Harmony

On Friday night we were over at Fro and Nate's for a fire. I listened to two small-town Minnesota friends swap stories about rural entertainment. Doug offered warm and graphic memories of a combine harvester demolition derby he had attended. Nate lectured on the relationship between scraggy mustaches, NASCAR racing and support for President Bush.

Without much planning or hesitation we talked ourselves into going camping the next morning to the Minnesota/Iowa border area. It's early or maybe mid autumn now. Perfect weather for being outside. We traveled south out of Minneapolis, hugging the Mississippi all the way. It widened and narrowed many times. Old fashioned, Tom Sawyer era paddle ships steamed up and down Old Man River. Mile long freight trains snaked along each side of the water looking like a model railway from the car window.

We stopped in the town of Harmony to eat and explore. I took these photos (LINK) of the municipal water tower and an abandoned grain elevator, now home to dirty pigeons.