Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Fall in Minnesota

Here are some recent pics from The Upper Midwest. Soon to be referred to as The Tundra.

Pics from Whistlestop Marathon in Ashland, Wisconsin:
Guy, Marty, me, Diane, Holly, Chae, Merrilee before the race. We really did have trees this bright for the whole marathon. Only once we were on the trail there were lots of reds and oranges displayed as bouquets nestled in with the balsams. It was gorgeous.

After the race we drove over to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for a GREAT Italian dinner.
Holly, me, Chae, Diane, Merilee and Guy. Marty went home after the race but Guy stayed as our man-guest for Girls Weekend. He said he would do Girls Weekend anytime!


Bobby invited his 5th grade class over for a Fall Harvest Party. Sixteen kids came and it was so much fun! We went on a trail hike in the back yard, collected interesting stuff for a contest with cool prizes. (Stacea won with her big hairy mushroom; second place was a truly perfect fall leaf). We played games like apple toss, ate pizza, played flashlight games after dark and made s'mores at the firepit. It was about 62 degrees and clear - a perfect fall day.


Yesterday Bobby and Ally and I hit the trails again - the leaves have really fallen - but that in itself is pretty as it looks like a golden carpet in the woods.


Saturday ten of us went on the Ride For Pie. It's a 65 mile HILLY ride along the St. Croix River -  to the most amazing bakery, where we all ate pumpkin pie and then biked back. Andy got a flat in his rear tire; then a flat in his front tire 2 miles later (seriously); then another flat in his front in another 2 miles (TOTALLY serious). He ran out of supplies, so IrongirlNyhus had to go get the car and pick him up! It was a 6 1/2 hour ride with the stops and hills, but it was so pretty!!

Finally, yesterday Susan and I were out on our 6am run and saw 4 shooting stars. We couldn't believe it! So I got home and googled the stargazing page and lo-and-behold it's a charted meteor shower. Only TODAY (the 21st) is supposes to be the really good viewing day, in the  morning and in the south. So Bob and I got the kids up at 5:30 this morning, got all bundled up and watched the sky for an hour and a half before school. We each saw at least 8 or 10 shooting stars... the first ever for Bobby and Ally -- they were so excited! I will be running again tomorrow so if it's clear, maybe I will see some more. Cool!


12 comments:

richvans said...

Thanks for the post about the Pie Ride - my wife and I were supposed to ride a tandem - then we went for a test ride. She backed out, then I got sick so no one went. What a gorgeous day. Enjoy fall for the next few days!

Cliff said...

Hi IronJenny,

Thanks so much for your comment on my blog. Yup God was indeed great...the run was spectacular. I was able ot enjoy God's creation around the city.

Too bad to hear about your friend who had three flats in that ride..though the pie ride sounds yummy and fun.

Iron Girl Nyhus said...

Love the new look of your blog :) It was a good ride, all 40 miles of it :)

Born To Endure said...

Fall is beautiful eh? What a wonderful ride you went on I bet!

21stCenturyMom said...

mmmmmmmmm..........pie. Totally worth a 100K ride. I googled 'ride for pie' and it turns out lots of places do these!

Too bad about the flats. I have a friend who had a similar experience on a 100K ride once but there was no calling for a ride. She had to rely on the kindness of others after a while (thankfully there were many, many others).

You sure know how to enjoy a lovely fall.

see115 said...

You did not just post photos of the beautiful fall leaves...and talk about shooting stars!? Ahh - good memories of home. :)

Marci said...

Fall is always a great season... great cycling weather and the leaves change colors :)

Carrie said...

your kids are so beautiful

Fe-lady said...

What great pictures of great times! I can almost smell the fall and chill in the air you write about! We are just getting a taste of this here...but you have to be out the door by 6 a.m. to know it's out there!

Ms. R said...

Yes, it has been beautful here! I love the picture of the blanket of gold leaves, absolutely stunning! And, by the way, I agree that all disagreements should be settled with a dance-off, it would make life so much more interesting. :)

CoachLiz said...

The changing colors of the leafs and going to a local farm to pick up our pumpkins is the one thing I miss about fall living in warm Texas. The Pie Ride sounds wonderful!

TRI-ROB said...

That is SO cool that you got the kiddos up for that! Good on ya Momma!

Breathe...