Minnesota

           

Seriously, I need to write a book. We spent an amount of time the other night talking with a woman who saw Bigfoot. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes she might not have believed it! This woman by the way is somewhere in her 70s, traveling by herself, sleeping in the back of her station wagon and staying at remote campgrounds. What's not to love? Who knew Minnesota was Big Foot country?

The Dam

People ask, "Why are you in Minnesota?" and I think the above paragraph explains all.

Looking busy

Technically we are here at the Sandy Lake Recreation Area as volunteers with the Army Corps of Engineers. Our duties consist of unlocking 2 doors at 8 AM and locking them at 8PM (central time) Also, pick up a report of which campsites are expecting campers and later in the day writing our own report as to who has actually shown up and how many are in the party. Oh yes and what type of camping vehicle they have (example 1 woman in station wagon) I did not say crazy, - you thought it

You may think this is an easy job and of course you're right, after a couple of weeks here we finally have the hang of it. Svend of course goes around finding other things to do like picking up trash or raking the play areas. I look for typos on their signs (found two).   

Now we spend more time actually acting like "hosts" chitchatting with people etc. Svend is quite good at this. If some taciturn person doesn't want to engage, I'm ready to move on. Svend will ask them a ton of (in my opinion) boring questions and before long they're talking about their 

grandchildren, or their Swedish grandmas and off we go. Yesterday we spent a lovely half hour speaking with a man who seemed very quiet only to find out he was a retired director of the fish and wildlife commission and he literally knew everything about not only the local fish and fisheries but that of the whole midwest. I'm not even being sarcastic to say he was quite interesting and very nice.

Minnesotans are crazy for fishing. The opening day for fishing is like a state holiday. Every newscast had heartwarming stories of fishermen, fisherwoman, fiserchildren, bail shops owners, fishing guides and constant mention of the king of all fishes, the beloved Walleye. Which I can only attest to the fact that it tastes good pan fried. After several weeks here, I felt compelled to actually fish. So after a trip to the booming metropolis of MacGregor, MN, I purchased a rod and reel, assorted other fishy things like hooks, sinkers, bobbins, a license, and some squirmy minnows and it was a go. The neighbor gave us advice as to where the good fishing was, but alas, although we can fish, we haven't mastered the art of catching. At least we have what we need for the future. (except the minnows, they have been sacrificed.)

A new experience was to see the

Fish all year

Minnesota version of the perfect trailer - the fish house. Is this something people know about? These abodes have holes in the floor where one can open to fish on the ice! Picture it, "Come on children, close up the holes in the floor, dinner's ready." They can also be used during non ice times as a regular camper. Interesting, different, smart, weird, fun?                           

The history of this area has to do with The mighty Mississippi.

Somewhere in the mid 1800's the Army Corps of Engineers were tasked with making it more navigable by damning up 5 lakes near the headwaters so that steamboats could traverse more consistently and for flood control. Hence there's a cool dam right in the middle of the camp grounds. They don't let Svend control it, but you know he could.

Big Sandy Lake was also migration point for the Ojibwe (Chipawah) tribes and there is a monument commemorating The Tragedy at Big Sandy Lake where many tribe members had traveled to get their annual fall payments which were delayed and minimized. Around 300 members of the tribe died of starvation and illnesses as a result. There are so many stories throughout the US, it's a fascinating pastime to take the time to read the signs and historic markers in these out of the way spots, research further and try to piece together the mosaic of history.

On a slow Monday, we went off to go explore the delightful city of Duluth, a smallish port city of Lake Superior. Their touristy area is called Canal Park and it is a great collection of "things to do" The locally famous Grandma's restaurant is where we lunched al fresco (al heavy sweatshirts) 

 verlooking the old elevator bridge from the early 1900s that is still in use. After that we walked out to the lighthouse at the mouth of the port, over the scary bridge and to the free Army Corps of Engineer Lake Superior Museum, which was quite interesting. Most of us of a certain age know of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald thanks to Gordon Lightfoot. For you younguns, it was a freighter carrying iron ore to Detroit that sank in a terrible storm on Lake Superior. All 29 crew members were lost. The museum also had stuff that Svend would like, things like engines and pumps. Moving on to a fun fact about the Army Corps of Engineers (Have you noticed I'm becoming obsessed with ACOE?) Their first project was at Breeds Hill in dear old Charlestown MA, where they built up fortifications that helped hold back the Bloody British. Ok, so the Bloody British won the battle, but we won the war.

So heading into our last big weekend at Big Sandy we agree that it was well worth the 24 hour drive and hundreds of dollars in gas to get here. The people we have met have consistently been friendly and easy going. The weather has not been overly friendly. The night we arrived we were caught in a severe snowstorm for at least an hour. Let me just say it was not fun dragging the Taj m'Haul through the whiteout on unknown roads. There was another afternoon of wet snow just to make it cozy.. As someone famous said, "The worst winter I've spent was the month of May in Minnesota."

Just in case

I'm thankful for for: the various warm clothing items we packed, the fact that there are no mosquitoes-yet, the peaceful Sandy Lake, the eagles,  swans, orioles, robins and various other critters (NOT the Canadian geese. I still hold a grudge against them from the Jersey days.)

Oh and Big Foot, if we get lucky enough to see him before we leave.

P.S. Look at the water mark on the boat ramp this morning. It's Big Foot, right?

Spooky