Another Minnesota Chapter

Yep.  We’re in Minnesota for our third visit.  Remember what we said about feeling like being a ping pong ball?  I do believe that the trek from Wisconsin to Minnesota is becoming a ride that Jeff could probably do in his sleep!

We are once again staying at the city park in Hutchinson.   Since we are trying to see Jeff’s mom about every third day at the assisted living facility where she is we try to make each visit special.  The trip from the campground to where Dorothy lives takes about 65 minutes as we meander through the towns of Dassel, Cokato, Howard Lake, Waverly, Montrose, Buffalo and St. Michael.  That’s quite the haul before arriving in Albertville.  Getting her outside on those beautiful sunny days gives her a good dose of Vitamin D!



We all know that the flip side of the sunny days brings spring-time rain showers which are good for the crops but bad for humans and the onset of the mosquito population.  It has put a slight damper on our early morning walks that’s for sure.

So much rain that the fire pit (at the bottom of
the picture) was even drowning.

The City of Hutchinson did however do a nice job of spraying recently for their upcoming Water Carnival festivities.  The campground where we are sits right along the Crow River which is used for some of the planned events.  We didn’t have to travel too far to enjoy our “first-ever” boat parade.  Fireworks were seen from the inside of our coach due to the mosquitoes.  Kay did get a picture outside before scurrying quickly inside.

The community of Buffalo is unique.  You will first notice some buffalo statues as you drive around town (we've heard over 20 so far), even though the city is named after a buffalo fish found in Buffalo Lake, that the city is built on.  Buffalo is known for its lake beauty, quaint downtown with the unique specialty and occasional shops, and its general rural friendliness. 

 

A sign along the road peaked our interest for a scenic lookout a an area called Pigeon Lake near Kimball, Minnesota.  We made sure to have our binoculars in the Jeep because we definitely wanted to get a good look at what we had noticed was a large numbers of American White Pelicans and Cormorant in this area.  The Pelican is one bird that neither of us ever remember being in Minnesota while we were growing up.  The plaque that was displayed at the pullout explained this area as the Pigeon Lake Nesting Area.  The population of birds has surely changed over the years with the Pelican population seemingly being the more dominant bird here.  Here is one site that talks about the nesting site.  Hope you find it as interesting as we did.   We love our birds.

A quiet day for the island on this particular day.  Other days find this area completely covered with birds.

We can’t forget to include some fun stuff that we ran into such as the Bake Shoppe in Dassel, Minnesota that sells $.50 Kolache’s.

 

 

Or, the new drink that is made with Ginger Beer, called a Moscow Mule.  Recipe calls for a jigger or vodka, ginger beer on ice and a splash of lime juice.   Moscow Mule Trivia.   Thanks to our friend, Sam on the West Coast, we are informed of its history and the fact that serving it in a copper mug is to keep the drink cold and all the more delicious for a very good refreshing summer drink.  Thanks, Sam! 

The Back to the Fifties classic car show in Minneapolis was the ultimate for us.  We spent the day with Brian (Jeff’s bro) and Jan (Kay’s sis) - who have been married to each other for 43 years strong – at their invitation to drool over the classics with them.  Brian was participating with his 64 Chevy Nova and is currently restoring his third car, a 64 Chevy Malibu.  We had so much fun walking and walking, and walking - 3.96 miles per Kay’s Fitbit.  Did we see all 11,955 registered vehicles?  I don’t think so, but we will share some of our favorites with you.
 

Jan & Brian with their 1964 Nova

1955 Nomad

1957 Chevy



1950's Jeepster

1966 Corvette Coupe

1927 Oldsmobile

1964 Studebaker Avanti

1937 Dodge School Bus converted to an RV

It’s time to return to Wisconsin. 

 

 

Jeff's first cousin, Carol and her husband Dale, have a home in Hutchinson.  Carol made us dinner and had her sister, Barb and husband Loren, join us for a fun evening around the dinner table the night before we were leaving. 

 

Jeff's first cousins, Barb & Carol

  

Hugs from the North Star State.