The Boston Sidecar

Milwauk-eat

The first stop on our Chicago tour was Milwaukee, where we were fortunate to join the Mooney family and friends for Twins vs Brewers, Round Two. This year, the Twins won in extra innings. Great game. More significant, however, was the food. I believe this is called "a meat parfait", apparently unique to the Brewers. Layers of mashed potatoes, shredded beef and pork, and a sprinkling of chives - for color, of course. It was as delicious as it looks.

Tim says, "No more. I'm saving room for Porta Shots."

Because it wouldn't be summer without rum and Coke, or - in Adam's case - Porta Shots and child-size Pepsi. 

I guess every stadium has to have a racing something. Sausages are pretty amusing.

This is the actual serving size for the one slice of pizza I ordered for dinner. It's no deep dish, but what it lacks in depth, it more than makes up in surface area. 

Mabel the cat was our undercover spy constant companion.

Coffee and breakfast at Alterra before we hit the road. 

Thanks for a delicious weekend!

Summer TJ

TJ got his annual bath and blow-out last weekend. We went to Chicago and left him with the groomer from the kennel. When we arrived home, it was like we had a spiffy new dog! Just look at those paws!

Here's a before photo, in case you've forgotten. What a mess.

After photo. Just beautiful!

In other news, I had one peony bloom this year, but I missed the whole show. (They were just transplanted about a year and a half ago, and so are not quite ready to produce multiple blooms.) It was just starting to open when we left, but was already on the way out just five days later. Fortunately, everyone else on the street has the same peonies, so I'll just admire their blooms instead.

These leaves are actually from my solidago plant, which is slowly overtaking the peony.

Final Graduation!

Adam and I finally graduated from attending college graduations! We now have four University of South Dakota graduates in my family, and every last one went the extra mile and completed (or is in the process of completing) graduate level studies in education, business, or law. This officially makes Adam and I the least educated members of our family, but we have the most free time! You can't put a price on that.

Now that we're traveling in packs, it's fun to hang out with the nieces, Kennedy and Raleigh, especially as they are getting so big! Unfortunately, my face detection skills are still weak, but I do know we were getting a lot of attitude from this one. She does not trust Adam.

Memorizing the graduate roster. So smart!

 Proof that Tyler and Courtney made it across that stage. Go Coyotes!

Double the trouble. I have so many more photos just like this.

Peek-a-boo with the curtains. I know she's tired, but she seemed to take special delight in smothering my dad.

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs! You've worked so hard. Enjoy your summer! 

We spent the night in Mitchell, arriving just before another crazy storm. This one dropped golf-ball and baseball-sized hail over the area and causing quite a bit of damage to the town.

 Even TJ knows something is up. 

We surveyed the damage the next day, but other areas took the biggest brunt of the storm. My parents may get a new roof, and definitely some new hostas. The Johnson farm is just fine, fortunately, and we're looking forward to a grand ol' wedding this summer.

Pipestone National Monument

As part of our unofficial quest to visit all of Minnesota's state parks (and we'll just go ahead and include Minnesota's national parks and monuments into our tally), we detoured to Pipestone National Monument in southwestern Minnesota on our way back to Sioux Falls. This turned out to be a prudent move, since our regular, more southerly route would have taken us directly into the path of tornadoes. Also, it kept the regulars at home, so we had this beautiful park all to ourselves.

Pipestone is famous for its red pipestone, obviously, which is still quarried today and used for carvings, pipes, and ceremonial purposes. A good geologist (Ryan?) could fill you in on the details. I'm a sucker for native tallgrass prairies, however, and thrilled that Minnesota has so many opportunities to explore them. (Blue Mounds State Park, just south of Pipestone, would make another amazing side trip, especially as it shares much of its geology with Pipestone.)

I believe this is some variety of snowberry, which - ironically - we had to rip out of our front yard when we moved in. I keep trying to convince Adam to replant it, but he only remembers the bad days. I think it is just beautiful.

TJ Bear, smiling through the rain!

Notice the face among the quartzite cliffs?

Here's a closer look:

This photo makes me so happy! Where there's a will,... 

Adam threatened to jump out onto this free-standing rock, and I know he was only joking, but my heart still stops just thinking about it. (Especially because I think sometimes he would just do that.)

Love, love, love the grasses!

 Here's another face, apparently quite common among these rocks.

The sun finally appeared as we neared the end of the trail. 

An example of the red pipestone, already recovered, on the rock above.

After leaving the park, we stopped by to visit the Three Maidens (actually, granite glacial "erratics" left behind after the most recent ice age, according to knowledgeable sources). This was apparently a must-see for Adam, since he fondly remembered an episode of On the Road highlighting both the boulders and a world-famous Hiawatha pageant.

Unfortunately, I believe the pageant may have just ended its decades-long run, but those rocks aren't going anywhere. Time your trip for the next big storm. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.