We had a blast yesterday!!!!
Tons of pictures so I'm just going to roll through them. I meant to have these up last night but too many pictures and I was too tired. Here we go...
Our first stop was to see Scott's new manager at the 24th Annual Waconia 2014 Ride In, The Worlds Largest Vintage and Antique Snowmobile Event. (MWVSS.com) We ended up not finding him and by the time Scott tried to call he was leaving.
This is what Minne's do when it's 7 degrees outside. They bundle up and go to the lake.
This is out on the lake. First row is snowmobiles on display, some for sell, some not. Second are the trucks and trailers that haul them out. Third back is the drag strip where they race them. Beyond that is the open lake where they have built a track to run on. Then past the event are the ice houses where they sit and drink and fish in a little tent with a little tv and a little heater for HOURS!!!! Brrrrr....
These things are so LOUD!!!They are preparing to drag race. They sweep the ice (brooms are laying down behind them), the snowmobile is on a stand so they can stand next to them and rev them up, then the stand is removed, they hop on and GOOOOOO!!!!
Scott is wearing a hat that's too small for him. We got here and he had forgot to bring a hat. That would be the Texan in us, we still aren't 100% prepared all the time. Lucky for him, a vendor at the swap meet was selling bobos for cheap and now I have a new one!
This is the what the ice looks like. We're out in the middle of the lake with all these heavy trucks and tractors and trailers and and oh my goodness! This really defies all reasoning that I was raised with. How much weight can this lake hold???
Look close, those are cracks in the ice. The ice looks deep, not sure how deep. I can see cracks about a foot down. It's pretty to look at but it does defy our Texan logic.
On our way out, we found a sledding hill. These things are everywhere up here. All the parks have them; some are small and some are tall. They line a chain link at the top against the steepest side and sometimes put a light at the top. If you look closely, there is a guy standing at the top. This hill is HUGE, Scott estimates 120 feet high.
From Waconia, we drove east to St. Paul where the St. Paul Winter Carnival was taking place. I assumed that it would be a park and walk-through event with a few offerings inside to warm periodically warm up the visitors. Well, I was wrong. Our first stop was the Ice Sculptures Contest. It was in Rice Park, downtown.
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| There's alot of detail in this one, it was my favorite. But these things aren't camera friendly. They take blocks of ice and stack them up. They are allowed to use power tools but the majority choose not to. This is a fisherman sitting outside of his ice house with his auger, cooler, and a sign that says, "Danger Thin Ice". On the left by the sign, his boat has fallen through the ice. Under him is an old tree stump in the water and there are splashes of water and fish under his pole. |
This is a close up of part of one. These are flying fish. My brother, Kenneth, saw these in the ocean when he was on a luxury liner back in the 90's. Destination was Kuwait, Desert Storm.
Thanks, Kenneth, you're awesome!
This is a fairy tale scene. There is a mermaid on a mushroom surrounded by flowers and forest animals. The detail they are able to create is unreal. I wish I had been able to capture it better.
And what Ice Sculpture display wouldn't be complete without an ice sculptured bar serving beer in the middle of the city park? Duh!
We then headed further north to the fairgrounds where they were carving their snow sculptures to be judged next weekend.
It all begins with a huge, solid block of ice. Emphasis on the solid part. You could put those spiky shoes on and climb up this thing without it crumbling apart.
This one is a bull.
This wasn't roped off and you could touch it. It is very hard and solid. They use saw toothed knives, saws, sandpaper, dowels, screwdrivers, etc. to carve these.
These two guys are 1/3rd of the creators and designers of this enormous sculpture. We spoke with them and compared sand sculptures to snow sculptures. There is alot of similarity, they also have figured out the perfect recipe for "glue". They said the snow blocks were dumped here by tractors two weeks ago and they've been working in shifts every since. They didn't come up with the design until the snow arrived. They all sat down and created it together.
This is a smaller version of what is to be.
Sweet Ballerina Hippo!
This will be an Indian head nickel. The other side is a buffalo.
These guys are using a five foot long 2 man saw to cut the corner off to match the corner on the right.
The perfect end to a perfect day is a nice dinner at a 5-star restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. These guys wanted a great restaurant that served traditional Midwestern cuisine.
We shared a three course meal. We began with a fancy wedge salad.
Next came their version of Pork and Beans. These were delicious butter beans drenched in a light sweet sauce, covered with fried tater curls and sided with a chunk of perfectly crunchy pork belly.
Then the main dish was Hot Dish. This is typically a casserole with meat and veggies topped with tater tots. The contents vary by region, haven't figured it all out yet. But I was told that this is nothing like what grandma makes.
This is beef short rib, and three scrumdiddlyumptious homemade tater tots. It was more yummy than anything I've eaten in a long time. I am now on a quest for the perfect homemade tater tot recipe. The outside was crispy and the inside was smooth and runny. Simply perfect!
