Watch out folks, Grand Marais is hopping.  It’s Fisherman’s Picnic and everyone is flocking to town for the festivities.  Fish burgers, fish tosses and many other activities are scheduled for the weekend.  It’s a beautiful day in Grand Marais today so come and have some Fish Pic Fun!

     Last night we celebrated the season by dining out with the Voyageur Crew.  We enjoyed a great meal of barbecued ribs at Loon Lake Lodge, not before we snapped a bunch of photos though…

     Fishermen’s Picnic is almost here.  This weekend Grand Marais will be filled with folks eating fish burgers, tossing fish and celebrating all things fish and more.  There will be softball games, the bingo tent, a boat parade and many other activities throughout the weekend.

     One added feature this year will be the Boom Run competition.  This will occur away from the hustle and bustle of town on Sunday at the Atkinson Pond on Clearwater Lake.  World class athletes will compete in this unique event.  There will also be log rolling demonstrations, prize giveaways and fun for everyone.  The action begins at 10:30AM and will continue throughout the day.  Admission tickets are just $3.00/person and will benefit the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department.  Bring along a chair and plan to spend some time by the lake this Sunday.

     You can always get away from it all if you want to but if you’d rather not then there is plenty to do this weekend so come and be a part of it all.  We hope you’ll support the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department and come have some Boom Run Fun!

      It’s blueberry picking time and the berries are ripening.  The Superior National Forest has issued a warning to those who plan to pick in the area.

REMINDER FOR SAFE BERRY PICKING ON SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST

July 23, 2009 — People picking berries on the Superior National Forest should be aware that spot application of herbicide to control invasive plants may occur on some roadsides within the Forest. As part of a Forest Service-wide effort, Forest Supervisor Jim Sanders signed a decision in 2006 that allows for management of non-native invasive plants using a variety of methods including herbicide, hand-pulling, and biological controls. The Superior National Forest has been working with partners such as the counties and state to control non-native invasive plants. When ever possible, we will choose to use non-chemical means. However, herbicide spraying is often the most effective control for invasive plants that grow within the rights-of-way of roads. Through the end of August 2009, we plan to use two approved herbicides, Milestone and Escort, both of which have low toxicity to people and wildlife. Although we control the spray to stay within 25 feet of the road’s edge, we suggest that if you do pick berries next to a road, you move 50 feet from the road before you start picking. This will help ensure that your berries are from outside the treated area and that you are safe from traffic hazards. As always, we urge berry-pickers to confirm identification of plants they are harvesting from and to be aware that forest plants bear poisonous fruits. Maps showing herbicide treatment sites are available at district offices in Grand Marais, Tofte, Aurora, Ely, and Cook, MN, and on the Superior National Forest website:

Jack Greenlee at 218-229-8817.

     Something unusual has happened for the 2nd time this year in Cook County.  A person trying to avoid the long arm of the law thought he may be able to escape to the Gunflint Trail or possibly Canada.  The details of the incident are sketchy and unconfirmed at this point but I have pieced together my story that I will tell here.

     On Saturday a man paddled up to a dock of a cabin owner on nearby Gull Lake.  He was lost and wanted to go over his map with someone.  The cabin owner looked at the canoe and noticed it was his canoe that he normally kept at Way of the Wilderness near the Trail’s End Campground.  He vocalized this to the man in the canoe who replied that he had just purchased the canoe.  The cabin owner was doubtful and suggested they go to Way to figure out what had happened. 

     Together they made their way back to Way of the Wilderness.  The man wasn’t going to stick around to see what anyone at Way would say and fled in a vehicle.  A call to 911, a couple of road blocks and combined forces of the US Border Patrol and Cook County Sheriff’s Department stopped the man in his tracks.

     It was determined there was a warrant out for this man’s arrest and he was supposedly armed and dangerous.  Best guess is he was trying paddle to Canada but he didn’t get more than a half of a mile before getting lost.  Who knows if he had gear to paddle and camp but with the bad luck he had I doubt he would have made it to the border. 

     I wonder what the odds are of stealing a canoe only to be discovered moments later when you stop to ask the owner for directions.  Crazy stuff.  I hope people who have done illegal things will quickly learn Cook County isn’t the place to come to disappear.  A couple have tried this year and both have failed.  I’d suggest giving up, because if you come to Cook County then they’re going to get you.

     Oh what fun It is to ride in a 22 person powered dragon boat.  We had a terrific time in Grand Marais during the Dragon Boat Races.  I never went to look at Team Gunflint’s times or standings because the day and the races aren’t about winning or losing but about having fun for a good cause.

     The Dragon Boat Races are a fundraiser for three of the local non-profit groups in Grand Marais.  The North House Folk School, WTIP Radio and the North Shore Health Care Foundation all beneit  from the money raised at the festival.  Paddlers come from all over to participate with teams from the Twin Cities and Canada.  There are a number of teams from Cook County that race each year too.

    The Grand Marais Harbor is hopping during the races with folks mingling and visiting all over.  Spectators enjoy watching the boats speed through the water and listening to the sound of the beating drums.  Our team had fun dodging the rain showers, paddling our hearts out and spending the day with friends on the edge of Lake Superior friends on the edge of Lake Superior.

Fun at the Dragon Boat races today.

      Today is Friday, July 24th and the start of Dragon Boat weekend in Grand Marais.  Paddlers will be flocking to the area to participate in the event.  Today is practice day with the actual races beginning tomorrow.  Tonight will be the opening ceremony complete with dragons and dancing.

     The forecast doesn’t look perfect for the weekend but that doesn’t matter.  There’s only a 50% chance of rain and the wind isn’t predicted to blow much which is a good thing when paddling on the Big Lake, or any lake for that matter.

     If you’re in the area and looking for something to do then be sure to check out the harbor in Grand Marais.  The races are great fun to watch and even more fun to participate in just be sure to cheer for Team Gunflint.

      Just in case you didn’t already know it, I’m tired.  I know people complain about being tired all of the time but I think it’s kind of like the weather, just something to talk about.  There can be many reasons a person is tired including not eating properly, not drinking enough water, not getting enough exercise, illness or lack of sleep for whatever reason.  

     I blame my being tired on a number of things and that is my excuse for drinking huge quantities of Diet Coke on a daily basis.  But as I go through the list of reasons for being tired and try to correct them I still can’t figure out what my problem is or how I can sometimes sleep for 12 hours straight unaffected by any outside noise when I normally wake up if the cat walks through the room.

     The next paragraph is personal and not for the faint of heart or for Mike to know I wrote about in my blog, so don’t read it if you feel you don’t need Too Much Information or if you feel the need for Mike to know I talked about it.

     I know I’m getting older and being post menopausal due to a total hysterctomy a couple of years ago may not help.  I have hypothyroidism and my numbers are in the "normal" range at this time.  Mike has been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea after my visit to the Mayo Clinic determined his snoring was my problem.  He stopped breathing an average of 42 times an hour and needless to say he also snored quite loudly.  He now wears a Darth Vader machine to bed each night and I have slept quite peacefully for about 3 months now.  I guess long term sleep deprivation must take a long time to recover from because I am still so tired.

     YOU CAN READ AGAIN…

     I have come to the conclusion running a canoe outfitting business is alot of work and could be what makes me so tired.  I have young staff who are tired after an 8 hour shift of work and some days after 12 hours of "work" I find myself blogging, working on schedules or doing some other work stuff for another 4 hours.  This type of work can be both mentally and physically exhausting I guess.  

     Alas, winter comes and we get to catch up, right?  Some folks think Mike and I have other jobs because there couldn’t possibly be enough to do in the "off" season for Voyageur.  There is more than enough work to do for 4 full-time workers year around if we can afford to hire them!  Maybe if we weren’t active members of the community we live in then we could catch up in the winter.  Then again, maybe not.

     I don’t know.  Maybe being tired is just what we are supposed to be on earth and once we’re gone from this world we’ll finally be rested.  Until then I’ll just have to keep telling myself, "I feel rested, I feel terrific, I feel rested and I’m rip, rearing and ready to go."  Because tired or not here life comes.

      Not that hairy, the other Harry as in Potter, Harry Potter that is.  Yes, even hundreds of miles from the nearest movie theater and no television my children still know who Harry Potter is.  I have to admit I’ve seen kids dressed up like little geeks with glasses at Halloween for a number of years but had never seen or read anything Harry Potter until this year.  2009 will be known as the year of Harry Potter for my son Josh.

     It must have been one of the many cancelled school days this winter when I was introduced to Harry Potter.  Our neighbors, 12 miles down the road, have 2 sons who own the Harry Potter movies and the kids asked to borrow one.  I was upstairs in the living room working on my computer when they put the first Harry Potter movie in and I have to admit, it caught my attention.  The only problem with the movie was it was over too soon.  The kids told me there was a second Harry Potter movie.  And a third, and a fourth and a fifth!  Lo and behold our neighbors owned all of them.

     Within a week’s time I think the kids and I watched all of the Harry Potter movies.  Since then any stick that looked remotely like a wand would become one to Josh.  Spells would be chanted and looked up online and yes, even I had my favorite spell to use, "Cryptosporidium!"  Each time I used it I was told it wasn’t really a spell, but I didn’t care, it always made me laugh.

     Josh celebrated his 8th birthday in June.  Although I normally refuse to purchase any DVD that isn’t titled Animal Kingdom, Planet Earth or something educational, I ordered Josh a set of 5 Harry Potter movies, a Harry Potter poster and yes, an original Harry Potter wand.  Josh was happy.

     As almost everyone knows a new Harry Potter movie opened in theaters on July 15th.  It was difficult to explain to Josh why we couldn’t rent it on Netflix or buy it in a store before it came out in theaters.  He also didn’t understand why we couldn’t just drive to Duluth on the day of the Annual Canoe Races to go to see it on the first day.

     This week Abby is away at Girl Scout camp in Wisconsin.  I wouldn’t say Josh has been bored or that he misses his sister, but it could be true.  I, having been able to tolerate all of the Harry Potter movies, decided maybe I could handle taking Josh to see the new Harry Potter movie.  So, last night, after a meeting in town, Josh and I drove to Thunder Bay to go to a movie. 

     I wanted to make sure we would get into the movie after driving 2 hours to get there so I ordered tickets online.  When I saw the total of $8.00 I thought there was some mistake, but nope, it was a special day at the theater in Thunder Bay and that’s what it cost me in Canadian dollars for two tickets.

• Gas to get to Thunder Bay and back- $15.00
• Popcorn, pop & candy at the movie- $16.00
• Movie tickets- $8.00
• A first date with Josh at a Harry Potter movie?
• PRICELESS!