The Pirate's Booty

It is time once again for another Minnesota adventure!
Duluth had a "Tall Ships Festival." Ships from all over sailed into Lake Superior where we were all able see them and got to board the noble vessels. I was pretty much overtaken by the ropes. I wanted to climb up and play with them.
I was totally excited! Could I appear any more enthusiastic? I think not. It had been a round morning. I went to bed thinking that I would wake up at 5am. Nope. I was awoken at 6:30am by my friends at the door. It was time to leave on our journey northward. So, you are seeing me in all of my splendor....I look pretty much just as pathetic the second, as I do the first. It is great when your appearance can't get worse.
I always have to thank Carrie and Natalie for all of the activity planning. We always find the greatest things to do in the state. Plus, we always do them in style.
I loved to look at the neatly wrapped ropes. There were hundreds of them. It was a beautiful site to behold.
Doesn't this make you want to be Peter Pan?
This is the same ship used in Pirate's of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest. It was a beauty.
Marla and Melissa were some of the beauties who woke me up bright and nearly...Amy was the other one, but she managed to evade the photography.
One of the ships compasses. I think it would be easier to use GPS, but it sure is sweet looking.
All the boats lined up in a row.

I was so warm that day. I was so exhausted after having so much fun! I ate a Tobies, when traveling up north tradition says that we have to stop and eat cinnamon rolls. We checked out some stores in Duluth. As soon as I drove home I was ready to climb right into bed. Success!

Banks of Plum Creek

After a very long week at work, Natalie, Carrie, and I headed off for another Minnesota adventure. Now many of you may be thinking things like....are there really adventures in Minnesota? Is there anything that exists in that state? One might surprise you with something unbelievably adventuresome, "The Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant." This trip was so filled with adventure it is pretty much unbelievable.The adventure really began prior to even hitting Walnut Grove. Prior to arriving to our camping site we had dinner in an old bank. All of the old booths and stalls were up for money exchange. I forgot to get pictures, but it quite a site to see. I was so in love with the bathroom, which was equipped with early 90's decor and a table filled with all the appropriate items for awesome hair (Aqaunet and two picks).

We made it to the campsite about 45 minutes before the oncoming wind. The three of us were not completely prepared. I put stacks around my tent because I had heard there was going to be wind. Carrie and Natalie were not so lucky. I am not sure if that tent still has them, or if they also underestimated the wind. I was in my tent reading when I heard the wind and screaming begin. It was a bit comical, but I was really unsure what disaster was occurring outside my safe quarters.

The winds were at least 60 mph. My tent was blowing and bending down until it was almost touching me. I was not sure if I was going to be able to stay in my tent, so I made sure to have my clothes on and read a book. I could hear a lot of laughing and choas outside...and this is what I told was happening:

Carrie had run into the tent that was blowing away. She told Natalie to stay in the car, but the wind was loud, so the girl immediately ran to the tent to help Carrie save the day. They quickly did all things necessary to keep there sleeping bags dry while suddenly in 4 inches of water. Carrie was managing the inlet for the water with pillows and a thermarest, while Natalie was bravely holding down the opposite side of the tent. I was feeling a little left out of the fun as I remained mostly dry in my quarter. Suddenly, I heard a get away to the car. The tent was disarticulated more quickly then it ever has...and the two of them slept in the car. I on the other hand remained in my tent a little afraid of what would happen next. I eventually fell asleep.

I was awoken at about 2 am from the neighboring campers coming back to find there tent broke and collapsed and pillows and sleeping bags in the water. I stayed in my tent, feeling very lucky. I learned my lightweight backpacking tent is a champion!

The next morning we headed out to the festivities. We all bought pioneer bonnets, to get into the spirit. I think we were the only people over the age of 12 who were sporting the beauties. We at at Nelly's cafe, scouted out the Olseon merchantile, and took pictures of all sort of things...including this lovely.

Carrie was totally excited to death about the pageant! I love it!
The woman who was sitting behind us was really entertained by out photography.
All tired out while watching the pageant, which involves the retelling of the Wilder's life in Walnut Grove.
Natalie looks cute all the time.
Carrie was staying toasty warm, which it was cold. All in all, another Minnesota winner.

Industrial Lies in Skirts

This 4th of July weekend my friends and I decided to spend it doing something unusual, went to Canada. Carrie said we needed to celebrate our freedom in a socialist country. So, off we went in typical Carrie, Natalie, and Claire fashion. We had a general plan, but were prepared and excited about all things unexpected. We got a late start out of the "Cities," but we knew it was going to be fabulous when right after driving out of Minneapolis we drove past the turf mobile....part submarine.If I could find myself on of these it would be a dream come true.
We made it as far as Duluth, when it was time to crash. The weekend holiday made camping sites unavailable. We decided to search for somewhere with a bed and a reasonable price. We found several places that were more that we wanted to spend. Thank goodness for Carrie and her eye batting, she got a sweet deal in industrial Duluth. It was a dump. There were cigarette burns in the bedspreads. We took the bedding of the beds of the "Super 8" and slept in our sleeping bags. The thing that made the whole thing worth it was the fish in the tub.
We came out of the hotel scabies free and headed up North. We checked on campsite all the way up to Canada, but nothing was available to reserve, so we decided to cross the border. We were totally excited to go to Ontario. Natalie who was supporting a nutritious diet bought us some fresh fruit for the trip. We remembered the fruit prior to the border and tried to eat it all before we crossed. We ate apples, plums, and nectarines until we were sick. That was when we decided that we would just give up the fruit if we were asked as we crossed the border. Carrie was a skittish driver, but the fruit made in into Canada.
We went to Kakabeka Falls. We stayed in campsites right next to the falls. We had a good time walking/hiking around the area. We tool all kind of photos of the falls and enjoyed the scenery. We were rained on in the evening, which made this trip complete. We never go camping without some rain.
Sunday morning we woke up and went to sacrament meeting in Thunder Bay. Even though it is Canada, it is part of the Twin Cities Mission. I was surprised about how barren the area was in Ontario.
That evening we decided to cross the border back into the U.S. It was the 4th of July by the way, so we should technically spend the celebration here. We went to the Cascade Falls campsite. So, the fruit was headed across the border again. Carrie felt the need to yell out that we were taking fruit into the country. The man at the border was more concerned about how we knew each other, where we were going, where we lived, and what was in the box addressed to Ann. It was a sleeping bag I was trying to mail. I was tempted to say it was illegal explosives, but I held back. It was Sunday, but Carrie and Natalie convinced me that we would go on a small jaunt around the area. They convinced me that perspiration would be minimal. We went a little further than planned and we did it all in our skirts, to keep in the Sunday state of mind.
We loved the trail markers out in the river.
We stood on a big rock at Lookout Mountain and took many pictures of ourselves. Do I have a good seductive look?
Natalie and I are enthralled with all of the fungi that can be round in Minnesota. In Utah, all I found was the gray stuff in your lawn. I wonder if this little family is poisonous?
This is one of the many falls at Cascade Falls.
We ended out hike out at Lake Superior...the lowest elevation in Minnesota. We had a very calm 4th of July. We did not celebrate with fireworks, but we read a book and went to sleep at a decent hour.
The next day we headed to the Tallest Peak in Minnesota, "Eagle Mountain." This mountain is found within the Boundary waters, where we canoed last summer. We hike past this beautiful lake, "Whale Lake."
I love looking at the clouds in the water. It was a very serene area.
We made it to the top of the peak and it was very anticlimactic. The path just suddenly stopped in the middle of some trees and there was the monument behind me. A photo or two was taken to document the moment.
From there we headed back to the Minneapolis. We had stopped at a Flea Market on the way to Canada where Natalie found a rocking chair. On the way home we stopped and I had the opportunity to sit in the back with a little red rocker. We at some pies and Bettie's Pies and then made out way back down south. It was a fabulous trip! Love my friends.

Creativity is for the birds...or squirrels...or rabbits

Today my ability to be creative, fun, and upbeat has disappeared in the wind. So, I am basically just going to tell you about what has been happening here in the great State of Minnesota. As I have been introducing myself to all things "Minnesota" I have been introduced to some experiences that I could have gone without, for example the Lymes disease. About a month and a half ago, I got to go to Itasca, the headwaters for the Mississippi River. It was a great time filled with mosquitos that everyone talked about last year, but I never saw.

Have you every seen anyone ssssoooo excited to be there?

Carrie and Natalie were my partners in crime. We hiked or sauntered around the lake through some grass followed by 50 mosquito bugs a piece. I don't think the 98% DEET was very effective.
This the the separation between Lake Itasca and the Mississippi River. My personal opinion is that it is not much to get overwhelmed with. The only thing that makes me mad is that I pushed some buttons on my camera and for eternity these pictures will have the data imprinted on them.
This is the little guy (I guess girl), laying some eggs on the edge of the Lake. We were all intrigued.
I was a beautiful lake.
One has to appreciate the markers at sites within forestry areas, always brown with yellow writing.

I only pulled off wood ticks (that don't carry Lymes disease). My friends were impressed by my ability to identify the bugs. Thanks Will! I obviously missed a small deer tick because 2 weeks later I was a basket of symptoms.

Hiatus

I have taken a blogging hiatus for a while, but I am back. Perhaps not in full force, but I am at least making a few posts. I changed the background because everyone else was so it seemed like the thing to do.