We discovered the Spirit Lake area in Iowa a couple of years ago when we drove down from Jackson. Minnesota, where we were attending a three-day dirt track race. We were looking for Josie's pottery and she hit the mother lode at an antique mall in the area. After that we drove over to Lake Okoboji to check out the rest of the area and it looked like a nice place to spend more time. So, we made a note of it and planned for a visit this summer.
First things first, we went back to the antique mall and Josie again found a very nice and rare piece for her collection. We tried a few other pieces in the area but to no avail.
Then we drove over to our mail service Dakota Post in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to pick up mail we had not had delivered since we left Lake Orion, Michigan over 6 weeks ago. The mail run gave us a chance to check out the top rated place for "Chislic" in Southeast South Dakota, the Red Rock Bar and Grill in Rowena. Chislic is very popular in South Dakota and is the official nosh food of the state. It consists of cubes of red meat that have been dredged in flour seasoned with garlic and other spices, then deep fried in hot oil and served with a dipping sauce of some sort. I like BBQ but most use a hot sauce or ranch dressing. You use large tooth picks instead of a fork to eat them. It is one of those regional foods that we have discovered in our travels. Another regional food that is not so localized as Chislic, but more over all midwestern is the pork tenderloin sandwich. A pork tenderloin is butterflied, pounded out for tenderization, dredged in seasoned flour and then fried in oil. It is served on a bun that is never large enough to hold it and garnished with mayo, or horseradish mayo, pickles lettuce and tomato. I grew up eating these as a kid and had to find the best place in the area to have one for dinner.
First things first, we went back to the antique mall and Josie again found a very nice and rare piece for her collection. We tried a few other pieces in the area but to no avail.
Then we drove over to our mail service Dakota Post in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to pick up mail we had not had delivered since we left Lake Orion, Michigan over 6 weeks ago. The mail run gave us a chance to check out the top rated place for "Chislic" in Southeast South Dakota, the Red Rock Bar and Grill in Rowena. Chislic is very popular in South Dakota and is the official nosh food of the state. It consists of cubes of red meat that have been dredged in flour seasoned with garlic and other spices, then deep fried in hot oil and served with a dipping sauce of some sort. I like BBQ but most use a hot sauce or ranch dressing. You use large tooth picks instead of a fork to eat them. It is one of those regional foods that we have discovered in our travels. Another regional food that is not so localized as Chislic, but more over all midwestern is the pork tenderloin sandwich. A pork tenderloin is butterflied, pounded out for tenderization, dredged in seasoned flour and then fried in oil. It is served on a bun that is never large enough to hold it and garnished with mayo, or horseradish mayo, pickles lettuce and tomato. I grew up eating these as a kid and had to find the best place in the area to have one for dinner.
When we were in the area a few years ago they were giving tours of the Indian Motorcycle Factory located in Lake Okoboji. We were too late in the day to take one and had planned on taking a tour during this visit. But they are no longer giving tours and all you can do is look at some of the old and new cycles and buy merchandise.
The town of Arnolds Park on Lake Okoboji is famous for its 150-year-old music hall, the Roof Garden Ballroom. It is now in its fourth rebuild after fires and tornados had taken it down over the years. It has been host to so many famous musical acts over all these years that it would be impossible to list them all. So when we found out the Grass Roots were going to be there we decide to see the show. As the lead singer said this was music's version of the senior tour and a Q tip convention, because of all the gray heads in the building. They put on a great show for a bunch of guys in their 70s, although none of them are from the original group.
The town of Arnolds Park on Lake Okoboji is famous for its 150-year-old music hall, the Roof Garden Ballroom. It is now in its fourth rebuild after fires and tornados had taken it down over the years. It has been host to so many famous musical acts over all these years that it would be impossible to list them all. So when we found out the Grass Roots were going to be there we decide to see the show. As the lead singer said this was music's version of the senior tour and a Q tip convention, because of all the gray heads in the building. They put on a great show for a bunch of guys in their 70s, although none of them are from the original group.
We drove to Kansas City and I was able to visit with my mother who is 95 and in a nursing home. At first, I was told she could not have visitors because of Corvid protocols but with a little persistence and a quick covid test I was able to visit for a short period of time. She seems to be doing well despite being so isolated. The Delta variant is a threat here in Missouri and there is a mask mandate in the KC area. I stopped by my father and brother's grave sites and since my brother was always lighting church votive candles for us when he was alive, I left battery powered ones on Tom's and my father's grave. We spent our last evening in town having dinner with my brother's best friend Doug and his wife Cindy. They were truly great friends to my brother. We met at Jack Stack BBQ one of our favorite places when we are in my home town of KC.
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