Bluewater 2011

When I was growing up, camp was the highlight of my summers. I loved it so much that I started volunteering to work several weeks during the summers I was in high school, just so I could spend as much time there as possible. The summer after my senior year, I lost all semblance of normality during my stint as a dishwasher. Ten weeks of washing dishes for 150ish people is enough to knock all the sense out of a person.

That's my story, and "I'm stickin' to it."

I subsequently went back for six more summers; two as secretary and four as head cook. Some of the closest friendships I've had were formed at Camp Illiana in Washington, Indiana. I'm thankful for the experience. Not everyone will take such nuttiness in stride. Plus, my driving skills were honed to the point of manic by our games of golf-cart tag. After dark. Through the woods.

I'm passing myself off as a grown-up these days. I'm a mom now, and I'm so thankful that our family still does camp! Since moving north, we have adopted Bluewater Covenant Bible Camp as our camp of choice. At first, we fell in love with the setting. We have come to love the people as well. That's really what camp is about after all.

I love not having to cook. Mr. Dad likes not having to do dishes. The girls spend every available moment in the lake, and we all enjoy playing games and roasting s'mores. Lots of things (good and bad) have happened to our family during the years we've been in Minnesota, and I have come to see our time at Bluewater as an opportunity to regroup. It's also a time for me to check up on myself and see if I am living up to all that I aspire to be. And when all that thinking gets to be too much, I just go jump in the lake.

The Grand Tour

 The Straight-haired girl and I spent the weekend together. We talked, we painted our nails, we had a mini spa. It was our own little staycation, complete with several outings. The biggest, most grandest thing we did was take a boat ride out on Rainy Lake with the National Park Service. It was well worth the splurge!

We are somewhat of an anomaly up here. We don't hunt, we don't fish, and we don't have a boat. The first two we don't care about. The last one is on our wish list, but not a priority. I'm thinking it might need to become one. The more I am out on the lake, the more I fall in love with it.

Can you tell who is very excited about this adventure? We didn't even have to wear life vests, since The Voyageur is a Coast Guard certified vessel. There's Sha Sha in the distance.The resort is named for a chief of the sizeable Ojibwe settlement that was on the point during the time of the Voyageurs. Before E.W. Backus dammed up Rainy River at International Falls, people were walking across the lake between the point and what would become Rainy Lake City. After the dam went in, the lake level rose six feet.

When gold fever hit with the discovery of gold on Little American Island, Rainy Lake City was born. We learned that the commute (by boat) to Little America was a mile one way. They also hauled all the ore to Rainy Lake City to process it. All that's left is one little shed and Grand Avenue. It's overgrown and grass covered, but still evident because of the trees that line it.

Rainy Lake is huge. It's easier to gauge the size of the Great Lakes, because they are so very large. Most maps of the United States show the Great Lakes and how large they are. However, Rainy Lake wasn't on any of the maps I saw as a child, or at least I didn't recognize that it was. Compared to the lakes (more like puddles) I knew growing up it's halfway to ginormous!

The little gray strip in the photo above is Canada, by the way. It seems very far away from where we were sitting.

 We also got to see the last commercial fishing establishment on Rainy Lake, complete with ice house. (That's the building on the left.) Nearby was a bald eagle's nest, complete with fledgling. The baby was out hopping around on a branch just below the nest. There are thirty-seven pairs of bald eagles in Voyageur's National Park. It is near capacity at that number. Eagles need a lot of territory.

The Grand Tour is two and a half hours long and well worth it! We even got to take a little hike and talk to some interesting people before we docked at the Rainy Lake Visitor's Center.

The Slip n' Slide Died

It was a sad, sad day for the Curly-headed girl when she was told that the slip n' slide had breathed its last, for at least five minutes. You could just see the gears turning in her head. And we figured that since the lawn needed a break from the heat, she might as well talk us into it.

Although her sister didn't want anything to do with the business end of the hose, she did volunteer to spray everyone. None of the friends objected. You can see the progression, can't you? Photo one is held tentatively. In the next photo, she's leaning into it as far as she can.

Then she just had to get closer, so she is chasing people. And turning the hose to chase them with the water. She didn't last long. The next thing I knew, she was "letting" other people spray the hose, much like Tom Sawyer with his brush and whitewash, while she sprinted for the house.

Pretty soon, she emerged with her bathing suit on and joined in the fun. That's how she rolls these days. She has to decide whether or not she's too mature for such activities. Then, when the standing and watching grows too painful, she's all in. Love that girl! Love watching her figure out that it really doesn't matter what the maturity judges think. Sometimes you just have to live your own life.

Back to the Northshore

Gooseberry Falls

We decided that it would be lots of fun to run around barefoot in the river for hours. After all, we didn't have anything better to do...

So that's exactly what we did.

We climbed some rocks.

And picked up others.

Well, perhaps we staged this shot...

It was a good day!

More Split Rock Scenery

To the northeast.

A closer look.

To the southwest.

Another closer look.

Happy Birthday, Split Rock Lighthouse!

Split Rock turns 100 this year. It was completed in 1910, before a road reached the area. All of the building materials were shipped to the sight and hauled up the cliff, 130 feet above Lake Superior, by derrick. The U. S. Lighthouse Service operated it until 1939. At that point, the U.S. Coast Guard took command of the light until 1969 when modern navigational equipment made it obsolete. The State of Minnesota obtained the scenic landmark in 1971, and the Minnesota DNR operated it as part of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park for five years. At that point, the Minnesota Historical Society took over administration of the light and keepers' houses.

The light is kept in rotation by a 200 pound weight that drops to the floor and is cranked back up by hand. It even has a release mechanism that keeps the lens rotating while the keeper cranks the weight back to the top of the tower.

It has a third order Fresnel lens that was manufactured in Paris, France. (Fresnel lenses were ordered from one to six, with one being the most powerful and farthest reaching.) It was lit by an incandescent kerosene lamp from 1910 to 1939. In 1940 the kerosene light was replaced by a 1,000 watt electric bulb. The light is visible for 22 miles.

Once every 10 seconds, the light flashes as it rotates. And for 59 years, it kept its solitary vigil over the shore of Lake Superior north of Two Harbors, MN.

Before Summer Kicks the Bucket

It's coming. (Cue Jaws theme song.) Around here, we might have summer until Labor Day, if we are lucky: it definitely will be gone before the official end of summer date. So here is summer's bucket list.

10. Finish painting things on the walls and clean the house. Wait. Scratch that last bit. That's a "need to do" list.

9. Eat ice cream at Tara's Wharf

8. Finish my summer reading list and get my hands on a copy of Behemoth. Just 'cause.

7. Watch the stars come out with my family.

6. Ride my bike more.

5. Hike on the North Shore. (More later.)

4. Observe the wildlife in our yard more closely.

3. Spend at least one more day at the beach.

2. Make something beautiful.

1. Breathe: Inhale, pause, exhale, pause. Repeat. Practice gratitude. Remember that life is constructed of small moments like these.

Fun With Your Oscillating Fan

Not that I'm advocating dangerous play or anything: This is probably not good fun for a preschooler. But, by the time they can safely ride a bike they have probably learned that revolving things aren't safe for their fingers.

So with that in mind, here's our list: Stand over the uptilted fan and act like the Stay-puff Marshmallow Man; put your face near the fan and use the "Turbo Fan" voice; blow streamers out into the room and let your siblings run through them; and lastly, use the fan for cooling off when it's super hot outside. If the temperature reaches 70 during the day, you probably should use a fan to prevent heat stroke. It's just a good safety precaution, you know.

Bluewater Take 6

Ahhh...summer. Where better to relax?

Of course, the kids had their own favorite activities.

And while they waited for their turn, 

they found ways to keep themselves from being bored, 

because...

...every great sculptor has to start somewhere.

Cinder-freckle-frog-faced-Ella

They don't get to see their cousins much. 

They all live far away  -

at the other end of the earth.

When they do get together,

they spend their time teaching each other 

things that will drive the rest of the family crazy.

"We're the fall sisters, and what do fall sisters do?"

"They fall!"

Apparently,

all this nonsense

was slightly confusing

for the Small Blond Child.
Or maybe, she's just more laid back than her cousins.

Knee High to What! A Giant?

She is growing, but apparently the corn is growing faster!

This Is What Summer is All About!

Happy, happy Independence Day!

Art in the Park

We braved the hot, muggy weather and the imminent storm to go to Arts in the Park.

 The straight-haired girl liked the hair decorating and face painting. 

The curly-headed girl most emphatically did not. 

(And neither did Grandma's car...sorry Mom!)

They both highly enjoyed the painting activity.

It's rewarding to see them attack the paper so confidently...

Variety is the Spice of Life

She likes to careen down the slide like a barely controlled race car - flipping from side to side in a blur, as she screams to the bottom; upside down and sideways if possible.

Apparently, extra points are awarded for silly faces and hands that don't provide additional balance. It's all about fun - with style. If she can make you laugh, then it's all worth it.

This one, on the other hand is a little more cautious. She knows that if you don't brace yourself, you could end up who knows where - with a scraped up elbow! And we all know that wouldn't be good.

When she's finished, she checks to see if I'm still there. (It's best if I'm smiling. That helps.) For her, it's all about a job well done; in her own time, in her own way.

The best thing about all of this fun is the end result: both girls will sleep well tonight. And so will the parents!