Still at the Campground

Wow, where has the time gone?  Here it is, September 2nd already!!

We have been busy this past month - not so much here at the CG but with family and friends, I guess.

This is not in chronological order (since I can't remember it), but:

We did drive to Sioux City, IA for dinner one day.  Yes, about 120 miles!!  But it was for a good cause (two actually).  We left the CG, drove to Sioux Falls to pick up my sister, Judeen (Jim wasn't feeling well that day), and drove to Sioux City to meet up with their two daughters and husbands (Alison and Eric and Katie and Tim) for dinner.  
This first picture is of Katie (and Alison) with a couple of her shower gifts that we brought since we won't make it to the shower.

  
We ate at "Bev's" restaurant which is right on the Missouri River so you get a great view of the boats and you also get a great meal!!  Tim and I had Pork Osso Bucco.  As you can see, it was alot to eat and delicious.

We did end up eating inside as it started to mist and we didn't want to get caught outside eating and have it rain. 

This is Katie and Tim.  Katie is pregnant so we had to have pictures to show everyone.  She is due in October and they know that they are having a girl, Aliza Claire.

Alison and Eric:

And all of us:

  
We had a great time and always enjoy getting to be with the "younger" crowd!

We did drive to Mitchell, SD for dinner another day.  Yes, about 145 miles!!  And it was also for a good cause.  Judeen and Jim had purchased 4 tickets some time ago to see Terry Fator in person at the Corn Palace.  Terry is a ventriloquist and won the $1 millions on Americas Got Talent in 2012.  He now has a show at the Mirage in Las Vegas.  So we left the CG, drove to Sioux Falls, and then they drove us all to Mitchell.  We left early to have dinner at "The Depot" which is supposed to have very good steaks (which they did!!).  

 The Corn Palace was first established in 1892 and is redecorated each year with naturally colored corn and other grains and native grasses to make it the "agricultural showplace of the world."

This display depicts everything that is made from corn.

Judeen and Jim before the show:

The auditorium seats 3200 - this is how it looked before the show began.  The large screens were very helpful.

We had never been to the Corn Palace before so it was a real treat.  And Terry put on an exceptional show (2 full hours with no intermission).

We have had numerous get togethers with my cousin, Claudia Appeldorn.  She bought some fabulous steaks at the local grocery store and we have grilled them on the open fire and eaten them right there, along with fresh corn that we have been getting.  Nothing better!!

On Saturday, the 24th, we attended a family reunion at my cousin and his wife (John and Jerri Appeldorn) farm.  My mother was one of 6 Appeldorns that grew up on this farm - most were actually born right there on the farm.  The only sibling left is my uncle, Harold, who is 93 years old.  Most of his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren were there.  We had a great time getting reacquainted with them again.  Here are many pictures with Harold and family:

I think we have been to Minnetonka/MPLS at least a couple of times since I last wrote about it.  Each time we have gone on Sunday morning and then back on Wednesday morning.  This last time we went purposely to go to the MN State Fair since we had not been there in like forever!!  This particular time our weather decided to be HOT (for us anyway since we have normally had temps in the 80's all summer.  This day was a scorcher for us at 96 degrees - the hottest day every recorded at the fair! 

View of downtown MPLS and the hot sun:

 But it was worth it - saw farm machinery, trucks, cars, RV's, fish shacks (actually trailers that you pull out on to the ice, raise the wheels, and then fish.  One had six holes to fish in, a satellite dish to watch TV while waiting for the fish to bite, six bunks to sleep in, and alot more amenities - all for a mere $16,000!!).  We ate lobster mac and cheese, deep fried meatloaf, deep fried croissants, etc.  

We also ate kettle korn from an $8 bag (that I just finished off two days ago). It was delicious.

On the walk back to the car, we saw some guys looking to rent scooters to people to take into the fair.  Pam decided that it would be nice to ride one out to the car so she negotiated a deal to take it out to the parking lot for $5. The young man followed her so he could return it.

On the way home Judy got another picture of downtown MPLS,

and a picture of the Metrodome where the Vikings currently play.

Enough for one day...more later.

County Fair

Well, the Pipestone County Fair has come and gone.  An we got to see very little of it because of working.  We missed the bull riding and the tractor pull events which are always highlights.

However, we did go late in the afternoon on the final day.  

We looked for the wall climb but it was not here.  Several years ago when Gehrig was about 6 years old, he and Julie were with us at the fair and he climbed the wall.  (Unfortunately, we have no pictures of that).

We got our usual funnel cake and then walked thru the 4H building and the exhibitor buildings.

We walked thru the animal barns - saw the cows, sheep, goats, etc.  

Saw this camel.  Reminded us of the Geico commercial where a camel is walking thru an office and asking everyone what day it is.  And someone finally says "Hump Day!!"  Thought it was too funny.

Also saw some pigs.  In the kids zoo was a sow with fairly new little ones (piglets, I guess).  She had a litter of twelve.

Don't get tooo excited now, but they also had a parade of tractors!  From a 1934 John Deere to a Farmall and all the way up to a Case.

Not sure how much this one would cost new, but I did see a 2011 model for sale recently for $349,000!  You would have to have alot of acreage to need one of these and all the other equipment that would go with it!

Anyway, it was a short trip to the fair but we heard that this county fair is always very good compared to other county fairs in the area.  

More Life at the Campground

On Sunday mornings, there is a children's story hour and Judy has been leading it when kids will come to the office for it.
Last Sunday, she knew that two boys would be coming so she decided to tell the 'Noah's  Ark' story.  (What else??).  So, in advance, she crafted a boat for the story.

All out of a cardboard box!!

Here they are out by the pool during story time.  The boys had a great time listening to the story and playing with the animals and the boat.

On Monday of this week we got a call in the office from someone looking for a campsite that would accommodate their 45 ft motor home and 30 ft trailer!!  We said we could put them up so around 7PM they came in.

Mom and son, Peyton, were the travelers.  And, Peyton, who is just 15, was driving.  (Yes, driving this big rig!!)

We found out that Peyton is a "Legends' race car driver.  So their trailer was carrying two cars, both 1934 Fords.

He has driven in over 40 races already this year and now they were headed to PA for nationals.
We didn't know anything about these cars so I looked up some information in Wikipedia:

Legends car racing is a style of race car, designed primarily to promote exciting racing and to keep costs down. The bodyshells are 5/8-scale replicas of American automobiles from the 1930s and 1940s, powered by a Yamaha motorcycle engine. 
Legends Cars are a "spec" series, meaning all cars are mechanically identical, with the exception of 3 styles of car (Standard coupe, 34 Coupe, and Sedan) available with 10 types of body styles. 
Drivers can be classified into four different divisions. The Pro Division is for the experienced drivers. The Masters Division features drivers 40 years and older. The Semi-Pro Division is for drivers with less than two years of experience in a Legend, featuring the drivers that are new to the INEX Legend Car or have been inactive in other forms of racing for a while. Finally, there is the Young Lions Division, which is designated for drivers between the ages of 12 and 16.

Obviously, Peyton is in the Young Lions Division.

We got his autograph and a card with his picture and one of his cars.

He does have a website if you are interested with a few more pictures.  It is Peytonsaxtonracing.com.

So, you see, hosting a campground can be very exciting!!

Get Togethers with the Series

My Dad had two sisters, Lois and June.  June was married to Merlyn and they had six children - Gary, Wayne, Mark, Steve, Dale, and Becky.
Gary and his wife, Shryl, and Mark and his wife, Rita, live in Lake Benton, a small town about 18 miles north of Pipestone.

Gary and Shryl and Judy and I have been getting together quite a bit over the summer.  They own the NAPA, Hardware Hank business in Lake Benton, and, after work, they will drive down here and we will go out to supper.  On two occasions we have gone to plays together in Brandon, SD which is about 45 miles from here.  The plays are put on by students in the Prairie Repertory Theatre from SD State University in Brookings, SD. and they perform both in Brookings and in Brandon.

We saw "Love, Sex, and the IRS" and also "A Second Helping - The Church Basement Ladies Sequel."  Both were very good.

The seond one was a Sunday afternoon matinee so after it was over, we drove back to Pipestone and went to dinner at a Mexican Restaurant.   Yes, I said "Mexican."  Surprisingly enough, they have decent Tex-Mex food.  And, yes, I should mention that they also have very good margaritas!!  They have small, medium, and large.  I asked about the large - 46 ounces!!  Hmm, I like margaritas, but that is a bit much for me.  We all had mediums - only 26 ounces!

As a side note, Pipestone also has a "Chinese Restaurant" an all-you-can-eat buffet, 7 days a week.  And it too is very good.

One of these days when we are with Gary and Shryl. I will get some pictures!!

Family Reunion with the Adkins Family

On Thursday, July 15th, we got together with the Adkins family.  We (the Appeldorn side of the family) are related to them.  My mother's Dad (Herman Appeldorn) and Erma's Dad (Henry Appeldorn) were brothers.  So that makes my Mom and Erma cousins.

We went over to Erma's house in the afternoon.  Erma and her husband, 'Buck' had 4 children, Dean (two years older than me), Carmen (graduated with her (died in 2007), Wayne (one year younger ) (died in 2009) and Stan (born in 1955).  Erma is 96 years old and gets around very well for her age.  Stan was living in Denver but came back to Pipestone a couple of years ago to help Erma.  Dean and his wife, Nancy, live in Appleton, Wisc. and were on their way back from CA where they were visiting their sons and family.

Claudia Appeldorn went with us.  I know I had mentioned being together with her earlier but I didn't really explain how we are related.  Her grandfather, Gus, was a brother to Herman and Henry.  These three brothers all moved to Pipestone from Iowa back when their families were growing up and were farmers.  They left behind three more brothers and six sisters!!

Anyway, now that the ancestry lesson is over, we got together for supper and to reminisce.
Pictures were taken:

This was of the men cooking hamburgers.  In the middle is Stan and on the right is Dean.

From left to right - Stan, Dean, Erma, Claudia, and me.

In this one are Dean and his wife, Nancy, Erma, Claudia, and then Judy and me.

Look at the buds on this tree in her yard!

Erma has several nice flower arrangements in her back yard.

After supper we sat outside and had some good times talking about the 'old' days and catching up on everyone's life over the past 40+ years!!