Good Bye July

Just after the death of the flowers,
And before they are buried in snow,
There comes a festival season
When Nature is all aglow.. - unknown

Custer

Old Style

Saloon No. 10 and what happens after a shot of whiskey. You better watch out.

Sticky Roll

I'm almost certain this was at the Best Western in Deadwood. Bill and Tam treated us all to these enormous caramel rolls and they were too die for. Mom, you missed out. Next time.

Two Coiner

Left to right:

Nick, Tam, Dakota, Bill, Barb, Sam, Sara, Brynn

Shampoozle

Dakota from Baltimore, it may not look like it, but Brynn misses you!

sleeping bear

- Bear Butte-
We hiked to the top of Sacred Bear Butte. I respectfully include a picture of the colorful pieces of cloth and tobacco ties that represent the prayer offerings left behind by people in worship.

Free Ice Water , 5 cent Coffee

Stark Beauty

BADLANDS

Flandreau Bakery

Ok, this post may seem a bit extreme if you're not a Zwingelberg descendent. Too bad. But you must know that if you've never experienced a cream filled long john from the Flandreau Bakery, you're missing out. You cannot find anything similar anywhere else. The filling is not exactly a frosting, nothing like a custard. Light, airy, awesome. The top, rolled in crushed peanuts. The actual pastry, perfection. Locals claim people travel from miles away to take a bite of these old school delights. And have you ever even heard of a vanilla mocha cake? Delightful. I'll be back. I'm making it a goal to travel once a year with my mom to the bakery to sip on a cup of coffee and munch a box - yes, a box of cream filled long johns.

Yesteryear

Flandreau, S.D. Not a lot has changed beyond the color of my grandparents old house and the loss of the community pool. A casino and coffee shop has given the town a bit of an update but for the most part, it's still the same Flandreau I knew as a kid.

Blueberry Lemon Cookies

It's a bit strange, I know. To take a seasonal berry that's so sweet on it's own, and bake with it. But for some reason, I was in the mood to bake on a 90 degree day. I was hoping to take the majority of these on our road trip, but I ended up sending most of them with Nick to work and I took the rest to work with me. Ok, this is a great cookie recipe. Not sure how likely it is I'll make them in the future, as there's so much to do with fresh blueberries and so little time to get them locally. Nonetheless, I'm happy to have made these to share.

Hittin' the Road

We're heading west for Deadwood country. We'll come back with tales from the historic and scenic Black Hills of South Dakota. Custer State Park, Crazy Horse, Iron Horse Highway and Needles... here we come!

Lake Superior

For the 4th of July weekend, we packed up the pup and Brynn and headed to Lamb's Cabin Resort on Lake Superior. Nick and I have been vacationing here together for 11 years now. Nick's family has been going here since the beginning of time. It's a perfect spot whether you're tent camping, RV camping, or renting one of their fine cabin's. We always have such luck with getting divine north shore weather when we visit. The mornings start crisp and as the day moves on, the air thickens slightly and the sun sticks around to keep you warm. We hiked the onion river trail as always, and checked out a new part of the Lake Superior Hiking trail that we had never been on before. I think this must have been the first time I've visited the north shore in early July, as I was captivated by the wildflowers in bloom. I told Nick he needs to buy me a book on north shore wildflowers so I can study up on what's what. Other highlights included our beer can chicken, our evening swim in Superior, letting the pup wander free, and reminiscing under the night sky. I love our time up north.

Girl's Night Out

Our dear friend Meg is getting married and so the college friends had a bit of what we called a 'Total Trash Bash'. Meg now lives in Wisconsin so it's pretty rare we are all together on a Saturday night whoompin' it up like we used to back in the day. While Shannon did a fine job at her duty of sober cab, she was still an absolute hoot. We started the evening with pedicures which made our toes look like the Midway section of the MN State Fair. Afterwards, we had a small bite to eat at Shamrock's. Off to Billy's for one shot cause that place is totally lame where we darted for the door and parked our rear ends at Sweeney's patio until we closed the place down. Fun times had by all.

About Time

I'm creating a blog for our family. Life with the Nephew's. I'm supposed to decide what I want the blog to be about, so I've decided it's about time. Time with each other, our friends, our family, vacations, holidays, silliness, food, drink, puppies, and everything in between. I hope you enjoy. Please check back often as it will motivate me to frequently post.