Summer has finally arrived
in the northland! We’ve had sunshine and warm temperatures for most of this
week, bringing campers in and out of the campground. The water shimmers like it has millions of
diamonds floating on it. So beautiful.
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| Pete's Island, Grand Portage Bay |
Monday we met folks from
Texas, who had just become full-timers in April. Ron and Kathryn were eager to
pick our brains for information and experiences on full-timing so we planned to
get together with them as the week went on. That evening as we were relaxing
with a movie, our neighbor and friend Don brought over fresh lake trout
fillets. We will definitely have fish Tuesday night for dinner! Yum!
We decided to trek into
Grand Marais on Tuesday, on the motorcycle. The partly cloudy day also brought
with it heavy fog in areas—including Grand Marais. It was difficult to see more
than 100 feet, even downtown. The tourists were still out in force—weather does
not deter them from “attempting” to see the sights.
Growing up in Grand
Marais, we thought it would be interesting to go to the Cook County History
Museum, located right downtown. My family came to this area in the mid- to late
1800s, so I was curious to see what the area was like back then. A photo of my
great grandparents with their seven children was displayed, along with other
family and area photos.
We’ve been fortunate to
meet folks from all over the country, while on the road. Wednesday we met Marv
and Kay from Brainerd, Minnesota. They needed to get away from all the action
at Costco in Brainerd, where they work part-time in their retirement. We
chatted for a while mostly about the
pros of full-timing. They said they’d love to try it for a year. I received an
email from Kay, dated Saturday the 10th, stating that they were
going to follow our lead and try full-timing for a year to see how they like
it. Whoohoo! So, they’re hitting the road in their pull-behind with their two
dogs, Cassie (rat terrier) and Harley (a rat terrie /long-haired dachshund
mix).
Thursday dawned bright and
sunny, with temps in the high 50s to start. It warmed up to the low 70s by
mid-afternoon—beautiful! We were sorry to see our good friends Don and Gloria
from Two Harbors, Minnesota and their families (3 trailers) pull out, heading
for Crescent Lake just north of Lutsen, Minnesota, for a week. They’ve been
such good friends during our stays in Grand Portage (we met them last year). They’re missed, but hopefully we’ll be seeing
them again next year.
Friday, Saturday and
Sunday were the annual and traditional PowWow and Rendezvous Days in Grand
Portage. The Aishinaabeg (an Ojibwe/Chippewa word meaning ‘The People’), as
well as re-enactors come from all the United States and Canada to attend and
participate in these celebrations.
Rendezvous Days: “Imagine it’s 1797. Canoe brigades arrive loaded with
literally tons of cloth, kettles, guns and food, manned by hearty voyageurs,
after a six-week voyage from Montreal, a thousand miles to the east. Others
arrive from as far away as British Columbia, transporting canoe-loads of furs
in 90-pound bundles, taking equally as long. The final link in this global
trade system is a rocky, 8 ½ mile footpath known as the Grand Portage. At its
trailhead is the home of the British-owned North West Company which is having
one of its most profitable years. This annual gathering is essential to its
business. This Rendezvous also brings together families and friends to renew
old ties. The native Ojibwe, voyageurs, agents, and company partners gather to
transfer the company’s goods, to conduct business, and to celebrate their good
fortune.” Grand Portage National
Monument 2013 Rendezvous Program
Rendezvous was
the time when furs from wintering posts deep in Canada, were delivered down the
Grand Portage. The Grand Portage Ojibwe/Chippewa were one of the most powerful
tribes on the Great Lakes and were vital trading partners with the North West Trading
Company. The first white
man to leave a record of the use of the portage is Sieur de la Verendrye, who
crossed it on his famous expedition along the boundary waters, between what is
now the United States and Canada, in 1731. In his account he calls it the “Grand
Portage”. From this time until the French and Indian War French traders were
pushing constantly farther and farther into the great Northwest, and the
indications are that practically all the traffic passed over the Grand Portage
route. The rapid increase in the trade by way of Grand Portage is indicated by
a memorandum drawn up by General Haldimand in January, 1778. At that time it
amounted annually to forty thousand pounds and employed five hundred persons, who,
"for about a month in the summer season, have a general rendezvous at the
Portage, and for the refreshing and comforting those who are employed in the voyages.
During the fur trade era a woman, named Adaawaiweikwe, held a position of great power and influence, using
her skills as trader and translator to advocate for her people thus being
influential in creating successful trading agreements between the Ojibwe and
the North West Company.
All
during this celebration weekend, Grand Portage is host to hundreds of Ojibwe,
as well as others, gathering to celebrate. The Stockade, reconstructed
buildings and historic encampment were alive with participants in period dress,
at the ready to answer questions and help explain the relationship between
Grand Portage and the fur trade, and the 18th Century life of fur traders,
clerks and native Ojibwe. Historic cooking and baking was done in the Stockade
kitchen, and samples were offered. Workshops were offered for everyone, to help
bring to life the day-to-day lives of the people back then, from moccasin
making and tin-smithing, to basic basket weaving and cornhusk dolls, Scottish
music and haggis* making.
*Haggis
(traditional Scottish fare) is a “poor man’s stew”, containing the discarded
parts of a sheep (from the rich man’s table) including the heart, liver, lungs,
and other internal organs, minced with onion, oats, suet, spices and salt, and
mixed with stock, traditionally encased in the animal’s stomach and simmered
for approximately three hours; typically served with “neeps (turnips) and
tatties (potatoes).” (It was all pretty believable until the instructor brought
out Glad containers to store the left-overs…ha!)
While
waiting for the arrival of French trader Sieur
de la Verendrye, via canoe, we met and chatted with Mitch and Cindy from Texas,
who are seriously thinking of becoming full-time RVers. Cindy is a published
author, one of the most successful self-publishers in the country (www.cindycashman.com); Mitch is a retired airline pilot.
No better time than the present to start, we told them. They traveled on their
Honda Goldwing “Trike.” Pretty cool, but too big to haul on our rig!
We decided to play Bingo at the Grand Portage Fire Hall on
Friday, and meet Agatha, a former classmate, there. Her sister Marie was in
charge. I won one of the games, bringing home an Eva Longoria handbag and an
Avon gift bag full of bath products. That night Mitch and Cindy stopped by our
trailer to chat about full-timing and other stuff.
Saturday we
attended the Rendezvous and PowWow, reveling in the gorgeous weather, and
enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the celebration. We walked the
encampment, talking to re-enactors along the way: the surveyor, tavern keeper/story
teller/whittler and LeVandere; various craftspeople, including a basket
weaver and dream catcher weaver.
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| The tavern keeper/story teller/whittler |
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| The making of a dream catcher |
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| Lighting a pipe using the sun and small magnifying glass |
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| Sieur de la Verendrye |
We
learned how certain idioms developed, including “read between the lines”, “flash
in the pan”, “lock, stock and barrel”, and “go off half-cocked.” In the
interest of space, I won’t include the explanation, but check them out on-line.
Interesting.
We also
wandered through the Fort grounds, and enjoyed watching a game of LaCrosse, and
all that is historically portrayed. This game of LaCrosse isn’t like the game
as we know it today. It’s more of an individual game, where whomever captures
the ball runs to the goal stick. Anyone can tackle you and take away the ball—it’s
more of a free-for-all. Fun to watch, as guys (and one girl) of all ages
played.
Then we
went to the PowWow. The PowWow was held in the PowWow Grounds (arena), about ¼ mile
from the Fort. Although the PowWow didn’t exist 70 years ago, it has
become a celebration of culture and customs. Dancers, who used to parade into
army forts in tribal war regalia, now parade into the PowWow arena in dance
regalia for a grand entry in recognition of their tribal bands. There is no
music, other than the beat of the drum which signifies the heartbeat of the
Ojibwe, and the singing of the singers/drummers.
The drum
is regarded as a living being, thus cared for as if it were an important
personage commanding respect and requiring attention to its physical needs. It
has its own bed, cared for “for the sake of God: appreciate, take care of that
Drum good, because that’s his power. That’s why (we) decorate that Drum, make
it look pretty, clean, because it is from God.”**
**The
Ojibwa Dance Drum: Its History and Construction, By Thomas Vennum
It was so
cool to see tradition and culture being passed on to, and accepted by the
children and teens. It’s taught at the elementary level in the local school,
and reinforced in the homes. Dads and grandpas teach the boys and moms and
grandmas teach the girls. Loved watching them dance together.
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| Princess Sheila, Jody's and Eric's daughter |
Sunday
was another beautiful day. Sunny and temps in the high 60s to low 70s. Before
we headed to the PowWow, we met with neighbors Jody and Eric, whom we met last
year and who were our neighbors then, too. Being Ojibwe from the Leech Lake
Reservation, they explained more of the culture and regalia before they headed
to the PowWow grounds. They also gave us a quart of their newly bottled maple
syrup and three bags of wild rice. (Note that 40 gallons of sap makes just one gallon of
syrup, which is why store-bought maple syrup is so expensive.) http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Maple-Syrup
We
again watched the Grand Entry, but then quickly made our way to the fire station
to play Bingo again. This time I won a gift card from a grocery store in Grand
Marais, an insulated drinking glass, and a fragrance gift pack. Score!
After
dinner we went to friends’ Ron and Kathryn’s trailer to teach them the game of
Pegs and Jokers. They loved it! After
three games, and the clock striking 10 p.m. it was definitely time to put it
away for the night. They made us promise to play it again with them before we
parted company. They’ll be moving to the Grand Marais RV Park this week, so it’ll
be easy to catch up with them until we leave the area the end of August.
This
was a fun-filled week, and now that the weather has improved, we are really enjoying our stay in Grand
Portage. We hope your week was uneventful and relaxing. We’ll catch up with you
next week! Until then stay well, stay happy, and stay connected to us!
Gail
and Dick
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