Month: September 2019

Sunday, September 8, 2019

It was another very cool morning. It was overcast most of the day with an occasional sunny break through. Today we planned to be our canoeing day. Voyageurs being water based, it seemed appropriate when we planned our trip. However, Semper Gumby. The temperature in the 50’s sort of changed our plans and today became a hiking day.

We did a little more work this morning and then headed out to another bogwalk. We forgot to mention our first bogwalk. It was Friday on the drive up to International Falls. We stopped in Orr, MN for a rest stop at what was marked as the rest area on our rest area app. Turns out it was the town hall for Orr and the visitor’s center with a bogwalk. We just walked a short ways on that one.

Today was a bogwalk developed by a local ski club. When the bogwalk ends the cross country ski trails begin. Hikers are not allowed on the trails in the winter but in the summer/early fall, it’s okay. However, there are lots of mosquitoes and biting flies. It was a beautiful hike but you had to really keep moving to keep from being carried off. Only wild life we saw were some grouse that were too shy to have their picture taken.

After stopping by FRED for some additional insect repellent we decided to visit the Kabetogama Lake today since we were on Rainy Lake yesterday. We first went to the visitor center in Kab (as the locals call it). The center was small but had interesting displays, but unless you have a boat there is not much to do there. The lady in the center was very nice and gave us a trail map for the Ash River Visitor Center. She also mentioned the Ash-Kab Trail which is is 26 miles long and connects Kab and Ash River. No thanks. The Ash River Visitors Center is in a great old log cabin. The rangers were very friendly and helpful. From there we decided to hike the Blind Ash Bay Trail which is about 3 miles round trip. There were great views of the Kabetogama Lake from up on the ridges and on the water front. The trail was out through the woods, quiet, and beautiful. We only saw 5 people the entire hike. It was strange that the north side of the ridge and the south side had such different plant life. As we were leaving the Park we stopped to hike out the Beaver Pond Overlook Trail which was a little short hike out the see a beaver pond. Since it was getting late we hoped to see some wildlife activity but it was not to be. All was quiet. We didn’t see much wild life today. We saw some interesting birds and thought we heard an eagle but not positive because we never saw it. It was such a peaceful relaxing day. Total we hiked about ten miles today. Not what we had planned but another really nice day.

Saturday, September 7, 2019

It was cloudy and cold today. You might think that we are exaggerating, but when the people who live here have on their toboggans and sweat shirts, we think the statement is justified. By the way, the wind howled all night last night and was still blowing until dark today. This evening the temperature was 38 degrees cooler that back in Alabama.

We started slowly this morning hoping it would warm up a little. We did some laundry and book work. When we were out walking the park owner invited us to a pot luck tonight for everyone in the park. Around noon we headed to Voyageurs National Park. We stopped at the visitor’s center and watched the movie explaining the creation of the park. Voyageurs is a water based national park. About 35% of the park is water; mostly lakes and marshy areas. After looking at the displays which were very good, we headed out for a hike. The park is really lovely. Nice hiking trails. Lots of greenery and the every present reminder winter is coming, the changing of the leaves. The people here tell us it is about two weeks ahead of schedule.

After our hike, there was a walking talk with a volunteer sharing information about the plants and history of the area. Then it was time for our boat ride out on Rainy Lake. You really can’t see or appreciate this park without getting out on the water. We had a ranger with us on the boat explaining everything from the Minnesota gold rush on Rainy Lake to pointing out all the eagles, eagle nests, and beaver lodges. We think we saw about eight different bald eagles – two juveniles and the rest adults. It was cold out on the water but we were dressed for it and really enjoyed our day.

We returned home just in time to get our deviled eggs ready for the park pot luck. Since we didn’t know anyone but the sweet young couple who own the park we were a little hesitant. It was so much fun. We shared the NOMADS story with several people, had a great meal and made new friends. Really good day!

Friday, September 6, 2019

It was just like a work day today, up at 5:30. We planned to leave at 8:00 and we had one couple leaving at 6:00 so we needed to be moving early. Tom and Betty pulled out just as they scheduled and then we got busy doing our final prep of refrigerator, cabinets, etc. We then went ahead a did our morning walk since we knew it was going to be a long drive today. We made our planned departure time after getting our final hugs from our team members. We will see several of them at annual meeting but don’t know when we will be back with some. Safe travels to all. It was a great team.

We headed northwest from New Lisbon, on I-94. After about 90 miles we changed to US 53 for another 325 miles and arrived at Rainy Lake RV park just east of International Falls, Minnesota about 4:15. We came here to visit Voyageurs National Park. We have never visited this park or Minnesota so we should be able to add the state for FRED, get our national park passport stamped and find a geocache or two while we are here. We have a few days until we need to be in Illinois for the NOMADS annual meeting so it seems a good time to take a few days to play. It was an uneventful drive although a little harder due to the gusty winds. We stopped about every two hours to walk and change drivers. We really enjoyed the scenery going north in Wisconsin. Beautiful rolling hills of farm and forest land. After only about an hour we could see more color in the leaves. The further north we drove, we noted the steeper the pitch on the roofs of the barns and homes.  That means there is too much snow for us to live here.  We also got to see Lake Superior today. Another first for us. We crossed into Minnesota at Duluth, but sadly, no time to stop and shop at Duluth Trading today. As we continued to drive north, we noted a big change in the species of trees we were seeing, and of course more color change in the leaves. The leaves are by no means at peak but there are some bright reds and yellows to be enjoyed. It was a good day. Tomorrow we will head to the park.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Our last day in Winding Rivers proved to be another beautiful day. We had another cool night, just perfect for sleeping and a beautiful blue sky morning.

Max and Anne led devotion today using Psalm 46:1-3 as our scripture, and talked about how we can stop the spiritual hurricanes that come against people. This happens as we respond to everything we encounter with Christ’s Spirit and His love. Such an attitude can turn the tide of despair into an understanding that Jesus can meet a person’s every need. Jesus will be with them in every storm of life. The last day of a project tends to mean our meeting gets a little emotional and today was no exception. It’s hard to say goodbye to the great new friends we have made and the old friends we have come to love even more.

We eventually got back to work with Anne, Betty and Sue heading back out to Liana’s. It took just a couple hours to complete the touch up sanding and priming of the basement. We took Liana’s Bible to her house and left it for her with a note. Tonight we received a sweet text from her thanking us for all we did at her house and wishing us all well. With that was done, the ladies returned to the church to join the rest of the team. Nancy was hard at work completing the sanding of the drywall in the sanctuary. Unfortunately that project didn’t get completed because there was no paint. The Lord must want one of the church members to get the joy of completing the sanctuary painting. The remainder of the day was spent completing the sheathing on the new bathroom addition. We were able to close in two sides of the addition before we ran out of OSB. The Lord must want someone else to have the joy of completing that project, also.

This evening we presented a Bible to Nate’s fiance and then another to Rhonda and Denise. Special times. We weren’t able to contact Isaac so will leave that Bible with Pastor Deb. We did talk to JJ and wrote him a note and left his Bible with the preacher too.

After the Bible presentation at Rhonda’s, we went to Pastor Deb’s house for a pot luck dinner with some of the church members we have worked most closely with. Larry grilled pork tenderloin’s and chicken. Thanks so much, Deb and Larry, for opening your beautiful home to us. We had a wonderful meal and the company was even better. Such a beautiful part of Wisconsin. We understand why you like to sit on your front porch.

Our time in Wisconsin is now over. It has been great! Winding Rivers gets the prize for amazing hospitality. We will miss the people of this congregation. They are loving and caring. It is wonderful to see them outside the doors of the church building caring for their community. We will continue to carry them in our hearts and prayers and hope to return one day. Thanks to everyone for making this a great project!