It has been a while, so first of all, my apologies for neglecting my duties. The good news is, it was all been because we have been wonderfully busy spending time with old friends! I suppose I should pick up where we left off in our KOA cabin. Forgive me for this post being so long, but as we’re making up three days of updates, I think it is warranted.
Day 1: 6/7—This morning we went to a church in Mitchell we found online called LifeChurch. They move their services around between various community venues, and this particular morning we found ourselves on the far outskirts of town in the local fairgrounds (inside, not outside!). It felt great to connect with some new people and feel very welcome, and the pastor gave us a great alternate route to take up to my friend north of Minneapolis that would be a little more scenic than the freeway.
A major landmark of the morning was the fact that Tinkerbell (my car) hit the 111111 mile mark on the odometer. We took pictures (with and without Harry) to recognize this great achievement…we hope she has many more miles in her.
Right after we passed into Minnesota we stopped at PipestoneNational Monument. We actually had no idea what this place was, but it was on our national map, we needed a state map of Minnesota (and usually visitor centers are a good place to find them) and we wanted to stop for lunch, so we decided to go for it. Turns out pipestone is named as such because it is a soft rock that the Native Americans used to carve out their traditional peace pipes. The monument was near a quarry that is still used to acquire the valuable rock, and we were actually able to watch members of the local tribes shape and carve the stone into pipes and small figurines. Crodg even bought a pipe! It’s pretty cool, because it even comes with information on the local tribesman that made it, and his history and ancestry in working with pipestone. All in all, a pretty cool place (and one we found that even many native Minnesotans haven’t visited!).
We enjoyed driving through the many small towns that dot the countryside of Minnesota as we made our way to Cambridge, a small town of about 5500 where my friend Mary Elmstrand lives. I met Mary and Katie Nolan (whom we stayed with next) at a conference in North Carolina two Januarys ago, and manage to see them sporatically though we live so far apart! Mary lives on a farm that has been in her family for generations, so it was cool to learn about their family history from her dad Rod. They all opened up their house to us (Rod served us about 5 courses of dinner…just kept finding food to bring out) and Mary’s little brother Paul entertained us to no end with stories and tours. We spent a low-key evening chatting and playing games (Mary was the champion of “On Assignment,” a National Geographic game pitting aspiring photographers against one another). We went to bed decently early with the knowledge that Monday would be a fun and full day.
Day 2: 6/8
We got on the road about 10 after getting up and receiving a highly acclaimed 4-wheeler tour of the farm from Paul (and explanations of each of the crops they plant). We are staying with Mary’s sister Becky and her husband Eric near downtown Minneapolis tonight. We arrive right near lunch and are shown the Johnson’s cozy little home-small, simple, and beautiful. We felt so welcome with the Johnsons…they showered hospitality on us the entire time we were there with nary a thought about it…it is very humbling to be served so selflessly.
Mary and Crodg and I went out exploring Minneapolis, which actually was more exploring than we bargained for. Despite using googlemaps as best as possible, Mary hasn’t spent all that much time in the city, so much of our afternoon was the always entertaining state of being half-lost before discovering your destination is just on the other side of the freeway. We picnicked near St.AnthonyFalls before finding and visiting the WalkerArtsCenter and sculpture garden. We thoroughly enjoyed going through and naming all the art with our own names before comparing them to their actual names—always being disappointed with our distance from the truth. We almost always put too much thought into it, and then when we’d try to be ridiculously simple, the artist would always come up with a profound name. Figures.
Crodg and I grabbed a nap the rest of the afternoon before eating some delicious homemade pizza (apples on a pizza? WHAT?) and heading over to the Johnson’s church to hear Doug Padgitt speak on his book “A Christianity to Believe In.” Padgitt recently finished the book and is preparing for a book tour, so we were there to provide feedback during the runthrough. I find it quite engaging and interesting. He was talking about the things I enjoy talking about: the grapplehold of Augustinian theology on contemporary Christianity, the EmergentChurch, etc. Eric mixed up the presentation with some songs he wrote that are just incredible. Crodgers and I decided we really like his voice…a difficult to distinguish earthy/raspy/breathy tone. I was stoked we stumbled upon such a random and cool opportunity for the night.
After the runthrough we ran over to the Herkimerto enjoy some beer and play some shuffleboard! We tried out some local brews and actually won a game of shuffleboard (big upset) before losing to the sisters (who, in our defense, did go undefeated on the night). After heading home we each were bombarded by additions to our wardrobe by the Johnson’s, who are leaving for Lithuania in September and generously gave flannels, pants, and fleeces to us to use! Their generosity was just awesome…I’m kinda struggling to capture it.
Day 3: 6/9—
Mary and I were up at 6:40 this morning to pick up our friend Katie Nolan, who was returning to Minnesota/Wisconsin after being in Turkey all spring semester. We actually spent about an hour and a half in the Amtrak station and had to be woken up by Katie as we’d dozed off waiting for her to arrive (since her train was so late!). We returned to the Johnson’s for a delicious breakfast (and catch-up conversation with Katie!).
For lunch we went to a bar the Johnson’s defined as “Minnesota, in a bar” called Matt’s Bar. We really enjoyed meeting Mary’s friend Elizabeth, who definitely carried the distinction of the most Minnesotan accent we’d heard yet! We tried out the specialty of the bar: the Juicy Lucy, which was 2 burger patties with cheese cooked in the middle throughout, fusing the burgers together…a unique and quite delicious concoction.
We rolled out of Minneapolis around 2 before getting routed and rerouted through traffic in an hourlong detour that took us 20 miles out of the cities before promptly returning us to almost downtown in order to get on the interstate heading east. Eau Claire, our destination for the night (where the girls go to college), was about an hour and a half away.
Most of our evening was spent watching Katie see people she hadn’t seen in 6 months, which was mostly entertaining. Everyone had stories to tell her, so we were able to get an idea of life at UW-Eau Claire without ever having really been a part of it. It was a great place though, and everyone we met was just very welcoming, and really wanted to show us what a great place Eau Claire was. Much of that took place after dinner at Pad Thai, when we went down to a bar called “the Joynt,” which featured $7 pitchers of local beers and great company. According to the locals, no bar in Eau Claire can beat the Joynt for atmosphere and good beer, and from my experience, I’ll admit it was pretty darn cool. It was really nice just to spend time and chat with some new friends (and reconnect with the old ones). I think the thing that struck me the most about this stop was how easy it was to slide into the college atmosphere in another town—we just glided seamlessly into the crowd Mary and Katie hung out with and were accepted instantaneously. It was really a great time of making new friends and reconnecting with old ones.
Emily Klotz, one of our new best friends, helped us compile a list of things to remember about Wisconsin:
wow luke! this sounds like such an amazing and inspiring experience. thank you for sharing your thoughts with us all! many hugs, b
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