alexandriacardinals

[OK, not “the” staff photographer, but now one of them.  This is Roogggg, of previously noted Banff photo fame.  Here he is in front of Half Dome in Yosemite, another “there.”]

Kudos to the staff photographer and Val.  In their first year as empty-nesters, they will continue to provide dual coverage of our girls sports teams.  Sam and Lauren are now both at NDSU, learning how best to control my blood pressure.  My blood pressure would be a lot better if they were both still playing for our Cards!

Before I forget (moi?), our Cards played Sartell in volleyball on the 6th (we won 3 – 1, are 6 – 1 in conference, the only loss a close one at undefeated Fergus Falls) and in soccer on the 11th (a 1 – 1 tie, we are now 7-2-1 in conference, tied for 1st) – a Sabre kind of week.  The girls’ tennis team, more than incidentally, is 15 -1 on the season!  🙂  To paraphrase Jami, if she were to say such a thing, “Girl athletes rock!!” – but she would probably add a descriptive adjective.  And now, the Trumm files from those games:

[Women in Black]

[Emily Kuennen, jr.]

[Dani Strater, sr.]

[Amanda Haack, so.]

[Allie Noetzelman, sr.]

[Jenni Wild, sr.]

[Adrienne Wensman, sr.]

[Natalie Watkins, sr.]

[Shanee’ Herd, sr.]

So, they are a senior team – and probably why they are doing so well despite their lack of size.

[Coach Becky Schlichting]

[Don’t worry, be happy!]

[ . . . on your Glenwood State Bank scoreboard . . .]

[Natalie, stand right there.]

[Yeah, that spot!]

[Now Natalie serves . . .]

[and her teammates block.]

[Let’s see that again on instant replay!  🙂 ]

[Natalie’s on a roll.]

[Tara LeBrassuer, sr., says, “Keep it up, Nat!]

[Amanda winds . . .]

[As does Nicole Canavati, sr.]

[Jenni keeps it in play . . .]

[Then serves.]

[Shanee’ sets . . .]

[Then serves.]

[Not in our house!!!]

[Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!]

[Just keep it up.]

[You go, Amanda!]

[A-L-E-X!!]

[Boom, dynamite!]

[Nat’s had the hot hand.]

[Shanee’ does what Shanee’ does.]

[Amanda serves again.]

[It’s so hot in here! 😉 ]

[Jenni digs.]

[Jenni again.]

[Women in Black, deux]

[Tara, “Is it soup yet?”]

[Allie, “With oyster crackers?”]

[My compliments to the staff photographer . . .]

[This one’s a classic.]

[As is this one!  🙂 ]

[Jenni serves . . . from the far side.]

[Nicole sets.]

[Aaaaayyyyyyy!]

[Still waiting on the oyster crackers?]

[All for one and one for all!]

[Without a helmet?]

[Jessica Burns, sr., delivers a high hard one.]

[Dani serves it out?]

[It’s nice to have the staff photograph back for his coverage of “Player of the Game.”]

[Tara wins the t-shirt and pizza (?)]

[I wonder what’s on the pizza?]

And on to soccer:

[Goalie Sarah Bruzek is a blur of action – watch your back, Hope Solo!  😉 ]

[3 Cardinals on the attack – honestly, one of these times I’ll get to a game, get a program, and get to know the players names!]

[It’s No. 15, and unless my eyes deceive me, it’s Taylor Ellingson.]

[The difficulty of photographing soccer is that it’s such a large field.  Though sometimes these long distance shots are really neat!]

[Plus, you can bring them closer through the magic of “cropping.”]

[I know her – it’s Jess Syvrud.]

[Dunno No. 7, but she looks speedy (as if I would know speedy?).]

[Sarah gets ready to kick a field goal?  An extra point?  A home run?  A rouge?]

[The staff photographer hits at least one home run per game – this is the one here! 🙂 ]

[Lotsa running (i.e., hard work and sweat).]

[Jess on a throw-in.]

[Dunno No. 9 – but I’ll fill in all the “dunnos” as soon as I know them.]

[Dunno No. 2(?), but if the football team needs a placekicker?]

[Taylor]

[Strategerizing]

[Have you ever seen the photos of my granddaughter?]

[When you get a chance, kick the ball.]

[As far as you can in their direction!]

[And then kick it into their net.]

[Here we go!  Jess on the ball.]

[Ready on the left??]

[How’d it get up there?]

[Sorry, dunno No. 15?]

[Or No. 3?]

[Jess . . . and the guy with the granddaughter?]

[Cardinal AD Dave Hartmann, a/k/a, Tom Mulder’s brother-in-law.]

[Northside Dairy Queen?]

[Hockey star Sheby Iverson is Homecoming Queen (school photo) 🙂 ]

Next sports coverage:  Homecoming!

[Ever wanting to be fair & balanced, in our continuing “there” series, here’s Basketball Dan’s visit to Germany this summer, shot out the window of his B&B.]

I did not tell you the whole story of the previous day.  It was so much fun for everyone, with great weather, we didn’t want to end on a downer.  Obviously, as people of age, we had hoped to be home before nightfall.  The excitement of Dorset delayed our return.  By the time we hit Carlos Corners and turned onto Co. Rd. 42, it was dark.  The supervisor was driving – and ever the worrywart told everybody to keep an eye out for deer.  Two minutes later, “Boom,” a small deer ran into the driver’s side headlight.  Ruthie was aghast – she never saw it.  All were fine inside the car.  We called 9-1-1 (I don’t think it’s required?) and the sheriff came out and wrote up an accident report for the insurance company.  There was damage to the headlight, right front fender, and driver’s side door – a mere $2,700 to repair (good thing it wasn’t a BIG deer). I took photos the next morning.

[Well, you get the idea.  The supervisor didn’t sleep well and was still upset in the morning.  Not a good time to show her the staining job we were having done while we were gone.  It turned out to be a lot . . . LOUDER than we thought.  So we were upset again.  Once it “cooled” off, we actually started to like and it looked better once the whole house was done.]

[Looked a lot like redwood instead of teak but now it’s OK.]

The groundbreaking for the new high school was at 1:00.  I wanted to go – cub reporter responsibilities and all that.  😉  We all had lunch together, then the ladies went shopping (just a guess?) and Scott and I went out for the ceremony.

[In two years a new high school will be on this site.]

[Assembling for the ceremony.]

[Do you have a hall pass?]

[The parking lot – the curbing for the green areas is already in.]

[While the speakers prepared, Scott reviewed the site plans.]

[Superintendent Terry Quist – a big round of applause for marshalling this plan through!]

[Goal posts?]

[Mayor Dan Ness, who noted he did not graduate from Jefferson . . .]

[But from Central High School, Jefferson’s predecessor!  (In the name of full disclosure, this correspondent went to Central when it was a mere junior high.)]

[School board member, Dave Anderson]

[High school principal, Chad Duwenhoegger]

[Teacher Sara Kosters]

[Teacher Tom Smith, who, like me, was almost overcome by the thought of finally a new high school.  This complete and total coverage provides the historical background for cyber-archeologists.]

[Let the groundbreaking begin!]

[Today’s sophomores, the first class to graduate from the new high school in 2015.]

[With teachers and staff.]

[Jill Johnson, the school communications coordinator, coordinating.]

[With the superintendent and school board.]

[OK moms and dads, get in line!]

[If only we could get them to do their chores at home?]

[Cub reporter showing off his photographer’s eye.   😉 ]

[The designers and builders.]

Although the Grape Stomp at the winery beckoned, it was everyone’s last afternoon.  As lake lovers, they decided a final cruise of beautiful Lake Darling was the best way to end their vacation.

[The “new look” house from the lake.]

[A first for me – a pontoon pushing a dock across the lake.]

[Scott and his moment of Zen.]

[Rita and mirror water.]

[Scott and his moment of sun Zen.]

[“House sold” name still did not have wine waiting for us on the dock?]

[The signature vacation photos as we wrap up the cruise.]

[Rita says, “I have to get back home to catch up on my sleep!  These vacations are killers!”]

[Ta-ta beautiful Lake Darling!]

[Packing to leave – spreading the blog over NE Indiana . . .]

[Rita thinks she knows the way to the interstate . . .]

[Time to start washing bed linens . . .]

[Speaking of “up north,” the supervisor has finished the latest, Trickster’s Point.]

After leaving Itasca, we headed up the road a bit to check on the kids’ “harn.”  They had just been there and missed our current guests by one day.  In lieu of an article photo, they stopped at Purdue one the way home to see grandson, “Joe College”:

[College?  He loves it!]

[This was Jami at the “harn” – I’m a lumberjack, and I’m OK!]

[Her handiwork.]

[They cleared a spot for their next building.]

[And here’s our visit – they just brought up the trundle bed this time so they have comfy sleeping on site.]

[Nice to see Mom’s furniture put to good use.]

[This is all their handiwork – retrofitting a pole barn.]

[Our old front door is now the door between their living area and storage area.]

[And then it was on to Bemidji (about 30 miles from the kids’ place), the first city on the Mississippi, and their first encounter with Paul Bunyan and Babe, the blue ox.]

[The supervisor takes a picture of . . . us?]

[The sculpture marsh by the lake.]

[Scott ventures out onto the 6,000+ acre monster that is Lake Bemidji.]

[It’s Ruthie and Vickie and . . . I’ve forgotten the statue’s name (I don’t think it’s Chief Bemidji).]

[Mother Earth]

[Bemidji is also the city of a sculpture on every corner.  Most of these are new to me.  They get changed on occasion. Here’s a sampling.]

It was time to head for home.  But we were hungry.  Where to eat?  Aha!  Dorset is on the way home!  You’ve seen Dorset on these “pages.”  The Restaurant Capital of the World; home of the Dorset Daily Bugle, published annually whether there’s any news or not; what fun?  How to get there?  The first road we tried was a dirt road, we backtracked and found the next road – pavement!  It was exactly as advertised – a main street, i.e., the entire town of about one block with restaurants on both sides.

[Fajita Loop?]

[A boardwalk!]

[Where we ate – and brought more styrofoam boxes of food home.]

[After dinner, caught “sitting on my ass.”]

[Then the supervisor caught me . . .]

Once home, the continuing saga that was my birthday:

[Once aspired to be a stud muffin; has since come to terms with merely being a muffin.]

There’s one more day . . .

[Another “there.”  Friend Roy retired to Hawaii this year.  This is his beach on the big island, less than a mile from his home.  He wants us to visit. 😉 ]

Thursday was the big day.  The trip up north.  We were going to Itasca, the kids’ “harn,” and Bemidji.  With side trips it took over 12 hours.  We were pooped and took it easy the next day.

The supervisor initially wanted to take the Wadena by-pass.  No point in getting all caught up in that big town traffic.  But the tourists were hungry and wanted breakfast.  Besides, I don’t think I’d seen the new high school, built after the tornado ravaged the town.  We stopped at the Boondocks Cafe, right downtown.  It must be Wadena’s Travelers Inn, a place where all locals eat breakfast.  We all ordered the special, for about a buck-two-eighty.  Of course, the hardly-pay-anything special could have fed the entire Garfield Elementary School.  Nevertheless, before we left – leaving substantial amounts still on our plates – Scott wanted to check out the bakery right next door.  To our disappointment it was no longer a bakery – it was the Republican political headquarters.  But it was yet another gorgeous day, so off to Itasca we fled.

[I have to admit that the accomplished Ms. Gibbs was a candidate for the article photo.  But I had another photo of Rooney Mara to use.]

[I believe Itasca was a place of first impression for our Ft. Wayne friends.]

[So, again, the first thing to do is to take in the introductory video.]

[Welcome to Itasca State Park!]

[The Biddies check out the park’s topographic map.]

[The supervisor, on the phone with her broker, is blithely unaware of the danger overhead!]

[The Biddies double-team their broker!]

[The guy with the cane appears to be a party animal.]

[Scott advises his broker to buy low and sell high!]

[The day was startling in its clarity.  I had to show them the photo on the camera’s small LCD screen because it jumped out at you.]

[The Lodge – famous in family lore as the place where we got caught in a hail storm.  Young grandson Tom was jumping up and down with excitement; I was thinking, my car is exposed in the parking lot!]

[Always, always seek out the rockers!]

[Let’s just sit back and enjoy the scenery . . .]

[That’s a red pine on the right.  They’re easy to identify – their bark is visibly red!  Itasca is home to the state’s tallest red and white pines.  Unfortunately, on this trip, we couldn’t see them.  While the Wilderness Road was open for traffic to get to the headwaters of the Mississippi River, it was closed beyond that point.  The whole West side of the park was inaccessible by vehicle because of fire danger – another victim of the drought.]

[We were a little early for fall colors – though they maybe muted this year because of the drought.  But September and October are certainly the months to visit the park – far less crowded with cooler temperatures.]

[This guy has seen better days.]

[Rita enjoys a rest – checking on Vickie who went down the path.]

[Lake Itasca]

[The Hostel – this is where the kids often stay(ed) when they are up at the “harn.”  They have become good friends with the proprietor and have run the place in her stead.  Even the supervisor ran the place for one day.  🙂 ]

[Lake Itasca, both directions, from the access.]

[Entry to the headwaters.]

[Vickie and Scott are flush with excitement!]

[Our new BFF, Ms. Gibbs, again.  Note the place was built by an Alex company.  😉 ]

[“Headwaters Caretaker Woman”]

[The mighty Mississippi?  Indeed.]

[No matter where you go, there you are.]

[We’re there!]

[The Biddies have a moment of Zen.]

[The supervisor thinks about walking across the Mississippi – decides against it, we’ve done it before.  We went to the little foot bridge in the background to get to the other side.]

[Rita grins, “I made it!”]

[The tour boat is coming around the lake.]

[Scott was determined to walk across the Mississippi.  At our age, balance is not a strong point.  We’ll follow his progress . . .]

[That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!]

[Cue the theme from Rocky! 🙂 ]

[Here comes the tour boat . . . and little girls can cross the Mississippi in flip-flops.]

[Vickie has her moment of Zen.]

[The first bridge-bridge over the Mississippi.]

[We say good-bye to Itasca.]

I said it was a long day.  We will continue it in the next article . . .