Rainy Lake VC at Voyageurs

An appointment with a chiropractor in International Falls was the perfect opportunity to visit the Rainy Lake Visitor Center yesterday. Last night it rained like mad again but today promises to be overcast and 70 degrees. Having dinner tonight with Ranger Mary from Big Bend as she is working up here this summer! How fun!

A moose in the visitor center! Much larger than the moose that almost walked into the ranger station at RoMo the day I left the door open for a few moments.

No, not Paul Bunyan but a Voyageur!

Voyageurs National Park via the Spam Museum

Well I am here in Voyageurs National Park (upper Minnesota). First, I want to say a big hello to anyone who is following me surreptitiously! Hi, Nancy & John! Second, please keep my brother Ross in your prayers as he is in the hospital with a neck fracture and very much immobile. His usual joking disposition is being tested severely.

I'm trying to post a few things on Facebook, so I hope I don't repeat myself too much. When I arrived here yesterday I was swarmed by deer flies, but after mid-day they died down a little bit. I got to swim in the lake - ah! Water that was warm enough to swim in! Lovely! As soon as I saw thunderstorms rolling in, though, I was out of the water like a flash before the lightning started. Having just come from Rocky Mountain where 12 people were felled (2 died) in two days AND we had strict lightning safety guidelines at the Gila Cliff Dwellings, I knew not to dally.

I am staying at the Arrowhead Lodge and the family who owns the lodge is from Huntley, IL! Small world. They are so friendly and helpful and Betsy is a GREAT COOK! Last night was stuffed pork chops, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots and banana cake with cream cheese & walnut frosting a la mode. Tonight when offered dinner I declined as I cannot afford to eat like that every night, tempting as it is!

My back has been acting up so I took a boat tour of Kettle Falls today. The weatherman had predicted a 60% chance of thunderstorms today, but thankfully the rain held off. It was gloomy but we stayed dry. Voyageurs is a national park in honor of the French Canadians who were hired by fur trading companies to carry goods and beaver pelts to supply the European lust for hats made of beaver fur. Thankfully, fashion trends changed and the beavers heaved a collective sigh of relief. Unfortunately their population was nearly decimated. But I digress. . . This is a place of great beauty and shallow lakes that get warm enough to swim in!

Not all hogs make it to Sturgis!

I'm considering volunteering here next summer - yep! I like it!

Eagles abound.

Youngsters just about ready to fledge.

The hotel was built back in the logging days on the same spot where Ojibwe (Chippewa) Indians and the voyageurs portaged goods back in the day.

Can you see how crooked the floor is? The park service put a concrete foundation under the rest of the hotel, but restored the bar in the same sunken shape they found it in.

Kettle falls was dammed long ago to help move logs across the lakes to the paper mills.

White pelicans, cormorants, gulls, loons and the golden eye duck family . . .

Farewell to Romo!

I'm spending tonight at the New Frontier Campground in Presho, SD. Zuni and I drove about 650 miles today and have about 200 more to Sioux Falls. I woke up at 4:20 this morning and we were officially on the road at 5:50. It was windy and some of the roads (I-76 through eastern Colorado & US Hwy 83 north through Nebraska to about halfway) were AWFUL! So bumpy they nearly rattled the rig to pieces! But I enjoyed the trip anyway.

Central Nebraska has the most interesting hilly terrain. I kept imagining how the Indians would hide behind the array of hills ready to ambush the settlers pressing westward. (Must have read too many cowboy and Indian books as a kid?)

As I left RoMo, elk crossed the road in front of me with total disregard of the 30,000 pound rig bearing down on them. As we advanced through Nebraska then South Dakota I was treated to Pronghorn and pheasants galore.

The last few days at RoMo were very busy and filled with storms that marched through daily. In the first deaths in the park since 2000, last Friday 8 people were felled by one lightning strike and one of them died on the Ute Trail. Saturday 4 more people were felled and one person from their party died from the lightning strike at Rainbow Curve. The storms were predicted today as well and the volunteer potluck scheduled for tonight was cancelled.

I heard from my boss, Jen, that the excitement continued when a lady in labor showed up at the Grand Lake Entrance station in labor and insisted on crossing to the Estes Park side. Her contractions were 4 minutes apart and her water had broken but they made it across with an escort from LE. No word on whether she had a boy or a girl! People do some nutty things, huh?

My mind is finally quieting down a bit, but this evening as I relax and blog a little I keep hallucinating the sound of the radio from RoMo! Jep and Renae will certainly empathize with that! Lastly, here are some photos from Jen. By the way, I have "camera envy". Jen has the next model "up" from mine and hers takes THE MOST AMAZING CLOSE-UPS!!

Here are some of her favorites of our Bear Lake Hike on June 26th:

LL

On Wednesday, July 9 Jen, friend Michael (who worked fee collection last year) and I hiked 5 miles up to the Shadow Mountain Lookout tower. It has not been used since 1968 but is still a magnificent structure. It rained like mad that night long after we had returned from the hike. We had a great time and totally avoided the storms.

One last image - the geraniums live!

The End! Sweet dreams!