Gunflint Trail Day 6
July 20, 2018. Oh what a sad day to have to leave the sort of wilderness. No more daily swims in the lake and evening fishing. I felt refreshed and didn't get that tense feeling until I got home again.
Work up early as usual but stayed in bed. It was a cloudy day on the lake so a bit easier to not wake up fully. We had planned on getting out around 9:30 and we did. I had packed up quite bit the night before and when we returned from fishing Peggy drove down to my car so we could leave all my fishing equipment, paraphernalia, and accouterments at the car.
Had our breakfasts and started cleaning out the kitchen. We had so much food. Too much food. We didn't eat half of what we brought. Crackers, cheese, salami, bread, fruit, grain salad, cookies, pretzels, pickles, coffee, tea, and drinks. That's really all we needed. We didn't finish: the collards and potato stew, quinoa salad, salsas, pickles (well, I did bring a lot of pickles), bread, onion rolls. We didn't even get to the tomato chutney, bratwursts and the bottle of red wine. The 2 Gingers Whiskey is almost gone. Still lots of chips.
Okay, packed up. Drove out at 9:15. Note that time. Drove to Iron Lake to look around on my way out. Campground didn't look all that enticing because it was brushy and I think buggy in the bug season and so brushy that you can't see anything. When I got to Grand Marais I made that decision to go 18 more miles up the road and see if the trapper shop was open. It WAS!!! And trapper guy was in there. He is about 6'5" tall, white haired, bearded, and a bear of a guy kind of guy. He liked my handshake; said it was a good one. We talked a while and I told him I come by often and last time I was there in September the young woman with the baby was working. We talked about trapping, furs, and how it's a lost art and all the old trapper characters are getting old and retiring. I told him about our fishing trip and he wanted to know if I was Swedish or Scandinavian. I said no. He said the Scandinavian women were good fisherwomen. He suggested some lakes up the Arrowhead Trail and asked if I ice-fished. I told him no, but I used a float tube on the lakes up here. I bought two baskets. One from the woman who was/is a friend of Beth's who works at the trapper shop too. She has Parkinson's and makes the baskets he sells there. I bought a Moose basket made at Leech Lake and it's birch with ash root and all natural materials. He also told me that getting some of the baskets and birch from the reservations is getting hard too because those people are getting old. Then we talked about herring; he had just bought 20 lbs for $18. Herring. . . Said my goodbye and I'll see you again and head still up the road.
I stopped at the Hovland cafe/liquor store/bakery and got coffee and a roll. It's still for sale and still the same woman was there. All things about that place is appealing and clean the menu reads as tasty. The bakery products have always been good. Maybe it's just too far up the road from GM?
So, drove back down the road and stopped at Judge CR Magney to geocache.
Drove to outside of GM to geocache. Met a man carrying a green tupperware and assumed he was berry picking but he was rock picking. We chatted of course. He is an artist from west central MN who does metal and rock and ag implement sculptures, and some painting and drawing. He was an art teacher who them moved to Steamboat to be a ski bum for 20 years then came back and bought a 700 sq ft house near Alex. While in Steamboat he learned carpentry finishing and worked on the house and made a living. Somewhere along the time he met his wife and they've been married for 10 years. Now he has grandkids without all the work of having children first (because she had children).
Went to GM. Packed with people. I looked at people and there weren't any like me -- 62 yo women wandering around by themselves. All were families, couples and groups of millenials. I had to park at the Coast Guard Station it was so busy in GM. I bought a pair of knee highs as I think the knee high and skirt ensemble might be a good one for cooler days. Love the skirt for hiking around but I was chilly. Skirt and boots is dorky so might as well add the knee highs. Went to get some smoked fish as I figured I'd never get to Two Harbors in time to get fish. The Dockside fish place might now be a Morey's Fish place? Had a herring basket as the herring was fresh. Walked back to the car found one geocache and not another out on the point.
Stopped at Cascade SP to geocache.
Stopped at Tettegouche to geocache. While at Tettegouche, I talked to the ranger man. Said I liked the geocache and we had a meander convo about that, then later decided he might be the man who decides the art. He is. He is Kurt Mead. Naturalist at Tettegouche State Park. Also the curator of the art here. He has a degree in art and biology but it’s been a naturalist for a long time and now after being at Tettegouche starting four years ago it all feels natural to him to mix the art and nature. The criteria of the art to display is that it reflects the environment. No English gardens, no pet portraits (he actually said that), no flower arrangements. And that all the locals come to the park around the first week of every month to see what is new. He also said that there are not that many places for local artists to display their work besides the galleries up in GM but that this building can be another place to show a lot of people your work.
Drove to Temperance River to geocache.
Drove to Duluth to have an ice cream cone at the Portland gas station. Drove home. Finished "An American Marriage" and started "Before We Were Yours."
Got home, unpacked, did laundry, had a cocktail, talked to Bill briefly; he showed some interest in my week. His week was the same as normal except that he had dinner with Don Gravon one night. Same dishes in the dishwasher. Good reminder for me that I don't have to think he would want me to leave him food because he doesn't eat anything in the house and if he does it's toast, peanut butter, apples, carrots, rice, broccoli, popcorn, scotch, and Buster bars.
Will do a separate post on my packing list yes and no's.
Work up early as usual but stayed in bed. It was a cloudy day on the lake so a bit easier to not wake up fully. We had planned on getting out around 9:30 and we did. I had packed up quite bit the night before and when we returned from fishing Peggy drove down to my car so we could leave all my fishing equipment, paraphernalia, and accouterments at the car.
Had our breakfasts and started cleaning out the kitchen. We had so much food. Too much food. We didn't eat half of what we brought. Crackers, cheese, salami, bread, fruit, grain salad, cookies, pretzels, pickles, coffee, tea, and drinks. That's really all we needed. We didn't finish: the collards and potato stew, quinoa salad, salsas, pickles (well, I did bring a lot of pickles), bread, onion rolls. We didn't even get to the tomato chutney, bratwursts and the bottle of red wine. The 2 Gingers Whiskey is almost gone. Still lots of chips.
I stopped at the Hovland cafe/liquor store/bakery and got coffee and a roll. It's still for sale and still the same woman was there. All things about that place is appealing and clean the menu reads as tasty. The bakery products have always been good. Maybe it's just too far up the road from GM?
So, drove back down the road and stopped at Judge CR Magney to geocache.
Drove to outside of GM to geocache. Met a man carrying a green tupperware and assumed he was berry picking but he was rock picking. We chatted of course. He is an artist from west central MN who does metal and rock and ag implement sculptures, and some painting and drawing. He was an art teacher who them moved to Steamboat to be a ski bum for 20 years then came back and bought a 700 sq ft house near Alex. While in Steamboat he learned carpentry finishing and worked on the house and made a living. Somewhere along the time he met his wife and they've been married for 10 years. Now he has grandkids without all the work of having children first (because she had children).
Stopped at Cascade SP to geocache.
Stopped at Tettegouche to geocache. While at Tettegouche, I talked to the ranger man. Said I liked the geocache and we had a meander convo about that, then later decided he might be the man who decides the art. He is. He is Kurt Mead. Naturalist at Tettegouche State Park. Also the curator of the art here. He has a degree in art and biology but it’s been a naturalist for a long time and now after being at Tettegouche starting four years ago it all feels natural to him to mix the art and nature. The criteria of the art to display is that it reflects the environment. No English gardens, no pet portraits (he actually said that), no flower arrangements. And that all the locals come to the park around the first week of every month to see what is new. He also said that there are not that many places for local artists to display their work besides the galleries up in GM but that this building can be another place to show a lot of people your work.
Drove to Temperance River to geocache.
Drove to Duluth to have an ice cream cone at the Portland gas station. Drove home. Finished "An American Marriage" and started "Before We Were Yours."
Got home, unpacked, did laundry, had a cocktail, talked to Bill briefly; he showed some interest in my week. His week was the same as normal except that he had dinner with Don Gravon one night. Same dishes in the dishwasher. Good reminder for me that I don't have to think he would want me to leave him food because he doesn't eat anything in the house and if he does it's toast, peanut butter, apples, carrots, rice, broccoli, popcorn, scotch, and Buster bars.
Will do a separate post on my packing list yes and no's.
Comments
Post a Comment