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!
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| Not all hogs make it to Sturgis! |
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| I'm considering volunteering here next summer - yep! I like it! |
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| Eagles abound. |
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| Youngsters just about ready to fledge. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| Kettle falls was dammed long ago to help move logs across the lakes to the paper mills. |
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| White pelicans, cormorants, gulls, loons and the golden eye duck family . . . |
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