Cities 2012

We made our way to Minneapolis on Aug. 25-26 with Jamie's parents, Cliff and Joy.  We were greeted with rain so our plans to hit the Renaissance Fair early Saturday morning were pushed aside.  We decided to go to Global Market and then downtown to Kilroy's.  By evening, the rain had passed and we decided to hit up the State Fair.

These first pictures are from Kilroy's, a neat antique store with slot machines and other old "stuff."

Joy is checkin' out the "peek show"! We all laughed at her...and then put in a dime and watched it, too!

At The State Fair

The Greatest Show on Earth!  Yep - we got suckered in (well, with Joy and I convinced the boys) to go see the crazy show inside the tent.  It's hard to see, but this is DJ Shorty - he walks on his two hands because he doesn't have anything more to his body after his rib cage/torso area.  Here, he is doing a one-hand hand stand.  

I know this video is sideways, but it's still pretty cool.  I'm sure there's a trick to this - like a button to start/stop the flame, but it still looks pretty cool.

SUNDAY

On Sunday, we were off to the Renaissance Fair. I've never been there before, but I'm definitely making plans to go back again!  If you've never experienced it yourself, it's a must-see!  

This guy made sure to tell the crowd not to try this at home - but,  that's where he learned it, so...
He was also sure to explain to the crowd that he learned to balance his chair during his senior year of study hall - the one skill he took from high school that he uses in his job today!  He has flames spinning on his head, is juggling three fire burning sticks, and is walking across a burning rope. Amazing.

The German rap brothers was a "family show." Rrrriiiiiigggght.

The well wenches were awesome.  They are truly funny gals.  I hope the video below works.  It was just one little portion of their show.   

Finally, the special event of the weekend was the tattoo contest.  We had the pleasure of seeing some extremely beautiful tattoos and hearing the stories behind them.  Of course, along with this show also came the more creative and unique individuals with some unparalleled tattoos.  We have the guy with his grandma tattooed on his arm, a memorial from Vietnam vet, a pet snake on a gal's leg, or the Star Wars goo-roo with various characters on his arm.  But what would win the most unique?  A young gal who has shoelaces tattooed on the top of her feet because she loves shoes and her strange mustache tattoo on her finger.  You know the joke where kids draw a tattoo on the middle of their index finger and hold it up onto their lip?  Yep, this girl tattooed a mustache onto her finger.  But after all of the special categories, who would the crowd pick...none other than the man who raised his arm to show off another tattoo, only to reveal the green evergreen tree air freshener tattooed in his armpit.  

Itasca...aka 'Coon City

Jamie & I at the Headwaters of the Mississippi River

On the first night, we got settled in and took off on our bikes to the Mississippi Headwaters.  It was only a couple miles on the bike trail with a few minor hills to contend with.  We visited here a couple times on our vacation to enjoy the peace and serenity of the flowing water.

When we got back to camp, Jamie started the fire and I got out the ham, cheese, and bread for our sandwiches.  We were going to grill them by the fire.  We had a great idea to put a slice of the butter into the little fryer and just pack the bread and fixin's inside to let the fire do the work of melting the butter onto the bread at the same time as it was melting the cheese.  Jamie managed to get his together first and sat by the fire.  I finished prepping my sandwich and sat down by the fire, a few feet away from the picnic table.  Suddenly I heard a noise behind me.  Then it got louder and there was rustling at the picnic table.  I turned and yelled, "Hey! What's that noise!?"  I was kind of talking to Jamie but yet yelling at the noise at the picnic table.  And Poof!  Just like that, a raccoon scooted away from the picnic table with our loaf of bread!  I couldn't believe it!  The picnic table wasn't even 10 feet away from the fire where we were sitting.  I was officially panicked!  Jamie found the flashlight and followed the trail of bread the raccoon left behind.  As we continued to cook our ham & cheese sandwiches, our little bandit kept trying to return to steal more food. Jamie would stomp at it and chase it away.  Not only did that raccoon interrupt my supper, my grilled ham & cheese was a big burnt mess.  I ended up eating mushy bread with cheese and a chunk of ham.  The rest was burned to my little frying pan.


That night, I discovered our Food Locker was sacred.  The words posted to store our food inside was not just a suggestion, it was now officially Camping Doctrine.  It applied not only to the times we were absent from camp, but also while we were there.   We could hear those crazy 'coons rustling around all night.  We packed our food and cooler inside.  Little did we know how smart those little buggers were.  They managed to prop a bit of the locker open and could stick their little paws up and reach the front bottom of the locker.  Rocky Raccoon poked a hole and had a feast on our sunflower seeds.  Needless to say, I did not sleep well that first, or even the second, night.  By the third night, a new family of campers set up nearby and those thieving raccoons raided them instead.

The next day, we went to Bemidji and saw Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.  We visited Paul Bunyan's Animal Land and roamed around the town.

Sometimes, I just manage to say some stupid things.  We took this picture below to remind me of one of those fabulous moments.  As we were walking around Bemidji, I saw this huge sign on the side of the Bakery.  I said, out loud to Jamie by the way, "Four hundred forty four buns. Wow, that's a lot of buns!"  Jamie looks at me and grins.  "Honey, that's a phone number."

At Paul Bunyan's Animal Land, we got to feed the animals.  We hesitated at first to feed these stupid raccoons after the events of the night before, but they were so darn entertaining we couldn't help ourselves.  Most of the other animals were sleeping or plain old too hot to get up and get the food.

The one raccoon has his whole face in the PVC pipe waiting for food - and check out the paw that's digging outside the fence!  Greedy little buggers!

A pretty big porcupine, though I've never actually seen one before so who am I to say?! 

 We liked feeding the pig because he made funny snorting noises into the PVC pipe.


Of course, I had to make snorting noises first to try to get him to do it.  I didn't even know Jamie was videoing. Awesome debut, Anita.

Sunset on the Mississippi River

Sunset at the Pioneer Cemetery - You can actually see a lot of the fallen trees due to the storm from a few weeks prior to our visit.

I'm standing in a hole in the ground at the base of a fallen tree.  There were many areas damaged by the recent storm, but the park did a great job cleaning up and had everything accessible - minus a few hiking trails (that we didn't want go on on anyway!)

Relaxing on the dock.

On Wednesday, we loaded the "pack-pack" with gatorades and water and hit the bike trail.  I was a little nervous; I told myself I was only allowed to walk up 5 hills.  We had met an "older" couple that said they completed the 16 mile trail in 3.5 hours the day before.  They walked a few hills and stopped at the scenic viewpoints, but they made it!  I thought, "what the heck - if they can do it, so can I!"

I did.  But wow, was that a lot of work.  There were a few stops for water breaks and various observation points.  The worst part was that nearly every stop was at the bottom of a hill!  Talk about a momentum breaker!

Elk Creek 

On our bike ride, we clocked ourselves going over 25 mph.  Jamie was actually up to 30 mph.  That might not be fast for an avid biker, but in my world...that's really fast!!  We didn't bring our helmets along, so that was a poor choice on our part.  Going that fast was probably kind of dangerous, but oh well.  It wasn't the only mistake we made.  We rarely read the signs for bikers until it was too late.  "Bike single file." "Biker's, Slow Down."  "No Bikes."

We got to the Fire Tower Look Out Area.  There wasn't a bike rack, but there was a big bar blocking the road, so we parked our bikes on the shoulder of the entry road and walked up the hill to the tower. We walked half a mile, uphill, only to realize when we got to the top of the hill, there at the base of the tower was a bike rack!  We could have ridden our bikes up the God-Forsaken Hill that killed my hamstrings!

We climbed up the 100 foot tower to view Itasca's forest, my fingers gripping the railing the whole way.  My white knuckles and jell-o legs managed to get me back to the bottom safely and we walked back to our bikes.

What a surprise when we reached the bottom of the hill.  Next to our bikes, there were about 15 more bikes neatly parked on the shoulder of the road.  We had started a trend!  Funny how we took our bikes where we couldn't go, but we left them behind when we could have taken them further on the trail.  We just couldn't get it right!

Mary Lake 

 "BE CAREFUL coming down the hill to Mary Lake.  You MUST follow the sign that says, "Biker's Slow Down.'"  

Thank goodness the couple had given us this advice the day before.  We were gaining speed and taking curves, just clipping along and enjoying the breeze.  In the back of my mind I could hear the couple telling us, "At the bike shop, look at the ceiling.  All of those bent tires are victims of the trees by Mary Lake.  There's a sharp turn at the bottom of that hill..."

  I am so glad I didn't miss the turn or I would have been telling you the story of my swim in Mary Lake or my trip to the emergency room with a broken leg because I hit a tree!


At the end of the day, our bike ride was a fulfilling experience!  I didn't walk my bike up any hills, and we finished in less than 3.5 hours.  There was a point in time when I was going a mere 3.4 mph up a hill.  My legs were working fiercely to make it without stopping.  Do you know how hard it is to balance your bike at such a slow speed?!  I took Dori's advice and told myself, "Just keep pedaling!"


For the majority of our vacation, we relaxed at our campsite reading our books or magazines.  We would take a short bike ride here or there, but spend the heat of the afternoon resting in the shade. 

As a side note - I'm sure you are all wondering about the spider situation in this area.  The bathrooms were exceptionally clean and I had very few worries.  Well, let me rephrase that - because there is ALWAYS a worry, and I ALWAYS scan the areas for lurking predators, I found the restrooms to be a pleasant, non-threatening place to go (aside from the one night someone left the door open for any little creatures to inhabit the place!)

Below is the last picture...Jamie was bragging about his track days and letting his testosterone take over.  He had to show me how he could jump over the picnic table.  He didn't make it, but I was proud of his efforts anyway.   After all, it has been nearly 15 years since he was in track, and most importantly, he didn't hurt himself during his attempts!

Old Habits Die Hard

We ordered a new dresser set a couple weeks ago.  They arrived the other day and we had them delivered.  They are a little bigger than I remembered, but they fit into our room somehow!  We rearranged and made a place for them, only to rearrange back to where things were because they only fit one way (according to me-Jamie had another idea but I shot that down).  I was going to insert a picture, but I haven't taken it, so imagine any dresser set and we have something similar ;)

What I can tell you, is that new furniture is awesome!  The trouble is, these dressers are conveniently placed where there used to be walking space.  That means old habits die hard.  The dressers have been in place 2 days, and both Jamie and I have walked into the edge of the dresser at least a few times each.  So far no serious damage has been suffered by our bodies, but I'm considering a bumper on the edge of the dresser to protect my rib cage and my toes.

To Greeley & Back Again

Well, it's been a couple weeks now and I just haven't had the time to post the exciting details of my trip.  To make the long story short, due to some major car trouble encountered by Tara & the kids, my mom and I were off to North Platte, Nebraska on a Saturday afternoon.

2:22pm - I hit the road from Wahpeton, ND

around 4 - Mom & I left Oakes

12:30am - Mom & I make it to North Platte; Wade was a wonderful navigator.  We only took one minor detour in Pierre, SD, but in our defense, the road is NOT labeled clearly!  During our drive, mom and I hashed out a lot of options of what to do when we arrived, but the final answer was for me to head on to Greeley with Tara and the older kids and come back to North Platte for Mom and the youngins.

Around 1:30am - Tara, Mariah & a friend, Tylor, and I head to the mechanic shop to get the car seats and other stuff from the suburban.  Locked.  We are SOL on that one.

2am - we are off for Greeley in the dead of night.

6am - Arrival to Greeley as the sun is coming up.  I bring my bag inside and contemplate a nap. I use the bathroom, brush my teeth, and consider my options.  Sleeping couldn't be the answer. I would be dead to the world and not want to return.  Alas, I got a tour of their house and I hopped into the car with Wade to go get gas.  Wade kindly says, "I think this is the key for the suburban."  My response with wide eyes, "You think?!"  I was not going to drive 4 hours back to North Platte without the option of getting car seats for Noah (almost 2) & JJ (almost 4)!

6:45am - I was on the road and back to North Platte

11:00am (with the time change I believe) - I made it back to North Platte and the key was indeed the correct one.  I was sweating bullets pulling stuff out the suburban, but I got everything loaded and was back on my way to pick up mom and the kids at the hotel.

12:00am - Mom & I are on our way home to Oakes with Noah, JJ, and Gavin.  We got to Oakes at 9:30pm.  I will quickly just jot down a few of the "Fossumisms" and what I remember on the road.


*JJ - "I won the lottery!" as his feet are kickin' and hands are flyin' in the air holding his bright green piece of paper (which he had previously been using as he was writing down his imaginary customer's order for a cheeseburger).


*Gavin reading to Noah and JJ - it was so sweet to see Noah and JJ both leaning in their car seats  towards the middle as Gavin was reading.


*Noah looking at mom's book pointing saying, "Tire. Broke." on every picture of a vehicle.  And then he saw the tow truck in the book...


*The boys cheering when we got to South Dakota...and then Aberdeen....and then North Dakota.


*Singing along with Kids Live on Serius radio - and BINGO of course


*"When we cross the tracks, that's when we are really in Oakes," Gavin was explaining as we drove into the south side of town.  He continues... "Warmer, warmer...oh, they have a tire center here.  Warmer...We're Here!!!"  And the kids go wild as mom and I giggle in the front seat!  He was so calm and serious, and a little surprised when he saw Firestone.  These kids will never forget their horrors on the road.


*There wasn't a single, "Are we there yet?" or whine about, "How much farther?" The kids were troopers on the road!


*We can't forget mom's panicky moments behind the custom combiners or my passing the semi on interstate only to catch the green "Pierre, 1 mi" sign just as I'm getting to the front of it.  I zoom ahead and scootch over and take the off-ramp, probably only to tick off that semi driver!  But - I made the turn-off.  There were a few of those on the way home.  Wade was busy playing a basketball tournament so he wasn't able to offer his GPS skills on the way home.  We made it, though I'm not exactly sure how we didn't end up taking the scenic route!  According to the kids, we even took the shortcut! 


Once we got home, it wasn't 5 minutes and those kids had every one of Grandma's toys out!  Play dough.  Legos.  Trains.  Kitchen set.  Nerf Guns. They were so excited to be at Grandma's!  11:30 rolled around and Grandma and Grandpa finally got them settled down.  I stayed over night there and woke up around 6 to head back to Wahpeton.

In the end - hanging with the kiddos, quality time with my mom, getting to see Wade & Tara's house and visit with them-even if it was just a few short moments -....all in all - my weekend on the road was totally worth it.

Into the Wild...the aftermath

Last Friday, we headed to Charles Lindbergh State Park by Little Falls, Mn.  We love the cart-in campsites because we are more secluded.  It also means it's generally a longer walk to the bathrooms, but I got lucky this time!  A short walk up a hill, through the woods, and wa-la- a spider infested restroom awaits!  I love camping, but I could surely do without the spiders.  Don't worry. I manage.  I keep my eye on them.  Every time I enter the bathrooms, I scan to make sure they are hanging out in their usual spots.  If one happens to be missing, my eyes quickly dart around to see where it may have skirted off to hide.   At least I didn't have to deal with an outhouse at this campground!

I don't even want to talk about my heart pounding episodes of the 4am bathroom trips...SCARY when it's pitch dark and I could hear the animals scittering in the woods.  Walking those trails -- totally a scary movie scene!  I had my trusty flashlight and I walked as fast as possible.  Jamie felt bad for me one time and came with me.   The rest of the times, he just kept sleeping - dead to the world of things that go bump in the night!  He laughs at me when I explain my fears of the creepy guy who could swim through the river right up to our campsite or the stalker who could be waiting in the woods.  Am I paranoid?  Cautious? Crazy?  Or do all women have these same fears?

Despite the spiders and my mind games, all in all, the weekend was peaceful!  Our campsite was perfect; Pike Creek was flowing gently beside us, and the trees were providing protection from the light overnight rain and the beating of the sun during day.  We had very few visitors on the nearby trail, so nature kept us company with its busy squirrels and the little muskrat in the river.  The first camping trip of the summer was a welcomed vacation filled with relaxation.

Into the Wild...

Coming soon -- pictures of our spontaneous camping trip!

Check out my webpage.