Saturday on the Gunflint

After three consecutive eight hour days spent forging knives, my friend and I were exhausted.  As I expected my right shoulder and elbow were a little sore. What hurt the most though, to my surprise, was my abdominal core.  I didn't realize I was exercising my core while forging and filing and sanding.  Now I understand why those blacksmiths on Gunsmoke were so buff with their muscular bare arms and muscled torsos underneath the long leather aprons.  After coffee and a good breakfast we went canoeing the length of Birch Lake.  That is where we saw the dead moose.  My friend had to rescue her husband with a spare bike tire so first I went by myself in their kayak.  They have a sea-going kayak with a keel and a rudder; unlike my kayak that I got for $100.  I got in that kayak and took off.  Holey moley!  What a kayak!  This kayak goes straight as I paddle whereas mine goes left, right, left, right, wiggle waggling a crooked path when it would be more efficient to go straight.  I was so impressed with this kayak I thought I'd go full speed.  Wowsers!  Am I fast in this kayak?  Yes!  I am SO FAST!  It's no wonder I was tired at the end of the Mississippi River Challenges! Other people had nicer kayaks and my workout was way  more difficult than theirs.  That gave me a good feeling to know I worked harder.  My friend came back so I got out of the kayak and into her canoe. I steered and she was in the front.  She was used to her husband telling her "Left" or "Right."  I told her to paddle whatever side she wanted and I'd compensate.  We had a leisurely six mile canoe trip.  This friend and I can talk all night long without running out of things to say.  On this canoe trip we vow to write two books for our older selves; books the staff at our assisted living homes can give to us to calm our agitated selves.   One book will be "Happy Moments," and the other will be "WTF Moments."  The WTF book will be illustrated with a drawing of a person with eye brows raised, eyes widened, and arms out raised with palms up.  Besides seeing the moose we saw painted turtles, gray jays, bald eagles, turkey vultures, six beaver lodges, labrador tea and some kind of yellow lily - possibly a blue bead.  For dinner she made portabella burgers.  She was surprised that, as a vegetarian, I had never had them before.  Once I had a portabella sandwich at a restaurant and the texture was so rubbery I never had them again.  But her portabella burgers were to die for and I will be making them for myself soon. After dinner we went on an unsuccessful moose safari.  After that we drove to Gunflint Lodge located on Gunflint Lake on the Gunflint Trail; a triple Gunflint.  I had never been to the Gunflint lodge before. It's very nice and we listened to a concert on the grass. A guitarist sang songs about canoeing and camping while his accompanist charmed us with her talent on the violin and her engaging personality.  If it wasn't for the no-seeums biting me and raising huge welts, I would have had the most awesome time.  Afterwards a woman invited all of us "Birch Lakers" to a beer in the lodge.  The people living on Birch Lake are very friendly and I told them so. The lodge was old and full of skins, stuffed heads and memorabilia.  Just that day a couple from Atlanta, Georgia, bought the lodge.  Up until today this lodge had always been "in the family."  The new owners seemed nice if not a bit overwhelmed by their new responsibilities.  What a fun-filled, awesome Saturday I had!  

A lily noticed on the hike from the lake back up to my friend's cabin.  It's gorgeous!

My friend lives on the south side of Birch Lake. Here is what I can see of it from her wrap-around deck. All the lakes up here in NE Minnesota seems long and skinny and oriented east and west.  There must be some geologic reason for this.

The concert at Gunflint Lodge.  Loved it!

Here I am, having a great day, on the dock at the Gunflint Lodge.  Red sky at night; sailor's delight.  Those trees across the lake are Canadian trees.  This is a border lake.