Voyageurs National Park, MN (08-25-12)

First of all, what the heck is this?  It’s still August, people! The locals do tell us that the leaves start to change in late August around here, and the mornings now have that crispness in the air, just like we used to have on the first day of school when we were kids. I love the summer, but it is kind of nice when autumn starts to roll in.  

Voyageurs National Park was named a national park in the 1970s and is unique in that 40% of the park is water. It’s located in Minnesota, on the Canadian border. It is named for the French Canadian boatmen (called Voyageurs)  who, in the 1700-1800s,  were hired to paddle through these waters carrying beaver pelts and other goods for trading.  They traveled 3000 miles every summer in canoes, rowing an average of 15 hours a day.  There were several places where they had no choice but to port the boats over rough terrain, or around dangerous rapids.  Each man was required to carry over 500 lbs of goods, (100-300 lbs at a time) so these guys would do just about anything, and take any risk to avoid a portage.  So, one of the requirements for becoming a Voyageur is that you can’t know how to swim.  Say what??  The theory behind that was that the Voyageurs hated portage so much they would take unnecessary risks with the cargo, as long as they felt they themselves would survive and be able to swim ashore.  Without the ability to swim, they were more cautious about riding the more dangerous rapids, thereby keeping the cargo safe. 

After hearing horror stories of people getting lost in the hundreds of lakes here, we had pretty much decided to leave the boat piloting to someone else, and booked a 5 hour ranger led tour on Lakes Kabetogama,and Namakan to Kettle Falls Hotel, where we ate lunch at the hotel restaurant.   Before we left the dock, the ranger gave us pointers on searching for Bald Eagles. Basically she said that pine trees branches look like this:

And Pine tree branches with a Bald Eagle sitting on them look like this:



young bald eagle



It turns out that’s a very simple, but effective way of spotting eagles sitting in the trees.



adolescent bald eagle soaring



On the way to lunch, we stopped at 5 eagles nests, and zigzagged all over the lake every time someone spotted a bird.  It was a fun two hours, and we saw well over a dozen eagles, including some adolescent ones.  The head and tail of a bald eagle don’t turn white until the bird is about 5 years old.

We learned that many of the eaglets are banded for tracking purposes, when they are still in the nest, before they are able to fly.  Scientists wait until the talons have reached their full size, so the bird won’t be injured by the tag. The researchers literally climb up the tree, and into the nest, which is no mean feat. Eagles nests are 5-9 feet wide and can weigh up to two tons.

 

Once there, they put the baby birds in a bag to carry them down the tree.  What are the parents doing right about now?  They take off. Literally.  After all, you can always have more chicks, so they abandon the babies to fend for themselves.  After the birds are weighed, measured, and have had some blood tests, they are returned to the nest-no harm done.

30 years ago there were only 5 nesting pairs of eagles in the park and now there are over 50- that’s quite a comeback!  We were lucky enough to find one pair of eagles while they were sitting in the nest:



mature eagles on the nest

  
I was very happy with how the pictures came out, given that we were in a moving boat the whole time I was taking them!

 
If you look at the background on the pictures, you’ll be able to tell easily which ones were taken on the way to the hotel, and which ones were taken on the way back, when the weather took a turn for the worse.  The wind picked up and the clouds came in.  The water was a little rough, but we enjoyed it.  I also enjoyed my new Puma jacket (thanks Ray!)

I’ve been looking for a wind breaker type jacket, but one with a lining, and I finally found it at Puma (my brother works for Puma). The cuffs are a great elastic and it has an awesome hood, which was a bonus.  It is perfect!

The hiking in Voyageurs National Park leaves much to be desired.  People come here to be on the water, not to hike, so the trails are few, and the maintenance non-existent. Oh, and if the trail name is “Beaver Pond overlook” or “Kabetogama Lake Overlook” it does NOT mean there will actually be an overlook.  Maybe there was at one time, but not anymore.  We had planned a unique hike, but weren’t able to do it.  We were going to boat out to a remote peninsula, hike two miles, pick up a canoe that we rented from the Park, then canoe on one of the smaller lakes, before turning around and heading back.  It sounded like a lot of fun, but we were stumped. We needed a water taxi to get us to the peninsula, and they are all too busy to commit to such a small request.  So instead, we hiked a few miles, then went back to the RV park.  It’s on a river and has canoes that are free for us to use.  We canoed 3 miles down the river to a waterfall, then canoed back.  No pictures.  The canoe was tippy (ask Paul) and I didn’t want to risk any electronics.

Blame it on the ipad

What am I talking about? Lack of blog posts….
I guess you’d need to have patience, waiting for a new post (as if life isn’t quite complete unless you hear from me!) And, I guess you can partially blame the lack of posts on my ipad, although to be fair, that’s not the whole reason there have been no posts.  While I was in Boston I was with my family.  When I am visiting with people, I don’t usually take the time to post much, and I very rarely remember to take out my camera, so there aren’t too many pictures.  But also, how weird is it that my laptop seems so archaic and annoying.  It takes sooo long to boot up and actually reach the internet, that I usually cringe at the thought of logging on.  Instead, if I want to go on the web, I grab my ipad and within seconds I am surfing away. The only problem with the ipad is that it is definitely not an easy way to post a blog post.  It’s great for most other things, but really annoying when it’s time for the blog. So writing my post on the fast and sleek ipad isn’t really a solution, and it’s not user friendly for pictures either.  Without special cords, I am limited to the pictures I take with my phone or the ipad itself. In fact, in the last few weeks I have taken so many pictures with my phone, Paul’s phone, the camera and the ipad, that I am really confused as to where my pictures are.  That will change now, since I am back home, with access to my computer.
     So, what exactly have I been doing- I spent the remainder of my “vacation” spending time with a few friends and my family, especially my son.  We had a great time and on my last night in town, the weather was so nice, I commented that it would be nice to be able to eat outside. Stephen had the great idea of going in to Boston to one of his favorite restaurants near Fenway Park. We took the “T” (mass transit) in from his house and had a great dinner sitting outside overlooking the city.
Once I was back home, Paul and I spent a day making plans and reservations.  We reserved our site in Michigan for a Mobile Suite rally, and our spot to go see our daughter later in the month.  We also reserved a month in Boston next spring.  We got the last site available because our plans to visit coincide with Memorial Day weekend. After several intense hours of looking at calendars and maps, we were all “planned out” and packed up to skedaddle out of Wall the next day. 
We’ve been on the road for two days, doing what we hate most- driving too many miles in one day.  Actually, today wasn’t bad, but yesterday he drove over 400 miles.  The cat did not appreciate that!  We are now sitting outside of Voyageurs National Park, waiting for tomorrow to start exploring.

Traditions (Boston, MA 08-13-12)

Most families have traditions, and mine is no exception.   One of our family traditions began over 42 years ago, when my parents decided they needed a much deserved weekend away from their four kids. They stayed at a small motel in New Hampshire, directly across the street from a beautiful beach.  As soon as they got home, they made plans to bring us kids to the Dunes Motel in Rye, NH. That was the start of one of my favorite traditions, our summer vacation at "The Dunes".  Every year  we would head there, staying anywhere from a few days to two weeks, depending on how far my parents could make their dollar stretch.     It's not the fanciest, or even the cleanest motel I have ever stayed in, but it had one thing going for it- location, location, location.

On the beach in 1994- me, brother Rich, sister-in-law Dawn, my daughter Jess, and son Stephen

We could grab our beach toys and a towel and walk across the street to play in the waves and the sand.

on the beach 2012- Stephen, Debbie, Rich, Dawn, Ray

 Once we'd had enough of the beach, we'd head back to the pool for a swim before heading out to dinner at our favorite restaurants.

Jess and I at the pool, 1994

 As the years went by, life changed, and not all of us could make it to the beach every year, but we all tried to go as often as we could.  Both of my kids have been going to "The Dunes" since before they could walk.
Eventually, I moved away and didn't have the chance to make the trek to Rye Beach for a long time.  My brothers and sister try to go every year, and they do manage to get there most years, although they only stay for a long weekend these days. 

Paul joins the tradition in 1999, with Jess

Jess and Stephen on the beach, 1999

on the beach, 1994, Ray and Jess

 Part of the reason I flew to Boston at this particular time is because it coincided with the trip to The Dunes. I had a great 4 day weekend with my family and it brought back a million childhood memories.

arriving at the motel, 2012- Richie, Stephen, Dawn and Ray

rainbow over the pool, 2012

South Dakota- Hill City area (08-02-12)

Custer State Park:
The day we arrived in Hill City, we immediately headed out to check out the local tunnel, but before we left, we had to measure the width of our truck.  Why? Because the sign says the tunnel is 8’6” wide.  Luckily our truck is only 8’2” wide- no problem,  two whole extra inches on each side!

We stopped just before going through the tunnel to climb on the nearby rocks for about an hour. Both Paul and I enjoy rock scrambling, and there are some awesome rocks here.  (our truck is actually in this picture).

Once we tired of that, we stood and watched other vehicles come through the tunnel for a  while.  Apparently we just missed seeing a tour bus squeak through.

And finally, it was our turn!

 

I walked behind the truck through the tunnel- its not like there was going to be a traffic issue, although, a car came right behind me, happy to use our dually to keep people out of his way!  Once inside, Paul had a great time,  but scared the wits out of everyone nearby when he blasted the air horns.
Custer State Park contains Harney Peak, the tallest peak between the Rockies and the Swiss Alps. We hiked an 8 mile loop, eating lunch once we made it to the peak.


We were tired on the way down, and debated taking the short spur that would lead us to Little Devil’s Tower, and we decided we had come to far to pass that close without seeing it, so up we went. 

 We were glad we did- great views and more rock scrambling!

View from Little Devil's Tower-Harney Peak is in the distance

Wind Cave National Park:
The story of how Wind Cave became available to become a National Park is kind of funny ( but not to those involved at the time, I bet).   In 1889, The mineral rights for the land belonged to South Dakota Mining Co.  They hired J.D. McDonald to oversee the cave, and had him file a homesteading claim on the land to keep anyone else from gaining access to it.  J.D.’s teenage son Alvin spent most of his time exploring, mapping and giving tours of the cave. Sadly, he died at the age of 20, but he left behind comprehensive maps of what he found.  After the mining company dissolved a few years later, the McDonald family expanded the touring business and took on a partner.  Over the next several years, more and more arguments broke out between the partners, and eventually they both claimed they owned the property.  They made the unfortunate mistake of taking their battle to court, and the court decided that NEITHER partner had filed an appropriate claim, and ruled that the land would revert back to government ownership.  In 1903 it was turned into a national park.   We started our day at Wind Cave by hiking  a 5 mile loop. Most of the trail was pretty very prairie land, complete with several bison herds.  We even saw a Golden Eagle, although we didn't realize what it was at the time.







 
The prairie dogs were plentiful and very vocal.  They barked from the time we were in sight until we had passed their colony.                 What I will remember most about the trail though, is that it contained the most poison ivy I have ever seen, and it was impossible to dodge it all.  We were both wearing shorts, but we were as careful as we could be, and washed our legs, boots, and sticks when we got back to the truck.  I’ve never actually had poison ivy before and it looks like we both escaped the effects of it this time!       The afternoon forecast called for high heat and possible thunderstorms, so that's when we headed for Wind Cave itself. With a constant year round temperature of 54 degrees, we put on long pants and grabbed a jacket for our 1.5 hour "Fairgrounds Tour",  240 feet beneath the surface.          

 

Wind Cave is the 4th longest cave in the world, and has caverns on three different levels.  Its best known for its Boxwood formations, so named because the formations on the ceiling resemble open cardboard boxes.

Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, SD: In the early 1970s a land developer in Hot Springs, South Dakota, was clearing some land in preparation for building, and came across what appeared to be a ma tusk.  He called the paleontology department of a nearby university and asked them to come out and take a look.
 

The paleontologist confirmed that it was indeed a Mammoth tusk, approximately 26,000 years old, and said he would need several years to determine if the site was of significant archeological value.  Of course, it was, and the developer sold the land to the University for what he paid for it.

          The bones of more than 60 mammoths, as well as bones from 65 other species have been found here.  26,000 years ago this area was a sinkhole that partially filled with warm water from a nearby spring. Vegetation surrounded the sinkhole year round, making it appear to be an easy place for a mammoth to grab lunch. However, if they got too close and fell in, the steep, slick walls made it impossible to get back out.  Most of the animals found here were young males, and the female guide suggested that had they been willing to ask for directions, they may not have fallen in a hole!   

A building was built over the site and a month is spent every year, excavating more of the sinkhole.  They know that it is at least 65 feet deep, and to date they have dug down 22 feet.  They find so many bones in that one month that it takes them the rest of the year to study and catalog them.  If you want to be one of the volunteers that do the digging, you can signup for it.

  Pioneer Museum-Hot Springs, SD    
This museum is housed in the old schoolhouse, and I loved the building- with its creaking floor and towering doorways, it reminded me so much of the grammar school that I attended.

I wish I had had the fire escape they had on the side of their building though-the round tube contains a spiral slide!

Each classroom  housed antiques from various aspects of life so many years ago.       My favorites rooms were the music room, and the children’s room, which contained the setup for a classroom as well as a display of antique/old toys, some of which I remembered from my childhood.                  

Paul’s favorite rooms were the ones that contained the tools and other mechanical items. I think I would keep my hair straight and wet, if these appliances were in use today!

South Dakota-Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse (08-01-12)

Mount Rushmore: In the mid 1920s America was living high on the hog and feeling her oats. Life was good in the USA,  and people wanted to celebrate it in a big way. The idea was formed to carve huge likenesses of American heroes into the granite in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  There was only one sculptor up to the task-Gutzon Borglum.



Borglum  decided if he were to take on the task, the monument would need to showcase the national figures who helped our country advance as far as it had, and he chose George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,  Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt as those most responsible.
         

 

When Gutzon started this project he was 57, and he worked on it until his death 17 years later,  in 1941.  His son put some finishing touches on the statue, but with the pressures of WWII growing, the sculpture was declared "finished" soon thereafter.

               




In his workshop onsite, Gutzon started by building a 12:1 inch scale model of the sculpture, from which he took precise measurements for carving the mountain.  He first had to blast 500 tons of rock from the surface, to reach the carveable granite beneath it.  During the course of the creation, more than 400 workers were employed in various roles.  90% of the sculpting was done by precision dynamite blasts, and only the finishing touches were done by jack hammer and hand tools. 

 

The finished product would  never have looked like the model because there wasn't enough granite suitable for carving to finish the lower portion of the figures.

 

Crazy Horse:

60 some odd years ago the Native Indians decided that they had heroes too, and needed a memorial honoring all American Indians.   The result was the Crazy Horse Memorial, the largest monument in the world.


Crazy Horse is being carved into a granite mountain about 15 miles from Mt. Rushmore. 40 years later the carving is no where near finished, which I thought was odd, until I went there and learned more about it. First of all, no public funds are being used for the project- all monies come from donations and admission fees.  That made me feel better about the $10 per person entrance fee, but I still felt a bit ripped off when we got in the gate and realized that to see the monument  up close  (we were still a mile from it), we would have to pay another $4 each to take the bus ride.  Nope. I guess that's what the Telephoto lens is for.

The other reason it's taking so long to carve is the sheer scope of the project. They removed 1.5 million tons of rock before reaching granite suitable for carving.  With a 7 ft. tall eyebrow, the finished sculpture of Crazy Horse  will stand 563 ft. tall. The entire carving at Mt. Rushmore would fit into Crazy Horse’s head.

             


scale model with carving in the background



Crazy Horse would never allow himself to be photographed, so its not an actual physical likeness of him, but more a composite of a typical Indian Warrior Chief. Crazy Horse was at the battle of Little Bighorn, and in addition to being a warrior chief, was a champion of the Indian way of life.  He refused to live on a reservation, and never signed a single treaty. He was killed at the age of 37, just after surrendering to General Cook.          





There is a laser light show at dark every night- Paul and I stuck around to watch it, but ended up leaving 5 minutes into the show- it was pretty lame. I think the carving itself is/will be awesome, but the visitor center seems to be too focused on the sculptor, and not enough on the subject matter of the monument.

Wandering around South Dakota-the Sturgis area (07-28-12)

Devil’s Tower:
Well, actually, before we got to South Dakota, we stopped at Devil’s Tower WY.

Anyone who was watching movies in the 70’s will easily recognize it from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

I really enjoyed that movie although, given the opportunity to see it again, we decided against it.  The RV Park we stayed in had an awesome view of the tower, and they show the movie every night at 7 pm.

We spent the afternoon hiking around the base of it, and watched some climbers descending for a little while.

Deadwood:

Deadwood was home to Calamity Jane, and Wild Bill Hickok, both of whom were real people and are buried in the nearby cemetery.  I’m sure she didn’t look like Doris Day though, and she actually was one tough character, as was Wild Bill.

Deadwood popped up as a mining town in the 1800s when gold was discovered in the Black Hills.  Although numerous fires have destroyed buildings, the town still retains the feeling of the wild west.  In the 1980s the townspeople realized that in order to maintain the tourist trade, the time had come to refurbish some of the old buildings.  Of course, there was no money to actually do that, so after a prolonged discussion/argument, the decision was made to legalize gambling in the town, with the proceeds going towards restoring historic buildings.  They had no idea how successful that would be, but instead of the 40 years they planned for, they had enough money within one year for the first phase.  Every day Deadwood has several “shoot outs”, a reenactment of the murder of Wild Bill Hickok, and you can pay a few bucks to witness the trial of the guy who murdered Wild Bill.  The rodeo, one of the best small rodeos in the country, was in town, but at 96 degrees outside, we elected not to go.


Sturgis…





What could be better than Sturgis, SD during the yearly motorcycle rally?  Being in Sturgis SD the week Before the rally.  All of the excitement without the sound of a half a million motorcycles!!

This picture is actually a poster on the side of a building,  and Paul is standing in front of it. 

Seriously, the rally is next week, and we will be gone by then.  This is a cool town, and we’d probably stay for the rally if we were with our “motorcycle enthusiast” friends, but once the rally starts- no cars or trucks are allowed on the main drag.  Just motorcycles.  In theory this is a fun place, but from a practical standpoint, we’re not really sure what to do to have fun!

The campground we are staying in is outside of town, and we passed by a doe and her 3 fawns the other day.  So cute!

The Black Hills:

There are many scenic drives around here and we’ve driven several of them.  Today we took a scenic drive to a hiking trail called the Flume. Back in the 1800s this Rockerville Flume carried water from Spring Creek all the way to Rockerville, 20 miles away. The trail follows the remains of the old flume.

The trail took us through two tunnels- a unique and pretty cool experience.

On the way home, we passed by an old fashioned 50s type diner. A few seconds later Paul asked if I thought they had milkshakes on the menu.  Well, heck, that was enough urging for me, and he turned the truck around so we could enjoy some excellent milk shakes.

Bear Butte:

Bear Butte has been a landmark for thousands of years.  It is the only hill for miles around and is easily recognizable.  This butte is sacred ground for the Cheyenne and Sioux Indians in this area.  They have religious ceremonies at the top of the butte and place bright colored material on prayer trees.

They request that you don’t take pictures, so I didn’t, but there were brightly colored prayer trees all over the mountain.  We planned on hiking the 2 miles to the top, but I wimped out 3/4 of the way up because I wasn’t feeling that well.

Fort Mead:

The Star Spangled Banner’s road to becoming our National Anthem started at Fort Mead.  In 1892, Colonel Carlton, the Post Commander, felt the U.S. needed a national song, and thought the Star Spangled Banner would make a good one.  He ordered it played at retreat and at the end of parades and concerts.  When the governor visited, and the custom was explained, the governor thought it was great and promised to push the idea with other leaders. Soon thereafter,  the Secretary of War ordered it played at every Army post in the evening.  In 1931, congress declared it the National Anthem.

There was a small museum at the fort,  which was the last horse cavalry post in the U.S. It converted to a mechanized cavalry in 1942. One of my favorite displays was a flag with 39 stars on it.  It was made in anticipation of South Dakota being made a state, but in the end, both North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted to the union at the same time, so the official flag went from 38 stars to 40-it never had 39 stars on it.  When signing the statehood documents, the President deliberately shuffled the papers so that neither state would know which was signed first.