Alexandria

Today I took a visit to Alexandria, which is an hour northwest of me on I-94.  Alexandria is a pretty town with lots of lakes, biking, some museums, theaters, and other activities.  I just went up for a few hours.  I was planning to rent a bike and go along the Central Lakes Trail, which looks perfect for me.  It is an old railroad track that has been paved and goes for 55 miles.  It's flat, it goes past lakes and farmland, it's smooth and wide. Sounded great. But when I got there the weather wasn't very nice.  It was a nice temperature, around 73 degrees, but it was very windy, and cloudy. So I will do the bike ride another time. Maybe in the fall, because apparently the fall colors are awesome.

But I still did some things.  First I went to the farmer's market. Then I stopped by the statue of Big Ole. Big Ole was built in 1965 for the World's Fair in New York. He is 28 feet tall. For his 50th birthday, the town of Alexandria is repairing and repainting him. Here are some fun historic pictures of Big Ole.

Across the street from Big Ole is the Runestone Museum.  This is sort of a crazy story, and the reason for viking mania in Alexandria (and I guess, all of Minnesota). In 1898, a farmer named Olof Ohman, in Kensington, Minnesota (near Alexandria) found this runestone in the roots of a tree he was removing from his land. Believers say Vikings left it here in 1362; unbelievers say it is a hoax.  The museum shows the scientific work that has gone into proving it is real, and it tells the sad story of what happened to the Ohmans after their discovery. Personally, I'm inclined to believe it is real, because I like to believe in interesting, magical things.  But the museum puts so much into proving it is real, that it makes it feel like they are trying too hard, and I kind of want to roll my eyes about it.  Here's what wikipedia has to say about it.

The controversial runestone

But the runestone is only part of the museum. Being a small town museum, they also have a diorama of (frequently poorly) taxidermied animals native to Minnesota, an exhibit of housewares, some Native American beadwork, some guns and uniforms from WWII, several pump organs, photos from main street in the 1800's, and other old knick-knacks.  In museums like this, I can't help buy think about the amateur presentation. For example, in the stuffed owls display there was description of a snowy owl, but there wasn't one on display. Lots of stuff is on display simply because someone donated it. Mannequins in bad wigs are inside displays, or more creepily, just sitting at an old desk when you walk into the room (I just kept walking past that one).  And then there are the flags.  As you can see from the picture below, there are five Scandinavian flags on display. In the label, only four of them are identified. (Can you identify the left-out flag??)

There was large painting in the runestone area that really captured my imagination. It is called The Last Goodbye? and is by a local artist, Myron Sahlberg, painted last year specifically for this museum. Here is a copy of it from the internet.  There was a whole book published about the creation of this painting, and I want to go back and get the book next time I'm there. I just thought it was a really captivating painting, and it was huge. 

The artist also made the frame, which isn't shown here but was beautiful and symbolic.

Outside the museum they have old prairie buildings from the area - a log cabin that instantly reminded me of the Ingalls' cabin in the Little House on the Prairie TV show; a post office and general store, a school, a church, and a stagecoach stop. Also a huge barn filled with farm equipment, carriages, and a big boat.  There was a cell phone audio tour, at each stop you could call in for the narration. It was pretty well done, but the first time I called in, I accidentally called the Norwegian language one. The only options are English and Norwegian.  Go Vikings!

Can you see the bed that Mary and Laura shared?? I can.

After the museum I walked along Lake Agnes, found a peaceful spot, and ate the lunch I brought. Then I drove up to City Park, and waded in my first Minnesota Lake!  It was cold! And wet! I only took like one step in, stood there for a bit, and stepped back out. I didn't see any fish. But it was exciting for me. I became a Viking for a Day.

Farmer's Market!

Every Friday afternoon there is a farmer's market in St. Joseph, the little town between my house and my school.  Also, on Wednesday afternoons there is a farmer's market in the small town my school is in, and on Saturday mornings there is one in St. Cloud.  Lots of farmer's markets! I went to the one in St. Joe yesterday, and it was great.

The weather was lovely, the drive is less than 5 minutes, and the parking! So much available parking! And there weren't crowds you had to wiggle through like at the Cherry Creek and Pearl Street farmer's markets in Denver. I just walked around, looked at all the stands, and bought stuff.  Also, there was a guy on a small stage singing, which I thought was great.

So much parking! It's a dream come true.

I didn't really need anything, so I bought basil, an ear of corn, a stalk of gladiolas, a honey almond croissant from the Collegeville Artisan Bakery, and a pack of naan made that morning.

In my teacher training the last few days, I asked about the Cold Spring Bakery, which is a big deal in Cold Spring. People here have strong opinions about their baked goods, however.  One guys swears by the bread from the Collegeville Artisan Bakery, so I will probably buy a loaf of something next week.  Another girl says there is a bakery in St. Cloud that is even better.  So many baked things to try, so little time. The farmer's markets won't last forever.  Though the one in St. Cloud goes through October, apparently.

Moving again!

I've gotten a job and I've moved again!  I have a job teaching ESL at the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade levels at Cold Spring Elementary, in Cold Spring, Minnesota.  I moved to St. Cloud this weekend, which is about 20 minutes from Cold Spring, and is bigger, so there is more to do, and more housing and shopping opportunities.  Brian and I drove the UHaul from Denver and had a fun roadtrip on the way.

On Thursday we drove through Ogallala, Nebraska, and stopped at the Petrified Wood Gallery. Without pictures to show, it's impossible to describe the very very cool artwork these two 80-year-old twin guys create from petrified wood and other rocks and minerals.  And it was free! We really enjoyed the gallery.

We drove north through Nebraska, and saw some beautiful country. Rolling hills, empty highway. I could imagine being a pioneer traveling through an endless territory devoid of people.  We got to South Dakota in late afternoon, and hit Mitchell around 7pm.  After checking into a hotel, we headed directly to the Corn Palace.

The world's only!!

I have wanted to see the Corn Palace since I was in middle school and had a friend that would visit almost every year and tell me about it.  Let me tell you, it did not disappoint.  The outside is redecorated every year in late August (so we saw it at the very end of its life).  The brick building stays put, but the murals are changed each year, according to a new theme.  12 different colors of native corn are used, as well as native grasses and straw.  We went inside, because it is free!  There was lots of interesting history told via posters on the wall, and we watched a video about the corn palace as well.  Turns out, the first corn palace was in Sioux City, Iowa, but a huge flood wiped out most of the businesses, so they couldn't afford to build it one year. That was the year Mitchell swooped in on the idea and built their own corn palace. They also did this because the town next to theirs, Plankinton, had a grain palace that was attracting lots of visitors.  But have you ever heard of the Plankinton Grain Palace? No, you have not.  The businesspeople of Mitchell knew how to hype up a building made of grain.  The corn palace has been redecorated every year since then, with the exception of a few years in WWII because corn was needed for the war effort.  Inside is a big auditorium that is used for high school basketball games, local theater, pageants, and other events.  The auditorium is decorated with murals depicting South Dakota scenes, totally made out of corn.  These murals are permanent and get new corn every 10 years-ish. We loved the corn palace!

People, these murals are MADE OF CORN!

It says 'Minnesota Welcomes You'. The light was behind it, it's impossible to read.

The next day we drove to Minnesota!  We stopped for pastries at this famous cafe in Pipestone, then carried on to St. Cloud.  I got the keys to my apartment, and we crashed at the hotel. Have you ever seen the show Tiny House, Big Living? Neither had we, but we watched 3 episodes in a row, and highly enjoyed it. Mom and dad got in about 9pm (they flew in after work). 

A place for everything in the trailer

Saturday was moving day.  I hired a local college guy to help us unload, and he and Brian were amazing at getting all my stuff up to my 3rd floor apartment.  Dad and I built my bed, and mom helped unpack and return the UHaul.  In the evening, we went to Clemens gardens, a beautiful city garden in St. Cloud on the Mississippi river.  We even saw my friends Troy and Jenean there!  It was a great evening, warm, peaceful, very nice.

Clemens Gardens

Sunday we drove out to Cold Spring to check out my school and the town.  We stopped by the St. Boniface parish festival and had some cheese curds, and walked around the town.  Brian and Dad went over to St. John's University to sightsee, and Mom and I went grocery shopping.  Unpacked a bit more, built some more furniture, and said our goodbyes! Brian was so so helpful during this move, I could not have done it without him!!

Work hard, nap hard

Tomorrow I head to my first day of new staff training.  I'm excited! Everything feels great about this next big adventure!!

Summer Adventures

Well, the summer has flown by, as always.  After graduation in May, I came back to Denver for the summer. I thought about getting a job for the summer, and I applied for a few things, but I didn't try too hard.  In the end, I had lots to do, but very little of it involved making money.  It was a great summer.  I went to my Spanish conversation class, I went to knitting group and book club.  I spent some time at La Foret with my parents during Community Camp.  I took a trip to Minnesota to see my friends Ellory and Ben, check out the school I will be working at, and look for an apartment. I went to free and cheap events in Denver. I babysit a bit. And I taught an adult ESL class twice a week. All of these things were fun and great and wonderful.  I had a very fun summer.

Paul and Sarah came for a visit, and Chris was home from the Army. We all went to a free pops concert at Southmoor park. It was lovely!

With the ladies in my ESL class (and their kids).

Dad and I tackled this cinnamon roll as big as a plate in a cafe in Ault, Colorado. Afterwards we checked out their antique car show and harvest day festival parade.

After Ault, dad and I visited Pawnee National Grasslands. It is wide open, empty countryside. We saw pronghorn, hawks, a heron, lots of little songbirds, cows, and lots of bugs. And iconic windmills.

White Sands National Monument

Dad and I drove the U-Haul back to Denver. We made it a two-day trip, and stopped to check out White Sands National Monument. It's a quick visit, and totally worth it.  The sand dunes were crazy! They are actually made of gypsum, and stay cool, so you can walk around barefoot in the hot weather.  It wasn't really hot when we were there, and we had fun walking up and down the dunes.  It's a really bizarre world.

Me climbing a gypsum dune

Where the dune drops away. The sand was surprisingly firm here

Where plants grow out of the sand, it looks like snow banks

Actually, it all looks like snow banks.

Graduation!

I'm all done!  I graduated with my Master's of Arts in Language, Reading, and Culture on May 15th. The ceremony was quite nice.  Mom, Dad, and Brian came to watch.

Lined up with my LRC cohort before being hooded

After the ceremony, we took some pictures outside.  The weather was again perfect, in the mid-70s. 

Brian photo bombing my only nice photo

Poke you in the eye, Brian!

Graduation Weekend

I was lucky enough to have Mom, Dad, and Brian come down for graduation weekend May 14-17.  We spent a lot of time packing my apartment up, but we also had time to do some fun stuff.  We spent an afternoon at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which is always a favorite of mine.  It was Brian's first time there, and I think he had fun.

Two bobcats cuddling!

The gorgeous mountain lion spent a lot of time looking out the window at us.

awww! Burrowing owls!

Bighorned Brian!

I'm a turtle! Brian is a turtle wrangler!

I had rented a U-Haul trailer to pack my apartment into for the trip back to Denver, and everyone helped me load it up.  The weather was amazing, cool and sunny, the perfect weather for loading a trailer.  Thanks to Ben for all his help!

San Fransisco/Berkeley - Final day!

More sightseeing happened on Monday!  Dana, Henry, and I went into a different part of San Fransisco and saw more interesting sights!  We went to Golden Gate Park, which, interestingly enough, is not by the Golden Gate Bridge.  We walked around inside the park, and visited the Japanese Tea Garden. It was peaceful and lovely.  Also a bit expensive.  But mostly lovely.

Me, Dana, and Henry at the Japanese Tea Garden

I asked if we could walk to Alamo Square and see cool old Victorian houses, so we did.  There were so many awesome houses on the walk!! I loved seeing the old Victorians.

Alamo Square

It was an excellent trip, beautiful weather, fun sights to see, and great to spend time with good friends.  Also Dana cooks really good food! I can see why people want to live here.

San Fransisco/Berkely continued!

Dana and I spent Sunday exploring a bit closer to home.  Her neighborhood is basically built into the side of the mountain.  We walked down the hill to the Claremont Hotel, a fancy club/hotel in Berkely.  Then, we walked back up. Then we were exhausted. 

Beautiful eucalyptus grove behind the Claremont.

After lunch we went to the Redwood Regional Park.  It was amazing! We hiked all over, and the trees were just beautiful.  It was a really refreshing change from the Tucson desert.

San Fransisco/Berkeley!

For the long President's Day weekend, February 13-16 I went to San Fransisco to visit Dana, my friend from here in Tucson, who moved to Berkeley in December with her boyfriend, Henry.

It was great seeing Dana and catching up with her, and we did tons of stuff.  On Valentine's Day, February 14th, we did tourist stuff in downtown San Fransisco.  We started off at Fisherman's Wharf, where we got tasty heart-shaped sourdough rolls.

Alcatraz

Golden Gate Bridge from underneath!

We walked along the waterfront all the way to Fort Point, which is UNDER the Golden Gate Bridge.  The walk was lovely, it was a beautiful day, sunny, not too hot or cold.  Along the way, we stopped at the San Fransisco Maritime National Historic Park.

Captain Dana of the Balclutha!

We got to board really cool old boats, and we chatted with some guys restoring an antique boat. We also stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts, and walked around the impressive outside greek-temple-esque structures which were built to celebrate the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915.

You can't even begin to tell how large and impressive the Palace of Fine Arts really is.

Palace of Fine Arts

 Fort Point was really cool, too. It was built just before the Civil War, and was the only fortification on the West Coast. It never saw any action protecting America.

An artistic shot from Dana - The fort had passages leading around spiral staircases.

Looking across the courtyard of Fort Point to the lighthouse and Golden Gate Bridge

 After that we walked up to the Golden Gate Bridge, and then went back to Dana's house in Berkley.  From her balcony, there is an amazing panoramic view of the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, and San Fransisco. And the sunset was absolutely beautiful.