Molly's Epic Adventure

Molly, winning her Environmental Science degree from NDSU, was deserving a adventure. Lake Superior and the Circle Tour supplied such an adventure. We started on 23-May, late in the day and made it to Split Rock State Park. This is a place where my ~70 yr old dad wanted to jump the fence when we stopped one time on the way to the BWCA many years ago (roll reversal, I talked him out of it). After sunrise and tea on the shore, Molly and I paddled under the lighthouse to get a view that the paying crowd could not enjoy.
The next night we made it to Sleeping Giant Provincial park but at $50 for permits, we opted for a private campground at Nippigon. This staged us for our outing at Rossport, to Healey Island. We stopped at Quarry Island on the way and hiked the trail to the top, a great trek and view. The winds were predicted to be 20 knots the next day but we lucked out and the wind and waves behaved.
The Provincial Park prices drove us to cruse through Canada (still a fabulous visual experience) and head to Mackinac Island which was a fun tourist trek. We camped at St. Ignas, Straits St Park which gave us an excellent view of the bridge. Molly mentioned that if we paddled through the bridge we would be hitting 3 of the 5 great lakes. Molly and I scared each other; me, when I paddled by myself through the bridge and "disappeared" and Molly when I turned back and she was not waiting where I expected. All was well.
The last stop was Little Sand Bay. The winds the next day did not favor the Sand Island caves but were excellent for the Meyers Beach sea caves. These caves were a first for both of us and I was glad to share the experience with her. 1,523 miles and I believe we had an excellent adventure.

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QOD: There are those who make things happen, There are those who watch things happen, and there are those who say, "What just happened?". Unknown.

Spring Fling 2011

Fabulous weekend on the lake. Some tall waves made the trip to the caves quite exciting, especially for the pro's who were temping fate by running through the caves in that tall stuff. I'd write more but it's time to pack two boats and on to Miss Molly's Epic Post College Circle Tour Adventure.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lkeleny/SKOACSpringFling2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSf0pbkoLmR2wE##

Later/SavorDiem/Lg

SsssNo !!!

This is the third year in a row of awesome snow. The testimony is Murphy Hanranan Park. This park is only open for cross country skiing if there is good snow. There is good snow. I love this park and today did not disappoint. I also love the new hours...open to 10PM !!! For all of the years I've lived in the frozen north and tried to get our for exercise near the Winter Solstice, daylight is not always an option. Being chase by rangers, when all I want to do is get out side and burn some calories, is no fun.

With the new hours I got in one glorious daylight ski on outer loop and two inner loops after sundown. Quite a rush in the dark. I think maybe next time I'll bring a light. If you want an adrenal rush and can handle some hills (up and down) I would highly recommend this 3R Park.

EnJoy!
QOD: Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow. Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Tonight I Rode Behind a Fixie

Tonight, I rode behind a fixie, a full-on fixed gear bike. He had to stand on the back side stoke of the peddles to slow down before going into the tunnel & lagoon between Calhoun and Isles. He made a left and i took the scenic route up the North arm of Isles. I met up with him again at Thoe and 55. Although most fixies leave me in the dust I slowly built some distance on the guy...but I also had some distance to go so I better back off.
What’s with all of the fixies. Pulled up on a guy three weeks ago on a single speed. At least he had a free wheel and brakes. When the riding broke into conversation it didn’t take long to determine he was NOT from south Mpls… England! Really, I was just there last week. I was scouting for bicycling opportunities and saw a number of single speeders and quite a number of riders on the road. Not bad for a chilled fall day.
Enough of this, how about some pictures. …Yes, in going backwards chronologically from here... I was riding a bike but she was a British Bike and her name was Bonnie. Triumph Bonneville T100, a 865 cc machine that didn’t seem British [Sorry but I owned one]. To start with we went exploring. An easy compass was following the Thames. although driving on the left side of the road and round abouts at the same time was FUN. I forgot to GPS mark my hotel so finding my way back to the hotel on a Saturday night through the labyrinth of London was a challenge. Again, I had the Thames to dissect the city but where from there? The only map I had was 1.5” Tall x 1.5” Wide.
On Sunday I got up at 6:30 AM to head to the cost, the south coast of England. I made it to a race track/hobby airport and then to the Brighton Peer. After that it was up the coast towards the white cliffs of Dover. So where was it that “The White Cliff’s of Dover” written down that we have heard of this before?

QOD: If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)

Ruddering Around II

Bro-In-Law, Jim was in town so of course there was more boat building to be had. With the help of Matt and Express Composites, I got to do some real vacuum bagging. I did a small vac bag project for one of my paddles previously but borrowing Matt's vac pump and supplies from EC I was making a project that really sucked. The rudder bag held it's vac without the pump cycling which was great to see. The vac on Jim's back rest had a small leak and the pump would cycle once every 15-20 min but it still worked quite well.

We also got out on the water on Sunday 15-Mar. The Miss R. was moving quite fast so our upstream paddle took 10 times longer than our down stream paddle. Great warm day to be on the water. I had to squeeze into Jan's boat and Jim used mine.

QOD: Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength. Eric Hoffer (1902-1983)

Graduation Pictures

Stats:

BOAT
Plans - Guillemot "S"
Length - 16 ft
Beam - 20 in
Draft - 3.7 in
Weight - 47 lbs
Wood - White Cedar from norther Wisc Cedar tree & Aromatic (red) Cedar.
Structure - Wood Core, Fiberglass & Epoxy inner and outer layer.

PADDLE
Plans - None [ok, come clean] Ok, pulled a pattern from a rental from MW Mountaineering
Length - 227 cm (89.5 in)
Weight - 860 gm (29 oz)
Feather - 60 deg
Shaft - Western Red Cedar
Blades - Glass, Veneer, Carbon, Shaft, Carbon, Kevlar Tip

QOD [Found in my dads shop in the basement on Waunoan Way]: Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

And May the Best Man Win

Well, I got knocked off of my high horse. I got 2nd place at the MN State Fair. This threw me for a loop and as I was heading out for my vacation I was thinking of all sorts of excuses: The guy just built a beauty model; No lift handles; No rudder (spring loaded or otherwise); No fancy hatch latches; No rudder pedals; yadayadayada.

In the end, I concluded that the best man had won. He built a very fine boat and even built a shrine to it (a nicely designed, stained and varnish stand). To my detriment, I supplied a stand: sections of an old desk that I was in the process of dismantling for the trash.

Then, this week I called the MN State Fair cuz I didn't get a score with my prize money for 2nd place, $ 6.00 (First Place gets $8.00). They said that they would mail me the results. "Well, what did I get"? "A, you got 99 out f 100". "OK, what did the other guy get"? "He got 99.5". ... I got no complaints. Picture is Daughter Robyn and me in front of the booth at the State Fair. If you saw the display, my boat was the white one, White Cedar.

QOD: An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do. Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)