Week in Review - July 21 - 28

Not much new to report. Spent Friday July 20 to Tuesday July 24 in Cloquet with my mom. She's a very fiesty 91 years old!

Saturday and Sunday afternoon were spent at my niece MacKenzie's divisional soccer games (in 95 degree heat!). They won! Congratulations!

Brother Ron and wife Debbie came down from Roseau, MN on Sunday evening, and stayed 'til Wednesday. Their daughter Jess (pregnant and due mid-August) and her husband Andy (from Elkhorn, WI) arrived on Sunday evening too, to spend the night. On Monday, Ron's older daughter Lindsay, husband Aaron and daughter Evangeline (called Eva) arrived from Menlo Park, CA to spend the day and celebrate Eva's first birthday.

Needless to say it was a full house, but lots of fun and laughter. My brother Rich and daughter MacKenzie (from Cloquet) joined us, too. His wife Karen was working.

Weather in Grand Portage continues to be glorious. Had one day of cool and rain, but other than that the temps have been in the mid to high 70s, with lots of sun and slight breezes.

Last week I mentioned meeting up with my cousin MaryBeth and her husband Don, who were visiting Grand Marais from Dallas. Thursday we were informed that Don had been in a very serious car accident while on his way to work that morning. He had serious internal injuries, lost a lot of blood, and has multiple broken bones. Thankfully no head, neck or spinal injuries. We ask for lots of prayer for Don, as well as MaryBeth (who is suffering from bronchitis, obviously no sleep and exhaustion). There's a long road of recovery ahead, but our God is a "God of Miracles," and we know He is watching over both of them.

I was asked to play for the church service at Cornerstone Community Church in Grand Marais this coming Sunday (29th) so I had rehearsal Thursday evening. I've also been asked to play at the outdoor church service in Grand Marais during the Fisherman's Picnic on August 5th. Quite an honor. Hundreds of people will be in town from all over the area, including Canada, for the weekend's festivities, beginning Thursday. This annual event draws folks from all over the upper midwest, with a parade, fireworks, games, etc. Oh, and did I mention pickled herring????

That's pretty much it for this week. Stay tuned for more. We leave you with a photo of a recent sunrise.

Week in review: July 14-20

Even though we had trekked to The Devil's Kettle last Thursday, Dick thought he'd do a short and easy hike up Mt. Rose on Friday, which is near the Grand Portage Historical Monument. It's only a mile hike round trip, but the hike is very steep (Easy? Huh!). He was pooped when he got back. Here's a view of the Grand Portage Bay from the top of Mt. Rose.

Sunday we went back to Grand Marais to attend the Cornerstone Community Church (formerly 1st Baptist). I still have family members who attend there, so met up with them and then went to my aunt Bernice's home for dinner following. Was good to share that time with family, over wonderful food and great conversation. There were 11 of us at the table (mostly relatives); stories kept us laughing for a couple of hours. Good times. (Oh, and if you're in Grand Marais next weekend, I'll be playing for the church service--just can't get away from a keyboard!)

Afterwards we met up with a 3rd cousin, MaryBeth (up from Dallas) and her family, who were visiting her mom. (Her mom has the best sloppy joe recipe -- let me know if you want the recipe!) Hadn't seen MaryBeth for about 40 years so we had a lot to catch up on. Another old friend from Grand Marais happened to be there, too (Glen Larsen and his wife Renee), so lots of stories were shared. 

This rest of this week was spent pretty close to home, with the exception of Wednesday the 18th. We took a day trip across the border into Thunder Bay, Ontario to see Fort William Historical Park and Kekabeka Falls.

Fort William Historical Park is one of the largest living history attractions in North America, devoted to re-creating the days of the North West Company and the Canadian fur trade. With 57 heritage and modern buildings on 250 acres, Fort William offers a vivid look at fur trade life, from culture to crafts, medicine to business, domestic life to heritage farming. In the 1800s, Fort William was a major center of commerce whose history was deeply intertwined with the economic and political development of North America. Formed officially in 1784, the North West Company was comprised of a loose coalition of independent traders based in Montreal. It was not long before this coalition challenged the long-established Hudson's Bay Company for domination of the fur trade in North America, moving it from Grand Portage to Fort William. Fort William operated from 1803 to 1821.

It was interesting to dialogue with costumed characters who explained the workings of their individual homes, shops, and working areas, where we could meet with Scottish fur traders, French voyageurs, artisans, farmers, Ojibwa and aboriginals who inhabited the Fort.

Below is an aerial photo of the reconstructed Fort William Historical Park as it existed in 1815.

After spending a couple of hours at Fort William, we headed to Kakabeka Falls.

Kakabeka Falls plunges 131 feet over sheer cliffs and some of the oldest fossils in the world. This is the largest waterfall in the Lake Superior watershed, and is known as the "Niagara of the North."

On our way back to Grand Portage, we stopped at Thunder Oaks Cheese Farm, which is the only farm in Ontario that produces Gouda cheese. We sampled almost 2 dozen flavors, from jalapeno to black pepper, smoked to plain. YUM! Of course we had to purchase some for our enjoyment. Here's their link if you wish to order.Thunder Oaks Cheese Farm. Oh, and the cheese curds are just too hard to pass up, so we noshed on those, too.

 

 

 

A little history: Jacob and Margaret Schep come from cheese-making families in Holland. They emigrated to Canada with their children in 1981, and began a dairy farm in Scoble Township, just south of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Margaret's mother was a World Champion cheese maker in 1975, and her brother and his wife still make cheese on the family farm in Holland. In 2002, Thunder Oak won the Dairy Farmers of Canada Grand Prix award for best Firm Cheese.

Oh, I should mention that we're never short of wild life, even at our site. Tuesday morning we woke to find that a little green toad had taken up residency on one of our outdoor chairs. He stayed until the next morning, even though we moved the chairs around quite a bit during the day.

Friday we left for Cloquet for a weekend with my mom. My brother Ron and wife Debby (from Roseau, MN) will be there, as well as their daughter Jess and husband Andy from Wisconsin; and daughter Lindsay, husband Aaron, and 1 year-old daughter Evangeline (Eva) from California. My brother Rich, wife Karen and niece MacKenzie (from Cloquet) will also be around, so it should be another fun time.

That's all for this week. Hope you're all doing well. Until next week...

Week in review: July 7-13

Gosh, this is getting tiresome--cloudless, slight breeze off the lake, yada-yada-yada...temps in the 80s with no humidity. This photo is just one of many showing the magnificent evening skies. The sun will set shortly, but wanted to share this shot with you. "God saw that it was good..."

Started "Noah's Quandary" jigsaw puzzle Saturday, finished it Wednesday. Only 500 pieces, but I've renamed it "Gail's Quandary!" Life is so boring...NOT!

We've met some wonderful people so far. Today (Sunday July 8) is no different. We met Don and Phyllis from Nebraska, who have been full-tme RVers for 9 years. They're now travelling in a Class-A Allegro Bus, and will be here for about a week. Looking for some good tips from them! From here they head to Iowa for a family reunion. Some folks camp for just a couple of nights, for some this is just a stop-over on their way to somewhere.

Tonight we went to the service at Grand Portage Mount Rose Baptist Church. Guest speaker was Dan, a recent graduate from Northwestern, who plans to join New Tribes Mission in the fall for missionary training. It's a small but faithful congregation.

Monday, July 9 dawns overcast, with a 30% chance of rain. Dick washed the truck so it's probably more like 50%! Bought some fresh lake trout from locals at the marina--out of the lake for about 4 hours. YUM-YUM! Melts in your mouth. Have enough for at least 2 more meals.

Tuesday, July 10, we headed to Ryden's again for another WiFi/Internet fix. (On our way we happened upon a baby bear cub that had met his fate with traffic along the highway...sad...) Had a fabulous breakfast and tons of coffee during the 3 hours we were there. (They like us!) Afterwards we drove another 1/2 mile to the Grand Portage State Park and hiked up the Pigeon River for about 1/2 mile to the High Falls. Over 120 feet high, the river pushes over 3200 gallons of water per second over the falls. During a cold winter, even though a layer of ice up to 3' forms over the falls, water continues to flow.

When we arrived at the falls, I looked down and saw the first wild strawberry I'd seen in a long time. Reminded me of growing up in Grand Marais, picking the berries along country roads. There's beauty in the small things.



When we got back to the trailer, we met new neighbors Stan and Gwen (and their chihuahua Rex) from Arkansas, who were on the scenic around the Lake Superior Loop. They usually travel for about 3 months per year. Nice folks.

Wednesday, July 11, I finished "Gail's Quandary" with the help of neighbor Phylis. Whew! Really windy today, so had to close up the awning.

Thursday, July 12. Dick received his 2nd haircut from me, and it doesn't look too bad if you don't look too closely (LOL!). Carol and Bob from Montana arrived today in their Freightliner crew cab pulling a New Vision Sportster toy hauler (trike and low rider inside). And the highlight of the day was seeing a bald eagle fly close to our site. Beautiful! Thank you, God.

Friday, July 13, we headed back to Grand Marais for another Internet fix at the library. Coffee from the Java Moose (really strong!). About halfway from Grand Portage to Grand Marais is the Brule River, which flows from Canada to Lake Superior. One of the river's claim to fame is The Devil's Kettle site, in which half the river flows into a hole in a rock, never to be seen again. Dye and sensors have been poured into the hole, but no one has ever found where it goes. The hike is about a mile long, and the dirt/gravel path winds through the fragrant forest--until we get to the 200+ stairs that leads us to the Kettle. (I remember the hike being alot easier 40 years ago when I did this!) Dick reminded me that what we traverse down we have to climb back up, but we did it. We will be huring tomorrow!

The photo below shows the Kettle. Water to the left flows in, but apparently never comes out.

That's the news for this week. Come back and visit again. As everyone says, "Miss you, wish you were here."  Yup.

July 3-6 in review...

Tuesday, July 3:  Today dawned another beautiful and cloudless day in Grand Portage. Temps hover in the mid 80s, however last night was a different story. Sround 10:30 p.m. we were treated to one of the strongest thunder and lightening storms we've every experienced. On and on it went, until well after 1:30 a.m.  No sign of local flooding or erosion today, just the clean fragrant smell of cedar trees and sweet grass.

After breakfast we walked the mile or so to the Grand Portage National Monument. What a wonderful tribute to the Ojibwe (Chipewa) nation. (A bit of background: from 1784 to 1803 Grand Portage was the most profitable fur trade operation on the Great Lakes, and the largest fur trade depot on the North American continent. Furs were traded for items as varied as wool blankets from England to glass beads from Venice. Within the historical wood pool palisade stood a minimum of 16 wooden buildings, which included a business office, warehouse for trade goods and furs, food preparation and storage, and living quarters for the trade partners and clerks. In addition, fur presses were built to convert about 60 bulky furs to a more manageable 90 lb. bale for ease of transport through eastern Canada and across the Atlantic. Birch bark canoes were made to hold from four to 16 men, and during the course of the trading season, haul over 8,000 lbs. of goods. There's more, but you'll just have to visit yourselves!)

Wednesday, July 4: Another beautiful cloudless day. Found WiFi within 6 miles of our campsite today. Yahoo! On our way to Ryden's (most local WiFi) we stopped at an overlook and took a few photos. Enjoy!

Wild flowers grow in abundance: lupine in all shades of purple, fireweed, buttercups, orange hawkweed, yello bird's-foot trefoil, red elderberry, ninebark, red osier dogwood, and caraway. All these and more were used by the Objiwe for medicines, seasonings, etc. Purple clover and daisies grow profusely. Monarch butterflies are everywhere!

Fireworks tonight! Will be able to see them from our site, we're told. Before the fireworks, another rain storm hit; thunder and lightening storm around midnight. We are appreciating how it seems to only rain at night.

Thursday, July 5: Bright sunshine. The RV park is filling up with weekend campers. Today is the warmest so far: 88 degrees, no clouds. Took a long walk today, and sat by Lake Superior to watch a huge gaggle of Canadian geese make their way across the Grand Portage Bay. Love to hear the waves lap against the rocky shore. The smell of pungent cedar permeates the fresh air. Love it!

Friday, July 6: Headed for Grand Marais today, to visit the local Forestry Station, the Cook County Library, grocery store and misc. other stops. Rain is coming down hard at the moment but should subside later in the day. More campers (Class A motorhomes and 5th wheels) joined the campground last night. (A lot of Canadians come down and take advantage of the Lodge and Casino.)

On our drive to Grand Marais we were thrilled to see another bald eagle fly to a tree along the lake. Don't know if it's the same one we saw on Sunday or not. Quite a sight!

Will post more next week. Stay tuned!

Monday, July 2:  Another beautiful sunny day dawned. A view of Lake Superior over the marina is so calming. Temps should reach the mid-80s by noon; again a slight breeze off the lake and low humidity makes the heat tolerable. (Thankful for A/C, though!)

Today is a day of settling in. We headed back to Grand Marais (where I grew up), about 40 minutes away, to pick up a few overlooked items, like meat, chicken, tent stakes for the patio mat, etc. Plan to cook our first meal in the trailer tonight. Stay tuned...:)

Wanted to let you know that there is no cell service in Grand Portage, so the best way to contact us in case of emergency call the marina at 218-475-2476. We're in site 8, under RJ Cummings. The Wi-Fi in the camp ground is not working at the present time, but they promise to have it working soon.  Until then we'll use the library in Grand Marais for internet access and making calls. Will get pre-paid phone cards today, too, so if we find a pay phone in Grand Portage you might hear from us:)

Grand Portage, here we come!

Sunday, July 1, 2012:  The day dawned bright and sunny, with a passing rain shower in the morning, After church at Grace Baptist in Cloquet, we loaded our clothes, packed a couple of coolers and by 12:30 p.m. were ready to hit the road.

Destination: Grand Portage, MN, where we have reservations for the months of July and August at the Grand Portage RV and Marina. Dick offered me the opportunity to be the designated driver for the day--180 miles, give or take--from Cloquet through Duluth, Two Harbors, Beaver Bay, Silver Bay, Grand Marais and finally Grand Portage! On our way up the North Shore beyond Grand Marais we saw a huge bald eagle perched in a birch tree along the lake, just like he was welcoming us. Cool.

Our site is perfect! Warm sun (80s) during the day, very low humidity, a lovely breeze off Lake Superior. We arrived around 4 p.m.

Now to level the trailer, and unpack and "unsecure" everything." Apparently I did a great job securing everything--nothing moved or broke. Whew! It was key to get connected to everything before we thought about dinner, so that's what we did. Trailer level? check. Electic? check. Water? check. Clothes hung or put away? check. AC working? check. Coffee ready for the morning? check.
Then we headed to the Grand Portage Lodge & Casino for dinner -- those hamburgers were the best we've had in a long time, along with the wild rice and chicken soup and fries.

Bed seemed long overdue by 9 p.m. We both slept well until a thunder and rain storm woke us around 2 a.m. It passed quickly, and we "slept in" 'til 7:15.

Our RV journey begins...

Saturday, June 30, 2012:  Our 32' 5th wheel trailer is packed, everything is stowed and (hopefully) secured. What did we forget? (There's a bit more room in the under belly of the trailer...?)

We hitched the trailer to the black beast and took it for a practice session at a nearby church parking lot in Cloquet, MN, figuring that we a huge empty lot we couldn't do too much damage! We quickly determined that it's a whole lot easier pulling the trailer forward and turning corners than it is backing up!

We plan to leave Cloquet tomorrow (Sunday) to head to Grand Portage, MN for July and August. Check back to see if we made it!