The Trip: 2005 Minnesota June 14, 2005 - June 28, 2005
June 14, 2005 Tuesday
The past few
weeks have been
noteworthy, and have had a profound affect on this our 2005 vacation. A
week ago Kathleen and I took Mint, our 16 year old, Thai
foreign
exchange student to the Houston Intercontinental Airport and bid her a
very fond farewell. Having Mint live with us for the past year has been
quite an experience. I'm not sure exactly what we expected when we
first signed on as a host family, but Mint was a delightful surprise.
She was polite, respectful, studious and very bright.... almost the
perfect teenager... unfortunately she hated camping! Consequently, this
will be the
first trip Kathleen and I have taken in nearly a year, and the first
without our surrogate daughter! Also, last Friday (June 10)
was Kathleen and my 10th wedding
anniversary. I just can't believe that she has put up with me for the
past 10 years!
Our 2005 Minnesota
vacation started off with a decidedly relaxed departure at 12:00 noon.
This is probably the latest I've left on a major vacation in my life!
On the drive down to San Antonio, Kathleen spilled an entire box of
'Hot
Tamale' candies on the floor boards of the car.... we would be digging
partially melted candies out of the carpet for the duration of the
trip.
We arrived in San Antonio before 4:00 p.m. and had a pleasant visit
with mother. We are driving
our 2001 Toyota 4Runner, pulling our Coleman
Laredo Pop-Up Tent Trailer and have my 17' Alumicraft racing canoe
strapped to the roof. I always smile when I see an outfit like this
driving down the road. It brings back memories of my early trips with
the family & it means another family is off on a grand adventure...
true 'Fun-Hogs'... I would like to think
that people who see Kathleen and me traveling down the highway have
similar nostalgic feelings.
Tonight we had planned on seeing STOMP
at the Majestic Theater(this was another anniversary present from Kathleen). Even the
second time around, STOMP was great! I walked out of the
theater tapping my toes and wanting to beat out a rhythm on every metal
railing we passed on the way to the car. Home by 10:30, in
time to sit down with Mother and watch the SPURS loose to
Chicago in the finals (though they
eventually
won the best-of-five series). Stayed up till 2:00 talking with my
brother, Bill,
who had come down to see us off and visit Mom... finally to bed, to
dream of drumming on trash cans, kitchen sinks and making music with
brooms and cigarette lighters.
June 15, 2005 Wednesday Today is a long driving day. Up at 7:00, and on the road by 7:45. Now this is the way to
start a vacation!
Stopped for breakfast at the Stagecoach Inn in Salado.
Kathleen drove
most of the day. Crossed into Oklahoma at 2:40.
There is a small mountain range just over the Oklahoma boarder from
Texas. As we drove through this range, we saw a sign that a 'scenic
overlook' was coming up, we decided to stop to check it out. There was
a pull off, a parking area and a great view.... of a vacant field.
There was absolutely NOTHING THERE to see! Kathleen and I were laughing
so hard we were nearly crying, but it got worse.... as we headed on
down Interstate 35 we saw a sign for another scenic overlook. Thinking
we would give Oklahoma another chance we pulled off.... it was just as
bare and barren as the first. If THIS was the best Oklahoma had to
offer in the way of scenic beauty, we're glad we are only passing
through!
Headed on toward Wichita, Ks. and our Super 8 Motel ($63.00).
Arrived at
7:00, it was a nice room, complete with microwave and
mini-refrigerator. We ordered a late dinner of pizza ($25.00!) to be
delivered to the room and later, collapsed into bed.
June 16, 2005 Thursday
Up and away by 7:15.
There were extreme thunderstorms last night. Kathleen watched from our
hotel window as small trees in the parking lot were buffeted about, and
the lightening made it look like we were in the middle of a war zone.
Seeing that we are in
Kansas, Kathleen was somewhat worried about tornadoes, but nothing
materialized... I was so tired I slept through all the excitement. If
we had had a tornado I might have woken, laying in a corn field, in
another state.... shades of Dorothy and Toto!
The sky was fresh and clear as we left Wichita and started the drive
north on scenic highway 50 through the heartland of America. It was a
very nice drive through rolling fields of corn. Eventually we returned
to our old friend, IH35 and
continued north toward tonights destination of Minneapolis, MN.
We arrived at about 5:00 after stopping for dinner. We stayed the night
with Steve and Amanda Wrangham. They are good friends and
Amanda is the
daughter of Nan Reichel, our dear friend in College Station. Steve and
Amanda have a beautiful apartment in the heart of Minneapolis. We
visited
for a bit, watched a movie on their big screen, projection TV (all the
time fighting to keep our eyes open), and
headed for bed.
June 17, 2005 Friday
Steve and Amanda had recently lost a respected manager and had just
heard of the tragic death of a friend. They were emotionally drained,
and though Steve was up and off to work by 6:30, Amanda slept until
11:00. We three had a lunch of chicken fried steak at a Chilli's
and
then Amanda headed off to work. It was a quick visit, but we know that
we are planning on spending more time with these good people before
leaving Minneapolis. Kathleen and I headed on to the Marriot,
looking forward to this reunion of the extended Till family.
We checked in and joined folks on the patio for drinks. Some of us went
swimming at the Marriot's indoor 'water park'. They had a great, and
very fast, tube-slide that started inside the building, wound around
outside, above the parking area, and eventually re-entered the park and
dropped you into a pool. Very cool. They also had kiddie-rides and a
hot tub made for 25! It wasn't as nice as sitting in our tub on the
back porch, but after two days of driving, the water was wonderful.
The Till kids (Kathleen and I, Tim & his steady date of 8 months,
Lisa & Shannon) went out for a great Thai dinner. We walked from
the hotel to the restaurant. We were joined
later by Matt, Kim and Madeline (Kim, being quite pregnant, just wasn't
up for Thai). Tim treated us all to dinner.
Returned to the hotel and sat up late talking with more distant family
on the porch. I was delighted to learn that there are actually members
of the Till family who are liberal Democrats! What a delightful
surprise! Good times!
June 18, 2005 Saturday
Kathleen and I got up early and took a commuter train from within a
block of the hotel to the wonderful 'Mall of America'. This is
the
largest mall in America. It is larger than a city block, four stories
tall, with over 500 stores and surrounding a theme park complete with
several roller coasters! We couldn't help but think of Mint. 'Shop
till you drop' is a very real possibility in this mall. Our
favorite attraction was 'Leggo Land';
a
store selling Leggo building blocks. They had near-life-sized
dinosaurs, submarines, divers, space stations and motorcycles, all made
out of Leggo
blocks! Very impressive! Couldn't stay long at the mall, only a couple
of hours, for we must return for a wedding! This was, after all the
primary reason we came on this trip. It is the wedding of the last Till
cousin of Kathleen's generation, Amy
Kathleen Till & Patrick John Mahoney. The service is to be held
at St. Thomas The Apostle Church, and the reception at the
renovated Mill City Museum.
We met at the hotel and rode with Tim to the service. My GPS was a
great help in getting us there in time. The church was designed very
strangely. there were two sets of pews on either side, facing each
other. There were two pulpits on either end of the central oval and a
hot tub at one end.... Well, ok, it wasn't exactly a hot tub, but it
sure was big enough for one!
The reception was at a restored flour mill on the banks of the
Mississippi River. There were tall walls surrounding a central
open air
courtyard, as well as an air conditioned hall for dinning and dancing.
we had a delicious sit down dinner, toasts, and danced till midnight.
Things were still going strong when Kathleen, Shannon, Lisa and I
started walking the two blocks back to the hotel at midnight. Our room
seemed to be the place to be that night. As I downloaded my pictures of
the wedding and reception to my laptop, Lisa and Jim came in and
offered to add their shots to my collection. I will put them all online
to share with
all upon our return to College Station. After looking at my pics I can
only say one thing.... I've got to get a better camera! Very
disappointed.
Fell into bed exhausted after a
very full and fun day.
June 19, 2005 Sunday
Up and breakfasting by 9:00 at a brunch in a private room at the hotel.
This meal was hosted by Kathleen's aunt & uncle, Mike &
Chris
Till, and attended by both sides of the wedding party & special
guests. Kathleen and I packed up and checked out by 11:30. We headed
toward the Minneapolis
Sculpture Garden. What a delightful place! Absolutely
beautiful,
with world famous sculptures including Calder, and, as a centerpiece,
Clause Oldenberg's 'Spoon Bridge with Cherry'.We heard cathedral bells
with real ringers in the
background. Beyond words how tranquil & lovely this park is..
After visiting the gardens, we headed over to Kathleen's uncle's
house by a very circuitous route (my GPS didn't seem to be working
properly). Kathleen didn't seem to notice since we were driving through
street after street of beautiful 1920's style homes, each unique and
charming.
Arriving at the Till's we began another round of visitations with
relatives. Mike took Kathleen and me on a driving tour of
Minneapolis-Saint Paul. We drove down the beautiful Summit St.,
lined
with fabulous million dollar homes, most had been subdivided into 2 and
3 (or more) unit condos and apartments. We saw the state capital and
moved on to the incredible St.
Paul's Cathedral... WOW! Kathleen says she doesn't need to go
to
Europe now that she has seen the inside of this incredible place of
worship.This was probably the most awe inspiring building I've ever set
foot in. Truly amazing.... Mike, the consummate tour guide, even showed
us where John Dillinger had stashes of guns and battles with the FBI.
What a lovely twin-city.
We socialized with the Till's at Mike & Chris' home until about
5:30. I thought they might be wanting a bit of 'down-time', but when
we left the party was still going strong. I don't know how they do it!
It was hard to leave this joyous gathering, these were just wonderful
people, and it was our first opportunity to meet many of the more
distant cousins. I feel truly grateful to have married into such a
fabulous family. This is a family who celebrate life at every
opportunity!
By 7:00 we were resting at Steve & Amanda's' apartment, and by 8:00
they had gotten off work and joined us. We all went out to one of their
favorite 'college' bars for a dinner of onion rings, buffalo wings,
burgers, and, of course, a selection of local beers. After dinner we
returned to their apartment and crashed into bed at the 'early' hour of
11:00!
June 20, 2005 Monday
Slept very late, waking at 11:00. I guess we needed the sleep, but it
blew our plans to play tourist with Steve & Amanda. After a bit of
socializing and washing a quick load of clothes, we decided to bid our
hosts a fond farewell and head off toward the next leg of
our vacation. We loaded up the 4Runner and turned onto IH35. With a
roar of gas we were off like a 'swarm of gnats' toward
Duluth, the western shore of Lake Superior, and points north.
We stopped at a local 'sports bar' between Minneapolis & Duluth for
a late lunch (I had French dip & Kathleen a huge order of potato
skins). As we were eating, we watch a Weather Channel report of an
incredibly strong line of thunderstorms heading our way. They were
predicting thunder, lightening, rain, and wind gusts of 60-70 mph.
Sounds like great fun to watch from the comfort of your living room,
but not something you want to drive through, especially not with a
canoe on your roof and while pulling a trailer! As we pulled out of the
parking lot we fervently hoped to get far enough north to avoid the
worst of the storm. As it turned out, we had some pretty heavy rains,
but none of the extreme winds which had been predicted.
We continued down IH35 through the town to Duluth. On
this trip we have driven on IH35 very nearly its entire length. We
began our trip in San Antonio and followed it to its end in Duluth.
Pity we weren't able to tack on the stretch from the Mexico boarder in
Laredo to San Antonio. We could then claim to have driven this
interstate from the southern boarder with Mexico to its terminus very
near Canada!
We stopped in Duluth for groceries and ice and then continued north on
the scenic 'North Shore Drive' of Minnesota's Hwy 61
which follows the western shore of Lake Superior. We stopped at
the lovely Gooseberry Falls State Park at about 4:30 in the
afternoon. Even though we did not have reservations, we were able to
get a site for the night... though with no water or electric.
After setting up our trailer we returned to the visitor's center and
took
the short hike down to the falls themselves. Within the park, the
Gooseberry River passes through a series of five separate waterfalls
falling a total of well over 100'; the largest single falls is 60'. The
surrounding area is incredibly lush, filled with ferns, Birch and Blue
Spruce. The visitor center and trails were originally built by the Civilian
Conservation Corps. The overall feeling is awe inspiring.
Gooseberry
Falls State Park was a wonderful and most unexpected surprise!
While fixing dinner a huge sea gull came to visit. The gull landed on a
rock at the edge of camp. Kathleen and I both commented on how sleek
and healthy
he looked. He stretched his wings to give us an idea of how big he
was, too. We thought he was just a beggar... little did we know that he
was a very adept thief! The instant Kathleen and I turned our backs, he
flew to the table and picked up an entire package of salami, and then,
just as quickly, flew off. I immediately gave chase, but, even with
the entire campsite alerted, and with a small army of children
helping in the chase, the gull was able to stay a jump ahead of us
and keep a firm grip on his booty.
Several hours later, as we walked toward the showers, we noticed a
piece of garbage laying on the ground. This park is so beautifully
maintained that it caught our eye.... It turned out to be the empty
packaging from our salami. The final insult, we even found ourselves
picking up after our winged thief! Thinking back, there did seem
to be a number of extremely fat gulls, chipmunks and such about
this campsite. While we were eating, a chickadee landed on the table
within inches of Kathleen. I would say that the wildlife around here
has become quite well acclimated to the presence of humans.
June 21, 2005 Tuesday
Yesterday we drove along the scenic shoreline of Lake Superior. We
passed many mansions near Duluth and continued to see more moderate
homesteads throughout the 100 mile stretch of highway we were
traveling. Though the homes, and their views of the lake, were
fabulous, we couldn't help but think of how miserable life up here must
be in the winter!
Our weather, so far, has been nearly perfect. Days have been
slightly warm, probably with highs in the high 80's, nights are
slightly cool, around 60.
Today we left the coast and turned almost due west toward the town of Ely
which lies on the very edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. As we
turned away from the coast we immediately started gaining altitude.
We stopped once to shoot pictures of a patch of the native lupine. We
have been seeing dense patches of these beautiful flowers since leaving
Duluth. They look something like the Texas Bluebonnets, except that the
flower spike can be 16"-18" long. Kathleen called them 'Bluebonnets
on steroids'! They come in colors from light pink to vibrant
purple. Stunningly beautiful!
We stopped in Ely for a few supplies, namely ice, sunglasses (Kathleen
had lost hers), and 'Bounce dryer sheets' (which keep away the
no-see-ums). We ate lunch at the 'Northern Grounds', a local
eatery specializing in health-food-ish giro's, wraps and penini (a
fancy work for sandwich!). Though their menu descriptions were a bit
grandiose, their food was fabulous! Kathleen had ham, bacon, avocado,
lettuce, sprouts and such wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. I had
basically the same, but with turkey and Ranch Dressing. A side of sweet
potato fries finished off what we both agreed was one of the best
meals we have had in quite a while. The menus say that their sandwiches
are 'made with love'.... I can't vouch for that, but they sure were
delicious!
Ely turned out to be a delightful little tourist town filled with fancy
little restaurants and canoe outfitters. Kathleen and I visited one
outfitter for information on weather, animals and bugs. We were told
that we were not likely to run into bears or raccoons (but to watch out
for the sea gulls!), and that the only insects out are mosquitoes, and
they aren't really bad yet. It was as good a report as we could have
ask for!
Our campground at Bear Head Lake State Park is just 15 miles
south of Ely. We stopped at the ranger station to check in and received
more weather, bug and critter reports. Our campsite, reserved 'blindly'
over the Internet, turned out to be quite beautiful. It was shaded by
overhanging Quacking Aspen, Birch and Fir and it was quite near the
restrooms and showers. Space #30 will serve us quite well.
Had a great dinner of bean, cheese and jalapeno nachos, heated in the
microwave. Showers and off to bed.
Two side notes.... it was probably 10:00 before it was truly 'dark',
and we saw a Luna Moth unfolding its wings tonight. I got pictures of
course!
June 22, 2005 Wednesday
Today was an action packed day from start to finish. We began by
rolling out of bed at the crack of dawn... or rather at 9:30. By 11:00
we were well fed on blueberry pancakes and crisp bacon and ready to hit
the trail. Before we began anything so energetic, we decided to have a
short siesta to let our breakfast digest. We sat in our camp chairs,
under the Aspen, reading our books and enjoying the cool breeze.
By 4:00 though, we were feeling rested and I had finished my first
book... we were ready for the day to begin! Not wanting to overexert
ourselves, we decided on a short canoe paddle around Bear Head Lake.
This is a pretty good sized lake with many arms and hidden coves to
explore, but a good wind had kicked up and very quickly the open areas
of our calm lake were filled with white caps. This made paddling a bit
hard going and threatened at any moment to steal away our hats. The
water is a dark orange color, from the tannins, but quite clear. We
could easily see 5'-6' down into the water. We saw beautiful wild iris
and an inhabited beaver lodge. As we were approaching the lodge we saw
movement, but it stopped before we got too close. We knew the beaver
were there... but they knew we were there too.
We returned to camp by 6:00 for another great dinner of chicken
quesadillas and then showered and returned to our reading (I had
brought several books).
About 8:00 we heard a loon calling and followed the sound to the
shoreline. We arrived in time to watch the solitary loon preening out
on the water. He seemed to be enjoying the peace and tranquility of the
night as much as we were. It was easy to feel connected to the whole
scene.... the bird, the lake, the wind in the trees.
It was fully dark by 10:00 and Kathleen and I were exhausted from our
day's activities.... we finished off this wonderful evening by watching
a young boy, probably 5 or 6 years old, chasing fireflies through a
field of daisies. It was quite a full day... maybe not full of
action... but full of peace and contentment.
June 23, 2005 Thursday
Today we got up early (10:00!), breakfasted on eggs and sausage wrapped
in tortillas, and then drove into Ely. We visited the Piragis Northwoods Company.
We spent a couple of hours exploring their outfitters store (and
drooling over some truly beautiful wood paddles). We also arranged for
a shuttle tomorrow (for $25) so that we can paddle the Burntside
River. We bought a few things including a new toy kayak for my
collection, a can opener to replace the broken one in the trailer, and
a few bottles of real Maple syrup for gifts. We filled up on gas
($2.15/gal), and ice, and returned to camp just in time for our
afternoon nap! Weather today was warm by Texas standards (around 80),
but the locals were dieing!
We got up from our nap to eat dinner (sausage sandwiches), take showers
and watch the 10:00 lightening bug show. We took our chairs out to a
field near the restrooms and watched as dozens of magical lights danced
for our enjoyment.
We had been told that last Wednesday night many locals had watched a
great show of their own, put on by the Northern Lights. They
said that there were very distinct bands of moving colors. This is very
unusual this time of year. I hadn't seriously considered the
possibility that we could actually see the Aurora Borealis on
this trip! So, tonight we stayed up until 11:00 to see if there might
be a repeat performance. Unfortunately, a front blew in bringing clouds
and heat lightening. It was a nice show, but not what we had hoped for.
We were in bed by 11:30 and asleep by midnight.
June 24, 2005 Friday
We had to be in Ely, at Piragis by 10:00 to meet with the guy who was
to shuttle our canoe and I was a bit concerned about over sleeping
(even though I had set an alarm). When I awoke to the sun streaming
into the trailer, I knew we had somehow overslept.... until I check the
clock and realized it was 5:30 a.m.! I just can't get used to it
staying light until 10:00 and the first glow of dawn 6 1/2 hours later
at 4:30! Makes for a short night! (not that that really bothers us!)
We finally rolled out of bed at 8:30, breakfasted on migas and loaded
up for the 15 mile drive into Ely. On our way in we saw our first (and
possibly, only) bear. It was a young cub, maybe a yearling, not much
bigger, though quite a bit heavier, than our Great Pyrenees, Merlin. He
was of an age that I wouldn't be surprised if he weren't still in the
company of his mother.... so, it might, possibly, be a good thing that
we only saw him from a distance!
We arrived at Piragis and moved our canoe from our car to a Piragis van
driven by Chris. After parking our Toyota 4Runner at a public beach on
Shagawa Lake which bounds Ely's north side, we started off toward the
put-in on the Burntside River. According to my GPS, it was 6.5
miles from the put-in to Ely... though this was 'as the crow flies'.
With the twists and turns this river takes, we had been told the total
run was more like 11 miles.
We put on the water at 11:00, after a portage of about 100 yards from a
parking area to the river. We arrived back at our car at 2:15. In all,
this was a 3:15 minute paddle.
This trip was delightful. I would call the Burntside more of a stream
than a real river. It was no more than about 20' across, and 2'-3' deep
where we put on. There was very thick growth on both banks making it
very easy to believe that we were far, far, away from the nearest
civilization. The first mile or so was quite twisty and winding and the
trees often nearly met above our heads. There were a few downed trees
to negotiate, but Kathleen (in the bow) and I (stern) had no trouble
avoiding these obstacles, even paddling our 17' Gruman Quitico racing
canoe.... which is simply not the most maneuverable thing on the water.
There were a few minor riffles, but nothing I would call whitewater.
At approximately the one mile mark we came on our first real obstacle.
I believe this was once a beaver dam, but the river tightened and
dropped about 12' over a 50' stretch of river.... this was quite a
drop! The fall was heavily choked with debris and much to tight to
attempt in our aluminum canoe. I wouldn't even have tried it in my
whitewater kayak! So,..... we portaged.
The 100' portage was messy, we were ankle deep in marshy black mud. but
it wasn't particularly difficult. I didn't bother carrying the canoe,
but simply dragged it along the path behind us.
About 3/4 of a mile further along, after paddling through a very wide,
almost lake-like portion of the river, we arrived at the second beaver
dam. It is amazing to me how the beavers can change the river so
drastically.
This second dam we simply climbed up and lowered the canoe over. There
was a well worn portage trail, but it was much easier to simply
man-handle the boat over than to carry it through the dense woods.
Kathleen saw some kind of snake on the portage path, but it was too
fast for her to catch in the thick foliage.
Beyond the second beaver dam, the feel of the river changed
drastically. It opened up into a wide grassland marsh. This 100 yard
wide 'flood plain' was covered in cat tails, rushes, and beautiful wild
purple iris. The river followed a meandering channel through the
grasses. I must admit, though it was quite lovely at first, this slow
and wide open area became a bit tiresome after a bit.
We finally emerged from the Burntside and saw before us the open waters
of Shagawa Lake. We began the 2 mile run across open water to Ely.
Kathleen had voiced a bit of concern about this exposed run. If the
wind had kicked up, it could have been a challenge, fortunately, the
water was almost glassy calm. Just before reaching the relative shelter
of the small off shore islands on the Ely side of the lake, the wind
did pick up a bit. There were white caps and we were blown around some,
but it was nothing we couldn't easily handle. As it turns out,
Kathleen's biggest problem was a touch of seasickness caused by the
rolling movement of the boat.
The final stretch of our trip included winding through several small
islands and passing under a bridge just before pulling into the public
beach in Ely. It was within sight of our parked car that we had our one
minor mishap. Kathleen was so busy looking at the beautiful islands and
bridges that she missed seeing a submerged rock. We were moving along
at a pretty good clip when we hit the rock dead on with a resounding
'thud'! It was a hard enough collision to shake us both out of our
seats, but it didn't do any damage to the canoe.... the only damage was
to our egos!
Kathleen and I both agree that we prefer paddling on rivers and moving
water to lakes. On our Burntside trip we saw a mother duck herding a
bunch of ducklings to safety, and several other ducks, including hooded
mergansers We saw numerous fish if the crystal clear waters, and lovely
purple iris, but no bear, moose or beaver!
We ate lunch in Ely at the 'Chocolate Moose', which is attached
to the Piragis outfitters store. My basil, pesto and turkey sandwich
was fabulous, but Kathleen was unimpressed by her hamburger. We spent a
couple of hours exploring the touristy gift shops of Ely (in the
process buying several Christmas presents for friends & family) and
finally headed 'home' for an afternoon nap.
We grilled sandwiches for dinner and, once again, watched the
fireflies. Tonight was quite cool and I broke out sweaters and slippers
as well as blankets to wrap around us in our chairs.
About 10:30 we drove back into Ely and parked ourselves in lawn chairs
on a dock looking north, out over the lake. We were determined to be
watching should the Northern Lights decide on a return appearance....
and the did!.... kinda. There was a light glow to the northern sky,
looking like a small city just over the horizon. Of course, there is
nothing much north of Ely except the wilderness of the Boundary Waters,
so we were sure we were not seeing city lights. If you watched closely
the lights would occasionally fade out, starting on one side and
working to the other. Then, they would slowly come back up, as though
someone was playing with a giant dimmer switch. This was not the
spectacular display we had hoped to witness, but it was interesting
none the same.
We finally gave up our vigil, driven off by the cold and our own
disappointment, and were home in our tent trailer, and snug in our bed,
by 1:30.
June 24, 2005 Saturday
Our last full day in Minnesota started rather slowly, however, we were
up, though not entirely functional, by 9:30. I caught us up in the
journal while Kathleen prepared a breakfast of French toast and the
last of our bacon. We finished 'breakfast' by noon.
A bit about this wonderful campsite.... Minnesota State Parks have been
good to us. The sites themselves are equipped with electrical hookups
(though there are tent-camping sites also), fire pits and picnic
tables. There are bathrooms with flush toilets (which automatically
flush when you stand up) and hot showers, though you turn the showers
on by pushing a button. There is no way to adjust the temperature of
the water and the water automatically shuts off after about 2 minutes,
you need to press the button again if you require more time (I always
did). There are no water hookups in the campsite and the water in the
communal faucets comes out quite yellowish from the tannins. Though
discolored, the water tastes quite clean and refreshing. The campsites
are closer together than I would like, but the surrounding undergrowth
is quite dense and the overall feeling is of quite a bit of privacy.
Though we are surrounded by water on three sides, you cannot see the
lake. Trees are mostly Birch, Aspen, Fir and White Pine.
We have a resident chipmunk who occasionally appears out of a hole
beneath our picnic table to see if we have happened to drop any morsels
from our last meal. Cheeky little fellow.
Another nice thing.... the parks around here recycle! They have
separate bins for aluminum, glass and plastic.
Every evening we, the great white hunters, spend a few minutes before
bed hunting down and smashing mosquitoes. The ceiling and sides of the
trailer are a mess with constellations of deceased skeeters... all
other insect types are ignored. We share our light, the trailer
and the night with close to 100 other bugs. The mosquitoes are quite a
bother, but not horribly bad. The worst part is that they tend to buzz
around your ears a lot. These Minnesota mosquitoes are rather slow (by
Texas standards) and satisfyingly easy to kill.
Just after noon we left camp and started toward a trailhead, planning
on a day on the local trails. We stopped at the ranger station to check
out (we hope to be on the road for hours before the station opens
tomorrow morning). While talking with the extremely friendly rangers,
we realized that there is an old iron mine just a few miles down the
road. This mine, the Soudan was considered a state of the art iron mine
for many years... the 'Cadillac of Mines'. It was closed in the 60s and
donated to the state as a historical park. Currently, it offers daily
tours which include a drop of over 2300 feet below ground level into
the main mine shaft. This was just too tempting and Kathleen and I
forgoed our hiking and drove down to catch an afternoon tour.
Soudan State Park was a neat discovery, only about 15 miles from Bear
Head; in no time we were dropping at 10 mph into a 1/2 mile deep
shaft. The tour was fascinating and lasted about 1 1/2 hours. After
seeing the working conditions these minors endured, even as late as the
1960's, Kathleen and I were even more grateful for the time in which we
were born and the lives we have been blessed with. The line from that
old song, 'owe your soul to the company store' took on a very real
meaning!
We stopped once more in Ely for last minute purchases (more Maple
syrup, gifts and canoe knick-naks) and then returned to camp. We ate a
last dinner of Italian sausage and spaghetti and began packing up the
gear and trailer. I wrote till 9:45 when the light finally gave out. We
plan on being up as close to 5:00 a.m. as possible on on the road by
6:00.... a very long driving day tomorrow.
Off to bed!!!
June 25, 2005 Sunday
Hardly slowed down all day. We were hooked up and on the road by 6:30
this morning. We stopped to eat a huge breakfast in a local diner about
10:00. Arrived at our destination of Wichita, Kansas at 10:30 p.m......
16 hours is a LONG driving day. Ordered pizza in our hotel, the same
Super 8 motel we stayed at on our way out, showered and dropped into
bed, exhausted!
June 26, 2005 Monday
Got a relatively late start, but were still on the road at 8:30....
drove straight through to College Station, only stopping for gas and
lunch at a Mexican food restaurant in Oklahoma City. Arrived home about
7:30.
Yuka, friend of the Reichels, had taken great care of our house. The
plants looked better under her care than they do with ours! We have a
guest room, maybe we can talk her into just moving in??! The dogs &
even Cleo were happy to see us.... as we were them. It was one of the
most relaxing vacations I've ever been on, but it is good to be home
and sleeping in our own bed again.
Beginning Mileage:
62,404 Ending Mileage: 65,688 Total Mileage: 3,284
