Christmas Time

Jenean and I left a snowy Denver and headed east on a Thursday evening. The drive to Minnesota went smoothly if uneventfully. We arrived at a truck stop diner in Northfield around 10:00 AM and met up with my Dad for breakfast (he happened to be in the area for work). All in all, it was about a 17 hour leisurely drive.

That night we headed to Jenean’s ten-year high school reunion. I found it more entertaining than expected. It was interesting to observe all the different behaviors and psychologies on display. Plus there was food to eat.

On Christmas Eve, we went to church in St. Louis Park before heading out to Shakopee to Pat and Harold’s house. Of course we stopped to walk-through the menagerie of classic Christmas lights and displays at the house on Shakopee Avenue. There was all sorts of tasty food for dinner and then an impressive array of sweets, cookies, and bars for dessert.

On Christmas day, we started with gifts and a tasty stuffed French toast breakfast. Then we headed up to Foley for Christmas at my parent’s house. I drank a Wild Cherry Pepsi, ate a number of meatballs, and also taco dip. Overall, I think I ate my fill of sweets and meats to last until at least February. The Wahlins came out and we opened some more gifts. We then went for a nice stroll along the road with views of an intense sunset filled with oranges, yellows and pinks. Before heading in for dinner, Kayla, Kennedy and I salvaged what we could of the dusting of snow and pulled each other around in sleds.

Later in the week, Madison, Megan, Kayla and Kennedy spent two nights in Foley. Given the complete lack of snow, we found other things to do, such as tree climbing, four-wheeling, going to the park, and making a movie. We decided to film a re-enactment of The Christmas Carol with Scrooge (me), Bob Cratchet (Megan), the Ghost of Marley (Madison), Mrs. Cratchet (Kennedy), Tiny Tim (Kayla), and some panhandlers (my Mom and Dad).

One evening we met up with Mike, Cindy, and Josh. It is always fun to reconnect with friends who you have not seen in some time. With those guys, it seems like you never miss a beat even when you do not see them for a year or two.

Towards the end of the week, we headed back down to St. Louis Park. We toured the American Swedish Institute, which highlighted the Scandinavian penchant for gnomes, elves, and trolls (I will need to go on an elf hunt when we are in Iceland). We also saw the movie We Bought a Zoo, which was much better than I expected.

On New Year’s Eve, we headed to David and Erin’s place in St. Bonifacius. Luke, Cheryl, and Chadley were also in attendance. It was cool to spend more quality time with Simone. We made homemade pizzas and played some board games into the night. It also snowed a few inches, so our Minnesota trip was not completely lacking the white stuff.

We decided to meander back to Colorado via southwest Minnesota, southern South Dakota, and the sandhills region of northern Nebraska. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere South Dakota I was pulled over; it turns out I only had one good headlight. Otherwise, it was smooth sailing to our economical yet pleasant motel in Valentine, Nebraska. We picked up some subs and then watched a television documentary on trekking to the North Pole. I think, given the option, that I would choose a North Pole attempt over a Mt. Everest attempt.

We slowly rolled out of town the following morning and into the Nebraska sandhills. The rolling terrain is not the most spectacular thing I have ever seen, but much more interesting than the rest of Nebraska. We drove on double-track into the Valentine Wildlife Refuge. Rolling hills, windmills, and iced-over lakes comprised the landscape. We followed the road to Clear Lake and were greeted by an unexpected and amazing cacophony of ice expansion. There were the normal ethereal groans and sharp popping sounds associated with a frozen lake in transition. In addition, what is best described as the sound of a Star Wars battle emanated relentlessly from under the ice. Think laser cannons, or whatever they shoot on Star Wars. Seriously, I think there was a crazy Jedi battle happening, hidden, under the ice in the middle of nowhere in northern Nebraska. Jenean and I sat on the ice, mesmerized by its sounds, for a good half-hour. It was, by all accounts, a one-of-a-kind experience. We then proceeded on some road-trail across the sand prairie in search of whatever we could find. There, we happened along an indent in the sand that held a frozen pond. I figured, I’ve been carrying my ice skates all around on this trip, I may as well use them for once! So I spent about a half hour skating around a 30’x20’ pond in a sand indent in the middle of the rolling prairie. It was quite the experience! To cap off the excursion, Jenean climbed a windmill.

We then drove the remaining 6 hours to Denver, once again listening to an over-the-top Nevada Barr mystery on tape. We stopped at an awesome BBQ place in North Platte. I don’t remember what it was called but it had a giant pig on the sign and the building looked a Denny’s-Bonanza-barn hybrid. We arrived in Colorado just in time to see the Front Range silhouetted purple by a stellar sunset. Man, does the stretch around Fort Morgan stink! 

our Buffalo Creek Christmas tree