Monday, April 1: Another day when I neglected to take any decent photos, so a screenshot from Happy Color will have to mark the day. Happy Color thinks balloons are a big part of April Fool’s Day for some reason. I wish this were true as I like balloons way better than pranks.

 
Tuesday, April 2: The highlight of my day was the fundraiser for the mountain’s avalanche rescue dogs. This is Maisie, formerly the youngest of the crew but supplanted in that spot when the new puppy arrived just before the end of the season.

 
Wednesday, April 3: A last look at the mountain before Mr. Karen and I drove away on our eclipse trip.

 
Thursday, April 4: Mr. K and I took a longer lunch than usual for a road trip and got off the freeway a bit and into the town of Big Timber, Montana, where in addition to eating, we strolled along a main street and browsed in an old fashioned drugstore (still had a soda fountain) and a thrift store.

 
Friday, April 5: Just driving and driving, from Jamestown, North Dakota through Minnesota and Wisconsin to the Chicago suburbs, where we laid our heads in a motel that was way too hip for the likes of me. Contrary to the light in the nightstand, I am not untamed.

 
Saturday, April 6: Big day in Chicago, with a Disney exhibit in the morning, a Cubs game in the afternoon, and deep dish pizza at night. The exhibit was a bit underwhelming—well done, but for folks like us who know a lot of Disney history from watching shows and listening to podcasts and reading books and going to the parks there wasn’t much new there. I was hoping for way more artifacts; I did like this carousel horse from Mary Poppins, a favorite movie of mine when I was a kid.

 
Sunday, April 7: Had brunch with a high school friend (well, high school for me; Mr. K met him earlier than that) then drove downstate toward the path of totality, stopping to visit Joan’s grave on the way (and happening upon a truck stop with a party and event space upstairs, which was something I’d not seen before). I don’t know if Joan’s spirit can enjoy the view from her gravesite, but I appreciated the sun and clouds when we were there.

 

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On this date in 2002 to 2023: No journal entries