Wednesday - or as we called it Bri's day

Guess what we had for breakfast??? Yep, same old same old. This was the day we planned to take Bri for a drive. I had to stop and email the pics as well as download a few geocaches in Minnesota to add to our day. We left Bri and Melly at the hotel while we went to pick up Auntie Dee since we were going to have to drive right by the hotel anyway.

On to Flandreau, where we saw a covered wagon train going through the main part of town. The first wagon said something about Pipestone days on the side of it. We went to check out a geocache we had missed the last time we were in the area, but we still didn’t have much luck with this one.

We drove to Pipestone and the Pipestone National Monument. Melly slept all the way there and also while we walked the ¾ mile trail around the park. We stopped and took pictures of flowers and other interesting sites. The two ladies sat in the car and Melly stayed with them. The weather was nice enough for that and we left them in the shade with the windows down. Auntie Dee did worry when we were gone. She thought something had happened to us. We stopped by the pond where the Hiawatha pageant in held every year and took pictures of the rocks there.

A lady that works at the assisted living home told us to go to Lange’s café in Pipestone. She told us that they had great pie. I didn’t think we would be able to find this specific place, especially as I couldn’t remember the name of it. But as we were driving around (looking for a geocache) we found the café and bakery. They have their pie in a display case at the front and one of the pies that was obvious was Sour Cream Raisin with Meringue. My all time favorite pie. Bri and I shared a meal so we could have dessert. Melly slept through most of the meal. Auntie Dee of course wasn’t hungry, but could eat a sundae. They had really good food and the best type of ice. They brought us a pitcher of water and Bri and I drank most of it.

We found one geocache and then a second one before heading out of town. We were back on the road in no time and realized we still had quite a while before we were supposed to meet Russ in Sioux Falls. Melly had slept when we crossed the state line so we had to find a state line sign to get her picture by. We drove into Jasper and weren’t sure if we had missed the sign but then we noticed a sign that said “State Line three miles”. We took a little detour just so we could take a picture by the sign.

Enough time for Garretson and Devil’s Gulch. This place is great and the cost is right; it is free. We left a donation and we also left the ladies in the car. Melly came with us this time and we walked the ½ mile loop around the Gulch. Afterward we parked the car close enough to the sign and made them get out so we could get a picture of all of us near the sign. All we had to do was balance the camera on the car and set the timer. Not the best, but not too bad either.

Arriving in Sioux Falls and we still had over an hour so we drove to Falls Park. We were hoping to get Madders a gift, but they didn’t have anything she would enjoy. We did take some pics at the top of the observation tower and near the falls. Again, our two ladies didn’t get out of the car and Melly was asleep again.

We got to the restaurant almost 30 minutes early, but Russ showed up early as well so we were able to get seated quickly. We ate and visited until almost eight P.M. It was a nice leisurely meal and we were near the bathroom and away from the main flow of traffic.

Ahead of us was the drive back to Madison, on to Mone town then back to Madison. We dropped off Bri and Melly as Melly was getting tired of being in the car. She had been really good for most of the day and had even let her mom enjoy her meal, she just sat in a high chair while we ate.

Knowing we had to pack up and wanted to get away early the next morning we didn’t want to stay up too late.

What's good about Tuesday?

Breakfast was the same, again we dropped Bri and Melly off. This time we picked up Terrie before we picked up Auntie Dee. Then we drove to Sioux Falls. We planned on meeting Terry’s daughter-in-law at one for lunch and we had about an hour to kill so we drove farther south and drove by their house and also around the graveyard where their baby daughter was buried just a short time ago. Terry showed us a photo album the hospital had put together for them as a memento of this little angel. She explained that they were able to hold her and spend time with her before they had to let her go. They were dealing very well with their loss. She told us about a dragon fly and also a butterfly that visited them at their homes after her death. She felt that these two incidents weren’t mere coincidence that they were both a sign from their little angel to let them know she is alright.

For lunch Auntie Dee told us she wasn’t hungry – something we had heard everytime we talked about food. She did tell us she could eat dessert though. I gave her part of my meal and then she had a little sundae. She also drank some Pepsi, but didn’t like it too well. She is not used to fountain sodas and so it tasted funny to her.

We drove back to Madison and stopped to visit Tessie before going to the picnic that had been arranged. The weather prediction was for rain, but by that evening it was perfect. It was amazing the number of people that showed up for this impromptu affair. It was potluck and the table was loaded with all sorts of dishes and way too many different desserts. We took pictures of different groups and some candid shots. We got pictures with Melly and some of her cousins. We also took a picture of mom and her brother and sister. Afterward Uncle Joe’s daughter took Auntie Dee back to Mone town, which saved us another trip and allowed us to go to bed a little early. Well that was the plan, but abe called me and told me that we needed to email some pics from the Boy Scout Encampment to someone. This would have been easy except that the internet connection in the room was not working. I fought with it for about thirty minutes before I realized that it was no use and finally went to bed about midnight.

Monday, Monday

Breakfast at the hotel – biscuits and gravy, sausage, and waffles. Then we dropped Bri and Melly off with GG Abraham. GG Carter and I traveled to Mone town to spend the day with Auntie Dee. We picked up Auntie Dee and took her to Uncle Joe’s home. He wanted to take his sisters to lunch so we loaded up two walkers and one cane and drove to the local café. They have senior “dinner” (which is at noon). For three dollars they each got a small bowl of grapes and cantaloupe, a hamburger patty, mixed veggies, a baked potato, a slice of bread and a cup of milk. Quite a bargain, since I’m not a senior yet they brought me a half hot beef sandwich – one slice of bread with sliced roast beef, a scoop of mashed potatoes covered in nice brown gravy, no sign of a vegetable anywhere. It was really good though and the waitress brought me a fruit cup just to be nice.

After lunch we loaded everyone up and went for a drive. We drove up the hill and by the rock, then past the cemetery and on to Lake Badus. As we were driving we remembered that Aunt Mary’s old house was not standing where it was supposed to be. It was there in June when we came back to visit but this time when we drove by the only thing left were the trees and the windmill. We decided to drive up the driveway and see what had happened to the house. I left the sisters and brother in the car and walked over to the house. It was obvious that it had been burned. Apparently the land had been sold recently and the new owners were trying to clear the land. The only thing left is the rock basement. I took a few pictures and we were down the road to Lake Badus and the Badus cemetery. Next we drove by Auntie Dee’s home where we stopped and took pictures of her red kitchen ceiling.

The next leg of our trip took us by the Lutheran church and on to Madison where we drove past the golf course and Prairie Village then through Lake Herman State Park. Our next stop was at McDonald’s, it was around three P.M. and all of the handicapped parking was taken so we parked as best as possible and unloaded two walkers and one cane and went inside. We all had a hot fudge sundae with nuts and a small glass of water. At quite a few tables there were people sitting around playing cards.

We loaded back up and returned to Mone town to drop off Uncle Joe. We had to stop at the assisted living home to pick up some stamps. While we were pulling out we noticed some people standing there and realized that they were relatives so we had to stop and visit with them. One of them had come all the way from St. Paul to spend time with mom since she was in the area.

Then we drove back towards Madison and stopped at one of mom’s old friends along the way. She showed us a book that she had written from her years of teaching in one room schools. During part of that time she taught at the Abraham school and actually had abe as one of her students. She had pictures in this book as well and we asked her if we could get a copy of it. We plan on visiting with her another year and going through the pictures she has, some of them from her high school years with mom as a young girl and others from her teaching years. Her memory is extremely sharp and it will be fun to see what she remembers from teaching abe and his brother.

GG Abraham brought supper to us in the hotel. Afterwards we took Auntie Dee back to Mone town and visited with Aunt Florene for a few minutes before returning back to get some sleep before our next thrilling day.