Grouse Hollow Journal for April 17, 2014 by Greg Koelker

Grouse Hollow Journal for April 17, 2014 by Greg Koelker

We have been waiting and watching the computer and phone all week to see and/or hear about Mark and Whitney's latest adventures. Whitney traveled to Nicaragua with a contingent of the Children's Global Alliance last week, riding herd on a group of teenagers that she guided through raising money for their trip and collecting for the school. The group planed to spend time working with and for some handicapped children, bringing them much needed clothing, fixing up the place, and spending quality time with these very much under privileged children. The group leader posted on Facebook, “Overwhelmed with inspiration, love, passion, and gratitude. The last 5 days were so amazing, wonderful people, precious kids, and life changing memories. Thank you to the students who traveled with us, thanks to Whitney Koelker and Lisa-Marie . . . for being awesome, brilliant, passionate, inspiring co-leaders, and to everyone who has helped and supported . . . ” Whitney and her group got back in Denver Sunday.

Her better half, was in Alaska. Mark and a couple friends, including Mike Hood formerly of La Crosse, flew up to Anchorage last week to spend some time winter camping, snowmobiling, exploring, photographing, and snowboarding on a glacier near Valdez. He called us from Valdez the night the Badgers got eliminated from the big dance. He said they were having a huge blizzard, but he hoped they could move their return flight back a couple days and get back out on the snow. They had snowmobiled over 150 miles the first two days and the riding was fantastic. He said the nights were pretty cold, but he is livin' his dream.

While Mark and the guys were driving the 6 hours from Valdez to Anchorage to catch a plane home, Mark called my cell. It was pretty loud at the time, as Ellen and I and Whitney's folks, Randy and Dawn Swenson were enjoying the blue grass and tricked up folk tunes and excitement of Von Stomper at Leo and Leona's up at Newburg Corners. Mark responded, “I love it! Tell the band hi for me.” While the band hails from Fort Collins, Colorado, one of the musicians is Luke Callen formerly of La Crosse. His mom Mary is one of the “cow girls” at the Flying Horse Stable. Another of the band members is Wolf Von Elman, formerly of Avon, Colorado where we first met him. Wolf became friends with Mark when Mark was 20 and Wolf was 14. Wolf's mom knew Mark from work and asked him to watch over their home and high schooler while they were away on a trip. I remember wondering, “Who is going to watch after Mark?” Anyway, a great friendship grew between Mark and Ben and Wolf, they called him Girge, over the years. Ben and Girge played together for a time in the Vail valley and made some great music together. After high school, Wolf went off to music school in New York and just now finished his Masters in Music Therapy, finishing up an internship where he worked with autistic children and others. He's a great kid and a fantastic singer and musician. Von Stomper is off to St. Paul today (Monday) but plans to come back through La Crosse and yours truly is going to get together with them and jam a bit! You can check out Von Stomper at www.vonstomper.com.

Now that Ellen and I are retired, we are discovering that we have time for projects, well sort of anyway. So we also started a project to paint and carpet our bedroom and replace our ancient maple stair rail with oak; that is coming together this week. After a couple of weeks of shopping for carpeting, a bedroom set and mattress, paint, trim, and a new oak stairway parts, El and I tore out the old carpet, that had been in place before we moved in almost 37 years ago. She pulled staples and nails while I tore out the old floor, door, and window trim. While checking out Miller Wood Working up on County O, Dan Miller recommended his son Roman as the guy to hire to install our new stair railing and trim. Roman and his horse Missy showed up on time and he went right work, tearing out the balusters, hand rail and stair trim. I was impressed with his thoughtful approach to measuring and cutting. Ellen had to come and go a couple times while Roman was working and one time when she got back, she asked him how it was going. He dryly replied that he was “learning a lot from Greg.” Hmmm. . . Anyway, the stairs are going to be great when the new carpet is in. Our old friend Randy Ehrler has been here preparing the bedroom walls for spraying with an orange peel finish so we can paint and get the new trim back up before the carpet installers get here later this week.

Oh yeah, I also did a portrait session with the Ben Stillwater Trio on Saturday. Country music artist, Ben Stillwater, formerly from Montana, now from Osseo has toured with numerous country shows, he has three albums out, Front Door of Home, Montana in the Spring, and Giddy Up Truck. He also produces and stars on the Giddy Up Country Music TV show. Ben’s TV show is called “Giddy Up,” and features cast of cowboys and cowgirls. Ben plays a character called Sheriff Stillwater on the half-hour program, which includes Western skits and loads of country & Western music, as well as music videos. Singer and guitarist Cindee Jean of Red Wing and Tom Baker of De Soto, who plays the stand-up bass, make up the trio. When he was leaving, Ben gave me a Cd of Montana in the Spring. It's great old time country. You can check them out at www.benstillwater.com

I'll add that you can see some of Mark and Whitney and Von Stomper's pictures on Facebook if you like.

Until next time, get out - after the Von Stomper show on Sunday night we came home to a dark and stormy coulee. Ellen first said, “Uh oh,” when she saw a light at the bottom of our driveway. That proved to be Gregg and Jake Sikora who had just come over to see if we had power. We didn't. Ellen had a flashlight in her coat on the porch and opened the door. She got around the big Coleman battery lantern while I got a flashlight and rain coat to go out and take car of Scout. El and I had something to eat and a cocktail by lantern light while we waited for the power to come on. I was thinking about Roman and other Amish who do without electricity all the time. I couldn't. Much thanks to the Vernon Electric crew who had to go out in such a lousy night to get the lights back on for the rest of us. You folks are appreciated. Enjoy.