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!