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Wrap Up

8/30/2015

After a rainy, useless Friday, things improved yesterday in time for the BBQ contest at the Freeborn county fairgrounds in Albert Lea. Butch delivered the judges in time for their morning meetings, and we went back in about noon to meet one of my readers, Ardie, and her retired detective husband, Spence. They are also campers, so we shared stories over ribs, coleslaw, and beans, and then toured the competitors' area--always interesting.

One team especially caught my eye--Po Po Porky--a delightful pair of Mankato policemen who touted themselves as "highly unprofessional cooks" and ringed their workspace with trophies. Not BBQ contest trophies, mind you, but pool, bowling and golf trophies which they claimed they picked up in thrift shops.

Back at the campground, we decided on one more ride before we loaded the bikes. We went a short distance on the Blazing Star Trail, with great views of the restored prairie. For supper we enjoyed brisket, ribs, and pulled pork--the best thing about knowing barbecue judges. A full, red moon provided the finale for the night. It has been a lovely stay at this park. The campground host and his wife are a fount of information on the history of the park and area events. We will come back.

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Bikes and Books

8/28/2015

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We arrived Wednesday at Myre-Big Island State Park near Albert Lea, Minnesota, a name that I have great difficulty remembering. Seems like it should be 'Big Myre Island' but maybe that's just me. We have very spacious campsites, there is a great shower house, and we have excellent internet reception. We even have more than one TV station.

There are two campgrounds--White Fox on the shore of Albert Lea Lake, and Big Island on--you guessed it--a big island, connected to the shore by a causeway. We are in White Fox and the whole area is restored prairie interspersed with heavy woods. The campground roads wind around so much that I got totally disoriented on an early morning walk and had to retrace my steps to get back to our campsite.

So after breakfast and some serious map study, we set out on our bikes and rode to Big Island. It was a beautiful morning and the campsites on the island are even more secluded than in White Fox. We even had a tailwind coming back, which was useful since it's mostly uphill.

After lunch and a much needed shower, we headed to Wells, where I lived in my early years. We first made a visit to my Aunt Lil, a most amazing woman who never loses her spirit. I reminded her once again that I am her favorite niece. Next, supper at Wildcat's, a bar and grill owned by my cousin Ben's son. Ben and Sally came in while we were there and it was great to see them. Finally to the Wells Library for a book signing. Another cousin, Harry, came over from Mankato, and a childhood friend, Donnette came by as well. Since it has been 62 years since I lived there, I have to face that most of the people I knew are gone. A stop at the Dairy Queen after gave us enough sustenance to make it back to the campground.

Several big changes in Wells since my last visit. The school I attended is a pile of rubble, being cleared away for other purposes. My grandfather Andy Jensen's blacksmith shop is gone. My grandmother Musser's house is for sale. I looked it up on the internet and it's listed as only three bedrooms and one and a half baths. When I was a kid, it was six bedrooms--some quite large-- and three full baths. How did that happen? I don't think I want to grow up.

This morning it is raining. A lot. We appear to have a moat around the camper. Hopefully the weather people will be right and it will be out of here by noon. We have things to do.

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Bully Pulpits and Eagles' Nests

8/26/2015

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Yesterday was a very full day for a bunch of oldsters. We biked into Decorah along a lovely paved trail. Once downtown, we wandered the main street a little and then visited the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. This great place includes four floors of artifacts and stories about the second largest group of immigrants (next to the Irish) in the 1800s to this country. Both of my great -grandparents Hermanson were part of this group. The ship shown was sailed to the US in 1933 by a pair of Norwegian brothers.

Beautiful woodworking, silver, and needlework are emphasized, including a special exhibit right now on the renowned Norwegian sweaters. After all, those folks had to have something to occupy themselves during the winters. The carving on the furniture pieces and the rosemaling are exquisite.

After a quick visit to a great knitting shop at my request, we biked back to the campground for lunch. This campground is named for the nearby Pulpit Rock, which we can see from our campsite. So we decided a visit was in order. But when you bike to the base of this bluff, the rock is obscured by the trees so we climbed the trail "a ways" to get a better view. But that necessitates going all the way up: slopes mined with loose rock and narrow stone steps between limestone walls with crevices that look perfect for snakes. Being a little afraid of heights, I opted to guard the last set of stairs from marauding invaders while Butch and Harriet went on up. Obviously, I did not take this picture.

We chose to use the truck for our next explorations. First to the south side of Decorah and the fish hatchery. This spot has an added attraction--the nest that has been the site the last several years of the Decorah Eagle Cam. The nest fell a short while ago and the DNR just got it back up last week and are hoping the eagles will return to it. Then we drove through town to Dunning's Springs and a 200-ft waterfall. Photo ops were somewhat limited because the high school volleyball teams were there for team pictures.

Finally, we braved the roadwork on Highway 52 for a trip down memory lane to the tiny town of Bluffton. For over twenty years we were part of a canoe float from Kendallville to Bluffton on the Upper Iowa River, camping behind the Bluffton store. The first year we did this (early 70s), campsites were only $1 because they were shared with the cows in the pasture. That was in our tenting days. The only disappointment was that the bluffs have become quite over grown with trees, as evidenced in the photos below. They need a haircut.

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Running Stream, Running Girls

8/25/2015

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The only problem with this great campground is the number of names. We are either in Twin Springs or Pulpit Rock or maybe Will Baker--no, I think that's a nearby county park. Anyway, we are right on the edge of Decorah, Iowa in what we think is a city park. All of the sites are first-come, first serve and we snagged a large pull-through designed for two campers, overlooking a clear stream.

After setup, yesterday afternoon, we hiked up the stream to the Twin Springs. An incredible place. We did have to contend with the Luther College women's cross-country team. First of all, I'm not sure you can call it practice when it's in such a beautiful spot. Second, they laughed and talked while they were running, just to show us up. Here you see them running uphill, and yes, they were chattering and giggling the whole time.

Actually, I guess it's not hard to show us up. Anyway, we made it to the springs. On the way back we passed old cement structures that we surmised were once part of a fish hatchery. We really don't know. But it is a lovely place.

Today we will try biking into Decorah. Surely with the Norwegian heritage here, I will be able to find some lefse. We are not looking for lutefisk.

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Really Roughing It

8/21/2015

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Yesterday morning became an authentic wilderness experience. In order to replace a defective power post a few sites up from us, they had to turn off the power to the whole campground. What? We can't run the toaster, the percolator shut off, and no microwave! How did those pioneers do it? An hour later, just as I was about to dump the instant oatmeal I had mixed up in favor of cold cereal, the DNR said "Let there be light" and there was. Actually, that's a little over dramatic--we have lights that operate off the battery and it was a sunny day anyway, but you get the picture.

After that harrowing start, we pulled ourselves together and took a hike to visit some of the caves. There were no dead bodies that we saw but we didn't actually go in any. And to be perfectly accurate, the campground host and hostess are not here right now. Their camper is also missing although there are lights and potted flowers around the site. I hope it wasn't something I said. Or wrote.

Then a little lunch and we took a little trip into Maquoketa to the legendary Banowetz Antiques and the Costello art gallery. Both are closed down. Again, I hope it wasn't us. We did visit a couple of fun junk shops and a very nice local gallery called the Maquoketa Art Experience. They also recommended the Rose Frantzen works at the Old City Hall Gallery. These were amazing--what we could see, because most of the lights were off and there was no one there. Aren't small towns great?

The perfect weather continued through the evening as we enjoyed supper and a great fire. Today, home to restock and prepare to head to Decorah on Monday and Albert Lea, MN on Wednesday. Busy, busy.

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Bats and Bones and Beautiful Days

8/20/2015

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Maquoketa Caves is a beautiful park and such a change from the plains and rolling hills of most of Iowa. Even though yesterday was best described as 'blustery,' it was in my favorite temperature range. After we set up and got a fire going, we walked down to the trail crossing and hiked just to the first cave. Very busy place. A lot of families getting in one last outing before school starts.

In the open shelter at the crossing, the ranger had a fire going in the big stone fireplace. I forgot my camera and took a few shots with my phone, but Verizon doesn't want to send them to my computer. So I stole a shot from Harriet's Facebook page. Ah, the electronic age. She titled this "Batman and Robin looking for the entrance to the Bat Cave."

We had been here a couple of times before I wrote Bats and Bones, but since the setting for that book is a fictitious park only loosely based on this one, I wrote from memory and that's not always real accurate. So it's interesting to see it again. But the campground, although small and old, has great sites among the pines and hardwoods. We cooked beef and butternut squash stew in the Dutch oven for supper and had blueberry buckle for dessert. In case we had to fight off any crime you know. A perfect night for sleeping--so much so that I didn't get up until 7:30, about three hours later than usual. The sunny, cool day today will no doubt find us back on the trails for longer hikes.

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Brownies for Breakfast

8/18/2015

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That means we're getting ready to go camping. Because when I cook food to take somewhere, it is a given that it will not all fit in the container that I have chosen. Not quite. So the brownies I baked last night all fit in the Tupperware this morning--except one. What could I do? I also slightly overbaked them--didn't hear the timer go off. So I am trying a hint that my now forty-something son picked up at his babysitter's when he was 4. He told me if you put half a piece of bread in a container with hard cookies, "the soft will go out of the bread and into the cookies, and the hard will go out of the cookies into the bread." Makes sense.

Regardless, the brownies will be edible because they will be topped with Whitey's Graham Central Station ice cream. If you don't live in Eastern Iowa and have access to Whitey's (or Heyn's lemon custard) well, I feel sorry for you. Maybe you have a nearby local ice cream that is comparable. I hope so,

Also on the menu is beef and hubbard squash stew, quickly becoming a favorite at our house. The homemade tomato sauce with Marsala wine and sun-dried tomatoes really sets it off. Also, taking advantage of the summer bounty, parmesan zucchini bread.

We are going to Maquoketa Caves State Park, one of Iowa's best. We haven't been there for four years--in fact, not since I wrote my first book, Bats and Bones, which is based on that park. The weather is supposed to be perfect: pleasant days and cool nights. This will be a short trip, but a chance to find out what's needed to restock the camper before a longer trip up north next week.

The fifth book in the Frannie Shoemaker series is now out on Kindle, To Cache a Killer. The paperback will be available soon. I was able to get it out Saturday for International Geocaching Day. Hope you enjoy it.

to cache a killer

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Wrap Up

Bikes and Books

Bully Pulpits and Eagles' Nests

Running Stream, Running Girls

Really Roughing It

Bats and Bones and Beautiful Days

Brownies for Breakfast

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