TODAY IS A VERY DARK DAY for those who love the North Woods, the Canoe Country, protected wild places, and particularly the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The Republican Party has, as is their custom of late, engaged in a great betrayal. A betrayal of all those people mentioned, of the state of Minnesota, and of the United States of
CASTLE DANGER is a very small community on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The name comes from the tall, rugged cliffs found there, said to be the site of long-ago shipwrecks. Castle Danger Beer is brewed in the scenic, nearby community of Two Harbors, and it has the coolest name for a beer that I’ve ever heard of. Or
ROSEBUD: At the end of the great film, Citizen Kane, Charles Foster Kane dies alone, isolated and unfulfilled in his vast estate. This happens in spite of his achieving unimaginable wealth, fame, and power in his life. In death, his last word is ‘Rosebud,’ which we discover refers to his favorite childhood toy. A sled named Rosebud. That lost child,
THE OLD KNIFE: When I was ten, my Grandad, my hero, bought me a souvenir Royal Canadian Mounted Police sheath knife. With this trusty implement on my belt, I could roam the North Woods of Lake Kabetogama with no fear of bears, wolves, lynx, or whatever other fierce citizens might haunt the forest. I wore it constantly (see pix below,
ON A WINDY and rainy day in which we were unable to paddle among Lake Kabetogama’s Grassy Islands and picnic on Woodenfrog Point as planned, we instead had a lovely lunch at nearby Arrowhead Lodge. Nearly 100 years old, it is a classic Minnesota North Woods resort. We still hiked Woodenfrog and another trail along the shore, finding pine knots,
EVENING MEAL PREPARATION on Fawn Island while Kathy Ann chills and relaxes. Not really the tradition over the last 30 years, but a very good one to establish. Knee-boarding and waterskiing and dock-diving and fishing also accomplished today, along with suntanning and screen door repair. And some intermittent water-taxi service to and from the harbor leading to Frostbite Falls, Minnesota.
AFTER MANY SUMMER trips and much exploring of the great North Woods with delightful company, it is good to be home again, under the big pines by the river. It will be hot again again today, the mercury approaching 100 (!!!?) But for now the air is pleasant and cool in the woods. The sky blue, the trees green, the