Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Gunflint Trail/Grand Marais/Grand Portage

June 12, 2011
We left St. Paul at 8:30 AM. We stopped for lunch in Two Harbors, and saw a moose along the road near the Cascade River. We stopped at Buck’s Hardware in Grand Marais to buy minnows for bait. Then we drove 48 miles up the Gunflint Trail to Heston's Lodge where we checked into the White Pine cabin at about 3:30 PM. We went canoeing on Gunflint Lake, which is divided down the center and half is in Minnesota and half is in Canada. I think we were slightly over into Canada when the wind came up, and we had to paddle hard to get back. After dinner we went fishing off the dock. We found the same radio station we listened to last year; 105.3FM, the Giant.

June 13, 20100
At 5:00 AM we went fishing from the dock. It was 5 degrees Celsius, or 40 degrees Fahrenheit. After we stopped to make breakfast burritos, we rented a boat and motor for four hours. Besides fishing until Noon, we also stopped at “Campers Island.” Our early and busy day, caused us to nap after we got back to the cabin. Then we fished from the dock and grilled chicken and potatoes for dinner. Incidentally, we were not having good luck fishing, but this day turned into a sunny, 70 degree Fahrenheit perfect day! Later in the evening, we walked down the road until the abundant and hungry mosquitoes drove us back to the cabin.

June 14, 2011
After breakfast we rented the boat again for four hours, and aside from fishing, we wore head nets and battled the mosquitoes as we hiked through the woods to Bridal Falls. We were still not catching fish so after we got back we had lunch and then drove to the Cross River Bridge to fish some more. Later that evening, I looked at Canada (across the lake) through my binoculars.

June 15, 2011
We drove to the public access for Loon Lake and hiked the Brice Breon Trail until we found a place to fish from shore. One of the highlights was when we found Showy Lady Slippers in bloom along the trail! We fished from the dock in the afternoon and I got snagged on the same submerged tree branch twice and needed to get the canoe out twice to get free. Eventually I pulled the whole branch out of the lake! Later, being it was our last night at the cabin, we made a fire in the wood stove and watched a movie on the laptop.

June 16, 2011
We packed up and left Heston's Lodge at 10:00 AM. We drove to the Chik-Wauk Museum. We toured the museum and also hiked the trails there. Then we had lunch at the Trail's End CafĂ©. After lunch we walked to the end of the trail to view Seagull Lake. By then it was time to slowly drive back the entire length of the Gunflint Trail. We saw a moose and a grouse along the way. Once we got back to Grand Marais, we checked into Cabin 5 at Nelson's Traveler's Rest. We shopped at Beth’s Fudge & Gifts, Ben Franklin and The Trading Post. Then we had dinner at the Dockside Fish Market. Their fish is outstanding! After dinner we hiked out to Artist’s Point before returning to the cabin.

June 17, 2011
We left Grand Marais in the morning and drove to the Heritage Center at Grand Portage National Monument. We toured the recreation of the fur trading post and then drove to the USA/Canadian border to hike out to the High Falls of the Pigeon River. The falls was another high point of the trip! It was about 1:30 PM when we stopped at the Naniboujou Lodge for a very tasty lunch. Back in Grand Marais, we went shopping before taking a rest back in cabin 5. Later, we decided to walk to the Dockside Fish Market for fish & chips. We stopped by a wooden boat show on the walk back to our cabin.

June 18, 2011
We left Nelson's Traveler's Rest about 9:30 AM and drove until we got to the Grand Superior Lodge where we stopped for lunch. Once we got into the town of Two Harbors, we stopped at Pamida to do some shopping. Then we drove through a big traffic mess in Duluth that added an extra hour onto our long trip home. We arrived back in St. Paul at about 5:00 PM. The entire trip was 748.1 miles.








White Pine Cabin









Canada over Shoulder












Lady Slipper















Head Net



















Bridal Falls











Gunflint Lake













Artist's Point















Naniboujou












At Chik-Wauk

















Moose

















Grand Portage National Monument











Grand Portage National Monument









High Falls

Duluth is a Traffic Nightmare!

Duluth, Minnesota is a Traffic Nightmare. There has been construction on I-35 for about three years and it is down to a single lane with no shoulder through town. I’ve been caught in this every year lately, as I go through this otherwise interesting town.

This past Saturday, Duluth hosted Grandma’s Marathon. For some reason when we came through about 1:30 PM (returning from our trip up the Gunflint Trail), Someone who is apparently an idiot had decided to close the ramps onto south I-35, and route traffic through downtown Duluth into the aftermath of the Grandma’s Marathon. There were no signs to direct us through, and half of the streets in the downtown were closed. We were stuck in traffic, being funneled deeper into the mass of traffic generated by the race. After an hour, I finally managed to find my way out and unto the single-lane of the freeway that seems to be forever under construction.

So who’s “bright idea” was it to funnel all of the traffic into downtown instead of alleviating problems by allowing cars to get on the freeway? If the idea was to keep the runners safe, I don’t see how that was accomplished by increasing automobile traffic! If the idea was to force me to visit Duluth, it only made me so frustrated, that it will be a long time before I go back there. In fact, I would like to see I-35 go around Duluth so I don’t need to get stuck there ever again. I don’t appreciate wasting gas and adding an extra hour to my already long trip.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Back to Civilization

My wife and I spent the last four days up the Gunflint Trail. We're back in Grand Marais now. Watch for photos soon.

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

103 Degrees

Yesterday the Minneapolis/St. Paul area hit 103 degrees Fahrenheit and was the hottest place in the nation!

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Representative Weiner

Cutris strolled up to the microphone, tapped it, and then began to speak.

"His name is 'Representative Weiner,' did he ever really have a chance?
"People are now analyzing Mr. Weiner..."

Someone walked up to the podium and beckoned to Cutris. The man whispered something to Cutris.

"What?" said Cutris irritatedly. "His name is Anthony??? Are you sure?"

The person whispered something else to Cutris, and then sat back down.

Cutris cleared his throat and continued.
"Based on recent information I have no further comment."

Cutris exited the stage.

Monday, June 06, 2011

Don't Try This At Home

Over the weekend I saw some people swinging around from ropes on the side of a big building in downtown St. Paul. It was part of the Flint Hills International Children's Festival.



So whenever something like this is going on, people always warn you, "Don't try this at home!"

I didn't listen! When I got home, I was hanging from the top of my garage from a clothesline doing some really cool stunts while Metallica was playing in the background! Then all of a sudden, the clothesline broke! I fell almost three feet to the ground! Wow! I sure learned my lesson! I'm going to stop at the hardware store and get some rope before I try that again!

Friday, June 03, 2011

Cutris Uses Book Royalties to Buy M & M's

Cutris Uses Book Royalties to Buy M & M's
UnAssociated Press
June 3, 2011

After selling one million copies of his novel Cottonwood, (including his Amazon sales), Cutris says he is ready to make a big purchase! When the UAP asked him what he planned to buy, Cutris replied that he was planning to buy a large bag of M&M'S. This seemed like an awfully small purchase for a man who has sold a million copies of his novel Cottonwood, (including his Amazon sales), so we at the UnAssociated Press decided to ask him about it.

AP: So why aren't you going to buy something big? A million copies is a lot of books to sell.

Cutris: Yes, that is true. However, when you are a relatively unknown author, the publisher keeps most of the profits. If you have an agent, they get their cut. By the time you get back to the author, there isn't very much money left.

AP: How much do you think you've made so far?

Cutris: Let's see... One million sold, minus publisher's cut, minus expenses, carry the one... I think I've made about $3.27.

AP: That's it?

Cutris: I'm almost positive, yes.

AP: Huh... Well enjoy your M&M'S!

Cutris: Thank you, I will!

So there you have it. Cutris: has sold one million copies of his novel Cottonwood, (including his Amazon sales), and he is going to buy a large bag of M&M'S.

Thursday, June 02, 2011

One Million Sold!

One Million Sold!
UnAssociated Press
June 2, 2011

Cutris has sold one million copies of his novel Cottonwood according to one source today. When asked about it Cutris replied, "Yeah probably, if you count the Amazon sales."