Friday was a great day: I had a staff meeting out in St. Peter, which is a long haul from Edina, but I got to leave work early and drive back up to Minneapolis to pick up my camping gear as well as rendezvous with Allison, and then we made the long haul out to Hutchinson. A lot of driving that day, but I was so excited about the event it didn't wear on me at all. We stopped for some frozen custard at a charming little cafe built onto a gas station and managed by a delightful, friendly old woman who gave everyone samples of anything they'd want to try. Eventually we found the Box Elder Farm and then the adventure began...

(Please note, the digitization of the thumbnails is only because of the hasty job resizing the pictures; click on the picture for a larger, more finely detailed image.)

Amanda, XN, mom, and Allison - all grinning through the tension and exuberance!	This is a man-made pond dug out by Collin's family on their farm out by Hutchinson, MN.	The much-talked-about pergola (you know, like an arbor or a trellis; not a gazebo) in the late afternoon.
Mike, Collin's father, shoves a flatbed trailer-cum-wedding coach out of the way; here is their house, they just built a porch and were affixing shingles to it as we drove up.	I just couldn't get enough of the landscape around this place; here are two other farm households in the distance, past the rolling hills.	Amanda took me to visit Katze's grave. Here is his burial spot, beneath a bright bed of marigolds.
The grave, the marigolds, and a tree with a ribbon that I assume is for him? Who knows.	There's my goofy little brother, he got here earlier in the day and set up his tent in a field way off to the side, and this is where we all camped.	Just the most picturesque spreading tree in the area. I couldn't get enough of this place.
Amanda briefs everyone involved in the ceremony and lays down the law: no disobedience if you wish to remain dry.	Think she's kidding? Do you? She almost sprayed me just for taking this picture. She's serious! Collin just took it easy.	Everyone behaves and looks in their booklets for guidance: Lila and Dave (Amanda's friends), Val (Collin's mom), Bruce (maybe an uncle of Collin's).
Collin gazes prosaically into the distance, contemplating the significance of this sacred event.	Fidel "Amanda" Castro permits no lapse in discipline on anyone's behalf. None!	Everything you need for a revolution: a BFG SuperSoaker, a box of instructional manuals, and spools of track lighting disguised as popcorn.
Don't even think of playing with the SuperSoaker, though. Amanda's right there, forming order from chaos and taking names.	Break! We wander around, dazed and confused, and the sun slowly slinks away. Ahh!	Val and mom take a leisurely stroll about the grounds, and I don't blame them. There's something beautiful about wide stretches of earth.
Yay, grilling! The food everyone's been waiting for! I leave the gas grill to someone else and set up two charcoal grills for steak and catfish!	Same scene, with low-light exposure. I love this effect!	It's a little blurry, what with being night and all, but you can just make out the wedding coach we will ride in on behind a tractor for the ceremony.
	And this is the beautiful reception tent with attached pergola. Very nice at night, I wouldn't mind having one of these all the time.