The Address

Fiona Davis wrote The Address.  You can see a striking building in the background on the cover. That building is the Dakota apartment building in New York City right off of Central Park which is a real place. The Dakota had some famous tenants including Lauren Bacall, Leonard Bernstein, Roberta Flack, Connie Chung, Gilda Radner, Boris Karloff and Judy Garland. John Lennon lived there and was murdered in the entry. This novel takes place in two timelines. When the building is first opened in the 1880's Sarah Smythe is hired to be the managerette. Sarah's story starts out as an upstanding career woman until her life derails and she becomes a train wreck including a stint in the infamous insanity ward visited by the famous journalist Nelly Bly. The second timeline is in the 1980's when a young woman named Baily is hired to do the interior design of the apartment in the Dakota owned by the offspring of the building's architect. Baily is just coming out of rehab and her life is a train wreck at first. Baily does some research into the life of Sarah Smythe and the results are very interesting. This book was interesting and I got the chance to learn more about the history of New York City.

Brewer's Loop

Today I hiked the section of the Superior Hiking Trail between the Highland Ave. trail head and the Haines Road Trail head. My walk took me over a bridge on Keane Creek and then upstream for some dramatic views of waterfalls and also this abandoned old stone pump house.

Here is the pump house from the other direction. This section of the trail had many people enjoying the water.

After crossing Skyline Drive I hiked uphill to this maple/oak forest that was very pretty.

I had some nice views of Duluth. Soon enough I was back at Haines Road. I started to head back but chose to take the other loop of the Brewer's Loop trail. Today I added 2.9 miles to my total on the Superior Hiking trail giving me a new total of 111.4. I have 221.1 left to go.

Piedmont Knob

Yesterday I parked at the N. 24th Ave. Trail head and hiked to Enger Tower. Today I parked at the Haines Road trail head and hiked 2.9 miles to the N. 24th Ave. Trail head. The walk took me two hours. The weather was pleasant. I walked over a series of rocky outcrops. Rocky outcrops can be difficult because you can't see the trail clearly.

Here is another rocky outcrop. Just look at those beautiful summer clouds.

Here I can look ahead and see a series of rock stairs in the distance. Is it just me or does the  Superior Hiking Trail always choose the most difficult path?

Another view from a rocky outcrop. I believe this one is called Piedmont Knob.

The trail skirts an ominously leaning boulder.

Here the trail crosses Skyline Drive.

The trail descends sharply after Skyline Drive. Here I come to the longest section of boardwalk I have ever encountered on the Superior Hiking Trail. I see boardwalk ahead of me and behind me. I have an easy ten minute walk just on boardwalks.

The trail has a nice bridge over Miller Creek.

I added 2.9 miles today bringing me to 108.5 miles on the Superior Hiking Trail. I have 224 miles left to go.

Enger Tower

Today I parked my car at the North 24th Ave. West trail head and hiked to Enger Tower. Along the way I passed by a half dozen very tall milk weed plants. See them lined up like soldiers on the left of the path? They were as tall as I am. I wish I had known this path was so wide. I could have worn shorts. Normally I wear long hiking pants because my skin is so sensitive to poison ivy and other plants. 

This tree in the center looks like it is about to tip toe away to the left.

Although I am in the middle of Duluth the path is very pristine as long as you don't mind the sound of traffic, helicopters and church bells.

As long as I am here at Enger Tower I might as well climb it.

This is the view of the Saint Louis River delta.

This is the view of the lift bridge which is a third of the way up. I think one of the Vista fleet ships is about to leave the harbor for Lake Superior. Today I added 1.7 miles making my new total on the Superior Hiking Trail 105.6. I have 226.9 left to go.

When Breath Becomes Air

Paul Kalanithi wrote When Breath Becomes Air about his life. He studied English literature in college and graduate school before changing his path to becoming a neurosurgeon. He married another doctor and was nearly finished with his training when he felt ill. He was diagnosed at age 36 with advanced stage 4 metastatic  lung cancer. He instantly went from the doctor providing care to the patient receiving care from another doctor. He thought about how he wanted to spend his final days. He enjoyed being a neurosurgeon but he had always hoped to be an author. This is the book he almost finished writing before he died. He tells his story honestly about facing his own mortality. Before he started chemotherapy he has his sperm collected. He and his wife had a child who was born about six months before he died. This book is his gift to his daughter. I thought this was an inspirational story.

Mushrooms

Today I attended a informal meeting of the Head of the Lakes Master Naturalist group. We met at the Magney-Snively trail head near Spirit Mountain. Two of the members in the group were experienced mycologists and we found some mushrooms. These are coral mushrooms.

This is a clavicle something or other mushroom.

This is also one of the clavicle mushrooms but only in white. They look like skinny fingers coming out of the ground. Later we found some pink ones too.

We tromped around in the woods for two hours wearing masks the entire time. That was an odd adventure. They told me this is a pinata but I know it's a paper wasp nest.

This lovely mushroom is called plums and custard. It is not edible. I found a chanterelle mushroom so that will be part of my dinner tonight. I had a lovely time meeting new friends and stomping around in the woods.

Where The Dead Sit Talking

I chose Where The Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson because it won quite a few awards. This story is set in rural Oklahoma during the 1980's. The narrator is 15 year old Sequoyah. His mother was sent to prison for drug related offences and he was sent to a small town to live in foster care. His foster parents, Agnes and Harold, are good people and he lives there with another Native American teen named Rosemary and a thirteen year old boy named  George. I think George might be on the autism spectrum. Sequoyah is a follower. He would do anything Rosemary asks him to do. This is a dark tale about some emotionally damaged children. The depiction of what living in foster care is like feels real. I have known a couple of women who grew up in the foster care system and this book reminded me of them. I can see why this book won the awards because the writing was lyrical and profound.

All We Ever Wanted

In writing All We Ever Wanted Emily Giffin tells the story from the perspectives of Lyla, Tom, and Nina. Tom and Nina are parents of students at a local private high school. Lyla is one of the students and Tom's daughter. Both Tom and Nina are trying hard to be good parents but it isn't easy. Parenting isn't easy for Tom because he is a working single parent and he has angry feelings about his ex-wife that he shares openly. Parenting isn't easy for Nina because her wealthy husband and son are conspiring against her. When Nina's son takes an inappropriate photo of Lyla an shares it with a racist comment, she is horrified. She apologizes to Lyla and to Tom. The behavior of her son helps Nina realize the fragility of her marriage and that she is married to someone who is not who she thought he was. I think Nina's character was the best developed. 

The Book of Joy

This book was written by Tenzin Gyatso (more commonly known as the Dalai Lama), Desmond Tutu and Douglas Abrams. Archbishop Tutu travels to India to visit the Dalai Lama on his 80th birthday. Both spiritual leaders and Nobel Prize winners are now in the 80's. They stayed together for six days and that is when The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World was written based on their recorded conversations about joy. They talked about compassion, forgiveness, acceptance, courage, generosity, gratitude and humor. The end of the book has mediation exercises. I enjoyed reading about the conversations between these two men who obviously hold each other in high regard but are human enough to tease each other about their large noses.

Beaver Bay To Silver Bay

After parking my car at the Lax Lake Road Trail head I followed the Superior Hiking Trail down a ATV path for a half mile.I crossed the Beaver River on a bridge and then hiked downhill next to the river where I found three camp sites.

The river started out wide and slow but narrowed into a gorge with rapids.

Beaver River is very scenic. This would be a lovely place to camp.

The trail turns away from the river and across a couple of roads.

I ate raspberries and blueberries all along this part of the trail. The taste of fresh foraged berries was much tastier than the dried apricots I had in my pocket. These are the high bush blueberries. Closer to the end of my walk, on blueberry hill, there were numerous low bush blueberries. Both varieties taste really good. They taste like little blue balls of joy.

Here I can see Silver Bay in the distance.

This was a difficult part of the trail. See the large flat rock in front of me? Between that and the triangular rock ahead is a five foot drop to a creek. The space between the two rocks is too far for me to stand on both rocks at the same time. I stand here dithering about a decision for a couple minutes.

Here is another view of the gap. A younger me would have skipped across that gap like a mountain goat. The present version of me foresees broken bones, an ambulance ride, orthopedic surgery and possible recovery in a rehab facility.

Like an old lady I sit on the round rock, step on a rock down below and crawl onto the triangular rock. Better safe than sorry.

I am back to the Beaver River again.

A cascading gorge of a river.

Here I am crossing the Beaver River on the bridge. I have only a half mile left back to my car. Today I added 4.4 miles making my new total on the Superior Hiking Trail 103.9 (Yeah! I broke 100!). I have 228.6 left to go.

The Immortalists

When I was a high school student I had a good friend. Her mother did psychic readings for her. I went to one of the reading. Her mother shuffled the deck of Tarot cards and laid some out on the table. As she put each one down on the table she told us what they meant. Once she had nine laid out she gave us the meaning of what the combination meant. I sat there thinking this was the biggest load of hogwash I had ever seen. The mother was so confident and lively. Normally her demeanor was not very interested in us but as she gave the reading she was engaged and performing. Her eyes twinkled and she smiled at us. She was uncommonly charming. She told my friend that the cards said she would loose her fertility at a young age so she should have her children right away after high school. I was appalled. She offered to read my cards too but I declined. As we left I shook my head in disbelief. The thing was my friend believed what her mother told her in the reading. She believed in the truth of Tarot cards. She ended up having her first child at 19 and her second at 22 years of age because of that reading. In The Immortalists four teen aged siblings visit a fortune teller. The fortune teller sees each person individually. She tells them on what day and year they will die. Chloe Benjamin explores the difference between destiny and belief. Do the siblings die on the date they were foretold? If so, was it by chance or did their behaviors lead to their deaths? Call me a skeptic but I do not believe in psychic readings or Tarot cards. I would not want to know the date of my death anyway. I enjoyed reading this book though. 

In The Unlikely Event

Reading a Judy Blume novel for adults is as comforting as baking cookies on a rainy day. In The Unlikely Event takes place in 1951 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Miri, one of the main characters is 15 years old. Their town is located very close to the airport in Newark. The circumstances of three planes crashing into the town within 58 days is based on actual events. Some of the stories are about people on the plane and others about people near the crash sites. At the end of the book some of the characters return to Elizabeth for a 35 year commemoration of the crashes. This was a good story but not one to read before you go on a flight.

Completed Project

Years ago I bought Carrol Henderson's book Woodworking for Wildlife; Homes For Birds and Animals. I thought when I retired I could make a few bird houses. Today I finished my first bird house and I think it turned out okay. The instructions were confusing but maybe that is because some of them were in the beginning and applied to all birdhouses made from a board of lumber and some of the instructions were in the back specific to the bird I was building for. Or maybe the instructions were confusing because I am not a carpenter. In any case the house is sturdy but not perfect. The picture on the left shows the imperfectly round door to the bird house. I drilled a hole to get the jig saw in. The hole is at the bottom of the door. As the jig saw was coming back to the beginning I curved a little south. There is also a lump at the top. It's not easy cutting a round hole in thick lumber. I suspect birds won't be too fussy when it comes to a free home. I'm glad this project is complete. 

Crossing To Safety

I must be on a Wallace Stegner kick because Crossing to Safety is the third novel I have read by him since March of this year. This was another good one about two couples. Sally and Larry Morgan move to Madison, Wisconsin in 1937. Larry is going to teach creative writing at the University. They meet Sid and Charity Lang at a faculty party. The two couples become instant friends. Both Charity and Sally are pregnant at the same time. The novel covers their friendship. The Morgans admire the Langs so much they name their daughter Lang. Upon hearing this Charity is disappointed because she hoped her son would someday marry their daughter in which case her name would be Lang Lang and she would sound like a bell on a street car. I thought that was funny. Initially it appears the Langs help the Morgans more but as time passes and situations change, the Morgans are helping the Langs. These two couples vacation together. Their friendship endures in good times and in bad. The generosity of the four main characters is admirable.

Summer of '69

Elin Hilderbrand is the author of Summer of '69 and she was born in the summer of 1969. This book was a nice summer vacation type book about four siblings going to their Grandma's house on Nantucket island. Jessica is the youngest and just turned 13. Her brother Tiger is serving in Viet Nam. Her older sister Kirby is working on Martha's Vineyard. Her eldest sister, Blair, is pregnant with twins. There is a lot of drama going on in this family and in the world. The moon launch happened. Ted Kennedy drove off a bridge and Mary Jo Kopechne was killed. Much like today, the summer of 1969 was a tumultuous time that I had mostly forgotten until I read this book.

Beaver Bay to Beaver Pond Campsite

Today I hiked south bound from Beaver Bay to Beaver Creek Campground. I followed the fault line ridge with a very deep valley below.

Here is proof of what a bear did in the woods.

Here is another view of the valley. See that lake way down there? I will hike along side that lake after a huge descent.

Here is the campground down by that lake.

This is Wilma and Fred Flintstones chaise lounge for their patio.

After a four hour walk I am at my destination. Now I can pull my peanut butter sandwich out of my pocket and head back.

This is one of many grouse I flushed.This one stayed close to me though.We walked parallel to each other for about five minutes. This was a difficult walk with steep hills up and down. At one point I thought it was raining but it was only sweat dripping from my face to my hand. At a later point I thought I was sweating but it was a light rain. When I was about 75% finished with my walk that rain started in earnest. Some times light and some times heavy it rained all the way back to my car. As I walked downhill I could see the water exiting the seams of my shoes. Today would have been a good day to wear waterproof boots. Remind me to put a rain poncho in my hiking pants pocket. Today I added 5.7 miles making my new total on the Superior Hiking Trail 99.5 miles. I have 233 miles left to go.