Went to see the Red Willow Band last night and to say a quick hi to their drummer, Barry Carpenter, who I knew in high school. I'd been out of the country when they were THE band in the area but they still play reunion shows every so often and the huge crowd loved them. Great Music--I'll leave a YouTube link. From SDPB--- From 1974-1982, the Red Willow Band created music and memories to last a lifetime. Their business card read "The Best in Country Swing." But the Red Willow Band was much more than that. Bouncing between rock and country, they developed a sound of their own. Chris Gage (guitar/piano/vocals), Kenny Putnam (fiddle), Hank Harris (guitar/vocals), Marley Forman (bass guitar/vocals) and Barry Carpenter (drums) reunited as the Red Willow Band played three sets at the 35th Annual Sioux River Folk Festival hosted by the South Dakota Friends of Traditional Music at Newton Hills State Park this past August. The Red Willow Band will be inducted into the South Dakota Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in April, 2015!

So I put a couple more old pics on Facebook so people could steal them if they wanted. Here's from college baseball days Front Row Tim Smith, Lodgepole, Al Nagel, Spearfish, Donny Greenfield Castlewood and Kelly Legge, Fairfield. Back Row me then Gary Bereiter, Zion IL, Darrell Carr Falkton and Bob Brownrigg, Rapid City. and one from 8th grade Holy Name School, Watertown SD. BL-R Tom Sokoll, Dick Brich, Vince Murphy, Mike Barkley, Me, Pat Mernaugh, Terry Kalberg, Dan Ostrander, Sol Redlin, Paul Dunn, Bruce Taecker. Sister Emerention's class.

Cousin Dave Palmquist and wife Pat came through Sioux Falls last night on their way home and wanted to take a selfie.

Not a lot happening since my last post but I did get to Minneapolis where I took in a Twins game saw Jesse Ventura talk about his new book and visited the Ramsey County Library in Roseville which was the greatest library I'd ever seen.

Scientists in China confirm controversial parts of R. A. Meyer Diet--- Consuming probiotics, so-called 'good bacteria', can reduce body weight and body mass index (BMI) according to a new meta-analysis published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160711092643.htm The R.A. Meyer Diet -- Eat your way to a 2-3 lb weight loss every week. The purpose of the diet is to feed your 100 trillion gut bacteria so they propagate a lot which will use lots of energy afterwhich you flush the results down the toilet. Good gut bacteria love a diet rich in variety and vegetables. Here's how to get and keep them happy. Breakfast--Half a cup of oatmeal with some or all of the following included. Walnuts, raisins, crasins, honey, cinnamon, an egg, two dark chocolate kisses, milk, almond milk, you get the idea, healthy stuff. Lunch--6" Veggie Delight sandwich from Subway with all the veggies. You can add you own entre. Dinner--Cook up a stew/soup consisting of Walmart's frozen mixed vegetables, frozen meatballs and pasta sauce. Add fresh leaks and celery or any other veggies that look good. Snack--fruits, apples, etc. Variations--Lots, but stay with the general theme which is lots of different veggies. Add--a probiotic supplement once a day and fermented foods (yogurt, saurerkraut, kim chee, miso, dark chocolate, etc) as much as you can. I used 3 different probiotics for variety but I did find a problem with the Nature Made Advanced 2 per day brand. They made me depressed. Specifically it was the top one of the two that did it and it took me a while of experimenting to figure it out. But, of course, moniter how any supplement works with you body. And, as your poohs get bigger and better (google good poop), cut back on the probiotics.

So not much happening as we make our way back to SD. Visited with some friends of my partner and managed to see national monuments Custer Battlefield and Devils Tower.

So at 8:30 this morning, because of a Facebook post, I realized that old friend, Tom Ford, was living in our next destination, Calgary. A few hours later we're with Tom and lovely wife Veda getting the grand tour of the Calgary 1988 Olympic venue and hearing about the last 40 years. Tom and Veda win the most athletic kids award as their daughter ran track for U of Texas at Arlington and their son was a goalie for the Washington Nationals hockey team. AND they were both really good looking. Life can be so unfair. But my consolation prize was to be able to sit in the Jamaican "Cool Running" bobsled. And I just decided to add the pic of Tom and me coaching the 1972 Watertown Teener state champs. Maybe Tom remembers everybody's name.

Spent the afternoon at Canada Day festivities and the evening at the West Edmonton Mall, the largest in North America including pirate ship, beach, and hockey rink.

So we did Banff and then Jasper National Parks. Had some fun at a Glecier with a long name-- and now we're in Edmonton for Canada Day. PS New Independence Day movie sucks.