Family Get-togethers

Time to get caught up on my postings! About a week ago, after we finally returned from one of our summer visits to the lake, we got together with Rob's family for breakfast. Since we had missed celebrating Penny's birthday on the actual day-of, we used this occasion for that purpose as well. Here are all of Rob's girls with Eleanor giving Penny a hand with the gift opening.

The next day, Kathie and I headed west on our way to see Travis in Colorado. Rather than suffer through a single twelve-hour day of driving, Kathie suggested that we stop in Omaha for one night on the way. Omaha is really a fun town. There are lots of things to see and do there and in near-by Council Bluffs. Sometime we want to spend a longer weekend there, but at least this time we enjoyed seeing a few things, having a terrific steak dinner, and having some fun at a casino (although fun does not equal making any money!).

One of the things I have always glanced at as we drove west in the past was the pair of historic Union Pacific engines on display on a hillside just as you cross the Missouri River and enter Omaha. This time, we were able to stop and see them up close. One is this massive 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" steam engine. The numbers describe the number of wheels in each set from front to back, and the two eights mean that this brute has 16 drive wheels. The engine weighs about 1.25 million pounds. Its history is an interesting one. The task of moving it to this location for viewing is an interesting final story in its life. There is an interesting sequence of still images at this YouTube location if you are interested in seeing how they got it up onto this hill.

The other engine is a diesel originally manufactured by General Motors' Electromotive Division (EMD). It is officially an EMD DDA40X rated at 6600 horse power. These engines were nicknamed "Centennial." They remain the most powerful single-unit diesels ever built. Kathie's dad worked for EMD as a metallurgist, and so it was with some extra sentiment that she spotted the EMD logo on the engine.

A day later, we arrived in Colorado. Jessica and Maia came to enjoy the week with us too. We had a picnic in a city park one day, and Maia enjoyed her new orange ball.

Maia really, really likes fruit!

We had not been in Colorado to see Travis in quite some time, though we had been together several times elsewhere. We had lots of fun playing golf, miniature golf, swimming, and, of course, just visiting. Oh, and we had lots of great meals and some root-beer floats! (And somehow, I managed not to gain a single pound!)

Not My Best Day

Not even 3,000 miles logged on my new pickup yet, and a deer decided to blast out of the woods and collide with my left front corner this morning while I was driving our garbage and recyclables to the local drop-off point. The nice couple that came up behind me stopped and said they had seen it all. They agreed there was nothing I could have done to avoid this and helped me pick up all the shards off the road. It is still drivable, although the front seat belts are now locked up and the air bag (which didn't deploy) requires at least a reset (the truck is complaining about its condition). We filed our insurance claim and will get the truck back home for repairs this coming Monday.

It was interesting to experience the OnStar service. They called me right away on the pickup and said they had detected a collision and problem. They knew right where I was located and were very insistent about making sure I was OK—must have asked me five times if I needed medical attention or assistance. I suppose they have to make sure someone is not in shock and providing incorrect responses. I also got an email from them detailing some messages from the pickup about the airbag needing attention.

In the grand scheme of things, this is not something about which to be very concerned. Other folks have lots more pressing issues to deal with. However, I'm feeling pretty sad about this nice new truck, which I was attempting to give extra care and attention to keep it nice as well as all the inconvenience these kinds of things create.

Railroading in WI

(It is OK if you decide, after reading this, that the writer of these stories has too much free time on his hands!)

I decided to relocate my Lionel model trains to the lake this year. There are two reasons. One is that it gives me something interesting to do when it is raining or when we are not fishing or otherwise having fun. Second, we have a nice big room in the lower level that lends itself to creating a really nice layout, though I've promised not to leave it assembled indefinitely. Anyway, I finally got around to setting it up, and so I thought I'd share a couple of videos with you.

The first video shows the basic layout with one of the trains operating. I have lots of work yet to do with wiring and creating scenery, and I want to make some adjustments to the table shape, but you can get the general idea. I've also begun to play with my new computer-based controls, which are quite flexible and which allow me to operate multiple trains and other features simultaneously.

The second video is intended especially for my grandkids. I mounted my iPhone on the front of one of my engines, set it to take a video, and then ran it around the track. You'll get the idea when you watch it.

Outing with Friends

Friends and neighbors invited us for a leisurely cruise in their pontoon boat yesterday afternoon.

It was an especially comfortable day and quite pretty on the lake. One of our destinations was R&R Bayview Lodge, where we enjoyed dinner. Next we motored over to a different resort for ice cream. I'm waaaaay off my diet with these outings and need to work in a few more bicycle rides soon!

D&R Visit the Lake

Dick and Rina visited us this past week. We rented a pontoon boat one day and spent nearly all of our time exploring the west side of the flowage, which is a part of the lake we don't often frequent. Along with the usual stimulating conversation and light-heartedness, we fished and picnicked.

Daisy went along with us, and Mom, the official dog lady, spent a fair amount of her time entertaining Daisy.

One morning, Dick and I hired a local guide to teach us a thing or two about muskie fishing. For those of you who may not know, a muskie can be quite large—most of the ones caught here range from 35" to 55", and the world record is something like 68" and 69 pounds. People around here believe there is a muskie in the flowage that could still break this record.

Both Dick and I have had equipment for muskie fishing for some time and have spent hours trying for one of these big fish, but there was a lot we didn't know about choosing areas in which to fish, choice of baits, presentation methods of baits, landing procedures, and lots more. Although we didn't catch one, the outing was well worth the time and cost. The muskie is often referred to as "the fish of a 1000 casts", so one has to be resigned to spending lots of time and casting lots of baits in order to experience the thrill of those 15 minutes when one actually strikes. Our guide told us that there are estimated to be about 7,000 muskies in our lake, so I'm hopeful that one day I'll actually experience one first hand. It can be tiring casting over and over again, because the baits are quite heavy (most are about 10" long and weigh quite a lot).

I must confess that I did become enthused about having a longer rod, so for fun one day, we drove to Park Falls, the home of the St. Croix Fishing Rod Company, and shopped their company store for bargains. I got a slightly blemished rod for about two-thirds the suggested retail price. Seeing some of the manufacturing process was also fun.

Other things we did included visiting some other good friends of Dick and Rina who happen to live on another lake not far from us. We had a lovely dinner and evening with them. However, most of our time was spent fishing. Dick loves to fish—just ask him. He really loves to go fishing. Here we are parked near an island where we picnicked on one of our outings.

Below are some of the success stories. Everyone caught fish at one time or another, but we had the greatest success on the river northeast of our cabin. The smallmouth bass were hungry and plentiful.

Dick loves most of all to present artificial baits and to have a fish blast at it on the surface. He prefers this to "fishing with meat", as he puts it, which involves using worms or minnows or leeches. On this trip, he was more than satisfied with the outcomes, which included this 17" beauty.

Farmstead Creamery and Cafe

When riding my bicycle last June, I passed a sign along the road that advertised a future opening of a place called the Farmstead Creamery and Cafe. Upon our return to the lake this July, we discovered that the establishment was now open. Only about 10 miles from us, the cafe is located out in the country quite away from any other businesses and off the beaten path. (I hope people find them!)

A few days ago, on our way home from a shopping trip, we decided to try them out for lunch. The owners are quite involved in the movement for locally grown, sustainable, organic foods. Their web site is here, and I located an interesting article about them here. I'm sure you will enjoy reading more about them.

Kathie, Mother and I enjoyed our lunch there. Mom had a couscous and chicken salad. Kathie had a unique grilled cheese type of sandwich. I had a sausage and cheddar quiche. Both Kathie and I had an interesting potato salad on the side. We took home some other goodies too—muffins, a cookie, and a comb of honey. The cafe offers fresh dairy products, meats, and handmade art and crafts as well.

If you are up this way sometime, you might enjoy going there with us.

Gracie

Here is Gracie, the garter snake who lives in Kathie's flower garden here at the lake. She has gotten to be a good-sized girl and sometimes has young-uns nearby. We like having her around, but she does startle us sometimes.

Birthday Cruise in the Apostle Islands

Yesterday was Kathie's mother's birthday, and we decided to celebrate by taking her on a 3-1/2 hour cruise of the Apostle Islands. The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (click here for the National Park Service web site) is a group of islands in the southeast region of Lake Superior near Bayfield, Wisconsin and only about 85 miles east of Duluth, Minnesota. There are 21 islands and 12 miles of mainland shore that make up the entire natural resource. There are actually 22 islands, but one, Madeline Island (biggest and a very popular tourism area), is not part of the National Lakeshore. Camping and hiking on the islands is a popular activity in this region, and all forms of water sports, especially fishing, sailing, kayaking, and canoeing, are available. The lake and the islands make for a beautiful setting.

The cruise ship operates daily out of Bayfield during the spring-to-fall tourism season. The Island Princess can accommodate 149 passengers. You can read about the Apostle Islands Cruises company here, if you like.

Here are Kathie and the birthday girl shortly after we boarded the ship.

Bayfield is a small, pretty community located on the east side of the peninsula that juts up into Lake Superior just east of Duluth. Of course, Bayfield is very dependent on tourism based on the islands and the lake. There appear to be some nice restaurants and accommodations there, though we didn't stay. Our cabin is only about two hours from Bayfield.

The islands are composed of brownstone, which has been quarried from some of the islands in decades gone by. In fact, we saw some huge, abandoned, rectangular blocks of stone still lying near the shore of one island. At the points of many of the islands are free standing pillars of rock, some of which have or had natural bridges to the island. The islands were once also clear cut for their woods, including basswood, hardwoods, and pines. Now that the set of islands is in the National Park System, they are, of course, protected, and new growth has taken over.

Sailing is very popular in and around the islands. Now on my "bucket list" is the wish to go back to Bayfield sometime and sign up for a several hour sailing excursion. I have been sailing once (in New Zealand!) and loved it.

Wind and water have carved interesting features into all of the island shorelines, including lots of caves. Kayakers like to go into these caves, and our ship captain said that when he was aware of their presence, he had to slow so that the ship's wake wouldn't suddenly slam a kayak into the roof or wall of a cave.

There are only a few sandy beaches. Most consist of the brownstone (I think this must be granite and sandstone) that you can sometimes find as the construction material for grand old buildings in cities in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Click here for one such building in Washburn, Wisconsin (just south of Bayfield). Seriously! Go look! I'll wait until you get back here! You'll be glad you peeked at the building.

There are several navigation lights around the Apostle Islands. Here are two that we saw during our cruise. If you go to the respective islands, NPS Rangers will give you tours. There are other areas that can be toured as well, including old commercial fishing camps.

Cormorants now populate the region along with common loons, gulls, and other water fowl. The cormorants are evidently not a native species. Kathie and I have cruised on several of our planet's oceans and seas, as you know, so we were frequently struck by the thought that this huge body of water is fresh water. Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake in the world by surface area.

We very much enjoyed this outing and can now check this on our list of things to do and places to see in this northern region of Wisconsin with which we are becoming more and more familiar.

Flowers

For me, it can be difficult not to run for a camera when I see pretty flowers. They make such tempting subjects. We are in Wisconsin again, and I had thought that with the lack of rain, our flower beds would be suffering. Though it is dry, quite the opposite of suffering is true. The several different colors of petunias I planted have created an amazing display, and the other plants I added in past years are contributing their features as well. Just thought you might like to see them. We are waiting for a couple of potentially rainy days to pass and then we will try to get the rest of the house and deck staining finished up. In the meanwhile, I cleaned out the hot tub and put in a batch of fresh water. Then, this afternoon, I worked on installation of a new bow-mounted electric trolling motor on our boat. This one has lots of gee-whiz GPS and other electronics—boys and their toys, you know!

Still Cycling

We have been back in Iowa for a short while, and I've been cycling here too. The cycling I did in WI got me going and showed me that I can still do this after all these years, hills and all! When I started, I thought that my age would mean I'd have trouble on hills, but I'm stronger and have more endurance than I thought. I have yet to walk up any hill I've tried so far. Some stubbornness helps—a personal quality that runs deep in my genetic structure. A friend said he wondered if the small bicycle seats would give me grief, but I've never had a problem with that and still don't.

On Sunday, I tried a 19 mile loop that I used to love riding—the one that goes out Newport Road, through the Sugar Bottom area, across Mahaffey Bridge, into North Liberty, and then back home. Actually, you can stretch this to a longer ride by adding a segment into and back out of Iowa City, if you want. Anyway, there are some difficult hills on the Sugar Bottom stretch, but I did it!

This all feels so good, and I look forward eagerly to each ride. My bike and my attire look nice, but I'm not sure about those old-looking legs!

Bears and Friends

Kathie got a call this morning from our neighbors. This big fella had wandered into their back yard, where the routinely feed a variety of wild critters and birds.

He quietly reclined near a pile of shelled corn and had his fill before taking off.

On a different note, we were invited by a sorority sister of Kathie's to visit them at their cabin last Friday evening. Paul and Betty live quite close to us up here in Wisconsin. We had a great time touring their lake while partaking of refreshments. Then we all went to a nearby bar for pizza, which was very, very good. Nice to know of another good pizza place close to us!

Betty and Kathie are involved in arranging a reunion for their sorority this coming September. Judging by how much these two enjoy getting back together, the prospects for a large group (27 at last count with more to come) to have fun over a Hawkeye football weekend are very good.

Staining the Cabin

Seems like we just did this, but it has been five years already! We are staining our cabin again; the garage was finished up last week. I had to take the shutters down, and I discovered three bats living behind three different ones of them. They had left a bit of a mess too that needed some scraping and the attention of the power washer. Several years ago, I put up two bat houses on the west side of the garage, so I had to temporarily disturb them there as well. Maybe a dozen bats flew away in disoriented fashion when I took those houses down. I think they are back safely at rest again though, now that the houses are back in place. I love having bats around, since they eat lots of mosquitoes and deer flies, but I prefer to have them in a bat house and not behind a shutter. So, I'm thinking of putting up an additional bat house on a tall pole somewhere close to the top of our dock steps. Watching them in the evening would be fun.

In the case of the cabin, we started by power washing most all of it to get dirt, bugs, and old loose stain off. With so much rain recently, we have had to allow for plenty of drying time, but yesterday we were able to stain the upper level of the lake side and all of the screened porch end of the cabin. Today, I hope we can finish the woods side of the cabin and maybe the lower level on the lake side. I'll need to borrow an extension ladder to finish the west end, since that is where the tallest peak of the roof is located.

Where the sun and weather have beaten hardest on the house, the stain is really being soaked up. Maybe we should have done this a couple years ago. I'll keep closer tabs in the future. Finally, I'll repair and restain the shutters, and then they can go back up.

Slugs

Slugs! Or, as my kids would probably say, when in a silly mood, shlugs! We don't see these guys often, but with all the rain we have had up here, they do appear on our stepping stones from time to time. Often, they don't seem to be in enough of a hurry, and they end up a dried blob about half way across. They aren't as big either as the ones I used to see regularly on a rainy day in California when I lived there in 1979 and 1981, but they are interesting.

Speaking of rain, we have had plenty, including about 4" yesterday. I'm having to pay lots of attention to keeping the boat pumped out or drained of water. The lake is unusually high, and the first three feet or so of our dock (which goes slightly uphill from the shore to the main dock level) is under water. I've not seen that before! You may have read too about the flash floods in Duluth, which is only about an hour and a half from here, where the zoo flooded and a number of their animals were drowned or escaped temporarily. It evidently hit there at 3AM, and the staff didn't have enough advance warning to save them. 

Old Truck, New Truck

Here is my Chevrolet Colorado when it was brand new back in very early 2006. It has been a wonderful pickup. It was an extended cab model, but the passenger space was a little tight.

However, out of no special need and more out of a desire just to treat myself, I today took possession of this new Chevrolet Silverado pickup that I bought up here in Wisconsin. (You have to love a pickup with a name like that! Silverado! Cowboys! Also the title of a great, old-fashioned, cowboy-western movie.) Like the Colorado, it has a lined bed and a roll-on bed cover. Unlike the Colorado, it is bigger, blue, and is a crew cab model (full-size passenger rear area at the expense of about 1/2 foot of bed length). This gives us lots more flexibility for travel to/from the lake with passengers, dogs, and cargo. It has lots of bells and whistles, and because I had the good sense to marry a woman who is the daughter of a former General Motors employee, I got an extra set of employee discounts on the price. The local dealer here in Hayward (Don Johnson Motors) was great to work with and gave me a good deal on my trade-in of the Colorado. I highly recommend them!

Here I am looking happy with my new blue pickup. Check out those special wheels, which the dealer had installed as an after-market option. I really like them!

Oh, about the Colorado...there is a highly likely possibility that Will and Sandy will buy the Colorado. That is cool, because then I can visit my old pickup from time to time. I suspect all of us have experienced affection for the various vehicles we have owned over time.

As an example, and even though I've posted this before, here I am with my very first vehicle ever—a 1963 Mercury Meteor. I think this was taken in 1965, when I was a senior at the U of I. Classy, huh? That was a great car. I wonder where it is now? Maybe it is rusting away somewhere or has been crushed and melted and is now some of the steel in my new Silverado! Anything is possible!

Dogs and Cycling

Happy Birthday to Josey! She is 14 years old today. Frankly, she is showing it, and her behavior is sometimes a little strange. Kathie thinks she exhibits dementia sometimes, because she can be quite anxious, hides, refuses to go on walks with us (very unusual), and has done other things I won't mention here. Nevertheless, the old girl has been the most nearly perfect dog I have ever known, and this is coming from someone who is not a big dog lover. Here she is surveying the situation down on the dock.

Meanwhile, Gomer (or I should say Tighe) spends time whenever possible leaping into the lake and thrashing about. Then he comes to the house all wet and seems to think it is OK to try drying off by going around the sofa and rubbing against it. Sigh....

On another topic, some of you may know that I've been working hard at losing weight since early last November. I've lost 30 pounds and am quite close to my goal weight. My doctor was very happy with me at my last physical. Part of my effort has been regular exercise. Through the winter, back in Iowa, I spent 40 minutes each day on my treadmill. Here at the lake, I'm trying to get back into cycling, which you may know I used to do avidly in the 1980s and early 1990s. I'm really enjoying my rides so far. I started slow with six mile loops, but now I've worked up to rides of 20 miles and more—I completed a 21 mile ride this morning, for example. It feels great, and there are so many pretty places to ride. I'm finding new routes day by day. Kathie is riding with me sometimes too and has already done some of the six mile rides. She took these two shots of me this morning as I got myself ready to go.

This dumb T-shirt actually makes it look like I've gained weight! You will have to trust me when I say that I've actually lost quite a bit of weight. The jury is out yet as to whether or not I'll be able to keep it off, but so far so good!

Family Art

You may recall that we had a big family gathering here recently. Rob's family spent an extra night with us, and after everyone else had left, Eleanor must have been missing all her cousins, aunts and uncles. So, she created this drawing of the entire gathering, and we now have it proudly displayed where nearly all homes keep their most important works of art—on the refrigerator.

I know that I am at the lower left, with Nana (or Grandma Kathie) just to my right. Then Eleanor shows her pop, mom, Penny and herself, all at the lower right. Above them are the various Herr clan members and the Minneapolis contingent plus three dogs. You can all figure out for yourselves who is who. I don't think we want to get into the importance of various family members based on location on the drawing or relative or comparative sizes. Love and inclusiveness is what counts here!