Independence

It dawned on us with about 35k left in today's stage that it was going to be hotter later. We abandoned the race just after they went through yet another small town with a big stone church built on the point of highest elevation and went out for a ride. Not to worry, thanks to the miracle of video tape (am I the owner of the last functioning VCR on the planet or am I just the only one still using one?) we caught the thrilling bunch sprint plausibly live after returning home.

We rode over to the river, this photo is on the Minneapolis side just beyond the Stone Arch Bridge.Our usual Independence Day activity for the past several years has been the horse races and the free hot dogs given out at the track on this date for each of those past several years. The racing is shut down this year due to a judicial determination that regulation of the horse racing industry does not rise to the level of core government function eligible to be kept active during the shutdown. Steps were taken, however, to assure that hot dogs would be available. I like to give mine a little pre-heating with some kraut and onion before giving them the finishing touches on the grill.Long red things on top are regular dogs, reddish and a bit shorter to the right are kielbasa, the lighter colored dogs are bratwurst.

Happy 4th to all, don't get burned by the fireworks.