North Shore

So we have been here in Minnesota for 3 weeks now and we are still not sure if or when anything may happen with this business that we are trying to get involved with. We have spent the last 3 weeks holed up in a cabin that we are staying in, watching movies on our computer, driving into town to play at the park, and driving around the region enjoying the beauty of the Northwoods. The other day at the park we were blessed to overhear this conversation between a handful of 13 year-olds talking about some 9 year-olds who were playing baseball at the park.

13 year old number 1: "yo, check out those loser 9 year olds"
13 year old number 2: "yeah, for reals, how lame is that"
13 year old number 3: "remember when we were that young?"
13 year old number 1: "yeah, back then we thought that we we actually legit cool dudes, and now look at them, they think they are cool."
13 year old number 2: "don't worry when they get to be as old as we are, they will know how lame they are, and appreciate being as old as us"
13 year old number 3: "yeah, then they might actually be as legit and cool as we are now, but probably not, because they still won't be us."

Besides listening to conversations between 13 year olds, we took a day and drove the North Shore of Lake Superior. We drove up to the Canadian border and then followed the highway that runs along the coast of Superior. We started at the living history heritage site that is right on the border. There we toured the fort that has been restored, learned about the rendezvous where the trappers and Indians would get together, toured the facilities and stayed until Kasey was bored(she doesn't particularly like this sort of thing).
When we were touring the "Great Hall" at the fort we were told that sometimes hall was used to hold dances. The tables would be moved and the benches were moved to the sides to create space for the dancers. Ady heard the word dance and wanted to show that she doesn't need anyone to move tables or benches for her to be able to dance.


Next we visited a half a dozen water falls, one was half in Canada and half in the U.S. and was 130 feet tall. Some of the falls we stopped and hiked to see and some were visible from the roadside. This is a picture of how we hike.

We visited Split Rock Lighthouse, which was built to help ships navigate Lake Superior's rocky shores during storms(the year before the lighthouse was built 30 ships wrecked in one storm that had near 100 mile hour wind and 30 foot waves). Ady obliged us with this pose.
All in all, even though we are frustrated with the lack of progress with our business deal, we have taken time to enjoy our surroundings and the time with each other.

June Update

For starters, Brock had his big check-up on his heart this morning, and the results weren't exactly what we were hoping for. He will have to have another surgery, probably in the next few months. He acts and looks like a healthy baby, but it seems his heart still isn't working quite as well as it should.

As for our move to Minnesota, things haven't been fully finalized on the deal yet, so we aren't doing much with the new business yet, but are hoping that things will be taken care of by mid next week. Due to the confidentiality agreements and non-disclosure statements that we have signed we can't give exact details yet but we will be working at an outfitter in the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness. For those of you who don't know, or didn't read about my trip last June, the BWCA is a large, 1.2 million acre, federal preserve that has been set aside for non-motorized outdoor recreational activities such as hiking, snowshoeing, canoeing and other such activities. Every summer roughly 200 thousand people enter the BWCA at various entry points that are designated and controlled via permits. Most of the people rent or bring a canoe and camping equipment and then will paddle through the BWCA. So what we will be doing is running an operation that will provide lodging the night before you depart and all the gear, food and equipment for your trip. We will also arrange for your permit, transport you to your drop-off site, set you up with a suggested route, answer any questions, and then pick you up at the conclusion of your trip and bring you back to the lodge for your vehicle and a shower. When we are legally able to, we will post the link to the company's website. If anyone is interested in going on such a trip, I will be going on 10 to 12 five day trips this summer in order to learn the most popular routes, fishing spots, and choice photographic points. I would prefer not to have to go on each trip by myself and would welcome any interested person as a "research" partner.

Since we have been here, we have been enjoying some of the local points of interest. One that we went to is the Wolf Center. It is a place where they educate people about wolves with exhibits, interesting presentations, and a wolf viewing area. Here is Brock hanging out at the viewing window.

We also went for a short hike on a trail near the cabin we are staying in and at the end of the trail was this 35 foot waterfall.