In trying to keep up with writing as close to every day as I can, here I am on vacation staring at my phone. Writing is a lot like playing an instrument, in that it constantly needs practice. Welcome to my practice session. :). Fiddle is next!
Tomorrow is a big day (I mean, aside from our anniversary), we’re getting up in the dark so we can drive an hour north, and then drive the hour back during the last hour before sunrise. Dawn and dusk are the best times to see a moose, and driving back the last hour will give us a view of the sunrise over Lake Superior, which is almost always spectacular. Typically I am not in favor of setting an alarm and getting up early while on vacation, but I’m still holding onto my dream of seeing a moose in the wild, and sometimes you have to sacrifice to make your dreams come true!
Today while on a walk by the lake, we stopped into a little fishing museum. Fishing was big business on Lake Superior once upon time. Several factors, like the creation of the shipping canal that allowed sea lampreys, who were formerly stopped by Niagara Falls, to enter the Great Lakes, killed most of the business.
What I learned, in summary, at the museum was that being a “fishing family” on Lake Superior was hard work. Everybody in the family had a job, from picking nets to gutting fish to keeping the seagulls away, there was no shortage of work.
My grandparents always used to come to “The North Shore” as it’s referred to in MN, for smelting. When smelt spawn they head up the little streams leading out of Lake Superior. My grandparents would come home with five gallon bucketfuls, each one needing to be split and gutted and it’s head chopped off. Then they would have a big smelt fry. Adventurers, they were.
Along with moose looking, we’re hiking up a mountain tomorrow. It starts with switchbacks, made more difficult because this time of year they will be snow packed and icy. I’m ready for it though, can’t wait to see the views.
We always used to cross country ski in this trip, but I’ve managed to weasel us out of it the last couple of years. I’ve become more concerned in my older age about falling down, and I’m much more stable in my boots hiking than I am in skis. I’m short, and those things are as tall me!
Currently sitting by the open window, even though it’s like 14 degrees, listening to the waves roll in. If you don’t live somewhere where water freezes in the winter, then you probably don’t appreciate how good it is to hear waves and see open water in the middle of winter. I spend a of time just looking out at the lake. We’re lake people in MN.
Today the lake was calm, but the waves are getting bigger and the wind is picking up. Lake snow is expected overnight.
All the better to see the moose tracks!
Hope you’re having a delightful weekend,
Nic
NickNackPaddyWhack-ed 