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Delightful Nitro Oat Latte at Youngblood Coffee Roasters in Fargo, ND. This place has their coffee situation dialed in right. 👏☕️

Professional espresso machine with chrome group heads and black portafilter handles, red microfiber towels on drip tray, coffee shop bar setting
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Time Machine at Puzzled Escape Rooms

We arrived in Fargo today and made our way to Puzzled Escape Rooms and did their Time Machine room. The room had a lot of locks and codes to figure out. We started with uncovering a lot of different items in the room and then had to figure out where to get started. The beginning was probably the hardest point. As is often the case there were a couple of things that made me “face palm” that we missed it. Others we connected the dots but didn’t know what to do with it until the puzzle showed up and we were able to clear it very fast. Overall a fun room but an older style room that is heavy code and lock based. Room 81!

Four people smiling and holding wooden signs reading Winged it Geared Up and Time Machine in front of chalkboards at Puzzled escape room
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We had a nice walk this morning around the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center just outside of Fergus Falls.

Purple barn with yellow silo surrounded by green prairie grasslands and wetland vegetation under a hazy sky.Narrow wooden boardwalk cutting through tall marsh grasses and yellow wildflowers toward an open prairie under a clear sky.Calm wetland pond edged with cattails reflects a purple barn and yellow silo on the distant shore under a pale blue sky.Two hikers walk a gravel path through open prairie grassland beside a North Country National Scenic Trail marker sign.Four people smiling together in a selfie in front of the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center sign in Fergus Falls Minnesota

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QMSB Trip - Day 13

  • 12:53 PM: Start drive to Alexandria, MN. 23 minutes late.
  • Up North Ice Cream for some delicious house made ice cream.
  • Escape Room Alexandria to do the Mad Scientist room.
  • Talked to owner of escape room and shared as well as received a bunch of recommendations.
  • Drove to Fergus Falls.
  • Check-in to Mill Boutique Hotel which has just opened. We are one of the first guests.
  • Dinner at Union Avenue. Really impressive meals. The pasta was exceptional.
  • Walk along the Otter Tail River.
  • Return to hotel for the night.

Go to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 or see index.

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Fergus Falls has done a great job building up the area around the Otter Tail River with a short river walk and nice spots to enjoy a great evening outside.

Rust-patinated metal silhouette sculpture of three bison running, mounted on a post on a red concrete plaza near a river walk.Concrete dam with spillway over the Otter Tail River in Fergus Falls, dated 1871, with churning white water below and urban buildings behind.Otter Tail River at sunset reflecting brick downtown buildings and an American Federal Bank sign with red buoys near a low damLarge mural of a fish amid swirling waves covers the brick back wall of a building in Fergus Falls, with a CAT roller parked nearby.Fergus Theatre marquee reading More Than A Theatre Were A Community with a red neon sign on a brick buildingColorful murals painted under a bridge arch showing an underwater scene with fish and local wildlife including an otter and pelican on a rocky riverbank.

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Checked into the Mill Boutique Hotel in Fergus Falls. This place has just opened up and is still getting things set up. I dig the setup in an old mill building. If your a fan of exposed brick and concrete this is the place for you.

Tall multi-story brick mill building with grain silos and faded painted signage reading Company and Better Quality on the side wallHotel corridor with two colorful patchwork armchairs beside a small table, exposed concrete ceiling, and vintage black-and-white photos on white walls.Industrial loft hotel room with exposed brick walls, concrete ceiling with ductwork, dark wood dining table, leather sofa, and metal staircase.Industrial loft hotel bedroom with exposed brick walls, silver ductwork, a king bed with white linens, and two large windowsIndustrial hotel room with king bed, exposed brick walls, concrete floor, two windows, dresser with TV, and overhead ductworkFamily of four smiling together inside a rustic brick-walled room with exposed ductwork and large windows.

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The Experiment at Escape Room Alexandria

We made a stop at Escape Room Alexandria today and did “The Experiment”. We successfully solved the room and escaped with 6m 46s on the clock. The room had a cool flow starting with a set of puzzles that we were able to divide and do in parallel. Then we hit a whole different set of puzzles that required more communication and coordination. We had a fun time puzzling through everything and ultimately escaping.

Afterward we were able to chat with Lindsay, one of the owners, and shared a ton of great rooms that we’ve done. She has done over two hundred rooms and she also knew the folks that run Copper Cat, which is where we got the recommendation for this stop. Room 80!

Family of four holding celebratory signs inside Escape Room Alexandria after successfully completing The Experiment with 6m 46s remaining.
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Stopped in Alexandria to try Up North Ice Cream. Tons of flavors all made in-house and delicious. They had a Sweet Corn ice cream that was pretty wild.

Four hands holding ice cream treats including a yellow sweet corn cone, a cup with chocolate chip, an iced drink, and a cone with caramel swirl
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QMSB Trip - Day 12

Also Olson Family Vacation 2025 Day 8.

✅ Quebec ✅ Montreal ✅ Stowe 🔲 Bismarck

  • Check out of Airbnb.
  • Everyone has light breakfast and coffee at Stowe Bee Cafe.
  • Shopping in Stowe before we have to leave.
  • One last Maple Creemee at Red Barn Ice Cream.
  • Drive to Burlington.
  • Return rental car.
  • DL 4901 back to Minneapolis.
  • Olson Family Vacation 2025 officially concludes.
  • Pit stop at home for one night before starting the final segment of our trip.

Go to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 or see index.

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Writing is Thinking

With the ever growing cadre of tools that can help us create this is an important reminder that Writing is Thinking from Nature.

However, writing is not only about reporting results; it also provides a tool to uncover new thoughts and ideas. Writing compels us to think — not in the chaotic, non-linear way our minds typically wander, but in a structured, intentional manner. By writing it down, we can sort years of research, data and analysis into an actual story, thereby identifying our main message and the influence of our work.

Sometimes folks ask me if I use AI to help write the Weekly Thing and I tell them something just like this. No. I do not. Because the Weekly Thing is part of how I continue to learn myself. If I were to delegate that I would miss my own goal of learning.

A secondary desire of mine is to become a better writer. I suspect the best way to do that is to write more. And if writing is indeed thinking, does becoming a better writer make you a better thinker? I think so.