On to Wisconsin

 Our next stop was Algoma, Wisconsin.  Unfortunately, the weather in Minnesota was never good enough to get in even one short bike ride.  It was either rainy, cold and cloudy or windy or a combination of the three😞.   We're hoping for better weather today in Algoma, but Roy was talking about how the wind is picking up all day long, except at 4:00 when the wind starts to die down and there is a chance of rain!!!  Good grief!!

As we drove the portion from Green Bay to Algoma we went through Kewaunee County which has only ONE stoplight.  The whole county!!!  Amazing isn't it when we have a stoplight just to get out of our Arizona neighborhood.  Rural Wisconsinites have no idea of what rush hour traffic is like(or they know what it is like and that is why they moved to Wisconsin).

We waited and waited for good weather.  I finally went for a walk with Char wearing Roy's jacket and Char's headband.  This was the end of May and I was dressed for winter weather, or should I say Arizona winter weather?  No need for gloves since the sleeves were much longer than my arms.  If I was back home, I'd probably be sweating in short sleeves and shorts.

Despite weather challenges, we are enjoying our stay in Algoma.  Roy has his special coffee made for us each day, we have had great meals and they are excellent hosts!  What more could we ask for? 

The gnome in Char's garden is peeking around the tulips and daffodils.  He's such a cute little guy.

Here is the serene view from their back yard.  We have watched a goose family waddle through the grass, people kayaking on the river, and a woodchuck, rabbits and squirrels waiting in earnest to dig up Char's plants.

Not far from Algoma is the tiny, unincorporated community of Sugar Bush. This "town" is so tiny that their post office closed in 1972.  I bet it has even less traffic than Algoma!   That is where our former neighbors from Tucson now live.  We were able to meet Ron and Terry Kapp for lunch at the Tlazo Cafe in Algoma for a delicious lunch. At one point we didn't even know if it would be open since it was Memorial Day but we lucked out.

My lunch: spinach salad with warm bacon dressing.  

Sure wished we had them as neighbors again.  If our dog Fraulein would ever wander off, she'd go directly to their house.  I babysat their daughter Jennell and Bret was just a small boy.  That's quite a few years, or should I say decades?  At any rate, it was wonderful to see them again.

The Wine was Fine

 We decided another trip to Morgan Creek Vineyards was in order.  After all, we sure wouldn't have wanted Norm to be in New Ulm and not have a chance to imbibe of some excellent wine.  It was brisk and cool on Saturday and only a few people were sitting out on the patio.  They had to be some of the hearty Minnesotans who think 50-degree weather means short sleeves, shorts and flip flops!  The three of us were dressed "appropriately" in jeans, long sleeved shirts and jackets.

A crabapple tree was in full bloom as we walked towards the entrance.

Norm and Don each ordered a flight of drinks, and I was happy to choose one wine that I knew I would like since it was a sweet one.  We munched on an appetizer plate and gourmet popcorn while sampling some of the different wines offered.  I even managed to drink all of the wine in the one sampler sized glass! 🍷  I think it was at least equal to 10 cups of communion wine, possibly more if the communion cups are half full. I can still count it as having a glass of wine.😉

Outside there was a fire going and propane heaters were situated close to a few of the tables. 

Here is what Don and Norm took home with them:

There were no "whiney" people in our group.  All of us were happy campers, so to speak.

What's New in New Ulm?

 The answer is: not much as far as we could tell! 😂 Maybe someone changed: the color of a particular house or perhaps there's a new business in town.  But these Midwestern towns seem to hold on to their charm with century old houses, familiar parks, statues and huge trees lining the streets.  There is something comforting in the fact that you can come back 10 years later, and the same buildings will be there.  Indeed, it is a much slower pace here than the frenzied one in Phoenix.

Our friend Norm came this week and was able to park his Oliver trailer right by the garage. He is also good friends with Verl and Clara and had received permission to stay for a few days. 

Our first outing was to show him Schmidt's Meat Market in Nicolette.  We ended up buying sausage, brats, meat, cheese, pork sausage and even homemade German potato salad.  The smell of smoked meat when you enter is heavenly (if you are a carnivore).  This definitely is not a place where vegans or vegetarians congregate. Here is part of the selection of meat sticks that come in all sorts of flavors.

This was Norm's initial visit to New Ulm, so we followed the suggestion of the New Ulm Visitor's Guide and showed him Martin Luther College, Hermann the German statue, downtown New Ulm plus side trips to Schell's Brewery and Morgan Creek Vineyards during the time he was here.  We are way too old to have accomplished this in just one day.

Our first place to stop in New Ulm was the Glockenspiel.  We did notice that this year the Dakota Indian was missing.  Perhaps the winter was too hard on him, or he's waiting to come back until he is labeled a Native American.  There was no one around to ask(maybe because it was 50 degrees and the cold wind was blowing). 

The three of us did agree that we would never, ever want to live in a house across the street.  The chimes are LOUD and the glockenspiel goes off 5 times each day during the summer. 

We supported one of the local businesses by visiting the local brewery that has been in business here for over 150 years.  Schell's beer has been enjoyed by generations of Minnesotans and students from Martin Lutheran College. 

Our granddaughter Tatum gave Don suggestions as to what beer to order.  Both Don and Norm liked what they got at Schell's. Cheers for the beers!🍺🍺

In fact, Norm liked the beer so much we stopped by the local liquor store so he could purchase some to take to his summer place in Wisconsin. 👍

Graduation No. Three

 Graduation Day at Martin Luther College had finally come.  Our granddaughter Tatum and her husband Jonah Schulz were in the same class, so there were quite a few people from both sides of their families in attendance. Even though it drizzled slightly before the ceremony began, the sun appeared afterward.  Yay! 🌞🌞

From left to right: Jonah, Tatum, Bret, Ella, Nate and Kim. Both Kim and Tatum are grads of MLC.

Grandparents Roy and Char Beyer with Tatum.

And us of course!  No way would we drive 2000 plus miles and miss being there.

Something must have tickled their funny bone!  Who knows? But I love the expressions on their faces.

The "Chef" for the party was Bret.  He has gotten the grilling of brats, hot dogs and hamburgers down to a "T".

Roy was giving a thumbs up, but by the looks of his face, I'm not sure of what he was thinking! Below are some of the members of Jonah's side of the family, his mother, sister, grandparents and an uncle.

Our grandson Nate looked like he enjoyed the cold beer.  I guess that is to be expected when a group of Germans gather in Minnesota.  The beer is always near. For some reason that DNA was NOT passed down from the German side of my family.

As the afternoon wore on, it got to be too much for Ella. She plopped herself down into a beach chair and promptly fell sound asleep, oblivious to the people around her.  Only babies and teenager can get away with this.  Once you hit retirement age, sleep can be elusive at times.

Minnesota Musings

 Made it to New Ulm in 3 long days.  It was past 5 PM as we turned on to the dirt road to our friend's home. (The view below was taken a couple of days later).

. It started to rain huge drops.  We were tired from dealing with construction delays and both of us were hungry.  Don unloaded the truck and sent me straight to the kitchen to make supper (we had stopped in Mankato for a few groceries).  

After supper it rained buckets and we even saw a small tornado go past in the field across the street!  Don's phone buzzed with a tornado warning, and I made sure that my purse and the laptop bag were down in the basement.  The bag held my backup file with the tens of thousands of pictures I've taken over the last 15 or so years.  It was an exciting/exhilarating/slightly scary evening for us.😨😨

Next day, more warnings, strong winds and more rain.  A lightning bold hit so close that evening it sounded like a small bomb.  Us Arizonans are sure not used to those types of storms.  This was a time we were thankful to be inside a sturdy home rather than our trailer.

Anyhoo....here are some photos of the beautiful abode we are able to use for 2 weeks.  Many thanks to our dear friends Verl and Clara for allowing us to stay here.  It is huge blessing for us.

Dandelions and wild violets among the deep green grass.

The apple trees are starting to leaf out, but haven't blossomed yet.

By Friday evening, family had arrived and all the bedrooms were full.  We had 9 people that night, including a pastor that we had never met before!  He brought his own sleeping bag and slept on the couch.  Being a Lutheran, he enjoyed the fresh coffee and homemade cookies in the morning!😊

Three is the "Magic" Number

 Summer 2022 came to us in groups of three.  Three college graduations, three high school graduations and three (of course) confirmations.  Then add in a long three day trip to Minnesota into the mix.  It will be a busy time for us.  

The first trip was to Flagstaff, Arizona to see our first grandchild graduate from the Honors Program with a Bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy.  That was on Friday, May 6th,   Now we have 2 generations of Northern Arizona University graduates in our family. Heidi graduated 30 years earlier.😊

Hailey's cousin, Cassidy, also graduated from NAU on the same day, so there was a bunch of family members at the ceremony.  Although it was windy at times, it was a pleasant day with lots of sunshine.

Three days later, we were on the road to our first stop in Tucumcari, New Mexico. We were 16 miles from Santa Rosa when Don's phone had an alert about an evacuation taking place in that town because of a wildfire.  Gusty winds and wildfires are nothing to mess with, but on we went.  We were routed off the Interstate into the town of Santa Rosa.

This has been a terrible fire season for the state of New Mexico because of the extremely dry conditions and high winds.  Both Don and I were glad that we weren't pulling our trailer in this type of weather.

It took a bit longer but we did make it to Tucumcari, a town that flourished in the 1950's and 1960's when Route 66 went through the middle of town.  However, after Interstate 40 was built the town went downhill. Today it is full of closed businesses and empty buildings.  I think we found only 3 open restaurants when we got in at 6 PM.  Fortunately, the Del's Restaurant was open, had a great selection of food and great service.  Food for the weary and hungry soul.

One of the interesting buildings directly across the street was an old gas station.  The pumps are real but the garage doors, the motorcycle and the back end of a Cadillac are all painted on. I should have checked the gas prices.  I'm sure they had to be much cheaper than the $5.45 a gallon we're paying for diesel this trip.