Back from Vacation! Did you miss me? Since nobody reads this blog as yet, consider that a joke. Synopsis:
We drove across Montana, North Dakota, and into Northern Minnesota along Highway 2 -- a long freakin' stretch that I wouldn't recommend to anyone.
We stayed in Crookston, Minnesota for a few days doing family research. Many thanks to the Polk County Historical Museum and the Polk County Records Department for their enthusiastic assistance!
The trip down to Minneapolis/St. Paul wasn't near as nice, but we snagged almost two dozen Bollywood videos and CDs in Northern Minneapolis along a row of (East) Indian markets. The rest of the day generally sucked, except for a strangely delightful trip to the Mall of America that night.
Our last stop in Minnesota was the Spam Museum on our way out of there -- fun place.
All through South Dakota on the way back, we encountered groups of motorcycles coming from and going to the Sturgis Rally in the Black Hills. It spread a whole new layer of interest over the kitchy tourist traps on our route -- from the Corn Palace to Devil's Tower.
It took a day and a half of hard, fast driving to get home from Devil's Tower, but the cats were waiting for us!

Weather: Rainy and dark -- our house painter is supposed to start today.

Wildlife: The birds are very unhappy about our removing the feeders on the deck and the eaves for repainting.

Charity Alert: The Hunger Site : Give Food for Free to Hungry People in the World

In the Community: I had to videotape at the college, and pack up a traveling show at the art museum before I was even unpacked myself!

Media Watch: Thanks to the Weather Channel for all the help on the road! Gawd! Some of those Bollywood DVDs have subtitles that lag by minutes relative to the dialog.