Food blog for a day

This post is intended mostly for those who follow me on Facebook and may have encountered posts by lisado5 as a consequence. Lisado5 is Natalia Provotorova who we call Natasha. She has tried to explain Russian names to me many times, but I can never figure out how it works. They seem to have several names each. They seem to be able to keep the system straight, but I cannot. Many of those I have met seem to sometimes use the same names - e.g., Dima, Natasha. I used to call these folks our Russian friends, but this has not really been accurate for several years so I should describe them as our friends out west.

Natasha is famous among her Instagram and Facebook friends for the pictures of what she makes in the kitchen. She makes amazing things both in taste and appearance. We have been enjoying her treats since we have arrived, but I thought the following picture best described her approach. Yes, it is a picture of her refrigerator.

Maybe your fridge looks like this too, but not ours - very organized and neat. You can see the cake we enjoyed last evening and I am told there are more to come.

Natasha told me I was getting a guest sized piece. She described this as mousse cake with tart cherries and chocolate biscuits. I would say as hobbies go, I am certainly glad this is hers. There has to be a business her somehow. I can imagine sitting in a fancy coffee shop having a piece (smaller) of this cake and a latte.

We had a great evening on the patio retelling old stories and catching up.

Oleg, Lindsey, and Natasha

Big windmills and big corn

As promised yesterday, here is the photograph of corn fields and wind turbines. We have driven through Iowa many times and the number of these turbines keeps growing. We must have observed hundreds as we drove west on Interstate 80.

I have no idea why wind energy has surged in Iowa. We have long been familiar with wind energy as North Dakota has many turbines and the large blades for many of these turbines are manufactured in Grand Forks. North Dakota is windy, but Iowa would be able to feed electricity to larger metropolitan areas.

Iowa knows it has established itself as a leadership role in renewable energy and featured this commitment at this rest area.

Before we hit the large concentration of turbines I found a way to photograph, I saw a large billboard stating “wind is not the answer”. I frequently write in opposition to conservative policies on Facebook, but I did not intend to allow my opposition to bleed over to my travel blog. However, when I followed up on the message from the billboard I found that the things I value continue to draw my attention. I assumed the message originated with farmers promoting alcohol production from corn as an energy source.  It turned out to be a little more complicated and weird.

Starting from zero

Eighteen days is usually not long enough, but we will try to fit in a quick fall road trip to Colorado and Utah. This may sound like a lot of time, but we have to drive about 60 with the camper. I remembered to take a picture of the dash data center so I can demonstrate the time we spend on the road. 

Long days in the car are my favorite way to travel. There is plenty of time to watch the scenery flow by and think. We are heavy into tech so we are switching back and forth between two football games. Both North Dakota and Iowa State are losing. UND is playing #9 Washington so there was no hope for that. Iowa State is losing to Iowa so this game is more disappointing. Wait, I found gopher football. I think we have a winner. 

We also have plenty of cell data to burn so we can do pretty much whatever we want online. I am thinking we will watch Vikings football tomorrow. Of course, the driver will just have to listen. Maybe a glance now and then. 

There is not that much to see in Iowa and Nebraska so tomorrow will offer few photographic opportunities. Maybe a picturesque shot of a big cornfield against the setting sun or a picture of those giant wind turbines would be impressive. Yes, I may have said this to miff our many friends in Iowa and yes, we did spend most of our adult lives living in North Dakota with the exception of those funny hills in the west of the state is about as flat and uniform as it gets. I also have friends in Iowa who take some very nice photos so good photographers can find interesting shots anywhere. We will see.

Houghton Falls and some app recommendations

Today it rained, but we did a short hike. I survived because it was shorter than yesterday. I still don't like walking in slick conditions going downhill over tree roots. We never did find Houghton Falls, but we saw some interesting things along the way. The Falls may come and go with the season and I am guessing that the falls are not the reason people make the effort with this trail.

Along the way, I saw a couple of women examining and photographing a strange looking plant. They said the plant was quite rare and was called Indian Pipe or Ghost Flower. The totally white plant did have a pipe-like appearance so I also took a couple of pictures with my iPhone. 

I tend to explore apps I think may have educational value and I have been using several apps or services that make an effort to identify what appears in an image. I tried them on the strange flower I had photographed and both made successful identifications.

The first service is part of Google Photos and is called Google Lens. It is available to all at no cost.

The second app is called PlantSnap. I tried this app in Hawaii with mixed success, but it worked fine with the Ghost Flower. This flower has such a unique appearance that the identification services probably have an easy time finding a match,

The Ghost Flower has such a strange appearance because it lacks the chlorophyll that gives most plants their green color. This plant is parasitic and is able to get nutrients from other plants. 

Settle for pickled herring

Hanging out with younger folks can be a challenge. For today's activity, our group decided to hike to an overlook near the sea caves. You have probably seen the photos of kayakers exploring these caves or maybe the brave souls who walk out to the caves when the lake freezes in winter. We decided on a hike - a 4.6 mile "moderate" difficulty hike. I am not much of a hiker. I consider myself a city stroller and walk 1.3 miles or so to my coffee shop (and back) frequently. I have difficulty with hiking conditions - sharp downhills with steps are a particular problem - bad feet/ankles from too many years of basketball I claim as the cause for my problem. Moderate turned out to be more difficult than I could handle and rather than slowing the young folks down, Cindy, Kaia, and I turned around after a mile or so. I did make my 10,000 steps today. The good photos were at the end of the hike, but I am a purist and only post the images I take.

All I could come up with is this picture of pickled herring. I ordered this delicacy a few years ago and may have posted a similar picture, but I am a fan of pickled herring and I ordered this appetizer again today because I remembered how good it was. My feet may be in decline, but my memory is great. Same reaction to the delicacy this time. Last time we tried to find a place to purchase some to take with us, but could not find an outlet in Bayfield.

I recommend iBuprofen for sore feet.