Un Petit Chateau

This weekend we joined some friends for a quick getaway to Cambrai, France. We stayed on the grounds of an old chateau and spent most of our time either eating or looking for a place to eat- which makes for a pretty good weekend. The chateau was nice (and cheap when you stay in a room not actually in the chateau), but the weather and the fact that not much in the town was open on Saturday made for a slightly different weekend in France- since all the churches and bell towers in town were closed, we opted for a trip to the local grocery store and an afternoon of, um, wine-tasting (you know, the kind of wine tasting where you buy a few bottles and then taste 'em.  Repeatedly). 

Sunday's weather was sunny and beautiful and we made a stop in the town of Lille on our way home.  Lille has a couple of lovely squares in the city:

Rob especially liked this statue, which, if she were holding a wooden spoon, would be a dead-ringer for his mom giving the old, "You'd better get over in here by the time I count to 3. One.  Two...." There's nothing like finding a little piece of home when you're living abroad...

All in all it was a lovely weekend and also gave us an opportunity to debut as The Latest Annoying Couple to Play With a Fancy New Camera. Below, Erika holds court, followed by a cool shot of the sunlight shining through the trees.

Parrots... ...Parrots.

Last night we took a walk through the park and thought we'd practice with our new camera. We're still figuring out the camera, but we did manage to get a few photos of the often-rumored but rarely-seen parrots that live in the park.  

Of course, parrots aren't the only wildlife in the park.  There are ducks, pigeons, herons, and hippies.  Oh, and of course, rabbits.  If only the hippies hid in the bushes, too.

Badlands National Park

Rob's parents and grandparents live on opposite sides of the state and so the easiest way to get to see everybody- and show Erika the state- was to drive. And unlike driving through, say, Kansas, or Iowa, the drive through South Dakota isn't too bad. We started out in the Black Hills, moved east into the rolling plains, crossed the bluffs over the Missouri River, and then eased into the flat farmland.  It was a little tough going over and back without much of a break, but the promise of free ice water at Wall Drug can really keep you going. But, before we stopped in for our free drink, we pulled off the interstate and looped through Badlands National Park.

Like a scene from another planet and completely out of place in the prairie, the Badlands is an absolutely gorgeous park. Formed of sediment left behind when the inland sea that used to cover the Great Plains receded, the Badlands continue to erode with each rain (which also brings out bright coloring). The area is fossil-rich and finds have shown the area was once populated by precursors to the horse, rhino, and alligator. These days, it's home to bison, bobcats, coyotes, bighorn sheep, rattlesnakes, and of course, prairie dogs. We took some shots at the prairie dogs (with the camera!) but didn't get much more than little blobs of fur.  So, instead, here are a few more pictures of the Badlands:

The World Famous Corn Palace

Okay, maybe it's not world famous.  Did you know there's a place in South Dakota that has a palace made of corn?  Okay, not made of corn, but beautifully decorated in it in honor of corn's important standing in the state's economy.  Originally built in 1892 as part of an exposition displaying the viability of the state's farm land in order to entice farmers and settlement, the Corn Palace has been torn down and replaced twice.  Today, it's used for the annual Corn Palace Festival, the Corn Palace Rodeo, and- hold on to your hats- the Corn Palace Polka Festival.  Oh, and there's a basketball court inside where the local high school team (The Kernels!) plays.  

The exterior and interior are decorated in murals made of corn cobs sliced in half lengthwise and affixed to the wall.  The designs are first drawn on tar paper, which is like a paint-by-corn diagram.  We actually caught the palace in the process of pulling down the 2008 murals (theme: Everyday Heroes) and putting up the tar paper for 2009 (theme: America's Destinations).  Here's the plan for a diagram featuring monuments in Washington D.C.:

There are around 6 different strands of corn used, which allows for the variety of color.  Here's one of last year's murals of an everyday hero, followed by a close-up:

Inside the palace is a large exhibit hall where they hold the various games, festivals, and cream corn wrestling matches... okay, so they don't really have cream corn wrestling matches... but they should!  The inner wall is ringed with photos of the Corn Palace from almost every year of its existence and then there are more murals above the stage and court, including this one of Mt Rushmore: 

As we said, we just missed the big festival, but it's still an interesting stop if you're ever on I-90 and you need a break before you get to Wall Drug.  

It's cheesy.  It's kitschy.  It's, well, you know.

Crazy Horse

While the faces of Mount Rushmore are carved into the side of a mountain, the Crazy Horse Memorial is actually being carved out of the mountain. Crazy Horse was an Oglala Lakota warrior who fought the US Cavalry in the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. The monument was commissioned by Lakota chiefs in response to Mount Rushmore- to let "the white man ... know that the red man has great heroes, too." 

The sculptor they hired started work in 1948. Work has been slow, as the sculptor worked alone for many years (that's right, one man worked mostly alone carving a mountain- to increase his workforce, he had 10 kids) and the site is nonprofit, refusing state or federal money, and surviving on donations and entrance fees.  After 50 years, they had the face and top of the arm finished. Though there is a long way to go, the scale is quite impressive. In comparison, the sculpture of Mt Rushmore would fit on the side of Crazy Horse's head.  When (or if) all is said in done, it will look something like this model:

If you look closely at the first picture (click to enlarge it), you'll see the outline of the horse's head painted on the side of the mountain. When asked once about his tribe's claims on territory, Crazy Horse is said to have replied, "My land is where my people are buried," and this is why he is pointing.  If they ever finish, it'll be the largest sculpture in the world- several million tons of rock have already been removed.   

Patriotism Swells In the Hearts of an American Pair

As wonderful as Portland was/is, the trip home also provided Rob the chance to show Erika his home state, the majestic South Dakota (easily the better of the two Dakotas).  Surprisingly, Erika had never been to South Dakota before, so Rob really wanted to impress her with all the state had to offer.  Wasting no time, we headed from the massive (not really) Rapid City Regional Airport to the greatest symbol of South Dakota, found on the state quarter and every license plate: Mount Rushmore.  

Now, Mount Rushmore is a curious thing.  Carving the likenesses of our leaders into a mountain seems like an ancient civilization kind of thing to do and you can't help but wonder about future civilizations debating the meanings of each face- "Well, there are four gods, one for each of the seasons?"  But, when you visit Mount Rushmore, you are struck by its beauty and scale and you do get that sort of grade-school sense of civic and national pride, which for us was augmented by the dozens of 2nd through 4th graders running around, identifying each president or finding their state flag along the viewing area.  We even listened to a park ranger give a talk about the carving of the monument and while he was mostly speaking to the rows of little kids sitting cross-legged on the floor, it was pretty cool for the big kids, too.  

He's standing in front of the old working model of the monument, which is beautiful in its own right.  You'll notice that the presidents were modeled from the waist up, which was the original intent.  But, if you look at the first picture, notice the dark rock at what would be the belly of Washington (near the tree line).  That black rock is not suited for carving and so they decided to just stick with the heads. 

Mount Rushmore was beautiful, but just the start of Erika's journey into the heartland of America.  More to come, including giant Native Americans, palaces made of corn, and of course, prairie dogs.  Bonus points to anyone who gets the reference in this post's title. 

50 Pounds Heavier

After two and a half weeks of home cooking and visiting favorite restaurants and bars, we're ready for our post vacation diet. Of course, most of that 50 pounds came in the form of the clothes, shoes, and other stuff we bought in an attempt to get a little relief from the exchange rate. In addition to the shopping, we had a fantastic trip, managing to see our families, our friends, and, Rob thinks, everyone in Portland that Erika has ever met. 

Of special note, we were lucky enough to see all of the Other People's Kids (see links at right). Denali and Kerala were in town for the first week of our vacation (Rob was too busy playing with Denali to take any pictures), and Connor and his parents stopped by for brunch one day. As Connor is a somewhat less demanding playmate, Rob was able to snap a couple shots. Here he is with his mom, followed by a glamour shot of the pose he uses on all the ladies:

It was great to see all the Other People's Kids and, of course, all the Other People, too.  We had a nice flight home and we're thrilled to spend a day with our friend, James, who was visiting from Australia.  We toughed out the jet lag and had dinner with friends- okay, Erika toughed out the jet lag and had dinner with friends.  Rob couldn't keep from falling asleep on the couch and so excused himself from dinner and went home and crashed.  Not all was lost, however, as Erika did bring him a slice of cheesecake, which of course only adds to the weight gained from the trip home.  Maybe the post-vacation diets start tomorrow...