Grand Portage – August 26-September 1

Boozhoo! ("Hello" in Ojibwe--good thing translation is available on the Internet!)

Bittersweet. Yup, that’s the word. This is our last week in Grand Portage for the summer—for this summer, at least. What a wonderful 2 months it has been! We've met up with friends from last year, and made new friends this year. If you've been following our blog this summer, you've gone with us to Canada, to the Grand Portage Rendezvous, to the PowWow, and attended the fish boil hosted by our neighbors Todd and Candy, just to name a few of the fun times we've had.

We had lots of sunshine this week, as well as clouds and fog—which is pretty typical for this time of year, especially with the shift in weather patterns we've all experienced, no matter what part of the country you live in.

All week the temperatures ranged from the low 60s in the early morning to the mid- to high-70s by late afternoon. There were thunder storms Thursday afternoon and again Saturday night. (And, I mean THUNDER STORMS!!)

This week on Tuesday we met Guy and Marge from Golden Valley, Minnesota, camping in a Coleman pop-up camper. They were attempting to visit as many State Parks as possible in 1 week. We also met Ken and Joyce from Fergus Falls, Minnesota, with a pull-behind Kodiak travel trailer, who came to Grand Portage to take a day trip to Isle Royal on Wednesday.

Wednesday dawned bright and sunny, with temps near 70 degrees by 7:30 a.m. There was a slight breeze off the lake, which kept us very comfortable. We decided to have lunch at the casino bar:  2 tacos with rice for $3. YUM! I also took advantage of the penny slots for a while—didn’t win, but it kept me busy for a couple of hours… We met up with George and Joyce (and their dog Molly) from Thunder Bay, whom we met in Grand Portage last year. Was fun to catch up with them. They plan to be at the Cloquet RV Park within the next week or so, so we’ll probably drive down to see them again.

I have to confess that Dick has been very good about riding his bicycle around the park; he’s ridden almost every day, while I read or knit. Guess I really should be more motivated…

Wednesday we met Mike and Chris from Grand Marais, who were in a pop-up camper parked next to us. They are familiar with my family, at least those still living in Grand Marais. Chris used to fish with my 4^th cousin’s dad (Tom Eckel) on Lake Superior a long time ago, but now manages the Angry Trout Café in Grand Marais. (I can’t go anywhere without meeting someone who knows, or knows of, my family…)

The Angry Trout is a small indoor/outdoor café that has been “cobbled” together from an old fishing shanty and clings to the edge of the Grand Marais Harbor. They offer a menu based on the bounty of Lake Superior and the surrounding area, including locally grown produce, hand-harvested wild rice, and of course, their specialty: fresh fish from Lake Superior. If you’re ever in Grand Marais, it’s worth a stop. http://www.angrytroutcafe.com/

The Angry Trout

That afternoon we drove into Grand Marais to catch up on emails, peruse the library, and visit the Blue Moose which offers fine American crafts (only), including a garden center, trees, an art gallery featuring local artists, a gift shop, and local antiques. Owned by our good friend Bill, we needed to stop in to stay “hie and farewell” before we left town on Sunday. (Bill is a fabulous musician, and plays at local venues as well as at Cornerstone Community Church where I’m occasionally pressed into service to play the keyboard.)

The Blue Moose

Bill in the Gift Shop

Later we met up with our friends Ron and Kathryn at their 5^th wheel, for dinner of hamburgers, potato salad, melon, and ice cream drumsticks. Oh, and I must say we played another 3 games of Pegs and Jokers, but alas, Kathryn and I won only 2 of the 3 games. We’re blaming it on the way the cards were shuffled, but hey, who knows…

Ron's and Kathryn's 5th wheel. They have a slide
within a slide in their bedroom. Snazzy!

Chef Ron

Kathryn and me before dinner.

Wednesday we also received word that Dick's 92-year old Uncle Jack passed away. He hadn't been well for a few years, and he will be missed. Although he and Aunt Marti lived in upstate New York, we’d see them when all of us would gather in Daytona Beach, Florida on vacation.

We had a wonderful outing on Thursday, when we gathered with ladies from the Community Center to take a bus and shopping trip to Thunder Bay for the day. Other than Ben the driver, Dick was the only male among us—he loved it! The hour-long trip from Grand Portage had us chatting and laughing, and exchanging stories. We hit WalMart, the Canadian Super Store, and the Bulk Store (which we couldn’t believe!), interspersed with lunch at the China Buffet. The Bulk Store offered everything from nuts and candy to flours, varieties of rice, coffee, dried fruit, cereal—you name it, they probably carried it! We bought peanuts, chocolate and black licorice.

The Grand Portage bus we took to Thunder Bay, CA.

Gi Chi Oni Ga Ming means "The Great Carrying Place"

Our new-found friends from Grand Portage, Bernice and Ellen, were along on the ride. Turns out that Bernice went to school with my uncle David, and Ellen’s husband Ernie used to fix our old black-and-white TV when we lived in Grand Marais. They are such dear ladies, and we enjoyed getting to know them over the summer.

Ellen (left) and Bernice on the bus to Thunder Bay.

Friday was our last lunch with the gang at the Community Center: Lake Superior herring! Cedar the chef does such a great job! YUM! We've met so many wonderful folks there, all from the Grand Portage community. We’re already looking forward to seeing them again next year.

Saturday we decided to clean our trailer, in preparation for the next road trip all the way to Cloquet, a mere 170 miles away. We vacuumed, dusted, washed floors—sounds like we did a lot, but in such a small confined space it was all done within about 45 minutes…

As we were just finishing up, we were surprised to see that Ron and Kathryn pulled in with their 5^th wheel, and parked right next to us. There was no room for them in the Grand Marais RV Park (apparently you’re only allowed a 2-week stay), so they trekked the 34 miles up to Grand Portage. What a wonderful sight! We've only known them for a few short weeks, but already we have become so close…kindred spirits… After they got settled, we had fresh lake trout dinners at the Lodge, followed by more rousing games of Pegs and Jokers. Again, and alas, Kathryn and I lost all 3 of the games we played…was it to blame on the card shuffling? We’ll never know… (I think we’re still up by 2 games for the series, though.)

Ron's and Kathryn's site in Grand Portage

Kathryn and  Ron relaxing

Kathryn, holding Jiggers, and Ron

Saturday night it rained—with lots of thunder and lightning. However, by mid-morning on Sunday it had cleared out but remained cool. We packed up the remaining gear, hitched up the truck to the trailer and after saying farewells to our good friend Dick (manager of the park) and Al from Rochester, Minnesota (who kept us supplied with fresh sweet corn), we hit the road, heading for Cloquet and my mom’s place. (Oh—Dick had left the front windows of the truck open overnight so the driver’s seat and passenger’s seat and all surrounding areas were soaked from the rain. Soggy, soggy, soggy…)

We left Grand Portage about 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, arriving at Mom’s about 2:30. We experienced very little traffic and had clear sailing all the way. Already Grand Portage seems a distant past. Sad. However, there is next year. Both Dick and Al said they’d most likely see us in Bay View RV Resort in Rockport, Texas after the first of the year. Who-hoo!

Although the Ojibwe don’t have words for “good-bye” they do use the phrase giga-waabamin, which in English means "I will see you" (you-will-see-I). We leave you with that phrase, as well.

Stay well, stay happy. We’d love to hear from you!

Hugs,

Dick and Gail