Pierre SD, 2021

Last week we were bird hunting outside of Pierre, SD.  Specifically, The Husband was bird hunting (prairie chickens and sharp-tail grouse), I was tagging along and enjoying some bird and scenery watching. We were primarily in the Ft. Pierre National Grasslands, which were amazing. We did take one day to drive over to the Badlands National Park. Unfortunately, because we had the dogs with we couldn't enjoy the hiking trails (dogs not allowed on the trails for park protection and safety reasons).

We stayed in Pierre and I took advantage of our proximity to their newly constructed (re-constructed?) river walk in the early mornings and late evenings as a place to walk the dogs. Weather was decent, several days of wind (to be expected on the prairie), and the only significant rain was on the drive home.

While I packed the majority of our meals, Pierre does host several notable restaurants: The Branding Iron Bistro, The Brickhouse BBQ and Grill, and the Cattleman's Club Steakhouse. This is beef country.

As I noted, I still packed most of our meals and even had a meal plan. The chili I made ahead and froze in containers that I could pull out and microwave. Rice and bean burritos are from the co-op and freeze nicely for traveling. I've learned to freeze the bagels I buy from the co-op as they will get moldy quickly (even at home). Need to keep these frozen and or refrigerated. With a fridge and microwave in the room, I was set!

Thurs (travel day) (L) sandwiches, fruit (S) Chili Jimmy John's (we were running a tich late)
Fri (L) rice and bean burritos, fruit, nut cups (S) chili
Sat (L) rice and bean burritos, fruit, nut cups (S) Brickhouse BBQ
Sun (L) Subway (S) chili leftover BBQ
Mon (L) rice and bean burritos, fruit, nut cups (S) chili
Tues (L) Subway (S) Cattleman's Club
Wed (travel day) (L) Culver's (S) chili

Breakfast - instant oatmeal, bagels with cream cheese. Ate out once at the Branding Iron Bistro, and got breakfast to go from same on Wednesday morning.

Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

The boys are ready to find some birds

Wide, wide open spaces

The Badlands National Park

The Badlands National Park

Buffalo!

A bit of Cold War History

Home, home on the range....  buffalo in the distance

Missouri, 2021

This past weekend we took a small jaunt to southeastern Missouri. We wanted get away from the snow and cold and the Husband wanted to hunt feral hogs. He signed us up for a one-night guided hunt; it required two hunters minimum and I was the "minimum".

Friday - travel day. Destination was Mt. Pleasant, IA, an 8- or 9-hour drive. There was still some snow on the ground here.

Saturday - travel day to Farmington, MO. About a 5-hour drive from Mt. Pleasant. Snow disappeared about the IA/MO border. We stopped in Hannibal, MO, and did the Mark Twain touristy stuff and enjoyed our first outside meal of the year - BBQ! Wayne's BBQ for specifics. YUM.

Tom Sawyer's House

Sunday - travel day to Des Arc/Brunot (ie, middle of no-where MO). We stopped at Elephant Rocks State Park, Battle of Pilot Knob Historic Site (Civil War), Taum Sauk Mtn State Park (highest point in MO). It started to pour about the time we made it to Taum Sauk St. Park, so it was a brief visit (thunder, lightning, and a torrential downpour were a factor). From here we made our way to our lodging provided by the hunting outfit.

Elephant Rocks State Park

Pilot Knob Historic Site 

Taum Sauk State Park

Monday - hunt day! Or hunt night! to be more precise. Wanting to make sure the pup (he came with on this adventure - not the hunting part, just the traveling part) got some exercise, we headed over to Sam A. Baker State Park and did a 2 mile hike/walk. We wanted to see the "shut-ins" (what we call cauldrons up North, where the action of water and rocks made holes in other rocks), but due to the deluge from Sunday, the trail was flooded and despite best efforts, impassable. We hike a different hill.

Sam A Baker State Park

The guide met up with us about 330p to sight in the rifles and night optics, then went and put us in stands over separate bait stations. I was happily entertained by a flock of cardinals, two mice, a doe and her two yearling fawns, eventually another five deer came and joined her, a bunny arrived, four mourning doves... lots of critters, but no hogs. At 700p the guide came and picked us up and then we proceeded to drive all over the back roads ('road' may be an exaggeration here) scoping for pigs. We saw a total of 12...which we were unsuccessful in taking any. We need to work on our shooting skills (though I think being an unfamiliar rifle with night optics was a factor). Called it a night at 1130p (hunting ends at midnight).

Tuesday - on the road back to Mt. Pleasant. Stopped at Mastodon State Historic Site and did a two-mile walk. Visitor center was closed (drat!) so I didn't get to see the Mastodon. Stopped at Battle of Athens Historic Site which was the northernmost battle in the Civil War WEST of the Mississippi.

Battle of Athens Historic Site

Wednesday - head home! Ate at a Piggy Blues BBQ in Austin, MN for lunch. We didn't have time to do the SPAM Museaum. Did swing by the Twin Cities to drop off the nephew's birthday gift and say a brief hello to the sister and kiddos. Home by 730p (uff). Unpacked and called it a trip.

Overall, a very good trip. Was disappointing no bacon came home with us, but that's how it goes. We saw a new corner of the country, hiked over new terrain, read about some history, and enjoyed snow-free conditions. I would do this trip again - lots we didn't get to, so many places only partially open due to it being off-season or COVID related. Actually, I'd absolutely travel during the off season again - not a heck of a lot of people.

Malta, MT 2020

This past week found the Husband and I in Malta, MT, for some bird hunting. Note - he did the hunting. The Husband and Kep-pup went in search of birds while gun-shy (all loud, bang! type noises, actually) Andy-dog and I would wander in a different direction.

BNSF train running west.  Just 'cause I like trains.

We covered a lot of ground, which isn't hard in such wide open places. We explored some Prairie Restoration property (with prior written permission), some Block Management property (you sign in at a designated box), a National Wildlife Refuge (mostly just explored) and some BLM land.

Little Rockies in the distance

We did take part of a day to drive down to the Missouri Breaks and through the Little Rockies.

The "Breaks" from up high

The Missouri

And there was quite the variety of wildlife: sharptail grouse, sage grouse, mule deer (never saw any bucks, just does), pronghorn, elk (in the Missouri Breaks), buffalo, prarie dogs, badgers, one coyote, and pheasant. Not critters we see around our corner of the world.

Weather was a bit all over the place - the Saturday and Sunday we arrived it was 30 mph winds which makes for very difficult hunting. Or walking. Or standing. Monday and Tuesday was absolutely beautiful. Wednesday was back to 30 mph winds and chilly. Brr!

What you don't see is the 30 mph winds that are blowing...

One notable stop - Blue Ridge Brewery. Good beer, good kombucha (I forgot to ask if they make it, but I'm just happy they offered a non-alcohol option), and good company. Recommended if you're in the neighborhood!

Tucson AZ, 2020

So last week I took a little jaunt to Tucson to visit the Folks.  Weather was sunny and warm, with a slight breeze - not warm enough that I could wear shorts, alas.  I still needed my jacket during the day.

Thursday - I flew into Phoenix then took a shuttle to Tucson, arriving by 1:00p.   I normally don't fly into Phoenix, but there were no direct flights from Minneapolis to Tuscon when I made reservations this year.  

Friday - was a hike in Sabino National Park.  Dad and I did the Bear Canyon Trail to the Seven Falls.  We took the shuttle to the third and last stop on Bear Canyon, then hiked from there.  Round trip hiking: 5.5 miles.  The trail being somewhat rugged, Mom opted to take the tram to the top of Sabino and walk back down.  Everyone reported back that their respective hikes were quite delightful.

Crossing the river

Four of the Seven Falls

Saturday - we relaxed a bit in the morning then went out to the White Barn Farmer and craft market.  Oh my, does this put what we have in Duluth to shame.  It's not big (nor is Duluth's), but the fresh produce, mushrooms, meat, coffee, nuts, honey was delightful.  I wanted to take some of everything home with me.  In the afternoon, we went to the Botanical Gardens.  Myself, I LOVED the orchid and butterfly enclosure.  The rest of the grounds are quite delightful and this is worth a visit.  The small cafe on site and the butterfly enclosure have limited hours, so plan ahead.

Sunday - more resting, then a picnic and walk in Saguaro National Park.  This is my forth walk about here, but we did a different trail area this time.  I love hiking in the desert, so very different from the North Shore.

Monday - we went out for breakfast at wonderful place called Fresh Market, then visited this AMAZING nursery whose name I never did find out.  Oh. My. Goodness!  The colors! The variety! The gift options! The pots! The orchids!  Ah. Maz. ING!  We had lunch back at the house, then went to Aqua Caliente Park which just reopened Friday after three years of extensive restoration. I think a trip back here in future years will be on the agenda, just to see how the restoration finishes and to check out the ranch buildings when they are open.  It's a lovely park.

Tuesday - was fly home day.  It was a wonderful trip and I'm sad to say adios! to the sun, greens and tans.  We're still about three months out from the snow melting in the Northland.  Alas. 

New Orleans 2019

So way back at the beginning of November, the Husband and I took a jaunt down to N'awlins.  We were inspired to visit partly because a co-worker spoke highly of the area, and in part due to advertisement on PBS for St. Tammany Parish as sponsors for Kevin Belton's New Orleans cooking show. Our resort was actually in St. Tammany Parish, so we spent the majority of our time bouncing around the area north of Lake Pontchartrain (thank heaven's for spell check!), which is known as the "North Shore". An absolutely lovely area!

So the trip in review:

Friday we had a 7am flight, a leisurely but not overly long layover in Minneapolis, and landed in NOLA about 1p. In a BRAND NEW airport. Like it opened two days before we arrived brand new! All shiny and modern and open and where the heck do we go for luggage and transportation...? Got the rental car and headed north across the Lake Pontchartrain causeway. Checked in at 4p exactly and called it a day.

Saturday - we went into Covington to check out the farmers market and a HUGE art show (Three Rivers Art Show). Picked up some tasty food, wandered through the talls, and then headed back to the unit to watch the second half of Penn St vs MN football game (Gophers won!). Went for a walk late afternoon 'cause when it's 70* and sunny you just have to get outside.

Covington, LA

Sunday - we changed our plans due to a pending cold front coming through later in the week and went on a swamp tour.  So cool! So different from our swamps! Didn't see any alligators tho - I guess they started hibernating. Found a place for lunch, went back to Covington to walk the Tammany Trace Trail (like our Munger) and wandered the art show a bit more.

Honey Island Swamp

view from Tammany Trace Trail

Monday - New Orleans day! We headed in early (not early enough to beat rush hour, ugh), found parking, found breakfast, then went to the WWII museum. It's an incredible and overwhelming experience. They broke the exhibit into two parts - European theater and the Pacific Theater. We started with the European theater, came out two hours and we both went "I need a break". So we wandered all around the French Quarter.It's like....Las Vegas and Savanna had a love child and created NOLA. Unlike anything I've visited to date. We called it quits about 430p and survived rush hour getting back north.

It just dawned on me, none of my pictures from inside the museum turned out. What the heck..?!?

Palace Restaurant - lovely breakfasts

French Quarter

Tuesday dawned to 35* rain with a very blustery wind. A 40* temperature difference from Monday! Ugh. But at least it wasn't the -6* back home!  The plan was to do a plantation tour, but the one I picked out wasn't open on Tuesday.  Drat and bother. We ended up at the Houmas House plantation and lunch at Cafe Burnside. Probably one of the best meals we had in NOLA was at this cafe.

quirky and fun art

Wed - wandered St. Louis Cemetery #3 (open, clean, good neighborhood, no "tour" required), made our way to Central Market and Deli for a muffletta, ate said muffletta in Jefferson Square, then wandered to find a 2nd Cafe du Monde for tea and binets where we ended up in an outlet mall on the river. They don't have tea (who doesn't have tea?!?)and nope, I decided I'm not wild about binets. Wandered back to the car and called it a day. Oh, we stopped at Abita Springs brewery on the way back and enjoyed a flight which I enjoyed more than the binet.

Thursday - hung out at the unit. Lunch was BBQ (really good BBQ!) in Covington. Went in quest of a Starbucks so I could use their internet (a work thing cropped up). Ate the last of our food stuff for supper while doing laundry that evening and packed.

Fri - 230am wake-up. At the rental return by 430a. At the airport by 5a. Small line at luggage check but once Delta had more than one worker-bee the line moved right along. Significant line through security - but it too moved right along. 30 minutes to spare before boarding started at 650a - alas, not enough time to grab breakfast.  We were on the ground by 1pm and spend a couple hours catching up with my Folks (and picking up the pups from boarding).

Overall impressions - we really enjoyed the area north of Lake Pontchartrain (Covington, Abita Springs), and the WWII museum, the plantation tour and the swamp tour.

NOLA/French Quarter itself...mmm. Not so much - I quickly became tired of people trying to sell me something or entice me into their establishment, the homeless on every corner accosting the tourists for money, we struggled to navigate to things of interest (GPS wasn't working the best in the close quarters). The French Quarter (much like it's "parent" Las Vegas) knows how to part you from your money which becomes very annoying. The Husband didn't care for how the place smelled (grease/garbage from all the restaurants out on the very cramped streets,homeless population, hashish, urine all with undertones of musty mildew probably from the sewers).

Would we go back? Probably, but we would skip NOLA itself and spend more time in greater Louisiana, maybe even a trip to Baton Rouge.

Glacier National Park 2019

This past week I went on a little road trip with a friend.  We took the Hwy 2 (also known as the High-line Road) out to Glacier National Park.  Two days out, four days puttering around, three days back with a stop at Union Fort and Teddy Roosevelt National Park. 

Sound familiar?  Yup...did this drive last fall with the Husband coming from Oregon, minus

the stay in Glacier.

My friend and I departed on Saturday from Duluth, MN, and drove to Minot, ND.  We know how to put on miles! 

Sunday was Minot, ND, to East Glacier, MT, with dinner at the Grand Lodge in East Glacier.  We stayed at the Travelers Rest cabins, which I highly recommend! Quiet, nestled into the trees, roomy, with a sink, fridge, and basic utensils. Just lovely.  Supper was at the Grand Lodge, overlooking the mountains.

Grand Lodge

Monday was a boat ride on Saint Mary Lake, lunch at Many Glacier Lodge, back to St. Mary's Lake to drive 14 miles of the Going to the Sun Road - that's all that was open from the east side.  

St. Mary Lake.  Yes, it was that calm!

Many Glacier Lodge

Tuesday was a Red Bus Rour on the West side of the park, lunch, then a gentle raft ride in the afternoon.  Supper was at the Historic Belton Chalet

The Red Bus - they are original to the park

Puttering along on the river. 

Belton Chalet

Wednesday was a short boat ride on Two Medicine Lake, followed by some leisure time in the afternoon at the Grand Lodge. 

Oldest boat in Glacier, Two Medicine Lake

Hanging out at the Grand Lodge

Two Medicine Lake
 

Thursday we were on the road again!  East Glacier Village to Williston, ND.   It was snowing over the mountains when we left!  

Friday was Union Fort and the north block of Teddy Roosevelt National Park.  Weather was not cooperating.  From Roosevelt park we headed across the state to Grand Forks ND.  Weather really did not cooperate with a significant headwind and steady to heavy rain for six solid hours. 

Fort Union

Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park, North Block

Home! Home on the Range!  Buffalo!

Saturday was a short hop, skip and a jump to Duluth!   

It was a lovely trip, covering a lot of ground, with several very good meals and outstanding views.