Canoeing in Minnesota

Summer always seems to go by too fast. I can't believe we're already approaching the end of June. I've already been to Greenland and back, Minnesota and back, am now teaching an undergraduate course (which is a lot of fun but also a lot of work), and will be leaving for Greenland again in a few weeks. In the mean time I have a lot of other things to work on, including getting a paper submitted, studying for my comprehensive exams, gardening, fishing, and trying to get out to the mountains to have fun.

The trip to Minnesota was a much needed vacation from computers and e-mail. Inari and I went down there for our friends' wedding and to help my grandma celebrate her 85th birthday. Our friends had organized a pre-wedding canoe trip in the Boundary Waters, which was something we couldn't resist. I did a lot of canoe trips in the Boundary Waters when I was kid, and I'm sure that those trips had a strong impact on me. I hadn't been back for several years. In some ways the place was the same that it has always been: peaceful, familiar, relaxing. At the same time I realized that I've changed and have a different perspective on things. I found myself wondering why I never bothered to learn about the plants, people, and animals that live in that region. I was bothered that I couldn't identify basic plants. But most of all the trip made me want to spend more time in the Boundary Waters. Its not the most beautiful place that I've been, but its probably the most peaceful and also the most comforting. It feels like home.

Here are few photos from the canoe trip:

The view of Shovel Point on Lake Superior, taken on the drive from Minneapolis to the Boundary Waters.

Our trail group minus myself. From left to right: Jenny, Elvira (the bride), Inari, Kelly, Jason (the groom), Angie, and Mark.


Typical Boundary Waters scenery.

Sawbill Lake in the fog.

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Our friends' wedding was also a lot of fun. Probably the second most fun wedding that I've been to (sorry J&E, but you had some tough competition). The wedding festivities lasted an entire weekend and even included square dancing! Got to meet up with some old friends and make some new ones.

lessons learned

We tried to go canoeing yesterday (or I tried, Jason succeeded). It turned out to be an afternoon spend mostly driving from one point to another, trying to find the lost cars, and getting lost ourselves.

Lesson number one: everyone knows where they are going. We set a meeting point to be at a local grocery store. Already on our way there one carload got lost. After we were ready to go, only one driver knew for sure where the destination was, and we lost him in the first turn. A lot of mix-ups happened (not to mention an hour and a half of lost time) before everyone was at the river ready to get in the canoes.

(Here's Sam, Chris and Agatha seen through the car window. Notice the rain drops and proper attire.)

Lesson number two: If the weather is good, go now, and don't wait until afternoon. In our case, the gorgeous sunny and hot day turned into windy and rainy afternoon. Always bring your rain gear.

Lesson number three: if you are sick, don't go (hence my trying). I got a flu a day before, but kept hoping that my condition would improve (and hey, canoeing is not that strenuous activity anyways). It didn't and a splitting headache got me to my senses. I had to bail out.

Lesson number four: if someone is picking you up, make sure that they know where to go. After I bailed out two other members of the group decided to do the same (see lesson two). Problem was that it was their car waiting at the other end. I drove them to their car and they kept telling me that I was headed the wrong way (which I wasn't). In the end they did manage to find their way back and pick up the successful canoers.

As for me, I spend the rest of the day in a feverish stupor.

before and after

The blogsilence was due to a trip to Minnesota: we participated in an Amundson family gathering, a BWCA canoe trip and a wedding. Jason can fill in the details, what I wanted to share was this: We left in a hurry. Jason's paper writing woes, gardening craziness and my painting worries left our place in complete disarray. In fact, we were still packing at 1 AM.


It took six hours of cleaning to get to this stage.