2024 Estelline Trip

[JEBar]

understood .... we just returned from a mile+ walk .... our outdoor thermometer is showing 71 degrees which was plenty warm .... we are both glad to be back in the AC

[JEBar]

following a brief overnight rain we awoke to another beautiful morning in east central South Dakota .... 65 on its way to 80 .... 65% chance of an afternoon/evening thunderstorm ..... the city has sprayed for misquotes twice in the last 4 days, continued rain creating puddles isn't helping on that front .... Maureen just came in from walking her pup and says the bugs are awful .... she has a morning followup medical appointment in Brookings .... while there we also plan to make a supply stop at Walmart and to take on fuel for the first time since we arrived here .... not an exciting agenda but it will be nice to get out and about a bit

[JEBar]

while today is another beautiful one, the word for today is still mosquitoes ..... as mentioned above, yesterday (shortly before noon) we were in Brookings Walmart .... they told us they had received a shipment of insect repellent earlier that morning and were already sold out .... while that was no surprise, it was unhandy .... we later found a call of Deep Woods Off at the local grocery store in town ... currently 77 on its way to 82 before dropping back to 62 tonight .... 1% chance of rain today, prediction for the next significant chance of rain (80%) this coming Sunday .... we'd rather be outside right now but even with the repellent it just ain't worth it

[JEBar]

this year its been very wet, 5" the day after we arrived and considerably more since .... we often see standing water in the low points of the fields but this year there is much more .... hopefully things will dry up a bit .... currently 72 on its way to 84, thankfully with only a 2% chance of rain .... skeeters and gnats are still terrible, I believe I'm going to try and find a good bug zapper designed for inside use

[JEBar]

a predawn heavy fog quickly dissipated and has left us with a warm 74 degree, overcast sky with projected high of 94 .... that's hot for out here, guess I better clean the AC filters this morning .... there is only a 2% chance of rain but that changes drastically to a with a 40% chance of heavy thunderstorms tomorrow .... no plans to leave the campground today but that's subject to change at any second

[JEBar]

beautiful morning .... 76 on its way to 91 with a 40% chance of heavy thunderstorms .... no clue what part of the day has the highest probability .... do know when, right now the weather radar shows no rain clouds in the state .... wasn't able to take our normal mile walk yesterday, bone on bone contact in my right knee simply wouldn't permit it .... it does seem odd to me that the contact is 24/7 but there are some days when taking our walk seems fine and other days when there ain't no way .... as of right now the jury is out on how it will go today .... according to the forecast, our couple of 90+ degrees days ends today .... tomorrow they are calling for 81 with highs in the mid 70's for the rest of the coming week

[Hatchdog]

Currently 95 hot freaking degrees out there. I guess it’s better than the triple digits of last week. Sure getting tired of this heat. Leaving Tuesday for the lake for several days and I’m thinking it going to be too hot for the lake.

Played golf in this heat yesterday. We traveled 30 - 40 miles as the crow flies SW of Spokane to a small farming community that has a 9 hole golf course. They are always at the Spokane Golf Show in February and have a game where they give out prizes including free rounds of golf. Four of us played for free yesterday so we played nine holes, went inside for burgers and beer and then played another nine. Didn’t pay for golf but did support with food purchase and great tips.

It way hot and we walked the heat even tho we had free carts. Need the exercise for sure.

Golfing in the farm country. Can’t get much more American than that!

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[JEBar]

beautiful country indeed .... its an area I have never visited

[JEBar]

awakened right at 4:30AM by rumblings of thunder in the distance .... by 5:30AM the storm had arrived and was at full force .... the lightening lit up the sky, thankfully no air to ground bolts were see .... we've been told we got 3/4" of rain .... the water left standing will no doubt exacerbate our mosquito problem .... that is something we most certainly don't need .... 76 right now on its way to a projected high of 84 .... good to see that the forecasted highs for the coming week are all in the 70's .... one couple pulled out the campground this morning during the worst of the storm .... having had to do so, we know that isn't fun

[JEBar]

today has been a busy one .... it started with monitoring an electrician working on a site's 50 amp current .... second, a medical appointment to the town's medical clinic .... third, an unanticipated drive to the Walmart in Brookings to pickup a prescription .... fourth, filled our truck for the first time since our arrival .... its been a pretty nice day but we did have several bouts with light (make that very light) rain that fell while we had a fairly sunny sky

[JEBar]

70 as this is being typed, predicted high 75 with a 1% chance of rain .... don't think we'll need an umbrella today .... when we were on our just over a mile walk the temp was 62 with a pretty good wind out of the north .... in short, it was pretty dang cool ..... for first one reason, then another, this is the first time we've been able to take a walk .... glad to be able to do so again .... today's an Amazon Prime Day on which they give some pretty good discounts .... just placed an order taking care of most of our Christmas shopping for our younger grandkids

[JEBar]

68 as this is being typed on its way to 81 later today .... weather radar shows a large storm that if it moves as projected, will move through just south of us .... the town sprayed for misquotes last night .... sure hope it works better than it has in recent weeks .... only 2 days in the next 10 show better than a 50% chance of rain .... biggest thing on our agenda for today is a normal drive to Walmart in Brookings .... picking up meds is on the top of our short supply list

[JEBar]

75 now, on its way to 82 later this afternoon .... 40% chance of rain .... looking at the weather radar, there are a couple of areas with thunderstorms but none near our location .... nothing major on today's agenda .... we do have some events on the horizon, for which serious planning is getting underway .... the first is scheduled for this coming weekend ..... the class of 1971 at Granite Falls, MN high school is having a reunion .... Maureen taught there and has been invited to attend and she's really looking forward to it .... so far as she knows, she will be the only staff member in attendance .... for its its about a hundred mile drive over there .... with our only available vehicle being our Freightliner Sport Chassis, it will probably stand out in the parking lot at the country club where the reunion is taking place ..... for us it will be down and back in one day trip so it will be a long day ....

[JEBar]

67 now on its way to 81 later today with a 5% chance of rain .... the best news is, a recent spraying for misquotes by the city of Estelline seems to have worked well .... yesterday, for the first time in a good while, we were able to sit outside and enjoy a beautiful day in east central South Dakota .... we do plan to take our normal mile walk and hope to be able to sit out afterwards .... preparations are underway for our Saturday drive over to Granite Falls, MN

[JEBar]

71 as this is being typed ... high, thin cloud cover .... 7 mph wind out of the southeast ... predicted high 86 with a 1% chance of rain .... other than taking our daily walk the only things on our schedule for today are normal camp chores

[JEBar]

already 79 on its way to a very hot 93 later today .... tomorrow they say the high will be 91 ... thankfully, no more 90 degree predictions for the rest of this month .... we just completed our morning mile walk and Maureen has driven uptown to pick up a sirloin to throw on the grill tonight that is shown below .... we are looking forward to traveling over to Granite Falls, MN to attend a class reunion for the class of '71 that she taught ....

[dave77]

That looks more like a roast than a steak. Good price for Angus.

I did my first steak on my Ninja grill last week, turned out good but a little too rare. 275 and smoke for around 15 minutes then seared on high for about 30 seconds a side. Threw a couple of ears of corn on the grill while it was heating up to sear temp and they were done by the time the grill heated up. No shade where I have it set up but it's cooling down this week so I want to try my Baby Back ribs and maybe a small brisket or prime rib. Also have my pickles and bacon to try.

[JEBar]

looks like you are well on your way .... as you have learned, controlling time and temp is the key to using a Ninja smoker/grill .... but, that's the case with most any type of cooking ....we've found that using a meat thermometer to monitor the process is a major key for us .... when we leave here in about a month we will be hauling over $2,000 worth steaks and other cuts of Angus beef ..... we will start dropping them off in St Louis on our way back

[dave77]

looks like you are well on your way .... as you have learned, controlling time and temp is the key to using a Ninja smoker/grill .... but, that's the case with most any type of cooking ....we've found that using a meat thermometer to monitor the process is a major key for us .... when we leave here in about a month we will be hauling over $2,000 worth steaks and other cuts of Angus beef ..... we will start dropping them off in St Louis on our way back

I bought this along with the grill. Good reviews and seems very accurate when checked against my digital instant read thermometer. Haven't set up the bluetooth app yet as I have a new phone coming next week. Also bought this stand, cheaper and larger with more features than the one Ninja sells for it.

https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-Blueto ... r=8-1&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CQ5 ... =UTF8&th=1

[JEBar]

both look good .... looking forward to your use reports