Famous Detective

We are addicted to fictional detective Nero Wolfe.

For years, a road trip has merited the borrowing of one of our county library's audio books.

After a camping trip with our granddaughter, (and with Nero along for the ride, of course) Caley looked at the clouds."That one looks like a sailing ship," She said. "Here is one that is a pretzel. And that one looks just like a wolf. I think I'll call it Nero."

Thursday's prices at the pump ($3.29 per gallon) negated any idea of a lengthy trip, but an audio book, a state park sticker that still has two months to go, and a packed lunch later, we were on the road again.

Fifteen minutes from home, we reached our destination.Our short journey took us to Fort Snelling State Park. This is a park of contrasts. Nature at its finest with river views and hiking paths competes with a mile long bridge buzzing with traffic and a sky buzzing with the planes arriving and leaving from Twin Cities' International Airport. The Mall to End Them All is minutes away.

And yet a sense of calmness remains in the park.

We ate turkey sandwiches. We munched on grapes. We drank sodas. We listened to Michael Pritchard reading one of our favorite Nero Wolfe books.

There are a dozen or more of these audio books in our library system. We've heard them all. We've heard some of them more than once. It doesn't matter. We'll listen again.

There isn't much color in the park, yet. A warming spring sun has melted the snow. Robins flutter into nearby trees. But much of the landscape remains a dull brown as it awaits the green that surely will come soon.The deer blend into this brown scene, but if you look closely, they are plentiful.

And so we sat, windows open, listening to the pickle Nero and Archie got themselves into, this time. (Nero and Archie get themselves into a pickle almost every time. It is part of their charm.)

That reminded me that I should have packed us each a pickle!

Oh well, there's always next time.