Jamming Party and Verona Junction of the Ice Age Trail

 

The handyman for our condo association said he was going to pick up a check from me at ten this morning, but by eleven there was no sign of him, so we left. He called ten minutes later, saying he had just seen my text that I had to leave by eleven, but was I still there? At least, as Travalon pointed out, he didn't seem mad that I wasn't. We had been thinking of hiking on the Ice Age Trail in Whitewater before going to a party in Cottage Grove, but we decided to go to the party first and then figure it out. The party was from noon to seven, so we went to the place off Fair Oaks to check out train car graffiti so we wouldn't get there too early.

We went to see if there were train cars in Cottage Grove, but there were just some tankers. We went to the coffee place that was right there, and I loved the colors on their sign.

The party was a housewarming party hosted by one of the owners of the music club, and Travalon and I got there about a quarter after noon but were still the first people there besides the hostess and a couple of friends who were helping her set up. We sat on the shady porch chatting until more people arrived, including the young fiddler who always comes to the Slow Irish Sessions and Choro, and the bass player who works at the music club. This was a very kid-friendly party, and lots of littles were there playing on a playground setup while some of us bigs went down to the gazebo and jammed. The hostess lent me a mandolin, and at first there were just four of us playing, but people kept coming. Travalon was happy because he found a great conversation partner. When she left, we decided it was time for us to get going too, if we were going to get any time on the Ice Age Trail.

Since it seemed too late to go to Whitewater (we both had concerts to go to tonight), we went to the Junction area of the Verona Segment, which we had done during our first Mammoth Challenge. Kayhu had suggested that the park I'd been thinking of that she, Rich, and I had gone to decades ago was a place called Badger Prairie Park, and in fact that is the name of the park where this segment starts. I am almost positive this is the park I was thinking of. Here are some photos.

Rich had thought maybe the park with the breathtaking view was Garner Park, which puzzled me because I had been there a number of times. It was where the Ukrainian Picnic my band always plays at was held the first couple of years. Travalon and I stopped there on our way home, and it had a lovely view, but nothing like the vista I remembered from that long-ago jaunt, so I'm going to have to say that we were at Badger Prairie Park. I have it in Maria somewhere, but there's no good way to search an analog diary if you don't have a good idea when something happened. I have over fifty Mariahs, and I have no idea when this happened, except that I think I was still in my twenties and it was a warm time of year. Anyway, here are some photos from Garner Park.

We went home and relaxed for about an hour before our concerts. Travalon was going to see a Doors cover band called the Droors. I was going to a concert of Bach cantatas. I don't usually love solos, but the mezzo-soprano is good, and the soprano (whom I'd never heard before) was extraordinary. There's something so inevitable about the music of Bach, like every note he chooses, even if it isn't the one you were expecting, is exactly the right one. They also did a violin concerto by him. This was up at Holy Wisdom Monastery, a place that also has incredible views and fall foliage, though it was already dark by the time I got there. At intermission I got a raspberry bonbon, but after the concert I saw they still had some left, so I got the other two flavors too - vanilla and salted caramel. So good! They are made by a local artisan whose name - no joke - is Ambrosius. I did have a couple of awkward moments, like I was trying to tell if a woman across the room was faculty in our department, and the two people she was chatting with had been sitting next to me, but then they moved in the second half, so I was afraid I'd creeped them out by constantly looking their way. Also, I dropped my program on the floor during the violin concerto, and it made a ridiculous amount of noise. Anyway, after the concert I did ascertain that the woman was indeed our faculty member, so I went over and said hi, but I'm not sure she remembered me (she's emeritus) because she used to be very friendly, but tonight she seemed like, "Okay, hi, now go away, whoever you are." At least some other people who knew me were super happy to see me after the concert. And it was such a good concert that there was thunderous applause and a standing ovation afterwards. What a wonderful, music-filled day!

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