Anyhow, when last you heard from me, I was preparing for the long trip that would put me in my summer location of Marshall, Minnesota. I have since arrived. And you know what? I like this place.
On the trip up, I took a little side trip out to a friend's farm in rural Norfolk, Nebraska. It was an absolutely gorgeous area, tucked back in massive rolling hills. As I stood out on the little pond dock they had, I could hear cock pheasants crowing all around me, and soon began to see a few. The family that hosted me were incredibly kind hosts, and I am super grateful for a place to stay over.
The following morning had me on the road. After a stop for chicken livers at Cracker Barrel in Sioux Falls and a detour along Highway 23, I found myself on the campus of Southwest Minnesota State, checking into my apartment. There were a few bumps along the way- a bad smell in the apartment when I first arrived (nothing some Glade couldn't fix), an AWOL trashcan (maintenance brought it approximately Wednesday), and wifi that wouldn't work for a few days (finally got that fixed, too)- but overall, I have been very pleased with the apartment. We have a kitchen, a washer and dryer, and free cable, with an inordinate number of channels. I have been more glued to the various sports networks and travel-related shows than I care to admit. Note that I say "we"- I have two roommates. Both are interning with the Schwan Food Company, which is headquartered here in Marshall. I get along pretty well with both, though we are all three pretty different.
The clinic I am working in is great. I work five days a week with somewhat variable hours (10-6:30 on Mondays, 8-4:30 on Tuesdays and Fridays, 9-5:30 on Wednesdays and Thursdays), and a variable patient load. Last week, we spent about half of our time in the clinic, and about half the time at a local retirement community. The caseload has ranged from farmers with bad backs to a young lady born without ACLs. The people here are incredibly friendly, and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them.
Now, of course, Minnesota is a great state to get outdoors. I have done so. There are miles of biking paths around here, and I have spent quite a bit of time riding around. I haven't seen a ton of wildlife- some 13-lined ground squirrels (the famous Minnesota "Golden Gopher," for those of you wondering), and what appear to be very runty prairie dogs compared to those we have back in Kansas. I believe them, however, to be more intelligent and ritualistic than their Kansan counterparts, as I found about 30 of them surrounding my car one afternoon in what appeared to be some sort of ceremony. I'm still not quite sure what that was about. I also encountered a partridge while hiking, which flushed directly in front of me and nearly gave me a heart attack with the racket it made whilst breaking cover.
Oh, yes, the hiking. I visited Camden State Park yesterday. I fished in Brawner Lake for a few hours, catching a handful of largemouth bass that were too small to be worth bringing home. Besides, apparently the dam was breached a year or two ago and they lost a large portion of the fish population, so they are asking for catch and release only with bass. Fair enough.
Anyhow, after a few hours of relatively fruitless fishing, I decided to try out the hiking trails. The trails varied from rolling prairie to woodlands, and I certainly knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore. Bellwort, waterleaf, and phlox were everywhere. The whole trail was surrounded with beautiful purple flowers.
They smelled heavenly, too. I'll try to do a better job taking pictures. I forgot to bring my camera yesterday. Those are courtesy my little cellphone.
Today, I'm cooking some BBQ in the slow cooker and sharing a meal with my roommates, and hopefully venturing out to another local state park. Hopefully I'll bring home my first Northern. That's a picture I would be happy to take and post for you all.
Stay dry back in Kansas. Keep praying that I would remain centered on what God has called me up here to do. I'll see you all soon.
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