Month: September 2016

As I’ve written several times on Easin’ Along, retirement offers us several opportunities that we didn’t have while working full time. We have a greater opportunity for learning; we have the opportunity for extended travel, and, if we choose, we have the opportunity to do absolutely nothing. We took advantage of all three while making our way toward the Dakotas…I’ll explain.

While taking advantage of the opportunity for extended travel, we have learned that we need to set aside a few days along the way and choose to do nothing (or very little). By doing so, we can slow the pace a little; catch up on laundry, read and return email; organize the photos; blog; even pay a few bills. We chose Grand Forks, North Dakota as a place for some relaxing “down time”.

Neither Helen (adorable wife) nor I had ever been to the Dakotas and, in planning this trip through the Heartland, we decided we needed to change that fact. Following our visit with friends in the lovely village of Grey Eagle, MN, our next destination was the Warrior Inn at Grand Forks, ND Air Force Base. We had plenty of time before our check in, and could have taken a direct route to Grand Forks along I-94 and I-29, but what fun is that? Instead, we decided once again to take the road less traveled, and follow highway 28 into South Dakota, then go north through Fargo, ND, and on to Grand Forks.  Doing so allowed us to check South Dakota off our list of states visited and to see some beautiful countryside.

Our route took us through some small and very quaint villages on the prairie and through some very large farms.  Even though the towns were small, there were some beautiful homes and churches along the highway and it would have been fun to visit them.  My guess is that most of the larger homes were built around the turn of the 20^th century, but that is just a guess. 

When we crossed the border into South Dakota, I had to stop and record the event on my camera.  Helen stood under a South Dakota welcome sign in some tall grass and posed bearing a huge grin.  The picture was posted on Facebook and someone pointed out that there were bullet holes in the welcome sign…somehow we missed that, but we felt welcome anyway. At Sisseton, SD we turned north and worked our way to Grand Forks.

We learned one more thing at the Warrior Inn which is that these Air Force people know how to live.  We had HUGE suite with a large living room, kitchenette, and large bath.  We settled in nicely and took advantage of our “down time” to catch up on our laundry, email, and a few other tasks, before we went into Grand Forks to get a small sampling of the city and probably a larger taste of its food.

Grand Forks, ND sits on the border with Minnesota alongside the Red River.  The drive from the Air Force Base was about 20 miles and we made our way into town in the late afternoon. It was a beautiful day and we were eager to stretch our legs after a day of driving, but before anything like that took place we decided to visit the Toasted Frog for drinks and dinner.  This place came highly recommended on Trip Advisor.  We figured that with a name like that it had better be good. It was!

The Toasted Frog was busy and we were seated at the bar, which really is my preference when there is just the two of us. I always feel like the service is a little better there. The restaurant advertised itself as eclectic, fun, and inviting with a diverse, made from scratch menu.  We were not disappointed.

Helen had fish tacos that consisted of grilled mahi-mahi with sour cream slaw, avocado, mango and tomato salsa, and wrapped in a flour tortilla. She left me with no doubt that she enjoyed it.  I had to take her word…there was nothing left on her plate.

I chose the walleye picatta. We were still in walleye country and I love fresh fish.  This dish was a large portion of walleye lightly dusted in flour and pan-fried with capers, shallots, garlic, lemon juice and butter. It was splendid…Helen had to take my word for it.  We both had beer from their list of over forty on tap.  Regretfully, I can’t remember the name. The service was excellent and we had a delightful conversation with a very friendly schoolteacher who was seated next to us.  It was the last night of her summer vacation before school started the next day.

After dinner we definitely had to walk off a few calories so we went in the direction of the Red River Bridge.  The weather was incredible and temperatures were in the low 70’s as it has been for most of this trip.  We did not miss the scorching heat back home.

Grand Forks is not a large town (population 66,000), and there was not a lot of activities on the streets since most of the shops were closed. That was fine with us as we were there to stroll and to relax instead of doing our usual frenetic sightseeing. We arrived at the bridge as the sun was going down and a couple of fishermen were heading in – probably after a day in pursuit of a few fresh walleye for the Toasted Frog. I took a few pictures before we walked across the bridge into Minnesota for a quick return to that state. We called it a day after that, but a great (and much needed) day it was.

 

                                                                                                                      

 

The next morning we packed it up and pointed Heidi (adorable wife’s car) in the direction of International Falls, MN.  We were given a quick goodbye wave from a local prairie dog.  I thought it was a nice gesture from a true local to wrap up a great visit. He was a cute little fellow and I had never seen one before.  This grainy picture is the best I could do to capture him for everyone, but prairie dogs move quickly.

So long, little guy…we’ll be Easin’ Along.

Down time is a great lesson learned.

After taking in the sights and the food of St. Louis, Kansas City, and Minneapolis, it was time for us to Ease Along on some of the roads less traveled. We checked out of the North Country Lodge and worked our way over to Highway 10 which would take us on a northwestern route to our next destination—Grey Eagle, Minnesota. This was doubly exciting for us because not only were we eager to see some beautiful country, but we were also going to reunite with some friends of long ago.

In 1972 Helen (adorable wife) and I had just moved to Wurzburg, Germany where I was assigned to the United States Army’s Third Infantry Division as a newly commissioned second lieutenant. Our sponsor had worked hard to find housing for us in a small German village near the post.  Our new home was on the second floor of a three story farmhouse converted to apartments.  The landlord was a German lady who spoke little English but was a nice person. She kept a cow in a barn under the apartments, but except for the copious amounts of flies drawn to the barn (and our apartment); the cow was of little consequence.

Helen and I had never spent much time away from family and our home town friends, and were really looking forward meeting new people and making new friends. Luck was with us because one floor above us lived Rod and Sally, a lovely young couple about our age who came from Nebraska. I can’t remember exactly how we met, but we took a liking to them both immediately and spent many an evening together grilling hamburgers in front of our apartment, or out and about at a local wine fest or German pub.

Rod was an excellent photographer and I was fascinated to know someone who could develop his own pictures. Sally and Helen worked together as assistants at the nursery school on post and shared a lot of laughs at the antics of a roomful of children. We enjoyed ski trips to the Bavarian Alps along with Paul and Dayna, a couple from Colorado who lived next door.  I have some pictures from one of those trips posted below. Those truly were some of the most enjoyable times of our lives.

About a year after our arrival in Germany, it was time for Rod and Sally to say goodbye and return to the States. They settled in Kansas where they raised a family and prospered professionally. Fortunately for us, they kept in touch over the next forty plus years and all four of us held the hope that we would be able to reunite at some time in the future. Our trip to the Heartland finally gave us our chance.

After we made our plans for this trip, Helen contacted Sally and asked if they would be in Kansas during the time we would be passing through on our way north.  She replied that they usually spent the summer at their cabin in Minnesota and asked if we could meet them there and stay in their spare cabin. They didn’t have to ask twice. Big cities have much to offer, but a cabin on a lake with old friends was an offer to good to let get away.

Neither Helen nor I had ever been to or through Minnesota, and the drive along Highway 10 was a real eye-opener. I had always heard that Minnesota was the Land of 10,000 Lakes and we passed by a number of them as we drove.  More impressive however, were the enormous fields of corn that stretched across miles of land as flat as a dinner table. This was not small farming; this was agri-business on full display.  The fields were green and the roadsides were manicured.  I thought it was very beautiful and remarked at what a tremendous national resource this is for our country.

We made our way to Grey Eagle and to Rod and Sally’s cabin after missing one turn (we had been warned that it was easy to do) and were greeted warmly. It was difficult to avoid the urge to begin immediately making up for forty years of lost conversation, but we paused long enough to be shown to our room. We walked to the charming cabin that Sally had decorated with her discoveries found through a lifetime of browsing for antiques and furnishings. Helen and I dropped our suitcases, gave each other a high five, and walked back to the main cabin where we jumped right in to the process of catching up. Several hours into a non-stop conversation we paused long enough to enjoy two treats; a delightful dinner of pork tenderloin and an incredible sunset over Big Birch Lake. I have pictures of both below.

On our next day we were given a tour of the town of Grey Eagle, MN (pop. 337). This quiet village was platted in 1882 and, according to reliable sources, was named for the fact that an early settler shot an eagle there. No one disputes this.  The town has one short main street (State St.) that extends for about four blocks and several side streets.  I don’t remember seeing a traffic light but, if there was one, it wouldn’t be of much use. I would imagine that traffic jams are somewhat rare in downtown Grey Eagle.

The city hall was a small but beautiful stone faced structure.  It was constructed in 1934 during the Depression by laborers in the WPA. Over the front door, a five foot eagle stood handsomely while watching over the citizenry of the small town. The type face for the name of the hall had been carved, Art Deco style, into a massive stone below the eagle. Near the town hall was a monument to the fallen heroes of previous wars.  Everything in Grey Eagle seemed tastefully done and added to the charm of small town living. Nevertheless, I’m not certain that I would last very long there—the average daily temperature in January is 4° with the average low temperature -33°.

That evening, the four of us ate dinner in a local saloon known as the Double R Bar and Grill. Surprisingly, the place was nearly filled with patrons, and was quite lively.  My only regret is that I didn’t have my camera and was not able to take pictures of the interior and of our meals. I have no memory of what everyone ordered except for me. I am able to do this because it was the best tasting fried walleye sandwich I’ve ever had. My hat’s off to the chef. This was a great way to cap off a marvelous day and a splendid trip.

Sadly, we had to depart the next morning after a fantastic breakfast and some long goodbyes.  We made a promise that we would not go as long between visits, and we expect to keep that promise. We made some great memories, but it was time for us to be Easin’ Along.

Next week, Grand Forks, North Dakota…see you then.

Readers who have followed our trip through the Heartland so far will recall that our last post gave the details of our visit to Leavenworth, Kansas, the origin of the Sante Fe Trail. After that visit ended we hit the trail ourselves and made our way to Minneapolis, a town that neither of us had visited previously. Our stop in Minneapolis was to be for one night only because we would leave the next day and travel to meet some friends at their cabin on one of the Minnesota lakes.  We will detail that lovely visit next week here on Easin’ Along. We had booked rooms at the North Country Lodge, an Air Force installation adjacent to the Minneapolis Airport.

As is our usual practice when traveling, I drive while Helen (adorable wife) plans the activities and then tells me where I’m going…this works well. She was reading about things to do in Minneapolis on Trip Advisor and AAA Guidebooks and learned that one of the top attractions was the Mill City Museum located along the Mississippi River waterfront.  It was a beautiful day and much cooler than we had anticipated when we arrived so a museum visit followed by a walk along the river seemed to be just what we needed to stretch our legs after a morning of driving. This was going to be an excellent day for learning something new.

The Mill City Museum occupies what was once the city’s largest flour mill. It is here where visitors are able to learn about the city’s once thriving flour milling industry and its relationship to the Mississippi River as well as to the history of Minneapolis. The building was constructed in 1879 on the site of a mill that had been destroyed in a flour dust explosion in 1878. That explosion was so large that not one stone was left in place and there were no survivors. The newly constructed building burned in the 1990’s and the museum was built into the remaining structure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great pains were taken to preserve the old mill and the exhibits were well done. A visitor received a good visual history lesson of the flour milling industry that sprang up in the 1800’s and served as an impetus for the growth of the city. Due to the availability of water power from the river, there were over 25 flour mills in the city around the turn of the Twentieth Century and made Minneapolis the “Flour Milling Capitol of the World”. Recognizable names like Gold Medal and Pillsbury grew from the Minneapolis milling industry. I enjoyed our visit greatly and learned much that I didn’t know before.

After our tour of the museum, we took the opportunity to walk along the Mississippi and learn about St. Anthony Falls, the only waterfall on the upper Mississippi. Centuries of erosion have claimed the limestone rocks that once formed the waterfall and now a concrete apron carries the water down about nine feet where it continues southward.

In order to extend navigation up the river beyond the city of Minneapolis, locks were built between 1948 and 1964. Nevertheless, due to the narrowness of the Mississippi at this point, only a few boats can navigate the waters and river traffic effectively ends here. The St. Anthony Lock was closed last year in order to prevent the migration of the Asian carp from moving up river.

The National Park Service operates the St. Anthony Visitor Center and conducts tours of the locks. Park Rangers also provide details the history of St. Anthony Falls and its contribution to the local milling industry. The Center provides visitors with a wonderful learning experience about this Mississippi River region and its significant impact on the economy of our nation.  We took advantage of the views provided by the visitor center and also stretched our legs by walking end to end over a lovely stone arch bridge now devoted to pedestrian use.  The walk gave us a great view of the Minneapolis skyline.

By now we were refreshed and it was time to do what we do best…eat!

Once again, Helen scoured Trip Advisor to see what was in the area where we were staying.  As luck would have it, one of the more highly rated restaurants was conveniently located within a short drive of our lodging at the North Country Lodge.   We pointed the car in the direction of George and The Dragon restaurant, once featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

When we arrived, the crowd was gathering and it looked like we were in for a wait, but it turned out that those folks were part of a large group waiting for a party room.  We were seated immediately, but there weren’t many seats available…this place was busy. We were handed menus and, after a quick glance, ordered a local craft beer named Fulton Lonely Blonde Ale on our waiter’s recommendation. It was served ice cold.

The dinner fare was gourmet casual dining, which was perfect for us. For starters, I ordered a bowl of the Cheddar and Ale soup.  This was delicious.  It was very cheesy and contained small strips of grilled onions, and was served with warm and tasty pretzel bread.  I could have consumed a gallon of the soup, but unfortunately I found the bottom of the bowl all too soon and had to move on to the next course.

 

 

 

 

I was in a burger mood so I ordered the George Burger and it was in the same league with the soup…incredibly good.  The burger was served on a pretzel bun and topped with aged cheddar cheese, a mustard cream sauce, and some onions which were uniquely named “frizzled leeks”. 

 

Once again however, Helen out-ordered me by selecting Scottish Salmon.  This delectable meal was a healthy cut of salmon that was marinated in a Lemon Soy mixture and lightly grilled. It was served over fresh spinach leaves with a serving of creamy cucumbers on the side (adorable wife LOVES cucumbers). Needless to say she consumed every bite.  

After dinner we needed to walk off a few calories so we meandered through a few shops near George and The Dragon.  The area was charming as were the shops and we found a few cute gifts for family and friends. By then, it was time for a good night’s sleep and we worked our way back to the North Country Lodge.

Up early the next morning, we were pumped to make our way to Grey Eagle, Minnesota and the banks of Big Birch Lake.  Please come back next week and let us share our wonderful time there with you. Until then…we’ll be Easin’ Along.