Red Rocks

Red Rocks

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving week!
























Friends Al & Jude and daughter's Livia and Tova flew in from Forest Grove, OR to spend a week with us on the prairie. On Sunday we drove up to Cross Ranch State Park and hiked along the River for 5-6 miles, then drove up to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Washburn to see the museum and the Karl Bodmer watercolors. A great day!







On Monday Tami took them up to the Huff cabin near Kenmare. Again, lots of hiking and exploring. Did I remember to mention that the weather was as nice as I've ever seen in November?




Wednesday was mostly groceries and getting ready for Thanksgiving. On Thursday morning Hunter and I jogged 5 miles near the river, and we did it again on Friday.
Sadly, Saturday they had to leave so we made a run out to Ft. Abraham Lincoln State Park to go through an earthlodge and the blockhouses.























Saturday was tear down the soccer goal and bring out the Christmas tree and decorations. Pheasant hunting Sunday morning with Cameron. Our first stop was walked well but no birds, and the second stop yielded these five:






Brought them home and cooked them up as pheasant puffs (nuggets). Very tasty.
Finally, we got most of the Christmas lights up so we're ready for snow.
Back to wotk and school and try to get ready for Christmas.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Happy 75th Birthday!





















My Mom turned 75 on Thursday, November 12th.

She was born during The Great Depression, and grew up on a little farm between Wing and McClusky North Dakota with her seven sibs.

She spent most of high school at St. Mary's, then graduated from Wing. She moved to Jamestown and worked in the Farmer's Union state office, which is where she met Don.

The rest, as they say, is history. She retired recently (yes, really) and just decided to sell her house - home for 45 years - and move into a condo near the KXMC-TV tower up on south hill.

Pat volunteered to coordinate a birthday party and we all made it. Poolside at the International Inn or whatever its called now, the little kids swam and ate and the big boys (and men) watched Bismarck High win their second straight AAA football championship.

Lots of Mom's friends from work and bingo made it for beers and food, as well as some of the in-laws. Amanda and John were there with friends so a good time was had by many.

Last but not least, Bob the R@kfink and wife Nancy were there. Great to see and talk to you two! I will try and pick up the phone and/or e-mail you next time we head to the magic city.

I took a little friendly ribbing for leaving early for deer hunting at the Huff farm. As this picture shows the deerslayer (and his Dad) were up to the task.






We were in the same elevated deer stand, and had seen a few does and fawns and one little buck. I decided to wait as we had about 40 minutes left in shooting time. This on walked in at 5:08 P.M. and I put a single shot through his chest. He ran about 75 yards up the fenceline and died. Since Hunter still had 36 minutes left and my deer was out of the way I quickly got down and headed for the cabin to get the truck and necessities. There was another Hunter about 3/4 of a mile to the south of us so I didn't want to drive in and mess up his last few minutes so I sat in my truck at the corner until 5:45 (one minute past legal shooting). I thought I heard a shot a long way off but I had the windows up (26 degrees) but as I was driving out to the stand Hunter texted me that he had a deer down as well. Some does had shown up almost under his stand so he made a little noise and they ran off but stopped 150 yards away. He picked out the biggest one and dropped her with a single shot to her heart and lungs.

Grant was driving home from duck hunting and saw the lights in the field so he came and helped us load them up and then coached Hunter through his first field dressing of a deer.

I'm working at the State Penitentiary tomorrow, but should be home by 1:00 or so and will take them in to West Dakota Meats for processing. There will be lots of venison country style sausage, pepper sticks and jerky for the next year.

Stop on by and we'll have a treat.

Monday, November 09, 2009

Goose Festival (and Deer opener)



That is the sound of 50,000 snow geese, most on the ground out of sight and the rest circling above deciding if they should land and feed or move to another site.



This is a "raft" of umpteen geese on the south end of Lake Darling. This was taken right before noon so these had probably been out feeding most of the night and then flew back to the refuge for a nap. The rest were out looking for food and trying to not get shot.












Hunter and I went up to Kenmare Thursday night, and goose and deer hunted on our own on Friday, and then spent Saturday and Sunday with Tom, Grant, Trevor, and Ethan. We ate really well, and spent a lots of our time outdoors. It was actually hot on Friday to the tune of 73 degrees, so not at all unhappy we didn't get one then.

Hunter passed on three different does (too small didja say?) and I took three shots at a big buck from at least 600 yards- needless to stay he strolled back into the coulee unharmed.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Halloween

So for Halloween we got terrific tickets to see Garrison Keillor and "A Prairie Home Companion" live from the Bismarck Civic Center











The gangster boys with Fred Newman the sound effects guy- and their favorite part of the show.




If you've never seen "A Prairie Home Companion" I would highly recommend it. The music is usually great, the monologues are often extraordinary storytelling, and you get to see the "real" show and get a behind the scenes look at a live radio production.


Tami worked support for the show (giving rides between airport and hotel, hotel and show, errands to the grocery store, etc.) She also became friends with the show's Tour Manager, who let us sit backstage (on the Stage, actually) for the 2 hour Halloween party after the broadcast. We sat near the drummer and the "BOX" for the Hammond organ which you can see in the second picture above.






Hunter went as Governor Rod Blagojevich - the hair was pretty sweet - and I went as a fat guy in an orange shirt.
We had a really great time to the point where a 12 year-old said "This is the best Halloween ever!" despite no trick-or-treating sugar rush.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

PreHalloween

The top picture is Hunter getting his individual 2nd place trophy after Fargo South defeated Century 1-0 at the State Soccer Tournament. It was a case where the Patriots let in a goal very early, and then outplayed the Spartans the rest of the way, but were unable to convert while having two goals waived because of offsides. Sad ending to a really terrific season. The second picture is his friend Jeffrey who played nearly every minute of their season at defensive/center mid as a freshman.He was also named to the All-WDA Tournament team, and should have made the State All-tournament team- he was a big part of the reason Century opponents only scored 11 goals in 20 games.He is a great player and will be the backbone of next year's team.


Thursday, October 15, 2009

What a Cluster*#%& !!!

The State Soccer tournament was supposed to start in Jamestown today. However, they expected, and got, 3+ inches of slush/snow on the ground today so postponed it til Friday.

Well it became very clear that the fields would not be ready by Friday morning either, so today they moved the tournament to Fargo. The drawback is, I had to work in Jamestown today, come home and do a bunch of stuff before we could leave for Fargo. Instead, we're getting up at 5:00 A.M. Friday morning to drive to Fargo in time for the 9:00 A.M. kickoff. If they win they'll play again at 5, with the winner advancing to the Championship at 5:00 Saturday.

It will be played at the new Sid Cichy Field in south Fargo (next to the new Shanley High School) which has artificial turf, which normally si favors the defenses that there is even less scoring than usual.The team left tonight, I hope they remember to get some sleep.


Hunter won't like this picture, but long before you can be a soccer stud you've got to put in your time baking cookies with your MaMa.











Saturday, October 10, 2009

A Mighty Cold Day for Futbol























We started the afternoon at 31 Fahrenheit (wind chill 17) at Cottonwood where Luke and Will played their final BSL Soccer game of the year and career. Certainly not the best team they've ever played on but they had fun. They are looking forward to playing middle school soccer for Horizon next year.







































Meanwhile, west of the Missouri, Mandan was hosting the WDA Championship Game between Century and St. Mary's. Century scored first on a St. Mary's own goal, and then put it away in the second half to win 4-0.

Hunter got in with 10:00 left, and had several good stops and passes. This picture is right after he hip-checked the player on the ground, and was, of course, whistled for the foul. St. Mary's failed to convert from just outside the eighteen, so no harm was done.








Hunter was happy to hear that Uncle Mike and Aunt Shelly braved the elements to watch his team (and him) win.

On to the State Tournament in Jamestown next week.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Windy day at Hawktree





















We "won" 4 passes for Hawktree at the Dakota Junior golf auction, but the problem was they had to be used this year. Well, between work and soccer, etc. we were having trouble and didn't get out until today. Needless to say the winds gusting to 40 mph made for a difficult day on a difficult course. Luke and Will had never played it before. You'll hear the wind in the background on the video.



























All in all a really great day and a really great golf course.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

What I did on my summer vacation...

Once summer soccer was over the family and I took a little road trip south to Denver. We stayed with Holly and did some marvelous things. The first night (my 51st birthday) we went to a sold out Rockies game and watched the Cubs win 6-5. Had never been to Coors Field but it is very nice, concessions were a little cheaper than the Metrodome, and more beautiful weather you could not ask for. Here are a couple of candids of the field and the fans.








The next morning we got up and drove into the mountains. After a picnic at Echo Lake we took the scenic drive up Mt. Evans. I believe this is my first 14,000+ mountain, and the oxygen change was noticeable.





This is Summit Lake which is beautiful and damn cold.
































Here is Summit Lake from the peak, with the boys and I as props.












After that we braved the Sunday night traffic and drove into Morrison to Red Rocks for a concert. For my birthday Tami and the boys ordered tickets for The Kings of Leon, who are my new favorite band since I saw them open for U2.It was an incredibly rocking show enjoyed by all. They played for an hour and a half and performed very well. Amazing to see a rock band perform live and sound at least as good as they do on CD. I took this picture from Row 37 with my little Canon digital camera.







The next day we put Hunter on the plane back to Bismarck (High School soccer tryouts) and the rest of us did a little more touring. A popular stop was at the go-cart track.

























This is my Green Curry Beef at Thai Basil in Denver. Always great to go some place with real ethnic food. The Singha beers were 50 cents during happy hour, and this plate of food (too much!) was $8.50. Needless to say, I've spent much more than that for crappy food back home.


So despite the very long drive- down Friday, back Wednesday- it was a great trip, and pretty relaxing.

Monday, June 29, 2009

I am ever so far behind...






















Spent the weekend before last with Luke and Will at a soccer tournament. The highlight was staying with my brother Pat and his wife at their home in Minnesota. I took this picture from the shore end of the dock with a Saturday night sunset.

The boys had great fun in the lake and playing with their cousins (Sue and Grandma were there, too).

The soccer didn't go so well, but the lake was a hit. Here are the kids on the shore and in the water:






















This last weekend I took the same two boys up to their other Grandma's farm, where they shot fireworks, I did some mowing and chainsaw work, shot most of the gophers but didn't get a crack at the squirrel who is digging up the flower bulbs from the big flower pots.



I just had to throw this one in. Luke and Will recently celebrated their 12th birthdays, so here is one from about 10 years ago. Trust me, they've changed.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Weekend!





Here is a photo of the boys and Will's teacher Christie playing at Madison and Trevor's wedding in May. They were terrific, and many people said so. Difficult to get away from the Mormon missionary look at a formal wedding.


Off to the hinterlands east of Fargo for the weekend to stay at Pat and April's house in Minne-SO-ta. I'll be driving Luke and Will into Fargo Saturday and Sunday for U12 soccer. This is the first tournament of the year for them so they are very excited.

Meanwhile,Tami and Hunter are off to Sioux Falls, S.D. for Hunter's U15 Regional tournament. Their first game Saturday is against Michigan, which is apparently ranked 4th in the nation among U15 teams.The only team Hunter's ever faced at that level of play was when they lost to a team from Northern Ireland at last year's USA Cup in Blaine 4-1, thus becoming the only team to score a goal against them the entire week.

I'll try and file some reports as we go, with photos to follow once we get home.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Spring Recital

Wednesday afternoon we met at the music room at Trinity Lutheran Church (the one across the street from Grandma Knudson's house on third street) for a violin recital. Hunter has been taking lessons from Dr. Eric Lawson for not quite the last 2 years, and this was his first solo recital since the Riverbend Conservatory days. I apologize for the sound quality and handheld video, but thought some of you would like to hear him if it's been awhile. The song is almost fourteen minutes long and he was accompanied on piano by our friend Dr. Tom Porter of U Mary. This is "Concertino" by Oskar Rieding.


Saturday, May 30, 2009

What a sports day!
























It all started with a drive to Painted Woods for the first Golf of the year.

Hunter, Luke, and I met Hubie and played 18. I had some trouble but hit enough good shots to keep me going.

The course isn't in great shape and they'd aerated the greens 10 days ago, but it gave me some good excuses.




Tonight we traveled to Mandan to watch the State Class B baseball championship which was one by my old school Bishop Ryan for the third consecutive year. The Lions squandered some early opportunities and found themselves down 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth. They scratched out 4 runs (including scoring on the old "men on first and third double steal trick"). When the dust had settled BRHS had a 4-3 victory.





















This final picture is of Trevor, who is Tami's niece's new husband, and an assistant coach and History teacher at Ryan.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Dakota United defeats Red River to go to Regional

Hunter's U15 team beat Fargo 4-2 on Sunday afternoon in Jamestown to earn the right to represent North Dakota at the regional in Sioux Falls in June. Here are a couple of candids:









Luke and Will have a tournament in Fargo the same weekend so Tami may take Hunter to Sioux Falls while I take the younger boys to Fargo.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Track Meet - It must be Spring!



Went over to Mandan Saturday for a middle school track meet. Most of my photos were crappy but this one was of the 2nd place 8th grade 400 meter relay team. I also have a short video of the start of the 8th grade 200 meter final. Hunter is straight ahead in lane 3. I stopped the video about halfway through the race as they were like ants across the field.