We waited all through the year For the day to appear When we could be together in harmony You know the time will come Peace on earth for everyone And we can live forever in a world where we are free Let it shine for you and me There’s something about Christmas time Something about Christmas time That makes you wish it was Christmas everyday To see the joy in the children’s eyes The way that the old folks smile Says that Christmas will never go away We’re all as one tonight Makes... (more...)
When I asked my father-in-law if he had any good winter traveling stories to tell for the Outdoor Blogger Network/Sportsman Channel blog writing contest, he recounted several. I entered one (I didn’t win), recently wrote about another, but have saved the best for last. When you’ve been a part of a community as long as my in-laws have been a part of the Gunflint Trail, you’re bound to hear stories. And some you’ll become a part of. They inevitably involve a few, if not just... (more...)
As a kid growing up in Minnesota in the 70s and 80s (yes, I’m that old), I remember snow and lots of it. The snowplows would build drifts 5-6ft tall at the end of our driveway. It was a kid’s winter paradise with snowmen, snow forts, snowball fights. With the exception of one year, the 90s brought relatively mild winters. A few inches of snow here and there and even a brown Christmas or two. In recent years, the classic Minnesota winter has returned. We’ve seen large snowfalls... (more...)
If you ask a non-Minnesotan to tell you what they know about Minnesota, they’ll tell you, “it’s cold.” This reputation is so pervasive that when a friend of mine in college landed an internship here in Minneapolis for the summer, he packed sweaters. He had no idea that it gets up to 90+ degrees F in Minnesota in June/July. I think we’re one of the few places in the world that have both wind chills and heat indexes. One of the reasons for our cold reputation is that... (more...)
Over the last year, since I met Michelle Scheuermann from the Sportsman Channel at Hunt.Fish.Feed., she’s been incredibly generous with Sportsman Channel swag. Some of it has been really useful, others not so much. But while some swag isn’t useful to me, I’m sure it would be useful to someone else. For instance, Michelle sent me this really cool blaze orange hunting cap by Dri-Duck. While I love baseball caps (I wear them constantly), I have too many. My wife is continuously... (more...)
My wife’s family has been part of the Gunflint Trail community for almost 60 years. During that time, my father-in-law has heard countless stories and been part of countless others. One of the few families that trumps my in-laws is the Brandts. Carl Brandt, Sr. and his wife, Alis, settled on the Gunflint Trail in 1931. Their family has been a fixture on the Trail ever since. One afternoon, in the winter of 1947, Old Man Brandt and his son-in-law, Emerson Morris, decided to go hunting for... (more...)
As my regular readers know, I’ve been a bit preoccupied as of late. But all that came to an end yesterday when my team competed in their regional Lego League tournament. And came in first! My all-girls team (actually 6 of them, one had to leave before we could bet her picture) got awards for robot design and best in programming. They proved they deserved those two awards by competing in a head-to-head bracketed tournament at the end of the day that included all 16 teams. They rattled off... (more...)
Winter arrived in full force in Minnesota over the weekend. Depending on where you were, 3″-8″ fell on the ground. It was a wet, heavy snow that killed the power of about 100,000 residents just in the Twin Cities alone. I spent 2 hours trying to snowblow my driveway because the snow was so wet, it would clog up the chute of my mini-snowblower every two minutes or so. But it was still better than trying to shovel the stuff. The reality of the end of the open water season in 2010 hit... (more...)
So this has been my life since my last post: Friday – work, met with a pair #1 of Lego League team Saturday – work on clean up of yard and garage for winter, met with pair #2 of Lego League team Sunday – more work on garage clean up, met with entire Lego League team Monday – work, met with a pair #2 of Lego League team And this is the rest of my week: Tuesday – work, meet with entire Lego League team Wednesday – work, meet with pair #2 of Lego League team Thursday... (more...)
If you’ve read any of my blog from last summer, you know that I spend a decent amount of time on the Gunflint Trail in Northern Minnesota. I found out this Spring that on October 16, 2009, the Gunflint Trail was named a National Scenic Byway by the Department of Transportation. Highway 61 on the North Shore, which runs from Duluth to the Canadian border is part of our drive to get to the Gunflint Trail. We take it from Duluth to Grand Marais and head up the Gunflint Trail from there. It... (more...)
