Well, I'll be GDed!

I turned 42 yesterday while I was at Grand Portage. Didn't feel a thing. Apparantly it's not one of the big ones.

The most important thing about the day was that we had to pack up and leave.

I snitched a handful of the neighbors' apple pie to celebrate.

I enjoyed the slow cruise through Duluth immensely. I love those old houses on London Drive and the cool breeze off The Lake.

Where the Hell did Leif Erikson Park go?!

On the way up last Wednesday, I insisted that we stop at Canal Park. And I insisted that we stay until at least one boat went under the Aerial Bridge.

When we were kids, we used to climb up on the walls of the Canal and run out to the lighthouse. Looking at them now, I can't believe how stupid we were, or that Mom allowed it. (Though, it seemed like they were at least 3 feet wide back then. They're only a foot at most now. I'm bettin' they've rebuilt them with the idea of making them look scarier to kids. ['Look,' Hell! They're a lot scarier than they used to be!])

I mentioned in the comments to the last post, that I left the camera at the in-laws' cabin on Lake Vermilion. Sorry about that.

We had great times at Deer River's White Oak Rendezvous and the Grand Portage Rendezvous. Deer River is the place to go to learn about Voyageur reenacting, and Grand Portage is second only to Old Fort William (Ontario) for learning about Voyageurs in general (although Fort Folle Avoine in Danbury, WI is a close third - I won't be missing that Rendezvous again!).

I must admit a preference for Rendezvoux that have a "Traders' Row" where you can buy stuff that's missing from your regalia. I had to beg a thong from the neighbor to replace a broken one on my mocassin at Grand Portage. (No, I don't run around in a thong! Get your minds out of the gutter!)

Oh! I still have this pic of Grand Portage Bay!

And, yes, I did see pretty much the same view from Mount Rose this year. Rosie made me climb it again later the same day, though I didn't have to carry her half way up like I did last year. This year we read the brochure as we climbed and learned about the plants and geology of the area along the way. I was happy to see how her interests had developed since last year.

I bought a CD from a folk singer who played for us at Grand Portage, Rodney Brown's The Big Lonely. "Hauntingly beautiful title track" they say... When I heard the guitar riff on that song, I knew I couldn't stand to live without it. Talk about capturing the essence of the sunrise of a crisp, cool summer morning on the North Shore of Lake Superior!

Of course, I don't know that the beauty of his vocals and guitar work, as it was sung and played within 50 feet of the shore of the great Lake that was the focus of much of The Northwest Company's activities for over a century, can quite be captured on so small a medium as a CD.

The whole album [yeah, I'm a geezer - I meant to say "CD"] is the result of two years of research into the history of the fur trade by a guy who makes his living as a folksinger. A labor of love from a native of Fort William, which has merged with Port Arthur to become the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

He'd like it if I gave this name to you to google: Pierre La Verendrye. If you get the chance to hear him sing, knowing the story of La Verendrye will enhance the experience.

I wonder if he knew my buddy Ed S., who is now a Mountie up in Alberta. Ed got his Bachelor's degree in Sup-town. Ed liked to talk about how much Thunder Bay politics resembled a hockey game, with plenty of anecdotal evidence. If they got together, they could probably write another album.

Excuse me, "CD."