The BWCA

On Saturday morning we departed from our trip to the Boundary Waters! Calhoun and I brought two of my friends from school, Uptown and Sparky, and Sogn. We got our permit from the Grand Marais Ranger Station then loaded up at Ram Lake, off the Gunflint Trail.

Calhoun and I have never been up in that area before and we didn't realize how hight the elevation is! We completed four portages that first day and climbed up the whole way. We were exhausted at the end of the night.

The weather overall was a bit chilly, with winds every day. I thought it was great, because it meant that sitting around and reading and eating. I was a little sad that instead of wearing my bathing suit and getting a tan I wore my winter hat and a few jackets, but I think that preparing for and experiencing everything and anything that could happen is part of the adventure of the Boundary Waters.
I had a wonderful time and I'm so happy that we went and got to share it with great friends!

Campsuds

We're headed to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area tomorrow!

One of the things about camping that I love is the anticipation. It's a different kind of anticipation than going on the average weekend getaway or any other kind of trip. I think the reason I get so excited about it is because you use a lot of stuff when you're camping that you never use. My memories of camping are very attached to certain objects, sensations, smells... Whenever I see a small, focused, bright LED light I think of my headlamp and late night treks through the dew to the latrine and trying to find stuff in my nylon tent.

Calhoun brought home some Campsuds today...and I CAN'T WAIT!

The Minnesota Summer "Work Week"

I think I've been a little slow in the posting lately because I feel like I haven't done anything spectacularly Minnesotan lately. Partly because I've been working a lot, but then I figured out that the Minnesota Summer "Work Week" definitely deserves a post.

We've planned a trip to the Boundary Waters, and Calhoun and I are taking two of my friends from school along. Uptown, as you know, is from the great state of Pennsylvania. The other friend we're taking, Judo, is from Arizona and pretty much hates Minnesota and most things about it. But, we took him out in a canoe for the first time at the beginning of the summer and as we glided along the water he turns to me and says, "this is great. I can see how this makes people forget that it sucks here nine months of the year."

And Judo, in all of his wisdom, is right. Minnesota summer is the best, and people forget about how miserable it is here for the rest of the year and lots of times they similarly forget to go to work.

Have you ever tried to do business on Friday afternoon in the summer? It's pretty much a no-go. When I worked for a liberal arts college right after graduation most offices closed by 3 pm and by noon on Fridays. Now that I'm back in school, I find that the same is true of my University - I am frequently surprised by how many emails bounce-back with an "out of office" response. Not to mention, I have taken my fair share of early Fridays or Friday's off altogether, and am astounded by the full light rail on the way home, the multitude of people riding on the parkway and the roaring grills in the backyard at 4 pm.

So yes, Minnesota winters are long and dark. But it seems to be the well recognized rule that Minnesota work weeks are short and sweet, and time off doesn't necessarily require a vacation day.

It's a Small School After All

Tracy's Saloon is our favorite restaurant in all of Minnesota. It has many incredible features, but our favorite is when they have wooden nickel, happy hour, during which you can buy a beer and you get a wooden nickel, for a free beer, redeemable at any time in the future. We found out about Tracy's because it's a favorite spot for many of the students in Calhoun's graduate department because of the great deals, totally relaxed atmosphere and incredible mix of people.

Thursday night I headed off to Tracy's at 9 to meet Calhoun after he got done with the class he is a teaching assistant for at the University. Thursday is not only a wooden nickle night, but Taco Night - we try and make it about once a month. Anyways, I'm sitting in the booth, cradling my Surly Furious and spinning my wooden nickel and in comes Calhoun and our friend, Kawishiwi, came in! Kawishiwi is a good friend from college who is a graduate student at the U in a different department than Calhoun, but they ran into each other leaving school! On a campus of more than 50,000 student, what are the odds?

We had a great night. The boys enjoyed the Summit Red Ale from the Summit Brewing Company right here in St. Paul, we watched the Vikings not make their first round draft pick and talked a lot about upcoming trips to the Boundary Waters!