Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
This summer my semi-annual D&D game took place in West Yellowstone, MT. We rented a large house (made all the larger by a few last-minute cancellations), played the game for three days, and spent the rest of the week in Yellowstone National Park. If you have not been there, it is an amazing place, truly beautiful and remarkable, and I give great credit to those with the foresight to have it set aside.
If you are so inclined, my photos are here. Pictures 2-14 show the game, the rest show the park. I spent my time on the Western edge of the park which is where the geysers are. We also saw occasional wildlife, mostly bison and a variety of birds. (I think picture #66 is my best.)
On the drinks front, I draw your attention to picture #83, a Montana-made fernet. A bit simple and overly strong but a good start; keep brewing, guys.
And, as one of our number drove out from San Francisco, he scooped up some cheapies from Total Wine and some goodies from a certain Berkeley-based winemaker of our acquaintance:
Roederer NV Brut Premier - recognizably champagne, dry, a bit of biscuit, not going to change your life but serviceable at a good price
Chateau De Segries 2018 Tavel - rose with vigorous flavor and intense color, works at the table as a light red, tasty and good
Donnachiara 2015 Irpinia Aglianico - good and dark and perfect for cutting through smoked brisket and pork belly (which is all I asked of it)
Heitz Cellars NV Napa Valley Port "Ink Grade" - 375ml, 19% abv, brought by one of the gamers, it is made from the traditional Portuguese grapes and actually tastes something like port, sweet even syrupy mouthfeel is more substantial than a typical Ruby, no special complexity, OK (but why?)
Edmunds St. John 2018 "Heart of Gold" - muscadet-style wine but with a little more yellow fruit, clean and bright and yummy
Edmunds St. John 2017 Gamay Noir "Bone-Jolly" - OMG, this is deliciousness taken to a new level
Edmunds St. John 2017 "El Jaleo" - darker and heartier than gamay noir, still crisp (like Steve's wines always are)
--
On the day the gaming geeks flew out, my partner (Jim) and another friend's spouse (Karen) flew in. Along with one gamer (Bill) we relocated to a cabin in Island Park, ID, while waiting for one more person (Bruce) to arrive. That gave us a couple days to visit Yellowstone some more! The first day we drove around the big loop in the middle of the park; the second day we revisited the geyser basins.
With Bruce's arrival, we set out for Bruce+Karen's home in Minneapolis, MN via every tourist attraction we could cram in...
Museum of the Rockies, overnight in Hardin MT, Little Big Horn, Devils Tower, overnight in Deadwood SD, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Needles Highway, overnight in Rapid City SD, Wall Drug, The Badlands, Pioneer Auto, The Corn Palace, overnight in Sioux Falls SD, Pipestone Monument
...and finally Minneapolis.
This, too, was the ride of a lifetime, to see all these iconic American sites and a taste of 'flyover' country.
And after 5 days in a GMC Yukon, we're all still friends.
Buncha pix here. A lot, of course. Don't miss: #53 (the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone), #83 (Grand Prismatic Spring), #195 (in the Badlands) and #200 (prairie). And maybe #155-156 (ahem!)
Wine in South Dakota, you ask? Yes, there are wineries. Alas, the methode champenoise maker, Belle Joli, was not open when I was there but I did make one stop in the tasting room of Firehouse Wine Cellars. The grapes are mostly bought elsewhere and vinified locally. They have 19 wines available to taste and another 13 in bottle only. (Yipes!) Here's what I tried:
"Rockhound" Sangiovese Rose - yup, that's a dry rose [Washington State grapes]
"La Crescent" - That's the grape! It's the one local variety I tasted. It is vitis vinifera, bred to be cold-hardy and produce aromas similar to riesling or muscat. This particular wine was off-dry and didn't taste like much of anything [Nebraska grapes]
Old Vine Zinfandel - best of the bunch, recognizably zin with enough of everything to make it worth drinking [Lake County, California]
Syrah - boring, don't remember much about it [Washington State]
"Colonel Purdy" Riesling - in a dessert style but the acidity seems disconnected from the sweetness, as if two drinks in one glass; I'm going to guess that they acidified; in case I have to say it: nope [California]
"Maltese Cross" Muscat Canelli - recognizably muscat, OK [California]
If you are so inclined, my photos are here. Pictures 2-14 show the game, the rest show the park. I spent my time on the Western edge of the park which is where the geysers are. We also saw occasional wildlife, mostly bison and a variety of birds. (I think picture #66 is my best.)
On the drinks front, I draw your attention to picture #83, a Montana-made fernet. A bit simple and overly strong but a good start; keep brewing, guys.
And, as one of our number drove out from San Francisco, he scooped up some cheapies from Total Wine and some goodies from a certain Berkeley-based winemaker of our acquaintance:
Roederer NV Brut Premier - recognizably champagne, dry, a bit of biscuit, not going to change your life but serviceable at a good price
Chateau De Segries 2018 Tavel - rose with vigorous flavor and intense color, works at the table as a light red, tasty and good
Donnachiara 2015 Irpinia Aglianico - good and dark and perfect for cutting through smoked brisket and pork belly (which is all I asked of it)
Heitz Cellars NV Napa Valley Port "Ink Grade" - 375ml, 19% abv, brought by one of the gamers, it is made from the traditional Portuguese grapes and actually tastes something like port, sweet even syrupy mouthfeel is more substantial than a typical Ruby, no special complexity, OK (but why?)
Edmunds St. John 2018 "Heart of Gold" - muscadet-style wine but with a little more yellow fruit, clean and bright and yummy
Edmunds St. John 2017 Gamay Noir "Bone-Jolly" - OMG, this is deliciousness taken to a new level
Edmunds St. John 2017 "El Jaleo" - darker and heartier than gamay noir, still crisp (like Steve's wines always are)
--
On the day the gaming geeks flew out, my partner (Jim) and another friend's spouse (Karen) flew in. Along with one gamer (Bill) we relocated to a cabin in Island Park, ID, while waiting for one more person (Bruce) to arrive. That gave us a couple days to visit Yellowstone some more! The first day we drove around the big loop in the middle of the park; the second day we revisited the geyser basins.
With Bruce's arrival, we set out for Bruce+Karen's home in Minneapolis, MN via every tourist attraction we could cram in...
Museum of the Rockies, overnight in Hardin MT, Little Big Horn, Devils Tower, overnight in Deadwood SD, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Needles Highway, overnight in Rapid City SD, Wall Drug, The Badlands, Pioneer Auto, The Corn Palace, overnight in Sioux Falls SD, Pipestone Monument
...and finally Minneapolis.
This, too, was the ride of a lifetime, to see all these iconic American sites and a taste of 'flyover' country.
And after 5 days in a GMC Yukon, we're all still friends.
Buncha pix here. A lot, of course. Don't miss: #53 (the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone), #83 (Grand Prismatic Spring), #195 (in the Badlands) and #200 (prairie). And maybe #155-156 (ahem!)
Wine in South Dakota, you ask? Yes, there are wineries. Alas, the methode champenoise maker, Belle Joli, was not open when I was there but I did make one stop in the tasting room of Firehouse Wine Cellars. The grapes are mostly bought elsewhere and vinified locally. They have 19 wines available to taste and another 13 in bottle only. (Yipes!) Here's what I tried:
"Rockhound" Sangiovese Rose - yup, that's a dry rose [Washington State grapes]
"La Crescent" - That's the grape! It's the one local variety I tasted. It is vitis vinifera, bred to be cold-hardy and produce aromas similar to riesling or muscat. This particular wine was off-dry and didn't taste like much of anything [Nebraska grapes]
Old Vine Zinfandel - best of the bunch, recognizably zin with enough of everything to make it worth drinking [Lake County, California]
Syrah - boring, don't remember much about it [Washington State]
"Colonel Purdy" Riesling - in a dessert style but the acidity seems disconnected from the sweetness, as if two drinks in one glass; I'm going to guess that they acidified; in case I have to say it: nope [California]
"Maltese Cross" Muscat Canelli - recognizably muscat, OK [California]