McFarland Lake, MN: Oct. 4-6, 2012

When Jon Ringen, friend since undergraduate days at the University of North Dakota, saw in our blog that we were returning to the States for a spell, he emailed an invitation to come visit him at his cabin in McFarland.   Searches of various computer maps revealed a “McFarland” some two hours from Rochester, MN, where we would be seeing a doctor at Mayo Clinic for my arthritis.   This McFarland is in Wisconsin, just outside of Madison.   Easy peasy.

I sent a note to Jon, mentioning that we would come “down” when we finished at Mayo.   He responded that “down” was a peculiar word to use, since McFarland was “up” from Duluth.   Several emails later we realized that we would not be driving an easy two-hours to the southeast, but a much longer eight hours north up along the western shore of Lake Superior to within three miles of the Canadian border and just east of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

It was great to visit with Jon and Cathie.   Jon and I spent some time reminiscing and some time solving some of the world’s major philosophical problems, and Barb and I both enjoyed getting to know Cathie better.   The weather was not favorable for being outdoors, so we had to content ourselves with admiring from indoors the handsome McFarland Lake and its surroundings.

Rochester, MN: Oct. 1-3, 2012 – Mayo Clinic

After nearly two years of frustrating delay, I finally got in to see a doctor at Mayo Clinic about my arthritis.   And what a doctor he was; attentive, warm, patient, methodical, involved and the Chief of Rheumatology.   I spent all day on Monday, October 1st meeting with the doctor and then being tested in various labs, with the last test not finishing until about 7:30 pm.  In each case the technologists were friendly but extremely efficient.   We could not have been more impressed with Mayo Clinic.  Tuesday we did some shopping and went to a movie.   Wednesday we did a self-guided tour of the fabulous art at the Clinic and then joined another couple in accompanying the carillonier as he ascended up into the tower of the Plummer building to perform his Wednesday noon half-hour concert. You can read more about the bells here.

Later that day we met again with the doctor, who described in detail his findings and the treatment options.   I have inflammatory poly osteo-arthritis.  The hope and expectation is that if the inflammation can be eliminated, then the pain can be minimized and the degradation of the joints can be slowed or stopped.  The inflammation will be treated using the same kinds of drugs that are used for rheumatoid arthritis, even though my tests have consistently been negative for that type of arthritis.   So I am now taking two drugs daily:  hydroxychloroquine and sulfasalazine.    The literature says that it may take months to see some improvement, but in fact my fingers already seem a bit more flexible and my ankles seem much less swollen.

 

Minneapolis, MN: Sept. 28-30, 2012

On Sept. 28 Barb, Mom and I drove to Minneapolis in Zona’s second car.   Zona and her dog Bella went in her first car.   We had planned to spend the first night at the home of Zona’s son Erik and his wife and daughter, but at the last minute learned that the household was under the weather.   So we instead visited Zona’s daughter Susie and her family and later spent the night with Zona’s daughter Jessica in her lovely penthouse apartment in downtown Minneapolis, while Mom and Zona spent the night with a friend of Jessica, since Susie was hosting a slumber party for her daughter Madeline

On Saturday, Sept. 29, Susie’s family and we took two cars down south of the Twin Cities to attend the last day of the Renaissance Fair.   Another affair with crowds of people attending.   Due to the massive traffic jam caused by would-be attendees, we missed the jousting, but enjoyed the colorful costumes and the food.

Barb and I spent another night at Jessica’s, and the next day met in St. Paul Barb’s uncle John, who treated us to a fabulous Sunday buffet at an elegant restaurant.   Just before entering the restaurant Barb snapped a picture of a local phenomenon;  a mobile bar powered by the pedaling of its customers.

 

Minot, ND: Sept. 26, 2012 – Norsk Høstfest

On Sept. 26, the first day of Høstfest, we drove up to Minot to attend the Scandinavian celebration.  We stopped first at the permanent Scandinavian Village in downtown Minot, where there is a reconstruction of a Norwegian Stave church, a Norwegian Stabur, a Swedish Dala horse, a Danish sauna, and other displays.

The general admission ticket included free admission to the second-tier entertainers.   We attended performances by the Oak Ridge Boys, the New Christy Minstrels, Paulette Carlson, Williams and Ree (AKA Indian and White Guy), and Norwegian country singer Bjøro Håland.   The number of attendees to the fest was impressive; the crowds were huge.   The average age was also notable; lots of bald heads and blue or grey hair.

Bismarck, ND: Sept. 17 – Oct. 12, 2012

I flew out of Las Vegas on Sept. 17 and Barb joined me in Bismarck on Sept. 21, having elected to spend some post-reunion time with her father.   On Sept. 22 we attended a “Living Paintings” exhibition; the title is perhaps self-explanatory:  costumed actors posing in front of backdrops that reproduce famous paintings.

The next day we drove 50 miles to the east to visit sister Zona’s cabin on the shore of Lake Isabel.   There we harvested apples and Zona’s son-in-law Jon pulled the dock out of the water for winter storage.

Next day Barb and I helped Zona put oil on the new deck at the rear of her Bismarck home.   Later we were joined by Marvin and Violet for dinner.

And then the next day we attacked her storage building; sorting , cleaning and photographing the extra furniture with the intention of  placing some ads on the web.   Fortuitously, we found a charity that agreed to come and take all of the items, so we were spared the trouble of dealing with the sale of individual items.

On the next day –- are you keeping track of the date? – we drove up to Minot to attend the annual Norsk Høstfest event.  It will be covered in a later post.

In the middle of our visit we drove to Minneapolis to visit members of Zona’s family and to stage for a  trip to Mayo Clinic, after which we drove to northern Minnesota to vsit college friend Jon and his wife Cathie.   On the way back to Bismarck we stopped in Detroit Lakes to see the dude ranch which Barb’s folks ran with the help of their kids in the early 70’s.

So it has been a busy time here in the Midwest, and the time has flown.   As usual, we are impressed and grateful for the hospitality we have been shown by everyone, especially Zona.

 

Las Vegas: Sept. 11-20, 2012 – Carr Family Reunion

Barb and I arrived in Las Vegas late in the evening of September 11. We stayed at the Cannery – East Casino/Hotel for two nights before moving over to the homes on the west side that were rented for the Carr family reunion. By the way, the media was saturated with news of the horrible flooding that had occurred earlier in the day of our arrival. Here is what I posted to FaceBook at the time:

“We landed in Las Vegas last night, and learned that the city had been hit Tuesday afternoon with record-setting daily rainfall that swamped cars, flooded the county courthouse, had the Fire Department rescuing more than 50 people from their vehicles and responding to about 40 swift-water rescue calls. At first, the news sounded “just like” Trinidad. But then we learned the amount of rain that had set the record and caused all of the problems: 1.17 inches! Doesn’t take much to drench the “driest city in North America!”

We later learned that there was also one death: a worker was swept from his tractor when it was caught too near a drainage ditch that was swept by a flash flood. The reunion ran from Thursday until about mid-day Sunday. All five of Barb’s brothers were there, and two of her sisters. And her father and her son, both of whom live in Las Vegas, and grandson Zane who came down from Idaho. Plus, lots of the immediate family’s significant others and offspring. Almost all of us bedded down in one or the other of the two rented homes, and almost all of the meals were prepared in the larger of the two kitchens or else unpacked and assembled there. Lots of time was spent just hanging out and visiting, but there were also major expeditions to a go-cart track and a laser-gun arcadia and several casinos. On Monday I flew on to Bismarck to visit my mother and sister; Barb stayed back until Friday to visit some more with her son and father. But before catching my flight Barb and I drove out to Hoover Dam, where we walked out on the pedestrian shoulder of the new bridge that stretches across the gulch just to the south of the dam, and thereby provides a great observation platform for viewing the spectacular dam.