alexandriacardinals

February 22

Between trips to St. Paul for the girls’ state hockey tournament . . . 

[We came into the game tied with Willmar for 1st place in the conference.  Earlier in the season we beat Willmar at their place ending the 15-0 undefeated start to their season.  But first, a dramatic ending to the JV game . . . ]

[Geezers at the game not quite knowing what to do with their mouths during a photo op.]

[Anyway, our Cards made a game winning free throw with .3 seconds left in the game.]

[Go Baby Cards!]

[Go Baby Cards!  (Oh, did I say that already?)]

[Then the varsity came out for warm-ups . . . ]

[Cardinal captains meet the Cardinal captains . . . ]

[Cardinal captains meet the Cardinal captains.  (Oh, did I say that already?)]

[It was senior night.  I didn’t know.  I should have – it was the last regular season game.]

[So, I somehow missed gathering the bio materials on our six seniors . . . ]

[First up, Emily Aker (23) . . . ]

[Joined by her parents . . . ]

[Then Courtney Gould (31) . . . ]

[Julie and Wendy, as usual, enjoying yet another 20+ win season . . . ]

[Flora Kvale (33) . . . ]

[Her mom Angie is our longtime “guide” and host on our various fields trips to the winery . . . ]

[Taylor Partington (15) . . . ]

[Emma Schmidt (25) . . . ]

[Freshman Mataya Hoelscher (45) standing at the bench thinking, “Wow, seniors are really old.”]

[Emma’s folks, Sheryl and Al, are long time friends from both basketball and . . . ecological reasons.]

[Matie Wirtjes (21) . . . ]

[Final pre-game hugs . . . ]

[Congratulations Seniors!]

[Can’t remember, do cheerleaders get a senior night?]

[Let’s get ready to . . . ]

[Well, introduce ourselves.  As the final starter, McKenzie Duwenhoegger (35), junior, comes on to the floor we already have Ella Grove (11), sophomore, Kaye Paschka (3), junior, Emma, and Courtney . . . ]

[Getting loose . . . ]

[And we’re off . . . ]

[McKenzie with the defensive stare down . . . ]

[Cards rotate on defense, the strength of the team . . . ]

[Emma draws Carly Magnuson (13), who appeared to be Willmar’s most talented player.]

[Ella got us off to a fast start with I believe out first 7 points . . . ]

[These 3 will be the key returnees next year . . . ]

[Cards on D . . . ]

[Emma joins Mia McGrane (5), sophomore, on a double-team . . . ]

[I see no escape for the Willmar player . . . ]

[The aforementioned Mataya joins her elderly teammates . . . ]

[Looks like Courtney . . . ]

[Kaye . . . ]

[Emily Jones (43), junior – I keep calling on her to shoot more, because she’s good at it.]

[A defensive struggle at the half, as anticipated . . . ]

[My only shot in the second half (as I concentrated on being a fan) – the Willmar center seemed to hit all her 3’s . . . ]

[And 3-point shooting was the difference in the game.  So, Willmar is the conference champ – congrats to them.  For our Cards, we’ll still begin tournament play as the No. 1 seed in our section.  Stay tuned.]

I quit school in the sixth grade because of pneumonia. Not because I had it, but because I couldn’t spell it.  ~  Boxing legend Rocky Graziano

Up Next:  Girls’ state hockey tournament.

* Also Aunt Pearl’s 90th birthday, our 17th anniversary, and Grandson Tom and Celia’s unofficial 3rd anniversary . . .

February 16

[Pulling up stakes in Westminster, on the road to Estes Park with an interim stop in Boulder . . . ]

[Boulder, we are here!]

[Specifically, the uber cool Pearl Street Mall . . . ]

[It was quite chilly in the morning . . . ]

[The Super finds a friend.  They are the Colorado Buffaloes, after all . . . ]

[Thought I’d check in to see how my tavern was doing . . . ]

[Karen and Cam arrived the previous night and now joined us here . . . ]

[Let’s drive up Flagstaff Mountain to see what we can see . . . ]

[Oh, so that’s what we can see!]

[Boulder and environs . . . ]

[The artsy shot . . . ]

[We’re looking for the football stadium . . . ]

[I don’t see it?]

[Still don’t?]

[We’re all looking for it . . . ]

[Artsy shot #2 . . . ]

[Karen was the only one of the group capable of climbing to such heights!]

[Whoa, Boulder is waaaaay down there now . . . ]

[Back down now (obviously) to the admonition of just “Be yourself.”]

[The U of Colorado bookstore, just because . . . ]

[Always pushing the limits . . . ]

[Decisions, decisions . . . ]

[Back to my tavern for lunch . . . ]

[“Grilling” the maitre d’ on all the particulars . . . ]

[Dessert?  Already?]

[Mmmmmmmmmm . . . ]

[If you already own a tavern, you may as well have a “way” as well . . . ]

[I’ve never noticed any of these around Minnesota?]

[On to Estes Park, the ultimate destination of the trip . . . ]

[Lake Estes, a 185 acre reservoir . . . ]

[Where the Super and I stayed . . . ]

[This must have been at our place of fine dining . . . ]

February 17

[And this is where Karen and Cam stayed . . . ]

[The Appenzell Inn . . . ]

[It was a cute suite . . . ]

[With Cam driving, it was off to the Fall River Area of Rocky Mountain National Park . . . ]

[Just before arriving at the park entrance . . . ]

[Elk!]

[Getting “high” in Colorado . . . ]

[Oy, the views . . . ]

[On a perfect day to do so . . . ]

[With a beautiful high sky . . . ]

[Artsy shot #3 . . . ]

[Here’s Cam, the world’s #1 complainer about winter and cold weather.  Living in Mounds View, Minnesota, he “escapes” to Florida whenever he can.  On this day, the temperature was in the 30’s with strong winds.  His problem is he doesn’t understand the concept of jackets or coats when the weather gets colder?]

[See, Karen wears a coat!]

[Selfies and non-selfies abound . . . ]

[Hi, kids!]

[I can’t see a thing?]

[This is as close to the ridge as we’re getting . . . ]

[I still can’t see . . . ]

[What am I aiming at?]

[Danger, danger!  Our driver decided to take us on a road we were warned was icy . . . ]

[OK, it appears we’re past the danger . . . ]

[Pull off for deer sightings . . . ]

[Your basic Rocky Mountain High . . . ]

[Trending down hill now . . . ]

[Horseshoe Park . . . ]

[The Super loves mooses!]

[Cool cloud . . . ]

[A noted historical feature of Estes Park.  The Stanley Hotel is a 142-room Colonial Revival hotel. Approximately five miles from the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, the Stanley offers panoramic views of Lake Estes, the Rockies and especially Long’s Peak.  It was built by Freelan Oscar Stanley of Stanley Steamer fame and opened on July 4, 1909, catering to the American upper class at the turn of the century.  The hotel and its surrounding structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The Stanley Hotel hosted the horror novelist Stephen King, serving as inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in his 1977 bestseller The Shining and its 1980 film adaptation of the same name, as well as the location for the 1997 miniseries.  (Wikipedia)]

[Let’s do a self-guided tour . . . ]

[The view from the hotel . . . ]

[Looking toward Lake Estes . . . ]

[And the other direction . . . ]

[Cam still sans coat . . . ]

[Hi!  Let’s sit in the sun!]

[Inside, lest you couldn’t tell . . . ]

[With a Stanley Steamer . . . ]

[Nice view from the porch . . . ]

[Why, yes . . . ]

[We did take the old elevator.]

[And now on to the main event, Auntie Pearl’s 90th birthday party!  Pearl lives in Loveland, and the par-tay was hosted by her son John and daughter-in-law Lisa, i.e., our cousins, in Estes Park.]

[You can’t tell all the players without a scorecard . . . and I don’t have a scorecard.]

[Artsy shot #4?  Aunt Pearl with her longtime friend, tennis and golf partnet, Jan, and Jan’s granddaughter Pearl, who was named after our Pearl.  Or something like that . . . ]

[The family did a video, including stills and videos, for the occasion – here the Helena, Montana Wahlers (Brenda and Eric) weigh in . . . ]

[And then some group photos after the “movie” . . . ]

[Is it time for birthday cake?]

[The anticipation mounts . . . ]

[IT IS!]

[Auntie Pearl, with help from her namesake, blew out the candles . . . ]

[We did it!]

[Pearl with her 5 boys, l-r:  John, Eric, Jim, Ted, and Tim (standing) . . . ]

[And with two of her larger nephews . . . ]

[John memorializes the occasion . . . ]

[With the Mounds View Oberts, who get to see the Colorado family on occasion because Karen’s firm, The Cuningham Group, has a regional office in Denver . . . ]

[With Jim . . . ]

[And Eric . . . ]

[The view from John and Lisa’s deck.  It was great to get together with family, if only for a couple of hours.  Because the Wahlers are from Loveland and the Oberts from Alexandria, we never got much chance for get togethers over the now many years.]

[So, we said our good-byes.  And thanks to Lisa and John for hosting . . . ]

[And one last wildlife sighting on the way back . . . ]

[Pearl was Dad’s 4 years younger sister . . . ]

[Pearl said Dad didn’t much care for her when they were kids – probably because he lost his preeminence . . . ]

[And both with their mom, my Grandma Evelyn.]

I can’t understand why men make all this fuss about Everest — it’s only a mountain.  ~  Junko Tabei, first woman to climb Everest

Up Next:  Workin’ on it . . .

* Also Aunt Pearl’s 90th birthday, our 17th anniversary, and Grandson Tom and Celia’s unofficial 3rd anniversary . . .

February 14

[Getting ready to leave from MSP, airports being the most fun places in the world!?  It was Valentine’s Day and our anniversary . . . ]

[Arrival in Denver – still a 20-hour ride to our car rental place . . . ]

[On the car rental bus – as I recall we had to show our passports a couple of times . . . ]

[Car in hand, on the way in to the Mile High City . . . ]

[Looks like they’ve been as droughted as West Central Minnesota . . . ]

[The Rocky Mountains from our hotel room. OK, a picture of the Rocky Mountains in our hotel room . . . ]

[Dinner that night with Grandson Tom, who has now lived in Wesminster for a year and a half . . . ]

[Then we were joined by Celia.  The kids figured Valentine’s Day was their “unofficial” third anniversary . . . ]

[A 4-way dessert – I, of course, dribbled some on my pants.  It’s the new normal . . . ]

[The Super would insist on a picture of Jax!]

February 15

[Heading into town for a day in the Capital City . . . ]

[Just happy not to have a daily big city commute . . . ]

[One of 5 campuses visited on the trip . . . ]

[Denver Performing Arts Complex . . . ]

[First on the list, a tour of the Denver Mint.  We had to get a pass a couple hours before the tour . . . ]

[We parked nearby, then did a walking tour of the area . . . ]

[No pictures during the tour – but I guess it’s OK to scan our free door prize . . . ]

[Walking from the Mint toward the Capitol . . . ]

 

[Blue trees???]

[Voorhies Memorial and Sea Lion Fountain in Civic Center Park . . . ]

[The Super suggested we change models (this photo and the others are in Civic Center Park . . . ]

[OK, what’s next?]

[City and County Building . . . ]

[Civic Center Park – piano and . . . what?]

[I bet you guessed the capitol?]

[More Civic Center Park statuary . . . ]

[We’re gaining on the capitol . . . ]

[Professional photographers – they didn’t bite on my “I’ll take yours if you take mine?”]

[Now up close and personal . . . ]

[Shoulda parked here?]

[We wandered – self-guided, there were lots of school tours ongoing . . . ]

[The legislature was in session – I believe this was the House . . . ]

[The Senate . . . ]

[The dome . . . ]

[The dome vantage point . . . ]

[The Senate . . . ]

[We timed this wrong, so we didn’t join a tour or go to the dome . . . ]

[The state Supreme Court . . . ]

[The City and County Library, listed as a Top Ten site to visit . . . ]

[From the library . . . ]

[Outside the library . . . ]

[The Denver Art Museum . . . ]

[Degas was in town.  Unfortunately, again, not enough time to visit . . . ]

[The University of Denver campus . . . ]

[On the road again heading for Red Rocks . . . ]

[This was our first visit here . . . ]

[And here we are at the amphitheatre . . . ]

[The visit made even more beautiful by a light snow . . . ]

[We had lunch here where we were told there are 188 perfomances scheduled this year.  Wow!]

[Decent views here . . . ]

[This is really cool!]

[The display model . . . ]

[The Super finds a friend . . . ]

[Leaving the park . . . ]

[There are folks up there?]

[I don’t believe this is natural . . . ]

[And we went by Coors – just because it’s there . . . ]

[Into Golden . . . ]

[Heading to the Colorado School of Mines.  See the “M” on the hillside?]

[From the campus . . . ]

[As noted, the fieldhouse . . . ]

[Back into downtown Golden . . . ]

[We’ll have to finish trip coverage with a blog Part II . . . ]

Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.  ~  Ed Viesturs

Up Next:  Part II

February 13

Yes, we’re into tournament time.  By now you know are Cards not only won this game against Willmar, 2-1, but also the section final two nights later against River Lakes, 3-0 (while the Super and I took a brief road trip to Colorado).  So again, as usual, we’re off to the state tournament where, as the No. 4 seed, we open with 5th-seeded St. Paul United.

[DMac and Bob Cunniff ready for the KXRA broadcast . . . ]

[Cardinal captains from both teams for the pre-game meet and greet . . . ]

[So, how’re things?]

[The formation for Roger Riley’s rendition of the Anthem . . . ]

[What’s discussed in here, stays in here . . . ]

[A decision has been reached . . . ]

[This has been a really fun team to watch all year – and I am not surprised by their success . . . ]

[Top to bottom: Anna Doherty (7), Alexis Heckert (20), and McKenna Ellingson (24) . . . ]

[This is a team that can play three lines , and often mix them up during the game . . . ]

[Here’s Marki Oberg (10), who has finished the season on a strong uptick . . . ]

[The play was in the Willmar zone most of the game . . . ]

[So the game was not nearly as close as the score would indicate . . . ]

[The puck was here a second ago??]

[Has anybody seen the puck?]

[It must be under here somewhere?]

[Hey, I saw it first!]

[And here come our Cards again – Calley Richardson (19) with McKenna . . . ]

[There it is – over there!]

[Kristin Trosvig (15), Olivia Kopp (13), and Calley keeping the other Cards penned in their own zone . . . ]

[Kristin, Calley, and Kaci Trosvig (25) up close and personal with the Willmar goalie . . . ]

[But it’s a “no contact” sport . . . ]

[Drat!  It got away again!]

[But they’re back again, joined by Mayson Toft (14) . . . ]

[Calley in the middle of the Trosvigs . . . ]

[Meg Shercliffe joins the fray . . . ]

[Getting ready for period 2 . . . ]

[Looks like Allison O’Kane (36) has drawn a grin from McKenna . . . ]

[And here we go with, again from top to bottom:  McKenna, Alexis, Anna . . . ]

[Kaci with Talia Olson (27) . . . ]

[GOOOOAAAAALLLLL!  By Mayson!]

[Group hugs with sticks can be dangerous?]

[Future Cards looking on from behind the glass?]

[GOOOOAAAALLLLL!  By Taylor Breitkreutz (34)!  So, both goals by defensemen . . . ]

[Another Cardinal rush with Josie Minnerath (6) and Hadlee Hansen (18) . . . ]

[Only a one goal game after 2, but we felt it was in hand . . . ]

[Kaci . . . ]

[And Josie and Hadlee . . . ]

[Ride out the game . . . ]

[We’ll take it!  And again I forgot to get a shot of our goalie, Hailee Bailey (35).  Darn.  But see you at the Xcel Energy Center this week!]

The problem with winter sports is that—follow me closely here—they generally take place in winter.  ~  Dave Barry

Tom:  Something likely to do with sports, Colorado, or Panama?