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If you know me or have read past posts, you know that I grew up in Minnesota. Minnesota is beautiful this time of year. Grass and trees are green, flowers are blooming (only downside really is humidity, which for a now desert dweller is hard to take). We just returned from flying up to visit my mother who lives in northern Minnesota now. It was a nice change of pace for us, slowing down to explore is one of the things we do best as humans. Exploring is something I really enjoy doing and really would like to make that an actual occupation…..guess I should have been a scientist or something.
When returning to the area where I grew up I usually find something that reminds me of childhood. Since I grew up in the Twin Cities area, I wasn’t sure what would bring me a reminiscent feeling this time – since we were flying in and out of Duluth (quite a bit north of the cities). When I have traveled to the cities with my husband in the past I could take him to where I went to high school, or the nature center where we would go walk every week and I could even guide my husband to just about every Dairy Queen that exists…he actually finds this pretty funny and it is a subject of loving teasing on occasion. I had visited Duluth when I was young, but I didn’t really remember much of it – besides the aerial lift bridge (which will be a subject of a future post). Needless to say, I didn’t expect that AHA moment at all, something that would get my history juices flowing….until…..
©320photography Nikon D300 ISO 200 f/7.1 80mm 1/13th sec
We went to the grocery store. There we found two sweet items that brought back a ton of memories. Cinnamon crisps and Snack Toast. The image above is a Cinnamon Crisp – it is a flat pastry that is crispy (falls apart when you bite into it crispy) covered in cinnamon and sugar. It is crispy on top and sticky on the bottom and is oh, so yummy. Not a strong taste by any stretch, but one I certainly remember always wanting my mom to buy them when we went grocery shopping. Not even close to nutritious or healthy, its all about the sugar. Yum.
Also incredibly unhealthy, Snack Toast. Snack Toast is hard, crispy and full of cinnamon and sugar. Again with the sugar. If you dip a Snack Toast in coffee or milk it soaks it all up and becomes mushy goodness. My mom always would say “put butter on it, its better that way”, but for me, plain and dipped in wet is the best. I have not seen anything remotely close to this since living in the desert, so having some of these treats was really amazing to me on this trip.
More about our adventures in the north to come.
Being from Minnesota, I miss the grand scale extravaganza known as the Minnesota State Fair. Up until last year I was not aware that there is an annual county fair in Logandale, which is roughly a hour north of Las Vegas. The scale isn’t terribly grand, but the concept is the same. There are juried competitions for growing food and flowers, knitting and quilting, science projects and art and photography. I entered four images to the photography contest (one in this post) – I received two blue ribbons and two red. Besides the competitions, there are; exhibits and shows, a midway with games and rides, small animals and livestock and PLENTY of food. The Clark County Fair also has a rodeo, which someday we hope to make it long enough to be able to stay and attend.
The shows this year included pig racing, dogs and frisbees and a lumberjack show. I didn’t lug around a lot of equipment with me this time around – next year….likely to be a different story. My focus of the day was spending time with family and having a good time. The biggest mistake was not bringing sunscreen (yes, I live in the desert and totally forgot this one important item).
The first image here is one of the ones I got a blue ribbon for. I had it printed on metallic paper, so it had a really cool shine.
©320photography Nikon D300 ISO200 f/5.6 60mm macro 1/250th sec
In the food competition area were these prize winning beets, I couldn’t resist the bright color.
©320photography Canon G10 ISO250 f/2.8 6.1mm macro mode 1/4 sec
The ‘dog catchin frisbee’ show was really fun. It was really bright out there and really windy, the dogs and trainer had quite a workout. I have never seen dogs jump so high so fast….. But the one that really catches everyone’s eye is a dog that acts like a cat (kinda looks like one too). She slinks up, low to the ground as if she is hunting like a leopard. I was in the right spot at the right time to capture how focused she is.
©320photography Canon G10 ISO 80 f/4 10.8mm 1/800 sec
©320photography Canon G10 ISO80 f/4.5 30mm 1/500th sec
The lumberjack show was new this year and was certainly entertaining. The two lumberjacks are well versed in the lumberjack competition world. The one on the left is a Junior champion from Oregon. The one on the right has been world champion three times and currently resides in China – where lumberjacks shows are all the rage right now.
©320photography Canon G10 ISO80 f/4 21mm 1/640th sec
By the end of the afternoon animals and humans can have something in common…..
©320photography Canon G10 ISO200 f/2.8 6.1mm 1/30th sec
Sweet dreams.
Celebrate with some ooey-gooey cheese….
Hey everyone, it is National Eat Outside Day…..unless you live in the desert. (I suppose we could eat outside if we wanted to, but for it to be comfortable outside we need it to be late at night – or we need to be visiting Mt. Charleston, which is kinda hard on a Monday – with work and school, etc.)
So, go outside if you like and enjoy the day!
This shot was taken on our road trip in 2008, somewhere in Nebraska.
Okay, so this one is not specific to Las Vegas, but this has to be the biggest sandwich I have ever seen, at least in person. This is the Motherlode sandwich from Claim Jumper. Claim Jumper is very much the ‘order based on what you want as leftovers’ kind of place. Same goes for desserts – I order one with the intent of taking four to five days to eat it.
Been really busy so have not been updating blog as much as I would like, but will get back in the swing shortly.
Today is National Waffle Day, celebrate with your choice of toppings….
National Waffle Day
Happy happy day! It is National Lasagna Day. Enjoy one of the best Italian dishes ever! (in my opinion anyway – and easy to make yourself…really….and healthier to make it yourself…give it a try).
Happy Lasagna Day
One of the things I remember about growing up in Minnesota was the abundance of local restaurants – the ‘mom and pop’ kind. I remember my parents taking me to a small, out of the way mexican restaurant where the kitchen was not blocked off and you could hear the family ‘discussing’ the right way to do cook this or clean that. Even now, it brings a little smile to my face. We drove out of our way to go to this joint, because the food was just that good.
In 1999 I moved to Las Vegas, and the chain restaurant is king here. Now, don’t get me wrong I enjoy eating at a chain restaurant just as much as the other guy. But, I found myself really wanting the intimate feel of a ‘local’ eatery, one were the menu was all their own, one with heart and soul poured into it. This type of gem is rare on my side of Vegas. There are a few that I have found that I will travel across town – because the food is just that good. My family and I had found a place for our Italian fix, but it closed a couple of years ago and we just had not found something that was worthy enough to take its place. Until last night.
A restaurant just opened near to my house, in fact we walked there for dinner last night. And it has all of what I have been looking for. It is intimate, feels like a family kind of place, and the food was awesome! The breadsticks were to die for. We have not had such good Chicago style pizza, since being in Chicago – as evidenced in the photos.
I ate the whole thing
Maciano’s is located on Russell Rd and Grand Canyon – I highly recommend it. As it turns out, yesterday was day 1 for them. We are excited to go back and try more things, including what looks to be an absolutely awesome tiramisu (which I am highly confident will end up as a blog post here including photo).
Maciano's Double Dough and Chicago Style pizzas
Happy National Donut Day! How cool is that, a day for donuts. As I understand it, Dunkin Donuts is giving away free donuts today. And, of course, when you have such a day you need to go out and buy donuts so you can record the day in the appropriate fashion. Grab some coffee, milk or whatever and enjoy the day!
I actually have a total blast when shooting food….which fits right into my goal of getting the cover shoot of a major food magazine. Las Vegas is a foodie kinda place too. Lots of big name chefs share their culinary talents down on the Strip. But it is the local places, the ones the tourists don’t know about, that my family and I love to discover. We are into finding the odd duck type of places and I intend to share more about such places in the future. For now, a photo I took over the weekend. Chocolate is dreamy.
Chocolate Pretzels - oh the evilness
