BWCA

As some of you know, we spent some time in the BWCA recently. Here are the details. Kathie and I, along with Jessica, Mike, and Josey, did the trip.

To break up the drive north, we drove to Minneapolis and stayed with Will on the 24th. Alas, Sandy was traveling, so we weren't able to enjoy her company, but Will did a fine job of seeing to it that we had a bed for the night. The next morning, after wishing him farewell, we went to an old favorite--Steamworks--for coffee and waffles with lingonberries. Then we got ourselves back to I35 and headed to Duluth and points further north.

For lunch, we stopped at Betty's Pies, just north of Two Harbors. This place became a favorite of mine years ago.We stayed at the Bluefin Bay Resort that evening. Many of you will remember this as the delightful place we stayed for the several days surrounding Will and Sandy's wedding. One of our motivations for staying here, rather than at the campground at Sawbill was the chance to go up to Grand Marais, including another dining experience, this one being Swen & Ole's. Given that Mike and Jessica are culinary students, we felt they needed the Betty's and Swen & Ole's experiences. Here are some shots near the Bluefin and at Swen & Ole's. (I obviously need to lose more weight and/or improve my posture!) The one of Josey has her fascinated by the waves in Lake Superior as viewed from our second floor window. A gorgeous mountain ash was just outside the window.




We drove to Sawbill bright and early and had breakfast at the outfitters, after which we began to pack up for the trip. We entered the BWCA at Sawbill. The trip we planned was similar to the Cherokee Loop that SCO has listed as one of its suggested routes. We did the trip over four nights and the better part of five days, staying at Cherokee an extra night.













The portages up to Cherokee are not too bad, and I found out that though I'm older and not as strong as I used to be, I can still do this!! It was good to be back out after many years not being able to revisit the wilderness. We found a great camp site at Cherokee, one with a very well-placed, if not perfectly flat rock, situated by the fire and useful as a "table." There was also a nice flat rock for sun bathing, staring at sunsets, and canoe landings.

It was interesting to have Josey along for the trip. She took to the canoe well, and except for having to watch first out of one side and then the other, thus tipping the canoe awkwardly back and forth, she was fine. She took to the portage travels naturally, blazing the way for us and beating us to the end every time. Of course, these busy days left her without her usual quota of naps, so she crashed at the campsite without fail. She always stayed nearby when we were in camp, and she took to sleeping with us in the tent quite well. One evening she sat staring at a brushy area for the longest time. We knew she had spotted some little critter. Eventually, she pounced on and killed a mouse that was unfortunate enough to have attracted this attention.



For entertainment one day, Kathie decided we needed to make boats out of natural materials. The results were interesting to say the least. From left to right in the picture, you see Kathie's entry, mine, Mike's, and Jessica's. Kathie's turned out to be the best sailing vessel and won the race (last seen heading far across Cherokee). I cheated and tried to use a rubber band to make a paddle--I thought this marvelous invention would surely win, but the paddle got caught in the opening and only spun a few times. Good design, bad engineering. Mike probably did the most work, soaking bark to make ties to lash together twigs. His was the Kon Tiki entry, but it did not want to sit upright very well once the sail was attached. Jessica's boat looked like something out of Kevin Costner's Waterworld movie, and it also tended not to want to stay upright.




We left Cherokee on the third day out and traveled to the north end of Kelley Lake. The fourth day, we traveled to Smoke Lake. The final morning, we did our single final portage back to Sawbill, paddled back to SCO, took those much-wanted showers, bought the mandatory new T-shirts and sweatshirts, visited with the Hansons, and then started our drive home. Lunchtime occurred with our arrival in Duluth, so we had a first serious non-freeze-dried meal at Grandma's. It was a great trip.

Dinner Party

One of the significant benefits of having a child doing degree work in the culinary arts is being treated to interesting new dining experiences. Jessica and her boyfriend, Mike, are staying with us for a few days, and they agreed to prepare a meal for us and a few good friends. Both are students at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. They started yesterday with menu planning and continued today with shopping trips. At about 2PM, the preparations began for the actual dinner party, which was planned for about 6:30PM. They were really "on top of their game", because everything came together right on schedule and continued right through until about 10:30PM. It is probable that every pot, pan, appliance, burner, oven, and measuring utensil was in play at some point. There was much chopping, mincing, dicing, mixing, and so forth going on for hours.


Everything was wonderful, starting with sangria, hors d'oeuvres, and conversation in the back yard (on a beautiful summer evening). Then we moved to the table for the rest of the meal. Hors d'oeuvres consisted of proscuitto-wrapped melon and strawberries with balsamic glaze and maple-glazed scallops wrapped in bacon. The appetizer/first course was a goat cheese souffle served over baby greens with a pear balsamic vinagrette. For the entree, we had pan-seared tuna steak with lentil succotash and baby bok choy. Dessert was a lemon burdino (kind of a custard/cake combination). There were several excellent wines to choose from as well of both red and white varieties. Good friends and excellent food--what could be better? I suppose that would be the chance to feel such pride in knowing that your own children made all of this possible. We just sat back and enjoyed the experience.


At the end of the day, after being on their feet for hours and chopping, whipping, and what have you, both of our chefs were rather worn out. Kathie brought out the big gun (a serious vibrating massage machine) to give each of them a bit of relief. As I write this, each of them has now crashed and burned or is on the verge of same. As for us, contented sleep also beckons.

Decker/Drake/Frink Family Reunion

The annual Decker/Drake/Frink reunion was held today at the Community Park in Clarence. Unfortunately, no Drakes were present this year, but the Decker and Frink blood lines were both well represented. We had a wonderful time getting reacquainted, and as always, the food we all brought to share was wonderful. There were all kinds of great-tasting casseroles, German potato salad, home-grown tomatoes, breads, and other yummy things. The desserts were especially tasty this year, including fresh peach pie and a raisin pie to die for. Phyllis gave us orders to go back at least two extra times to refill our plates. I must admit that I complied.

We all agreed that we want to work hard through this next year to set the schedule for next year's reunion and to advise everyone early enough to get even more family to come in 2007. So those of you who are reading this, please watch your mail for details about next year.

Above is a picture of everyone who attended--Uncle Ed and Aunt Irene, Bob and Phyllis Hunwardsen, their daughter Lynn and her family, Kathie and I, and all the children of Bob and Anita Decker and their families. Other miscellaneous photos are attached here as well.

Canadian Pacific Train

Here is my new toy--an O guage Lionel train modeled on the Canadian Pacific SD90MAC engine and a set of CP cars. I found the hobby electric train store to end all hobby electric train stores here in Florida. Got some extra track and switches too. Am beginning to think about layouts, scenery, and other playing. Stand back, Henry! You and Grandpa are going to have some fun now!!!

Ohio and the South

As you may know, we have been traveling by car recently. Our first stop was Troy, Ohio, where we visited Paula, Ron, and Zipper. Zipper is turning out to be a pretty sweet dog. She has her first official haircut now in the style of the breed (Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier). However, she is still very much a puppy and wants to play nearly all the time. We have Josey with us, and she had a bit of a difficult time tolerating all the puppy playfulness. We have not seen so much teeth-baring and snapping impatience ever before. Maybe they will become friends sometime in the future. Zipper is a great friend for Paula and Ron, as you can tell from these photos. We had a great time playing cards, playing Perudo, seeing a couple of movies (including Pirates of the Caribbean, which actually includes a scene of pirates playing Perudo), eating Paula's great cooking, and visiting.


While there, Paula was using her cutting board--the one shaped like a pig that Robbie made for her (with a little help). Aunt Paula commented how much she likes the board and how she always thinks of Robbie when she uses it.

Our two-day trip to Florida from Ohio included a stop overnight near Atlanta. In Acworth, Georgia, just north of Atlanta, we stopped to see Kathie's relatives David and Vi. Their daughter Lori, son-in-law Tim, and children Brennan and Amanda also joined us. David and Vi prepared a wonderful barbecued chicken dinner, and we enjoyed visiting and seeing their home nestled in the Georgia pines.


On the day between Atlanta and Clearwater, Florida, we passed numerous signs for Georgia peaches, which are in season. We were finally unable to resist and pulled off to visit the Lane Packing Company, which offered fresh peaches in about every form imaginable. We sampled the peach cobbler with ice cream and a peach fritter, and of course we had to purchase a quantity of fresh peaches to take to Florida. We have been enjoying them thoroughly, while here in Florida, although I have to admit that I prefer fresh Colorado peaches, which I have frequently been able to buy when in Snowmass in August for professional meetings. Fresh peaches are probably my favorite fruit. Yum!!!!

It has been quite hot and very humid, but then what's new? Maybe more humidity here!! We have been helping Kathie's Mom with some home maintenance projects, usually early before it gets way too warm, and two evenings ago we attended a Florida State League baseball game (class A minor league) between the Tampa Bay Yankees and the Clearwater Threshers. Today, Mom treated us to a most amazing exhibit called Bodies--the Exhibition. (Note, the hot link I put here. Do yourself a favor. Go examine the Bodies web site!) This was simply amazing--an exhibit of at least 16 actual human bodies and many separate body parts, prepared with a special anatomical process, and presented in a very fascinating way to let you marvel and learn. I was blown away and highly recommend a visit to one of the exhibits that is around the country if you are ever in the vicinity. I don't know if they are traveling or not, but you can probably get more information here.

Animal House

We are watching Animal House, and, of course, this leads to lots of reminiscing about dead horses, togas, fraternity initiations, golf balls, mashed potatoes and zits, ladders, and on and on. Among other things, the song "Louie, Louie" brings up lots of memories and lends itself to some serious lyrics research. I found this definitive (?) source on the words to this great tune. I especially urge you to check out the link on this page to "The only REAL lyrics." There will be a quiz.

Whole Again

Let's hope that these all too frequent entries about the garage are over. All fixed again and back to normal, except that this time we need to add some stain. That's OK. With the new deck color, we were planning to restain the house and garage anyway.

Stensvaag Visit

John-Mark and Nancy Stensvaag have been visiting us here at the lake the past few days. We have spent lots of time on our porch eating meals and playing games. Among other things, we finished a picture puzzle, played horseshoes, took a boat ride, played Hand-and-Foot (and several other card games), played Monster Bash (pinball), listened to recordings of Garrison Keilor stories from Lake Wobegon, shared lots of news with each other, and generally enjoyed the peacefulness of this getaway of ours. It is a special privilege and joy to be able to share this place with such good friends. We will be very sorry to see them leave.

P.S. No, my head has not swelled up (any more than usual)--I used my wide-angle lens, and this is the price I pay for not framing the shot well.

Card Flinging

Here is a belated posting, which you can tell by looking at the condition of the deck. This all took place last week prior to power washing, sanding, and staining.

Kathie decided we needed a new game. Late afternoon libations may have had something to do with this. The game is card flinging, and it is actually quite complicated. Some of the rules include: pursed lips is a requirement, one point for each card that successfully reaches the basket, elbows must be kept on the arms of the chair at all times, cards that fall through the cracks to the deck below result in a penalty point and mandatory retrieval by the offending flinger, and tough luck if natural hazards (such as dogs) pass through your line of play unexpectedly.

Decked Out

Here is the deck with new stain on it. You earlier saw the cleaned and sanded version of the deck awaiting this staining step. I estimate we spent close to 24 hours total on the whole process. Eventually, we will do the house, lower deck, and dock steps in the same stain color. The color is probably a bit more red-brown that it appears in these photos. For those of you who remember Lincoln Logs (in their new condition), that is the right color to imagine.


P.S. No further cases of trees falling on the garage to report.

Tree Magnet

Very high winds this morning at 5:30 AM for about an hour. All the trees in the woods were waving like blades of grass. Scary. The tree magnet managed to pull another one in its direction. Unbelievable. Two weeks. Two trees. Two repair jobs. Lots of branches and twigs down all around the house, but no other damage.

Deck Dealings

It's a bit like that Alka Seltzer commercial, "I can't believe we cleaned the whole thing. I can't believe we cleaned the whole thing." But we did! We had been concerned about the condition of our deck for some time. Most of the stain or whatever finish was on it wasn't on it anymore. The contractor admitted at one point that they probably needed to use a different product in the future. Anyway, Kathie discovered that our power washer would lift almost all of it off, so she and I took turns painstakingly cleaning it. Then we went back over the entire thing with an electric sander to get off stubborn spots and to even it all up. This morning, we are going to buy several gallons of stain and then, when it is cool enough, refinish the deck. It should look really good when we are done, and we hope it will last awhile longer. We need to restain the house too soon, and the lower deck, and the dock steps. But, that will have to be another day and another trip up here. We did clean and restain the steps on the woods side of the house during our last visit--not as perfect a job, but we are learning, and they look better!!

Oh, just in case anyone forgot what it looks like from the deck, here is another shot. It has been really, really hot up here and very dry. If we weren't watering the lawn and flowers occasionally, it would surely be completely brown back here.

Happenings at Home2

They don't mess around up here in WI! Two days after the tree fell on the garage, everything is fixed and back to normal. It helps that we know the young man who built the garage in the first place (and who also finished our lower level). He has been terrific for us to work with, both this year and last. We also had a number of trees removed around the garage to significantly reduce the chances of this happening for a third time. (Those of you who remember will know that we had a tree fall on the garage last year too--also in July!)


One small project we completed was to remove part of an old tree stump and then round off the berm that borders part of the lake side of the home. We put our fire ring there too, and so the yard now looks all groomed and tidy. Thought you might like to see some of Kathie's flowers too.



Readers will remember our first installment on the new bird feeder arrangement, those rascally squirrels, and their constant consumption of the bird seed. We reported at that time that we had a new baffle to install, and so here it is in place. So far, it seems to be slowing the squirrels significantly. One was at the feeder this morning, but we think he/she jumped there from one of the neighboring trees. Josey gave him/her a piece of her mind and a serious chasing. Maybe that will suffice while we are here.


Evidently, we are to be blessed with the presence of yellow and black birds wherever we are--Iowa's Goldfinches at home and these wonderful Evening Grosbeaks here in WI. The Evening Grosbeak is quite a bit bigger than the Goldfinch. A pair has been feeding here all day along with two of its young, who would seem to be large enough now to feed themselves (and do) but who also pester Mom and Dad Grosbeak to feed them. It is funny to watch, because the "babies" are almost the same size as the adults.