The first snow of 2006! Woohoo! It’s always a great feeling. It’s never too early. It’s not staying on the ground or anything, but there were some good sized flakes in the air tonight. I’m buzzing with visions of snowboarding in my head and daydreams of big pine trees covered with a foot of snow. So yeah, I’m excited. But I have to say I’m a little worried! Part of me loves it, but part of me says I NEED TO START MOVING SOUTH! …

That’s me, a retired yearbook nerd. When I started college I had no interest in the yearbook. When I finished it was a huge part of me. I spent three years at the MSU Red Cedar Log, the nation’s largest published yearbook at 21,000 copies for the 46,000 students at MSU. It’s a huge 400-page, full-color book that students essentially don’t pay a dime for. I won’t get into here, but it ended in a pretty bitter experience. …

It was a pretty chill day today and I snuck in a quick afternoon nap. As for this evening Colleen gave me a tour of the Dakota Square mall here in Minot. A town this size is still considered to be a small town to most people (30-40,000). But to me, anything with a mall, Wal-Mart, several chain stores, and etc. is a big city. There are over twenty times as many people in this town as back home in Baraga. …

While out with Dixie and Dave one night in Sioux Falls they introduced me to Ron. Dixie was telling me that Ron has his own seat at the old school Nutt’s bar, but he still hasn’t had the seat embroidered with his name. He was a great guy to talk to, in his young 40s, full of stories, and just an easy-going person. Something about the way he talks just pulls you in as well. …

Since I can remember I’ve always loved maps. I remember this huge atlas in our house growing up and just loving to flip through it. The fascination continued as I grew older and I loved looking at aerial photos. And one of the books still on my wish list is that big photography book with 365 photos of Earth from above. The coolest thing these days is what we can access online. …

While I was in Chicago I stayed with my friend Jen. I’m not really supposed to stay with people I know, but due to the circumstances it was the easiest thing to do, and it worked out great to take the train to Chicago. I met Jen when I was the photography editor for the yearbook at MSU and she was one of my most dependable photographers. She was always a joy to be around and put plenty of smiles on my face. …

Today was the longest drive yet, about 460 miles from Rapid City, SD to Minot, ND. Wow! Once you get just north of Spearfish there is nothing, absolutely nothing around you for miles. There are no cars behind you, in front of you, or passing you in the other lane. And it gets windy. Though the mammoth tumbleweeds didn’t come until I got to North Dakota just north of Bismarck. These tumbleweeds were big enough to knock the car right over. …

…we’re going to the rodeo! Tonight was a great start to North Dakota as I got to go to my very first rodeo. It was a pretty big rodeo with only standing room left. Ah, the joy of seeing a body bend in ways it’s not supposed by being tossed like a rag doll from a huge bull. I’d have to say with a little training and practice I’d be willing to give it a go. …

As I begin writing this blog it couldn’t get any better. It’s dusk and two young deer just walked into my campsite about 20 feet away. They are pretty calm and it’s a perfect way to end my day. Hmmm…where to begin? From the early morning it was a perfect day. The temperature was in the high 70s with bright blue sky. First… I headed to Mount Rushmore. I have to a minute to look back years ago and embarrass my brother a little. …

Before I even met my host family in South Dakota I met their good friend Jayme first. Jayme is an ambitious and very extroverted person, she’s got two cute daughters and is married to Devon. So there’s a brief description, now let’s get to the good stuff. Jayme and a couple of her friends are in the works of starting the first South Dakota all girls roller derby league. My hat goes off to Jayme, It’s one of the coolest things I’ve heard of someone trying to start. …