Mississippi Headwaters

Our fourth day of riding was a 79-mile ride from Walker to Bagley via Lake Itasca State Park, where the headwaters of the Mississippi River are located. Here's Rich leading John and his sister Mary to the headwaters.


Ummm, Rich ... do you see that sign?


John and Rich standing by the sign at the headwaters. It reads: "Here, 1,475 feet above the ocean, the mighty Mississippi begins to flow on its winding way, 2,552 miles to the Gulf of Mexico."


Tim stands on the rocks denoting the start of the Mississippi River, while Curt and Suzanne are standing back in Lake Itasca.


Rich stands and Curt sits at the headwaters.

Trip to Como Zoo

Since Rich is leaving for vacation tomorrow and will be gone for Father's Day, we decided to have it today! With the boys gone at their dad's it was just the three of us, so we went over to St. Paul to eat lunch at La Cucaracha Mexican Restaurant, and then we visited the Como Zoo. At a suggested donation of $2 per adult and $1 per child, it's one of the best bargains in town! Here's Sarah and mommy on a fake giraffe.


Flamingoes! And not those fake ones you see standing in the yards of some folks.


Daddy Lion was a bit miffed! He'd just been rebuffed by Mama Lion on little daylight interlude...


Wow, Daddy, look! Someone who's actually taller than you!


"Zebra" is still too hard for Sarah to say, so she just says, "horse!"

Daddy found an inchworm crawling on the ground, and Sarah had to get her hands on it!


Eeewwww, Daddy!


Hmmm, maybe this isn't so bad after all!


When it came time to leave the inchworm behind, Sarah was very sad. She even cried.


But some flowers cheered her up.

One of the new features at the Como Zoo is a free butterfly tent. (Admission is free, not the butterflies!) There were 500 butterflies in the tent, and more than 100 different species. Here's Sarah and Mommy looking at an owl butterfly. See it?


Here's a better shot at some owl butterflies chowing down on some fruit.


There was a green-and-black butterly...


And two yellow-and-black butterflies engaging in ... something.


This butterfly was HUGE! It was perhaps nine inches across.

This is daddy's favorite butterfly. One woman waited 10 minutes with her camera for it to open up its wings. When it did, she mentioned it to daddy, who took a quick photo.


This is mommy's favorite butterfly.


There was even a butterfly in Vikings colors!


Sarah and daddy took a quick ride on the kiddie train on the way back to the van. Ouch! Daddy's legs barely fit!

Bikers' BBQ 2008

In preparation for the upcoming Jaunt with Jim bicycle trip around central Minnesota, we invited some of our fellow cycling friends over for a bike ride and BBQ. Rich led Curt, John, Mary, Julie, Rhonda and David on a 25-mile ride through Elm Creek Park Reserve. Here are Curt, John and Mary enjoying the gorgeous 80-degree weather.


Julie and Rhonda took their break sitting down. Julie was tired after a 2 a.m. visit from the fire department (faulty dehumidifier made some smoke), and Rhonda is recuperating from a foot injury. They both made the 25 miles, though!


Bob, David and Steve relax after eating burgers, brats, and lots of other goodies brought by the guests.


Curt and Rhonda catch some rays.


Steve didn't ride because of this -- his weed whacker attacked him! Be sure to watch for Steve in an episode of the new FOX TV show, "When Good Power Tools Go Bad." He and Chris made the long drive up from Owatonna anyway.

Spring has sprung!

It was a beautiful 72-degree sunny day in the Twin Cities today. With the boys at their dad's and Erin at work, Sarah and Daddy decided to get out of the house and do something fun. First we visited the open house at Thunderbird Aviation, where daddy used to teach, and he ran into a few old friends there and we shared a couple of free hamburgers and watched airplanes. Then we drove to Minneapolis and daddy pulled his bike and Sarah's trailer out of the minivan, and we rode 18.5 miles on the new Midtown Greenway and around Lakes Calhoun and Harriet. It was really windy, so we went really slow going east and really FAST heading west. Sarah took her usual 30-minute catnap in her trailer. Daddy was surprised to see that the Lake Harriet Pavilion got a new paint job. It used to be blue, right Aunt Ellaina?


Paris Hilton wannabe (please God, no!) visits Lake Harriet. Daddy wanted to buy Sarah an ice cream there, but he left his money back in the van, so we settled for water, bananas and a chocolate-chip granola bar that we already had with us.


With all the wind, it was a great day for sailing!


What are you doing, Sarah? Pilates?


This flower is for all of you, my internet fans. But the granola bar is MINE!

Cheeser, cheeser!


Sorry, Sarah, but those flowers behind you kinda put yours to shame.


Sarah picked a whole BOUQUET of dandelions. Her hands were yellow!


Downtown Minneapolis, as seen from the south side of Lake Calhoun. The trails were JAMMED with walkers, bicyclists, and skaters today.

Kitty-sitting

This weekend we're taking care of a mama cat and her five kittens, who are five weeks old. Caleb's friend Caitlin is out of town with her family, so the kitties are holed up in Noah's room.


Sarah loves to hold the kittens, but she frequently has to be reminded to be gentle with them. A couple of kittens were briefly picked up by the neck!


Awww!


Kisses for kitty.

"You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Well, who else are you talkin' to? You talkin' to me? Well, I'm the only one here. Oh yeah? Huh? OK." (Robert DeNiro as Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver")


Tigger, the most playful kitten, waits to pounce.


Nap time.

Erin's birthday weekend

This past Saturday was Erin's 40th, er, 39th, birthday, and Rich arranged a surprise for her up at Bowstring. Erin's parents, grandmother and her sister's family were waiting at Roger and Gloria's for a surprise birthday weekend! On the way up, our family stopped in Crosby, Minn., for a play break. Here are Sarah and Lucas on a big slide.


"Whoa! It's bright outside my teepee!"


Noah, Erin, Peyton and Sarah take a paddleboat ride at Bowstring. The water was cold! Only 50 degrees!


Grandpa G shows Sarah how to play the organ.


The boys slept out in their tent the first night. They made it until 5 a.m., when it got too cold, and they came inside the house and crashed on the living-room floor.