending a couple of days with Paul and Sandy in Centennial. On Thursday, we went downtown Denver to wander around. We wanted to see the Union Railroad Station which underwent an update about four years ago. They did a nice of incorporating the transit station with the railroad station and put in shops in the terminal.
They have converted a lot of the downtown old buildings into lofts, condos, restaurants, etc. We had lunch at the Wyncot Brewing Company which used to be a warehouse for unloading rail cars. Beautiful brick work and the upstairs area has been converted to condos. They have a splash park which the kids were enjoying in the outside area.
In the evening we went to Outback for dinner and then home for a drink or two. Friday morning we left early to head back home. Decided to take a different route home - usually we head up to Cheyenne and take I-80 all the way to Reno. This time we decided to take I-70 through the Rockies and then cut up through Utah on US 6 to Salt Lake City. Fun driving through the mountains - we stopped at Vail for breakfast - not too upscale :-). The local real estate brochure showed homes which had at least seven digits (and there were no decimals points involved). I-70 through the Rockies is an interesting drive - it was the last link in the Interstate system because of the difficulties involved in construction through the mountains. The Eisenhower tunnel (8k') was the very last link. Crossed the Vail Pass at 10k and then steadily downhill to Grand Junction. The canyons are so narrow that they had to double-deck I-70 at some points along the Colorado River. Saw some rafters on the Colorado - running fast and full.
When you come out of the mountains into Grand Junction, the topography changes very dramatically. It goes from verdant countryside to dry, desert as you cross into Utah. Stopped at Green River, UT for lunch. We have eaten at that restaurant on the banks of the Green River several times and it's always fun - the Green is running very full (and very muddy). Green River is where we cut northwest on US 6 up toward Salt Lake City. It seemed like it was faster than I-80 because we hit SLC at rush hour and were able to get to Wendover, NV. We're staying at the Rainbow Peppermill Casino and it should be an easy drive home on Saturday. Be good to get back home.
They have converted a lot of the downtown old buildings into lofts, condos, restaurants, etc. We had lunch at the Wyncot Brewing Company which used to be a warehouse for unloading rail cars. Beautiful brick work and the upstairs area has been converted to condos. They have a splash park which the kids were enjoying in the outside area.
In the evening we went to Outback for dinner and then home for a drink or two. Friday morning we left early to head back home. Decided to take a different route home - usually we head up to Cheyenne and take I-80 all the way to Reno. This time we decided to take I-70 through the Rockies and then cut up through Utah on US 6 to Salt Lake City. Fun driving through the mountains - we stopped at Vail for breakfast - not too upscale :-). The local real estate brochure showed homes which had at least seven digits (and there were no decimals points involved). I-70 through the Rockies is an interesting drive - it was the last link in the Interstate system because of the difficulties involved in construction through the mountains. The Eisenhower tunnel (8k') was the very last link. Crossed the Vail Pass at 10k and then steadily downhill to Grand Junction. The canyons are so narrow that they had to double-deck I-70 at some points along the Colorado River. Saw some rafters on the Colorado - running fast and full.
When you come out of the mountains into Grand Junction, the topography changes very dramatically. It goes from verdant countryside to dry, desert as you cross into Utah. Stopped at Green River, UT for lunch. We have eaten at that restaurant on the banks of the Green River several times and it's always fun - the Green is running very full (and very muddy). Green River is where we cut northwest on US 6 up toward Salt Lake City. It seemed like it was faster than I-80 because we hit SLC at rush hour and were able to get to Wendover, NV. We're staying at the Rainbow Peppermill Casino and it should be an easy drive home on Saturday. Be good to get back home.
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Centennial, CO
Left North Platte, NE and headed south again on US 83. Good night's stay at the Best Western and evening meal at the Switchyard Bar and Grill, conveniently located next to the switch yards in North Platte. This is a huge switching area for the railroads.
Countryside was mostly amber waves of grain (now where have I heard that before?). Interspersed with the farmland and cattle were donkey engines busy pumping oil out of the ground. Farmers back in the 50's discovered there was oil on their land and they have pumping it out ever since. It's not quite the boom that occurred in Western North Dakota, but every little bit helps. Ken told me something interesting while we were visiting. It seems the farmers no longer plow the land, it takes too much fuel and effort to turn the ground over, so now they harvest the previous crop and when the time is right, they just drill and seed the soil. They huge huge tractors to pull wide rigs which drill, drop seed, fertilize and then move on. Some of the tractors have switched from huge rubber tires to tracks which can get through the fields easier. At one town, we even saw a Jeep which had tracks!
Where US 83 (north to south) hits US 36 (east to west), we stopped in Oberlin, Kansas for breakfast. Vi asked if there was a golf course nearby - to my self, I said there's less than 200 people in this town, why would there be a golf course. To our surprise, they said there was a nine-hole course down by the "crick", but not sure whether there was anyone there yet. Drove a little to the east and found the Oberlin Country Club. The OCC puts the "country" in Country Club. Upon reaching the parking lot, there was no one around; however, there was a sign with the rates and instructions. After putting some money in an envelope and dropping it in a slot in the side of the building, we went over to the cart barn, backed a golf cart out and loaded up. First time we've ever used a self-service golf course - kind of like when you're camping and there's no ranger on duty.
Turned out to be a fine little 9-hole course which ran along Sappo Creek. The only person around was a man mowing the course and he never even bothered to come over and say hello. The course was in great shape with good teeing areas, nice fairways (when we found them) and excellent greens. No one else around and on some holes, it was a little difficult to figure out where the greens were - lots of doglegs. All in all, it was a fun time. It wasn't until we got to the eighth hole that we saw someone else on the course, but they never caught up to us. Loaded up the clubs and headed east on US 36 over to Denver. That highway is straight as an arrow - it kind of unfolds in front of you like a ribbon across the prairie and occasionally they throw in a kind of turns just to keep you awake.
Had a late lunch in St Francis and then drove out of Kansas into Colorado, passing into the Mountain Time Zone at the state border. With our impeccable timing, we hit Denver at rush hour (kind of like our hitting Salt Lake City at their rush hour). From driving through countryside without another car on the road (there was farm equipment, but we whizzed around them), we went to parking lot highways in Denver. Eventually, it broke free and we arrived at Paul and Sandy's here in Centennial.
Sat out on their patio and admired the view of the Rockies to the west. Temperature was around 90 degrees and, for a change, there was no rain on our trip. We must have started the rain on its way east and then left it all behind us. Excellent salad and pasta (brown rice) for dinner. Needless to say, we did have a glass of wine (or two). Fun evening and good conversation. Sun set over the Rockies as we had dinner, but afterwards, we went back out on the patio to talk.
Later I'll throw in a few pictures of the trip from North Platte to Denver, so come back later to catch them.
Countryside was mostly amber waves of grain (now where have I heard that before?). Interspersed with the farmland and cattle were donkey engines busy pumping oil out of the ground. Farmers back in the 50's discovered there was oil on their land and they have pumping it out ever since. It's not quite the boom that occurred in Western North Dakota, but every little bit helps. Ken told me something interesting while we were visiting. It seems the farmers no longer plow the land, it takes too much fuel and effort to turn the ground over, so now they harvest the previous crop and when the time is right, they just drill and seed the soil. They huge huge tractors to pull wide rigs which drill, drop seed, fertilize and then move on. Some of the tractors have switched from huge rubber tires to tracks which can get through the fields easier. At one town, we even saw a Jeep which had tracks!
Where US 83 (north to south) hits US 36 (east to west), we stopped in Oberlin, Kansas for breakfast. Vi asked if there was a golf course nearby - to my self, I said there's less than 200 people in this town, why would there be a golf course. To our surprise, they said there was a nine-hole course down by the "crick", but not sure whether there was anyone there yet. Drove a little to the east and found the Oberlin Country Club. The OCC puts the "country" in Country Club. Upon reaching the parking lot, there was no one around; however, there was a sign with the rates and instructions. After putting some money in an envelope and dropping it in a slot in the side of the building, we went over to the cart barn, backed a golf cart out and loaded up. First time we've ever used a self-service golf course - kind of like when you're camping and there's no ranger on duty.
Turned out to be a fine little 9-hole course which ran along Sappo Creek. The only person around was a man mowing the course and he never even bothered to come over and say hello. The course was in great shape with good teeing areas, nice fairways (when we found them) and excellent greens. No one else around and on some holes, it was a little difficult to figure out where the greens were - lots of doglegs. All in all, it was a fun time. It wasn't until we got to the eighth hole that we saw someone else on the course, but they never caught up to us. Loaded up the clubs and headed east on US 36 over to Denver. That highway is straight as an arrow - it kind of unfolds in front of you like a ribbon across the prairie and occasionally they throw in a kind of turns just to keep you awake.
Had a late lunch in St Francis and then drove out of Kansas into Colorado, passing into the Mountain Time Zone at the state border. With our impeccable timing, we hit Denver at rush hour (kind of like our hitting Salt Lake City at their rush hour). From driving through countryside without another car on the road (there was farm equipment, but we whizzed around them), we went to parking lot highways in Denver. Eventually, it broke free and we arrived at Paul and Sandy's here in Centennial.
Sat out on their patio and admired the view of the Rockies to the west. Temperature was around 90 degrees and, for a change, there was no rain on our trip. We must have started the rain on its way east and then left it all behind us. Excellent salad and pasta (brown rice) for dinner. Needless to say, we did have a glass of wine (or two). Fun evening and good conversation. Sun set over the Rockies as we had dinner, but afterwards, we went back out on the patio to talk.
Later I'll throw in a few pictures of the trip from North Platte to Denver, so come back later to catch them.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
North Platte, NE
Left Ken and Melanie's early this morning and wended our way south and west. Beautiful (I think I'm overusing that word) drive through the lake country and farmland. We stopped at Valley Queen Cheese Factory (again) to pick up some cheese. Then we drove across South Dakota on US highways - trying to stay off the Interstates and we have been pretty successful at that. Drove through Pierre and across the Missouri River. Some road construction - looks like they are trying to make a four-lane highway out of US 83.
One difficult spot we found on US 83 was a flooded roadway - drove slowly across about six inches of water on the main road. We were surprised that they hadn't closed the highway and detoured people around. Maybe they are waiting until the water rises so that it is impassable. At least people waited until we were across (we were using the center of the road because it had a little crown).
Arrived in North Platte where we're spending the night before heading over to Paul and Sandy's on Wednesday.
One difficult spot we found on US 83 was a flooded roadway - drove slowly across about six inches of water on the main road. We were surprised that they hadn't closed the highway and detoured people around. Maybe they are waiting until the water rises so that it is impassable. At least people waited until we were across (we were using the center of the road because it had a little crown).
Arrived in North Platte where we're spending the night before heading over to Paul and Sandy's on Wednesday.
Monday, June 24, 2019
East Lost Lake, MN
It couldn't be too lost, because we managed to find it last night after driving a little over an hour from the airport where we dropped Tim off. Went east and south on I-94 and then followed MapQuest instructions over many county roads - they weren't even US highways!
Ken and Melanie bought a "cabin" on East Lost Lake last year and it's a great place to enjoy the summer. Beautiful home with over 150 ft of lake frontage. Last night after we arrived, Ken and Melanie took us for a pontoon boat ride on the lake in the evening dusk (well, I guess dusk only comes in the evening, doesn't it?). Fun being out on lake just cruising around slowly. As Ken said, most boaters go slowly and drink the same way. We were able to catch a little of the sunset through the clouds.
This morning we got up to coffee on the patio deck - Ken was up a little earlier than I was. After coffee, we drove into a nearby town for breakfast. Ken and I walked around town after breakfast while Vi and Melanie went grocery shopping. On the way home, we went over to Phelp's Mill, an old flour mill with a lot of history behind it. Interesting to see how they used the power of the Otter Tail River to run the mill and see how it all operated. Always good to see history being preserved.
This afternoon Karen and Sharon came down with Gunnar and Derrick (two of Melissa's boys) and Michelle is due down with her boys later in the afternoon. About time for wine, so I'll close for now and write more later.
Wanted to send you some pictures of the cabin and lake view, so here they are:
Ken and Melanie bought a "cabin" on East Lost Lake last year and it's a great place to enjoy the summer. Beautiful home with over 150 ft of lake frontage. Last night after we arrived, Ken and Melanie took us for a pontoon boat ride on the lake in the evening dusk (well, I guess dusk only comes in the evening, doesn't it?). Fun being out on lake just cruising around slowly. As Ken said, most boaters go slowly and drink the same way. We were able to catch a little of the sunset through the clouds.
This morning we got up to coffee on the patio deck - Ken was up a little earlier than I was. After coffee, we drove into a nearby town for breakfast. Ken and I walked around town after breakfast while Vi and Melanie went grocery shopping. On the way home, we went over to Phelp's Mill, an old flour mill with a lot of history behind it. Interesting to see how they used the power of the Otter Tail River to run the mill and see how it all operated. Always good to see history being preserved.
This afternoon Karen and Sharon came down with Gunnar and Derrick (two of Melissa's boys) and Michelle is due down with her boys later in the afternoon. About time for wine, so I'll close for now and write more later.
Wanted to send you some pictures of the cabin and lake view, so here they are:
Reilee's Wedding
When last I wrote, we had arrived in West Fargo and then I wrote nothing. Some writers are just too lazy (or busy) to keep up with events. So, let's try to recap the days leading up to Reilee's wedding and the aftermath.
On Friday, we went over to the Red River Valley Fairgrounds to help with the decorations for the reception. Later, I'll upload some of the pictures from there - so come back if you're reading this early. They had planned for about 360 people at the reception - small group, nothing but their closest friends and relatives :-). Since Reilee works for an Ag Credit bank and Clint is a rancher, the theme was farm and country related. The tables, seating eight each, had white tablecloths with vases containing alfalfa (it was convenient that the plants had just flowered with the result that they had nice leaves and beautiful purple (excuse me, violet) flowers. Every other table had the alfalfa and the alternate ones had floating candles in vases, both of which were surrounded by three votive type candles. The head table which was raised had seats for the seven bridesmaids and seven groomsmen. The backdrop for the table was a huge board fence from an old pole barn which Clint and his friends had brought in from one of the farms. Awesome setting for the reception. Along the back wall was the area for gifts and wedding cake - actually a small cake surrounded by black and white cupcakes. That's a really neat idea and made for easy serving and a lot less waste.
After leaving the reception hall, we went back to Michelle and Adrians for dinner with the Michelle, Melanie, and Melissa families - Melinda was busy with a few other details. Great meal of steak and salmon followed by a game of Horse Racing (not sure whether that's two words or one). Really fun game (once we caught on to the rules, one of which was subtitled Vi Loses and the other was the Banker Wins). Didn't play for money, but even so you really get involved. Time flies when you're having fun. Tim arrived around 6:00 p.m. at Hector International Airport and it was great, really great seeing him and having him involved in the festivities. Needless to say, Da Girls were delighted to see him (or at least gave a good impression of being happy).
Saturday was the wedding, but not till 4:00 p.m., so we amused ourselves with breakfast at home and just conversing and enjoying a relaxing day. Vi, Tim and I left for the church in mid-afternoon and had an opportunity to get caught up with a lot of friends and relatives which we hadn't seen in a while. The church was beautiful and very simple in its' decoration. The bridal party and then the bride and groom came down the aisles, but not until after Clint had escorted both mothers down the aisle and seated them. The minister did a fantastic job of personalizing the ceremony and explaining how he was delighted to see how much Clint and Reilee were in love. He said that was apparent from the first time he sat down with them to plan the ceremony. After the ceremony, we were among the first to leave the pews and got a chance to go through the receiving line to greet the new couple. After that we headed over to the Reception Hall where there was more mingling and conversation. Reilee and Clint had respectfully asked that no pictures or videos be taken during the ceremony and that they would share the professionally done photographs as soon as they were available. That meant that there was not a lot of jockeying for photo positions and flashes going off. It was a great way to do that portion of the ceremony.
The bridal party came over to the reception hall about an hour later in a bus painted green and yellow (gee, I wonder what the NDSU colors are?). They came down the aisle into the reception hall as each of the bridal group was announced and then finally the bride and groom entered. They had a live country and western band (Troubador). The music was great. They had the tables line up for the buffet after the bridal party went up. The sisters and their husbands were in charge of getting the tables started. Excellent buffet (and the bar was good, also).
Lots of music and dancing. Crowd thinned out gradually over the evening, but time flew by. They had to vacate the hall by midnight and then lock the gates behind them. Fun evening and we were among the last to leave at midnight. Went back to Michelle's, but needless to say, we didn't last long.
Sunday morning, Da Girls (minus Melinda again) and Karen went out for breakfast and again a fun morning. In the afternoon, Michelle and Melissa were going to the gift-opening and the rest of us went out to a local brewery for a taste of the local brews. We had Adrian and Jeff with us and then Michelle and Melissa joined us for dinner. We had to eat earlier than them because of Tim's flight (more on that later). Also, Karen and Sharon (Vi's cousin whom we hadn't seen in over forty-five years joined us. They're coming down to the lake tomorrow so we'll get a chance to talk with Sharon more.
We left to take Tim to the airport. His flight had numerous changes, some earlier and some later - but the upshot was that he didn't get off until almost two hours later. We didn't find that until later and still need to find out some of those details. After leaving the airport, we headed down to Melanie and Ken's cabin at the lake in Minnesota. Nice drive through the farmland and lake country. They have an awesome place on East Lost Lake, but more about that in the next post.
On Friday, we went over to the Red River Valley Fairgrounds to help with the decorations for the reception. Later, I'll upload some of the pictures from there - so come back if you're reading this early. They had planned for about 360 people at the reception - small group, nothing but their closest friends and relatives :-). Since Reilee works for an Ag Credit bank and Clint is a rancher, the theme was farm and country related. The tables, seating eight each, had white tablecloths with vases containing alfalfa (it was convenient that the plants had just flowered with the result that they had nice leaves and beautiful purple (excuse me, violet) flowers. Every other table had the alfalfa and the alternate ones had floating candles in vases, both of which were surrounded by three votive type candles. The head table which was raised had seats for the seven bridesmaids and seven groomsmen. The backdrop for the table was a huge board fence from an old pole barn which Clint and his friends had brought in from one of the farms. Awesome setting for the reception. Along the back wall was the area for gifts and wedding cake - actually a small cake surrounded by black and white cupcakes. That's a really neat idea and made for easy serving and a lot less waste.
After leaving the reception hall, we went back to Michelle and Adrians for dinner with the Michelle, Melanie, and Melissa families - Melinda was busy with a few other details. Great meal of steak and salmon followed by a game of Horse Racing (not sure whether that's two words or one). Really fun game (once we caught on to the rules, one of which was subtitled Vi Loses and the other was the Banker Wins). Didn't play for money, but even so you really get involved. Time flies when you're having fun. Tim arrived around 6:00 p.m. at Hector International Airport and it was great, really great seeing him and having him involved in the festivities. Needless to say, Da Girls were delighted to see him (or at least gave a good impression of being happy).
Saturday was the wedding, but not till 4:00 p.m., so we amused ourselves with breakfast at home and just conversing and enjoying a relaxing day. Vi, Tim and I left for the church in mid-afternoon and had an opportunity to get caught up with a lot of friends and relatives which we hadn't seen in a while. The church was beautiful and very simple in its' decoration. The bridal party and then the bride and groom came down the aisles, but not until after Clint had escorted both mothers down the aisle and seated them. The minister did a fantastic job of personalizing the ceremony and explaining how he was delighted to see how much Clint and Reilee were in love. He said that was apparent from the first time he sat down with them to plan the ceremony. After the ceremony, we were among the first to leave the pews and got a chance to go through the receiving line to greet the new couple. After that we headed over to the Reception Hall where there was more mingling and conversation. Reilee and Clint had respectfully asked that no pictures or videos be taken during the ceremony and that they would share the professionally done photographs as soon as they were available. That meant that there was not a lot of jockeying for photo positions and flashes going off. It was a great way to do that portion of the ceremony.
The bridal party came over to the reception hall about an hour later in a bus painted green and yellow (gee, I wonder what the NDSU colors are?). They came down the aisle into the reception hall as each of the bridal group was announced and then finally the bride and groom entered. They had a live country and western band (Troubador). The music was great. They had the tables line up for the buffet after the bridal party went up. The sisters and their husbands were in charge of getting the tables started. Excellent buffet (and the bar was good, also).
Lots of music and dancing. Crowd thinned out gradually over the evening, but time flew by. They had to vacate the hall by midnight and then lock the gates behind them. Fun evening and we were among the last to leave at midnight. Went back to Michelle's, but needless to say, we didn't last long.
Sunday morning, Da Girls (minus Melinda again) and Karen went out for breakfast and again a fun morning. In the afternoon, Michelle and Melissa were going to the gift-opening and the rest of us went out to a local brewery for a taste of the local brews. We had Adrian and Jeff with us and then Michelle and Melissa joined us for dinner. We had to eat earlier than them because of Tim's flight (more on that later). Also, Karen and Sharon (Vi's cousin whom we hadn't seen in over forty-five years joined us. They're coming down to the lake tomorrow so we'll get a chance to talk with Sharon more.
We left to take Tim to the airport. His flight had numerous changes, some earlier and some later - but the upshot was that he didn't get off until almost two hours later. We didn't find that until later and still need to find out some of those details. After leaving the airport, we headed down to Melanie and Ken's cabin at the lake in Minnesota. Nice drive through the farmland and lake country. They have an awesome place on East Lost Lake, but more about that in the next post.
Thursday, June 20, 2019
West Fargo, ND
Well, it’s a rainy day in North Dakota. Left Watertown after breakfast at the Holiday
Inn Express this morning and headed for Milbank, SD. It was raining too hard to play golf at Pine
Valley, so we contented ourselves with a visit to the Valley Queen cheese
factory. Since we were there last year,
they had moved into a brand new facility which is now called the Heritage Hall
and contains a lot of memorabilia and information about how cheese is produced
in the local area. I think someone must
have gone to the Tillamook factory in Oregon and said “We can do that”.
There was a group of school kids taking the tour (it’s still
not on the scale of Tillamook, but adequate for its’ size). Did get to sample some of the cheeses and
bought some for our trip. Valley Queen
only sells its’ cheese under their name here in Milbank. The great majority goes out to be sold under
other names. The hostess said they ship
out cheese in 650 lb containers – about 700 of those a day to Kraft and other
well-known cheese producers. Picked up
an interesting magazine on the Yellowstone Trail which I’ll save for another
blog entry.
After leaving Milbank, we headed across the river to
Minnesota and drove along the shores of Big Stone Lake north toward Fargo. A lot of beautiful lake places along the
shore on one side and farmland on the east side of the road. In some of the ponds and lakes as we headed
north, we saw a flocks of white pelicans – not sure whether they are permanent
residents or just flying through. Pretty
sight, though. I don’t know what the
break point is between a pond and a lake, but I’m sure there is one.
At Breckenridge in Minnesota, we crossed over into Wahpeton,
ND which is at the headwaters of the Red River which in turn flows north to
Canada through Fargo. Took the old US 81
(now County 81) up to Ken and Melanie’s.
Stopped there for a cup of coffee and some conversation with Melanie
before heading up to West Fargo to Michelle’s. Rain continued to follow us all the way and
is still coming down. Looks like it’s
going to be a wet week – even for the wedding.
Colin and Michelle greeted us at our home away from home for
the next few nights. Ryan was out
running, but returned later in the afternoon.
Caught up on Ryan’s recent trip to France (he just got home on
Saturday). Right now Vi and Michelle
went over to catch up with “Da Girls” – wedding party group who are getting
nails done. Imagine they will come back
with a lot of news about the wedding and events to come.
p.s. In a previous post, I mentioned that the Pathfinder 101 Ranch in Wyoming was 140,000 acres. Tim sent me a note saying that Chicago, IL was 149,000 acres - just a little larger. To further exacerbate the comparison - Chicago has a population of 2.7 million and the whole state of Wyoming only has 600,000 people.
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