Over Memorial Day weekend, a trip was planned to go to North Dakota again. Elphie's friend, Debbie is on her quest to visit all 50 states and North Dakota happened to be one she still needed to get. Even though we already had visited there, we decided to join her and do the road trip. We visited a few different spots than we had done previously and as a bonus, we visited with Mama Linda at her apartment in Moorhead, MN.
I finished the video editing of the project in November but had a lot of things going on in life that I didn't get to sit down and try to fit a soundtrack to the project until the last couple of weeks. I had a few of the songs figured out from the onset but had to figure out what else I could use and what would fit. The soundtrack ended up being songs that fit the idea of spring or early summer or were artists that regionally made sense. I also ended up picking a couple television theme songs from shows that were set in the places we visited.
I uploaded the intro back in November but decided to wait on publishing it until I had finished the project.
I finished the video editing of the project in November but had a lot of things going on in life that I didn't get to sit down and try to fit a soundtrack to the project until the last couple of weeks. I had a few of the songs figured out from the onset but had to figure out what else I could use and what would fit. The soundtrack ended up being songs that fit the idea of spring or early summer or were artists that regionally made sense. I also ended up picking a couple television theme songs from shows that were set in the places we visited.
I uploaded the intro back in November but decided to wait on publishing it until I had finished the project.
I created the promo/intro video for this project in a similar way I've done most of all the other trip projects. I took a screenshot from google maps of the northern midwest and using Motion 4, drew out what our route roughly looked like then animated the line with the appearance of it being dotted. I added in a car and animated it to travel the route as well. I added the state flags as state lines were crossed on one side and photos from the trip on the other trying to once again give the appearance of the photos being dropped onto a table. I paused the movement on the map in each town as the photos were dropping in so the route wouldn't get too far ahead of the photos. I think I am getting closer to the look I have been trying to achieve. I used a font that felt like it might sort of fit the theme of Memorial Day and did some effects to it as well. I chose to use a song called "North Is Up" for the soundtrack. It is by Gasoline Heart though released when the band was called The Kick. I thought it fit well for the intro.
Once again I created maps in the same way to add throughout the trip as we moved from place to place.
Once again I created maps in the same way to add throughout the trip as we moved from place to place.
The first clip in the project is our visit to Portillo's on Friday May 28th, 2021 - Apocalypse day #439. Debbie wanted to get an authentic Chicago hot dog. On a previous visit she had a Maxwell Street hot dog but apparently there is something different from that and a Chicago hot dog. Elphie took her around the city a bit after she flew in and I met them at Portillo's. It was a pretty significant downpour by the time I got there. For being the end of May, it was quite the cold day as well. We didn't do too much that day. I suppose we could have drove around a bit more but we headed to the house and relaxed that evening with a lot of driving to come the next few days.
On Saturday May 29th, 2021 - Apocalypse day #440 we began our trip. I loaded up on some Pneuma Coffee...The 86 house blend. We didn't get going as quickly as we would have liked and then I made a Starbucks stop for Elphie and Debbie to get what they wanted to drink. All that and the traffic leaving Chicago caused us to be a bit behind the schedule we hoped to keep.
Our first real stop was the Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha, Wisconsin. We ended up getting some cheese curds to eat along the trip. As we left, driving down the highway I noticed a object seeming to be falling from the sky rather quickly. We think it was a sky diver though they seemed to open the parachute quite late or something. It was a bit unsettling.
We headed to Milwaukee where we would visit a few more sites mostly from Atlas Obscura. Our first stop was Black Cat Alley. This alley was covered in graffiti, some of which is similar to work in Chicago and specifically around Cornerstone Community Outreach. There was also a cat cafe next to the alley called Sip and Purr. As we left the area, I noticed a tall structure which turned out to be the North Point Water Tower. We also passed the art museum which had an interesting look to it. We went into downtown Milwaukee to see the Lady Bug building then walked a short distance on the river walk to see the Bronze Fonz. As we returned from there, we watched the bridge lift for a party boat. Seemed kind of silly that it needed to be lifted for that! I included in the soundtrack the themes from Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley since both were set in the Milwaukee area and also due to our visit to the Bronze Fonz. We drove out of downtown and stopped to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Burnham Block - a block of houses that he designed. We then began to leave Milwaukee but stopped at an American Science and Surplus shop for a bit just on the edge of the city.
After Milwaukee, we drove for a few hours as it became evening. We passed some interesting rock formations along the way to La Crosse. In La Crosse we visited the World's Largest Six Pack which are brewery tanks for the nearby local brewery. We decided to also stop for dinner at Culver's while in the city.
After we had dinner, we began our drive toward the Minneapolis St. Paul area. We crossed the Mississippi River and then the Minnesota state line. We arrived in Minneapolis around 10:30pm. We intended to see a mural done by Broken Crow and OverUnder. It was behind a bar in what was once more or less a parking lot. It seems that an outdoor seating area was built somewhat over the mural but we did see it. After getting some gas, we headed through Minneapolis then St. Paul to Woodbury where we would be staying for the night at the La Quinta Inn and Suites.
On Saturday May 29th, 2021 - Apocalypse day #440 we began our trip. I loaded up on some Pneuma Coffee...The 86 house blend. We didn't get going as quickly as we would have liked and then I made a Starbucks stop for Elphie and Debbie to get what they wanted to drink. All that and the traffic leaving Chicago caused us to be a bit behind the schedule we hoped to keep.
Our first real stop was the Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha, Wisconsin. We ended up getting some cheese curds to eat along the trip. As we left, driving down the highway I noticed a object seeming to be falling from the sky rather quickly. We think it was a sky diver though they seemed to open the parachute quite late or something. It was a bit unsettling.
We headed to Milwaukee where we would visit a few more sites mostly from Atlas Obscura. Our first stop was Black Cat Alley. This alley was covered in graffiti, some of which is similar to work in Chicago and specifically around Cornerstone Community Outreach. There was also a cat cafe next to the alley called Sip and Purr. As we left the area, I noticed a tall structure which turned out to be the North Point Water Tower. We also passed the art museum which had an interesting look to it. We went into downtown Milwaukee to see the Lady Bug building then walked a short distance on the river walk to see the Bronze Fonz. As we returned from there, we watched the bridge lift for a party boat. Seemed kind of silly that it needed to be lifted for that! I included in the soundtrack the themes from Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley since both were set in the Milwaukee area and also due to our visit to the Bronze Fonz. We drove out of downtown and stopped to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Burnham Block - a block of houses that he designed. We then began to leave Milwaukee but stopped at an American Science and Surplus shop for a bit just on the edge of the city.
After Milwaukee, we drove for a few hours as it became evening. We passed some interesting rock formations along the way to La Crosse. In La Crosse we visited the World's Largest Six Pack which are brewery tanks for the nearby local brewery. We decided to also stop for dinner at Culver's while in the city.
After we had dinner, we began our drive toward the Minneapolis St. Paul area. We crossed the Mississippi River and then the Minnesota state line. We arrived in Minneapolis around 10:30pm. We intended to see a mural done by Broken Crow and OverUnder. It was behind a bar in what was once more or less a parking lot. It seems that an outdoor seating area was built somewhat over the mural but we did see it. After getting some gas, we headed through Minneapolis then St. Paul to Woodbury where we would be staying for the night at the La Quinta Inn and Suites.
On Sunday May 30th, 2021 - Apocalypse day #441, we left our hotel and headed back into Minneapolis. It was cool and slightly rainy as we drove. We decided to go visit the George Floyd Memorial. I decided that instead of having a soundtrack over this part of the project, I would leave the native audio that we captured while there on our phones. I also decided to not carry my camera in. I didn't want to seem disrespectful or that I was being a "disaster tourist" even if I somewhat was. I felt it would be good to visit this spot where so much had been sparked due to a horrible act of injustice. There was an outdoor church service going on while we were there. We walked around for a while. As we left, I decided to drive into the area that was where the majority of the televised unrest occurred around the police precinct. As I drove, I recalled seeing the video clips of the places burning and the police fleeing the precinct. I captured our drive through this on the CrossTour CR900. I decided at this point to resume the soundtrack I was adding in.
We left Minneapolis and our next stop other than using a rest area was Alexandria to see Big Ole again. Elphie and I had visited this during our previous trip through the region. We had our lunch while sitting there in the park area.
As we made our way toward Fargo, North Dakota, we encountered a dust devil tornado and then went through a fairly significant storm that was blowing up dust and dirt quite close to us. We weren't sure if this was what the beginning of a tornado might be like but no alerts came on our phones so we kept driving. I pulled off at the North Dakota border to get a picture with the sign for Debbie. We went to the Fargo Moorhead welcome center but the building was closed. I got a shot of the Fargo Woodchipper through the window and then the replica which stands outside. We decided to walk around downtown Fargo for a while then drove back across the Red River into Moorhead to spend the evening with Mama Linda and Cynthia.
Mama Linda had the coolest apartment complex with an atrium in the middle with a pool and all sorts of gardens and other plant life growing. It seems like a nice community dwelling where you and your neighbors could all hang out. Mama Linda made us a great meal and we chatted about life and our hope that Audiofeed would indeed happen this year even if moved to Labor Day weekend.
We left Minneapolis and our next stop other than using a rest area was Alexandria to see Big Ole again. Elphie and I had visited this during our previous trip through the region. We had our lunch while sitting there in the park area.
As we made our way toward Fargo, North Dakota, we encountered a dust devil tornado and then went through a fairly significant storm that was blowing up dust and dirt quite close to us. We weren't sure if this was what the beginning of a tornado might be like but no alerts came on our phones so we kept driving. I pulled off at the North Dakota border to get a picture with the sign for Debbie. We went to the Fargo Moorhead welcome center but the building was closed. I got a shot of the Fargo Woodchipper through the window and then the replica which stands outside. We decided to walk around downtown Fargo for a while then drove back across the Red River into Moorhead to spend the evening with Mama Linda and Cynthia.
Mama Linda had the coolest apartment complex with an atrium in the middle with a pool and all sorts of gardens and other plant life growing. It seems like a nice community dwelling where you and your neighbors could all hang out. Mama Linda made us a great meal and we chatted about life and our hope that Audiofeed would indeed happen this year even if moved to Labor Day weekend.
On Memorial Day Monday May 31st, 2021 - Apocalypse day #442, after waking and getting a nice breakfast from Mama Linda, I took a couple more shots of the atrium of her apartment complex before we left.
As we drove, we made a stop near Rothsay, MN to see the World's Largest Prairie Chicken. There was information on a sign nearby about prairies and mapped out a nearby prairie preserve. Debbie expressed interest in checking it out so we drove a bit out of the way on some dirt roads including some that were pretty much just ruts in the grass but we found the prairie. It was as expected.
We found our way back to the highway and drove toward Minneapolis passing a truck carrying hay and another carryiing large stakes. In Minneapolis, we hung out at the Sculpture Garden. The plan had been to meet with some of Elphie's friends. We spent quite a bit of time there seeking the Spoon Bridge and Cherry as well as Hahn/Cock and all the rest of the sculptures but Elphie's friends never made it before the time we needed to get going. The apparently arrived a few minutes after we left by bicycle.
As we left Minneapolis, we saw some hot air balloons just prior to crossing into Wisconsin. That night we would be staying at the Baymont Inn and Suites in Eau Claire. We stopped at Olive Garden for dinner.
I used "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35" by Bob Dylan and "When Doves Cry" by Prince but for the upload to YouTube, I had to mute the audio as it presented a copyright issue. I also added the Mary Tyler Moore Show theme to complete the collection of television themes as far as I knew for the places we had been. I had "Cattail Down" by mewithoutYou as we left due to the line regarding "heading east out of St. Paul" but I think that line ends up sung in during the next clip.
As we drove, we made a stop near Rothsay, MN to see the World's Largest Prairie Chicken. There was information on a sign nearby about prairies and mapped out a nearby prairie preserve. Debbie expressed interest in checking it out so we drove a bit out of the way on some dirt roads including some that were pretty much just ruts in the grass but we found the prairie. It was as expected.
We found our way back to the highway and drove toward Minneapolis passing a truck carrying hay and another carryiing large stakes. In Minneapolis, we hung out at the Sculpture Garden. The plan had been to meet with some of Elphie's friends. We spent quite a bit of time there seeking the Spoon Bridge and Cherry as well as Hahn/Cock and all the rest of the sculptures but Elphie's friends never made it before the time we needed to get going. The apparently arrived a few minutes after we left by bicycle.
As we left Minneapolis, we saw some hot air balloons just prior to crossing into Wisconsin. That night we would be staying at the Baymont Inn and Suites in Eau Claire. We stopped at Olive Garden for dinner.
I used "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35" by Bob Dylan and "When Doves Cry" by Prince but for the upload to YouTube, I had to mute the audio as it presented a copyright issue. I also added the Mary Tyler Moore Show theme to complete the collection of television themes as far as I knew for the places we had been. I had "Cattail Down" by mewithoutYou as we left due to the line regarding "heading east out of St. Paul" but I think that line ends up sung in during the next clip.
Our final day on the road was Tuesday June 1st, 2021 - Apocalypse day #443. We would be driving from Eau Claire back to Chicago. Along the way we stopped in Mauston, WI to visit the Carr Valley Cheese Factory and got to sample some cheese bread or juustoleipa. We purchased some to take with us as well as a bottle of maple syrup.
We decided to drive through the tourist area of Wisconsin Dells even though we didn't have any time to stop.
From there, it was a long trip back to Chicago. It appeared there was a significant delay to deal with according to the GPS so I detoured to a more country scenic route. We eventually got into Illinois and then the suburbs of Chicago. When exiting to head to Midway Airport we encountered shattered glass all over the exit lane and I had to do my best to dodge it. We arrived to Midway with what seemed to be enough time for Debbie to get through the processes associated with flying to get home. We then drove home to be greeted happily by Stein as is the usual case after we've been gone for a while.
We decided to drive through the tourist area of Wisconsin Dells even though we didn't have any time to stop.
From there, it was a long trip back to Chicago. It appeared there was a significant delay to deal with according to the GPS so I detoured to a more country scenic route. We eventually got into Illinois and then the suburbs of Chicago. When exiting to head to Midway Airport we encountered shattered glass all over the exit lane and I had to do my best to dodge it. We arrived to Midway with what seemed to be enough time for Debbie to get through the processes associated with flying to get home. We then drove home to be greeted happily by Stein as is the usual case after we've been gone for a while.
Playlist of all the clips:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpOOhScB7hXSUFuCpo7gjw8q
It was a good trip and thankfully it warmed up after the first day. The weather cooperated for the most part as well. It was a lot of driving more than visiting things but that's ok. It was really good to see Mama Linda again. COVID-19 causing the cancelation of Audiofeed meant that we haven't seen a lot of our friends who live in other areas in a long time now. Hoping that will change going forward.
In my video projects that document our life, this trip fell in such a way as to separate the spring and summer projects. It seems the trips this year do a pretty good job of that.
The additional soundtrack includes "North Is Up" by Gasoline Heart (The Kick), "What Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made A Loser Out Of Me)" by Flogging Molly, "P.S." by Flatfoot 56, "Happy Days Theme" by Pratt and McClain, "Laverne And Shirley Theme (Making Our Dreams Come True)" by Cyndi Grecco, "Wisconsin Blue Pepper' by theillogicalspoon, "Pasture Of Plenty" by Little Spoon River, "Rusty Sounds Go Silent" by Black Swift, "A Storm Coming" by Bradley Hathaway, "The Storm, The Storm, The Storm" by '68, "Singing Grass" by Wovenhand, "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35" by Bob Dylan, "When Doves Cry" by Prince, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show Theme" by Sonny Curtis, "Cattail Down" by mewithoutYou, "I Will Go Plant Little Flowers" by Timbre, and "The Road" by 6'10.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpOOhScB7hXSUFuCpo7gjw8q
It was a good trip and thankfully it warmed up after the first day. The weather cooperated for the most part as well. It was a lot of driving more than visiting things but that's ok. It was really good to see Mama Linda again. COVID-19 causing the cancelation of Audiofeed meant that we haven't seen a lot of our friends who live in other areas in a long time now. Hoping that will change going forward.
In my video projects that document our life, this trip fell in such a way as to separate the spring and summer projects. It seems the trips this year do a pretty good job of that.
The additional soundtrack includes "North Is Up" by Gasoline Heart (The Kick), "What Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made A Loser Out Of Me)" by Flogging Molly, "P.S." by Flatfoot 56, "Happy Days Theme" by Pratt and McClain, "Laverne And Shirley Theme (Making Our Dreams Come True)" by Cyndi Grecco, "Wisconsin Blue Pepper' by theillogicalspoon, "Pasture Of Plenty" by Little Spoon River, "Rusty Sounds Go Silent" by Black Swift, "A Storm Coming" by Bradley Hathaway, "The Storm, The Storm, The Storm" by '68, "Singing Grass" by Wovenhand, "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35" by Bob Dylan, "When Doves Cry" by Prince, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show Theme" by Sonny Curtis, "Cattail Down" by mewithoutYou, "I Will Go Plant Little Flowers" by Timbre, and "The Road" by 6'10.
Filmed using an iPhone 6 and 8, Canon Rebel T6, and CrossTour CR900 by Elphie and Joel A. Swanson. Titles, maps, and other animations created using Motion 4 on a MacBook by Joel A. Swanson. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini by Joel A. Swanson.
