Rock Stars were once poets

Wandering about I was happened upon one of those great musical duos playing in the Driftless.  Tim Eddy offered up some nice tunes, a CD, and also his book of poetry “I only asked for blue”.  Lyrics for rock stars, or poetry for the masses,  check it out:  

Song on the hill

There is smoke in the valley

there’s a song on the hill

the wolf is hungry,

hungry for a kill.

so call all your angels,

the true and the just,

sing rock of ages,

howl of love.        –Tim Eddy

Happy Memories Made

The Driftless area is a special place in my life. Besides being a geologist, my wife and I rode our tandem bicycle on the Root River Trail, the jewel of of Minnesota’s bicycle trails many times, especially over the Memorial Day weekend.  We did this from our home in Saint Paul through Red Wing, Winona, Rushford or Houston, Preston, Kasson/Mantorville and back home… about 350 miles to start the bicycling season.

Fran has gone before me and is waiting for me to captain our tandem in the hereafter so we’re not enjoying the exhilarating downhills or the quad and character building uphills anymore, but I have fond, joyful memories of when we did.

Here is my list of why I love the Driftless!

First thing:  I have a degree in Geology and Chemistry from the U of M, and I graduated in 1965. It is hard not to appreciate the diversity, abundance, habitats and adventure possible here.

Second thing:  My wife and I were tandem bicyclists and the most beautiful bike trail is the Root River trail. For many years we would ride to Preston and back home (375 miles) over the Memorial Day weekend. We developed a friendship with the Sather’s at the Jailhouse B&B over all those years.

Third:  My wife and I enjoyed exploring developed caves and there are certainly lots of them in the Driftless Area.

Fourth:  I was curious about the iron deposits in the Withrow Formation and we did some research on that area. That and the Platteville Limestone in numerous locations that we dug up for samples.

Fifth: The Old City Hall Restaurant in Lanesboro used to serve a dish of sautéed morel and shiitake mushrooms with linguine to die for. We did have to tell them when we were coming though.

Sixth: There was a guy in Peterson that had a fantastic old car collection and we would stop every year and chat with him… and of course there was always the stop in Whalen for a slice of pie.

And on…

The Museum in Fountain

The Polka Dot House in Fillmore, MN

The Train Depot in Rushford

The Natural History Museum in Houston

The Sparta – Elroy Trail and the tunnels

Forestville before it became a State Park

The Wurst House in Lanesboro

The Commonweal Theatre

There was a restaurant in Harmony…

Slim’s Woodshed – woodcarving Museum

We also enjoyed the Decorah Iowa area… some tough hills for biking

The Vesterheim Museum in Decorah

And that is not all, but enough for now.

Peace and Blessings!–Tom

Editor’s note:  I was introduced (electronically, alas) to Tom recently.  A St Paul MN resident, Tom let me know about where and why he loves the Driftless.  Along the way it struck me how important the area was for him and his late wife. A bittersweet reminder of seizing the day, and loving the outdoors and adventure in life, and what that will mean in having beautiful memories for a lifetime!