Duluth, Minnesota (day 2) and Haircut Suprise Sunday

Saturday - was a day of errands!  Laundry mostly....boring.  In the evening we did find a place to stay right down near the waterfront and then took a nice walk.  On the way we stopped at the chocolate store and bought some carmel apples (M&M and Butterfinger) which we enjoyed while watching Second Hand Lions (thanks to Jay for the movie suggestion) in the RV.

Sunday - We both went for a run.  Dave went first and then I followed.  I started to follow the same route as the 5k run the other night, but veered into the main shopping street on my way back.  No, I didn't stop and shop I kept running, but I did find a hair dressing shop that was doing a fundraiser.  $5 hair cuts!  So I ran back to the RV and rounded up all the boys and headed over for hair cuts.  hooray!  I'm going to let Dave tell you what happened next!......... Greetings!  Cindi got her hair "done" the other day so it was our turn.  The boys' haircuts looks great.

Uh Oh! Peyton got a hold of the electric razor!!!!!  Look what happened...

Just kidding ;-)  Could you see me with a mohawk?  That would be crazy.  Do USC  grads get mos?  Do MBA grads get mos?  It is true that I haven't worn a business suit in a while...  And it is true that I have learned alot more about, and in many cases sympathized with, our native North American Indians.  Crazy...   Anyway after haircuts we went to finally get the RV washed professionally.  I've washed it but it needed a full blown truck wash.  I had pegged one, days earlier.  It was located just over the state line in Superior, Wisconsin.  The RV looks good especially the rims!  We don't have a name for our RV.  I'm not even sure if it is a boy or girl.  Anyone have a good suggestion?

Well off we were again now with a sparkly motorhome.  We drove Hwy 13 along the southern part of Lake Superior to a small town called Bayfield, WI.  We walked the town, let the kids play in the sand and water for an hour, then ate an average meal outside at a restraunt.  Cindi and I had fish and chips.  The fish was WhiteFish from Lake Superior.  We then headed to Ashland, WI and found a city campground right on Lake Superior.  Tanner and Peyton got a night swim in while Sterling beat Mommy in a game of Stratego.

OK... I've delayed long enough.  Check this out...

Sweeeeett!

Now I can be a "Guitar Hero!"

All the boys with their new lids!

Duluth, Minnesota

On Friday morning we woke up to a phenomenal view of "the big lake they call Gitche Gumee."  Lake Superior!  The kids could see what they thought was the other side but that was just Wisconsin.  Lake Superior, the world's largest fresh water lake, holds 10% of the world's fresh water.  There is enough water to flood North and South America to a depth of one foot.  Tanner and Sterling have taught me the way to remember all the Great Lakes - "HOMES" - Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior.  Superior is so large it can contain all the other Great Lakes plus 2 more the size of Lake Erie.

We drove down the beautiful scenic route of Hwy 61 to Duluth.  We parked in an open public parking lot off the beaten path near Duluth's Canal Park water front area.  We visited the Maritime Museum where Peyton was Captain.

The Museum was right next to the canal that had 2 light houses at each end of the break water.  We were fortunate enough to witness a massive Canadian ship entering the Superior Bay through the canal.  The kids liked to watch the Aerial Lift Bridge raise and lower it's road allowing for the huge ship to pass under.

We then headed out for a swim.  Lets just say the water was cold.  So much so that it literally took my breathe away when I jumped in.

After swimming Cindi cooked us a fabulous Spaghetti and meatballs dinner in the RV.  It was very yummy!  Cindi is a great cook!  In the summer Duluth has a "movie in the park" so we decided to go.  After all... the price was right... free.  We decided to keep our parking spot and walk/rip-stick the 1+ mile to Leif Erickson Park where the movie Zoro was showing.  We brought our own popcorn with Hot Tamales and drinks.

After the movie we unfortunately had to make the trek back to the RV.  It was almost midnight.  On our way back we meet a nice woman, walking her dog, who informed us that approx. 400 runners were headed our way running an annual midnight 5K run.  So when we approached the start and finish lines we set back up our comfortable, portable USC chairs and cheered on the runners to the finish.  Our quiet parking lot, empty when we pulled in at 2pm, was now packed with the runner's cars.  We had to wait 'till after 1:30am for that one car parked behind us to leave to give us enough room to exit to drive to WM.  Late night again.  Sometimes I think we are just keeping Pacific Time.  Seems like we've been staying up 2 hours later and, of course, getting up 2 hours later.

Along the northshore of Lake Superior

Since this is a scenic drive I decided to present you a picture blog today.  This is the sights along the north shore scenic drive which is rated one of the most beautiful drives in the U.S.  We came in on Hwy 1 and headed south on Hwy 61 (famous North Shore Scenic Drive) to Duluth.

Split Rock Lighthouse was built in 1910 and was in operation till 1939.

Lake Superior is known for the number of ships that have sank in its waters.  Including the Edmund Fitzgerald that Gordon Lightfoot wrote his famous song about.

Some of the plants along the Gooseberry Falls path...this didn't even 

look real.

GooseBerry Falls is made up of the upper, middle and lower falls and you can climb up the rocks to all three (or if your less daring you can walk along the well laid out trails).

It's pretty peaceful right before the water drops down middle falls.
Dave, Tanner, Sterling and Peyton standing in the middle of middle falls.

A look at the upper falls while standing atop the middle falls.

Tanner and Sterling standing at the upper lookout point.
A picture of lower falls.

Sterling and all the boys had a blast climbing all around the Gooseberry Falls State Park.

We think the Seagulls are much prettier in Minnesota than in California.

This was the only leaf I saw that was this color and spotted...I thought it was really unique.

This is called the Silver Creek Cliff Tunnel.  It is 1400 ft long and was built in 1995.

We stopped in Two Harbors for a nice dinner (the most expensive of the trip) and stayed at Burlington Bay Campground for the night.

Soudan Mine and Ely, Minnesota

On our drive to Ely we stopped at the Soudan Underground Mine State Park.  Peyton did a great job driving us into the parking lot.  I had read about this Iron Ore Mine Tour and we were all very excited to visit.  First, let me give you a little history of the mine.  In the late 1800s gold prospectors discovered that northern Minnesota had a lot hematite which had extremely rich veins containing more than 65% iron.  The Soudan open pit mine began operation in 1882.  The pit got so big by the early 1900s that it became unsafe for the miners so they decided to go underground.  The mine remained open till 1962.  When it closed it was 27 levels and 2,341 feet below the ground.  That is about a half mile underground!  This mine was known as one of the safest and well maintained mines in the World.  The way the ore was mined was through a cut and fill method.  They would blast out a section, then mine the ceiling and artificially raise the floor at the same rate as the ceiling was being mined out.  The floor and ceiling were always 10-20 feet apart, and waste rock never had to be hauled to the surface because it was being recycled.  The mine closed in 1962 due to new technology making it more cost effective to use  less pure surface Iron than mining the very pure iron out of the deep mine.

Now let me tell you about our visit.  When we arrived we sat through a 10 minute video telling us what to expect on our decent into the mine.  Then we were handed hard hats and guided into a 80 year old electric mine hoist (kinda like an elevator that goes down at a 78 degree angle) and lowered a half a mile, 2,341 feet to the 27Th floor of the mine.  It takes 2 and a half minutes at 10 miles per hour to get to the bottom, which was actually 500 feet to the north from were we started.  Once at the bottom we boarded a rail car and rode 3/4th of a mile into the last and deepest area mined.  We went up a spiral stair case and into a fairly large rock room.  (The guide told us that there is a much larger room on another level of the mine.  He said it was large enough to fit a full baseball field in it.  In this room we got an idea of what it would have been like to be a miner. We learned all about the different jobs the miners had.  One miner called the pole man got payed a little more because he had the deadliest job.  He would go into the blasted area with a pole and hit the ceiling to knock down loose rocks so that the mine would be safe for the other miners.  The last man that died in the mine had that job, he hit the ceiling and a section of boulders collapsed on him.  

Our guide also showed us what it would be like to work in total darkness (there is dark and then there is 2,341 ft under the ground dark).  The miners did have some light to work with.  They had to buy their own supplies when they worked in the mine so each miner would only have a few candles and would light them very sparingly in order to save money.  We learned that the miners worked 12 hour shifts 7 days a week.  The boys decided that mining was another job they didn't want to do.  (On a side note, I forgot to mention that while at the fur post Sterling decided that he would like to be a Indian fur hunter and Peyton thought being a Voyager would be fun if he didn't have to do any of the chores).  We then headed back in the rail car and learned that their was a state of the art, high tech lab down in the mine.  The Soudan Underground Lab is the leading deep underground science and engineering lab in the US today. Scientists from around the world come here to study.  Well, we headed back up the man-operated cable elevator and into sunlight.  We visited the crusher room and the rest of the mine and then headed back to the RV for ice cream.   

It was a 20 minute drive to Ely, the home of the world famous boundary waters canoe area wilderness.  This town is so sweet.  I seriously could spend a week here just walking up and down the quaint streets, relaxing on the patio of one of the roadside pubs, taking walks or canoe rides in the amazing wilderness.  We decided to settle in at Fall Lake National Campground.  What a wonderful campground right on the lake.  Peyton and I walked to the lake and had a great mommy and me moment.  He is so cute!  Most campers were in possession of a canoe or were out on a canoe...I guess what I'm trying to say is "If you come here bring a canoe and Off (mosquitoes like it here too)".

                                   Peyton is a great driver!

                                   The boys on the rail car.
                                   Mom on the rail car.
                                   View from the crusher.
                                   Tanner is the photographer.
         This is the size of the wheel used to lower mine hoist

                     View of Fall Lake from our campground.
                          Cutest ragmuffins in the world.
           Sterling found a way to keep the mosquitos off him.

Bemidji and the wrong Grand Rapids

Tuesday July 22 we woke up at our campground in Itaska State Park.   Dave took a run and when he returned I ran as well. This was my favorite run of all.  I can't even put it into words how beautiful the trail through the trees and over the wooden bridge is (you can see the pic of us on the bikes on the trail the day before).   After our runs and Peyton practicing on his new bike (he is getting better) we packed up and drove through Bemidji, MN where Paul Bunyan is king.  There are signs of him everywhere, even the restaurants are named after him.  We weren't too impressed so we drove on.  We were planning to stay in the large city of Grand Rapids.  We realized it wasn't the Grand Rapids of Michigan but since it connected two large roads we figured it was a fairly large city (Grand Rapids also sounds big).  We were wrong!  It is a pretty small town with a ton of road construction going on and a Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center that doesn't have any idea about pretty much anything.  It was actually quite funny.  Tanner and I went in to the very nice, large visitor center to get information on where to eat, where to park and where an RV park was.  She said that she cannot tell us where to eat because it wouldn't be fair to the restaurants she didn't tell us about.  She did point us to some flyers  which we used to pick a good place but then realized in the RV that the flyer with the menu on it left out one important bit of information...THEIR ADDRESS!  Then regarding parking, I asked if their was parking for an RV near the city square, which the information center was in, and she said that their was an abandoned Walmart right around the corner we could park at.  It turned out to be 4 miles up the road which was way too far for the hungry Hulsebus' to walk to dinner.  Finally we needed a campground and she pointed us to the fairgrounds outside of town because we would be close to the largest event of the year in Grand Rapids, "the swap meet!"  I actually like swap meets but it was Tuesday and the swap meet was on Saturday.  Anyway, if you ever go to the huge town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota don't bother going to the visitors center.  We ended up eating at Country Kitchen and the funny thing was the lady from the visitors center came in for dinner so I guess we picked what she would have recommended.  After dinner we decided to go against the visitors recommendation for the fairground and we stayed at Walmart.

Stay tuned again

We are in Northern Minnesota along the shore of Lake Superior.  I have a ton to tell you about and some really cool pics but the Internet here is the worse!  I can log on sometimes but it is soooo slow and my connection goes in and out.  It definitely won't let me download pics.  So as soon as I get to a wifi area or my sprint card gets better signal I will post the last few days.  

About last weeks poll.  There really is no correct answer since it is a matter of opinion.  Tanner would say that he doesn't need a hair cut as would all the boys.  So I will give you me my opinion.  Everyone needs a major hair cut (although I couldn't wait till the end of the poll to get mine chopped, so I guess I cheated).  Dave wants to buzz his head.  Tanner would rather get hit by a train then get his cut (he had a bad experience last time I took him to a salon...the only person he trusts now to cut it is my mom since she fixed it after the salon lady destroyed it....so mom you better fly out or Tanner is going to be a rag muffin for a while).  Peyton can't see through his bangs (which I finally decided to cut).  Sterling wants to grow his hair out but I realllllllly like it short. So its the battle of the wills.  Luckily his I can cut in the RV, I'm  just waiting for the right moment to spring it on him.  

Well I hope this posts...I will write again soon.  We miss you all!

Mille Lacs Kathio and Itasca State Parks

Here is a recap of the last few days.

Saturday - Drove from Walmart to Pine City, Minnesota.  We went to see a reinactment camp about fur trading.  The museum was called North West Company Fur Post.  When we walked in we were greeted by a woman who claimed to be living in 1804.  She was part Ojibwe Indian and part French Canadian.  She took us back in time with her so that we could understand what it would have been like to be a fur trader or Ojibwe indian in the early 1800's.  She was a terrific guide.  The coolest thing about the tour was that the boys could feel and hold anything on the tour.  They felt the many different types of animal furs, tasted what the voyageurs were cooking, played with the Indian children's toys, tried on the chief's hat, and even made a toy out of a stick and a pine cone.  We all really enjoyed the tour.  I've posted a link to the history of the American fur trade if you want to read more.  We finished the tour just as a huge storm hit.  When it rains out here it is like standing under your shower when the water is on high.  You stand in it for 5 seconds and you are soaked.  We drove in the rain to Millie Lacs Kathio State Park.  The state parks in Minnesota are very pretty.  I love all the trees that arch over the roads.  The kids met a boy named Damien and had a great time playing with him.  Peyton opened a chipmunk restaurant and had many small visitors.  It was actually quite amazing how long Peyton could sit still and watch the chipmunks scurry under his chair.

The next day I went for a run on a trial in the woods.  It was quite the extreme from the mall run.  I literally had deer running in front of me on the trail.  It was really cool.  Dave went for a run after I got back, but didn't get lucky enough to have the deer friends run with him.  We packed up while the boys rode their bikes to the lake with their new friend and his parents.  We drove to met them in the RV and the boys had a great time swimming and geocaching.  We then we hit the road and drove northwest to Itasca State Park.  This is the Yosemite of Minnesota.  It is a beautiful state park with lots of bike and hiking trails.  It is also famous for being the point  where the Mississippi River actually begins as a small stream.

On Monday, after Dave worked all morning on insurance stuff, we rented a couple more bikes and went on a bike ride to the historical river headwater.  It was actually pretty cool.  We crossed the rocks at the mouth of the might Mississippi River which is actually only a few feet wide at the start.  We then walked down the river in the water a half a mile.  It was really fun walking down the Mississippi { "stream" :-)  }.  If you didn't know...the Mississippi starts in Minnesota and flows into the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.  This is a 2552 mile, 3 month trek, through 8 states. What a journey!  We hoped back on our bikes and rode around for quite a while and then headed back to the RV.  

                                      Do you see the chipmunk?

                                     Start of the Mississippi

Stay tuned

We are finally have WiFi again and will be able to post again tonight.  Sorry that we haven't posted in a few days but we have been staying in state parks and there has been no Internet or cell in some.  Actually, we don't have cell here but they have high speed WiFi..weird.  We will be here till tomorrow.  If you need to reach us send us a email.  I have a lot to tell you about, but Dave has been working on the computer all morn on insurance stuff.  He finally finished so we are going to get out of the RV and go on a bike ride.  I promise to post tonight so check back!

Minneapolis, Minnesota yet again

I know you all think we are in love with Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Well the funny thing is that we haven't seen that much of this city (except for the inside of the Apple Store).  We have spent most of our time running errands.  Today was no different.  We spent the night in the Mall of America parking lot.  We thought for sure we were going to get a knock on our door telling us to move.  We made it through knock free.  In the morning I decided to go for a run in the mall.  I'm not sure how much of a mile each floor is but it sure seemed far.  I ran the first floor and then the second.  After the second I was told by a security guy that running was not allowed so I walked fast around the third floor and around the second again.  I really enjoyed exercising in the mall.   It was rewarding and motivating in many ways.  First, I get to window shop.  Second, I see clothes I really like and it motivates me to run faster so I can fit into them.  Third, I was the youngest exerciser in the mall (there were quite a few other mall walkers but they were much older and quite slower) this made me feel more in shape then I really am.

After the mall we went to IKEA for lunch.  I remembered they had kid meals for .99 (when you are on a budget .99 cent kids meals are a big deal!)  After lunch I headed back into the mall.  I once again had to go to the Apple/Mac store.  I have come to learn that a visit to the Mac store always lasts at least an hour.  Well, this one lasted over two.  After the draining 2 hours I left with my phone working and a new hard drive to store all my photos and everything else that has eaten up all my memory and caused my computer to drag.  

Well, you may be wondering why I picked such a weird poll topic!  Well, I guess I was thinking about hair since my hair has been driving me nuts.  So I made an appointment with a hair dresser that I knew nothing about and went in for a hair update (which basically means cut and color).  My new hairdresser Stephanie was really great and I cut my hair to my shoulders (don't worry I didn't go black this time, it's still blond).  I really like it and am glad for the change.  I feel like my hair is so healthy again and also so much cooler for the hot humid weather out here.  I will post a picture when I get one taken.  So if you had planned to pick me for the haircut pole I suggest you change your vote.  After my hair appointment we hit Best Buy again (I know it's very sad how much we go there) and then went to Target and bought Peyton a bike!  It is a 20' frame and it does not have training wheels.  We are going to be very busy the next week teaching Peyton how to ride a bike.  My dad told me that he taught me by pushing me down a steep hill (Dad, by the way, I never believed you).  We will keep you updated on his progress.  We are back sleeping at our other frequented store Walmart.  Tomorrow we will finally be leaving Minneapolis.

Minneapolis, Minnesota Again

We are still here!  Amazing!  We spent the day at the RV park.  I got up and ran and Dave got up even earlier and started working on my computers.  After 8 hours and a lot of tedious work Dave did an awesome job and got the job done!  He thinks he is turning into a handy man.  I can see whats next...tool belt, orange apron and a permanent plumbers crack.  Yikes!  

We got our second knock on the door in a week from the fire department today.  They were once again warning us about a severe storm.  I think they have more severe storms out here then sunny days.  The fire department must get tired of knocking on doors every time it rains.  I have to say that I am kinda impressed that they do that.  Since we hardly watch TV or listen to the radio it is comforting to know that those reliable firemen keep us informed of the weather.  I'm also kinda partial to fireman since I grew up with one (HI DAD!).  

Well after we left the campground we drove to our second most visited store Best Buy.  Once again we left without our problems solved.  I'm really not sure if anything from Best Buy is actually the BEST BUY.  I'm kinda partial to Costco and Sams.  Since Best Buy couldn't conclude my computer needs we decided to drive back to the Mall of America and head back to the Apple Store.  After another long hour in the Apple store I think my computer problem is temporary solved...Yeah. 

We decided to stay in the mall parking lot until they kick us out.  We will let you know how long we last.

Thought of the day:  When I was about to land in Minneapolis the other day.  I looked down from the plane and noticed a train track next to a major road.  Sitting right next to the track and road was a group of houses.  I thought to myself, I would not be able to sleep with the noise from the trains and the cars all night long.  Then it hit me that I was flying right over top of the houses and was coming down for a landing just on the other side of the road.  So the houses probably could hardly hear the trains or cars due to the over whelming noise of the planes.  I guess what I am saying is if you ever think that your house is in a bad location...think again...unless you are deaf it couldn't get much worse then the houses by the trains, cars and planes.

By the way, the answer to the trivia question is Lola.  The kids named her after the navigation system in the movie RV.  But if I were to name her I would definitely name her  Mrs Were-lost-again!  

William Obrien State Park and Shakopee, Minnesota

We had a great time at this state park.  We took a 1.6 mile walk and then went for a swim in the lake.  Later that day we decided to try the Geo Cache GPS's that we borrowed from the ranger.  We got a coordinate that was .5 miles from our campsite so we headed out for our treasure hunt.  The kids had a blast following the arrows until the arrows lead us right into the lake.  That is when we realized that the cache was on the other side of the lake.  This meant we had to walk all the way around the lake.  We were determined to find the treasure so we walked and walked and walked until we found it.  The kids were quite disappointed that there was only a tracking paper and no treasure.  We set out and looked for 3 other caches near the first one.  We found 1 of the other 3 and were disappointed that the treasure wasn't replaced in those finds either.  We brought treasures (one bouncy ball with a smile face, and one WALL-E watch that we got for free when we attended the movie)  and put them in the caches for the next treasure hunter.  Even though we didn't get a treasure the boys had a great time looking for it.  We also figured that we walked over 4 miles on our treasure hunt so it was really fun exercise.  After the hunt we were hungry and tired.  We had a big dinner and watched "Field of Dreams."  What a great "feel good" movie.  Today we woke up to a storm so we decided to head out and get a few errands done.  Then we headed to Mystic River Casino and Dakotah Meadows Campground in Shakopee, MN .  We decided to go here because the casino hotel had a indoor pool.  We also went to the lunch buffet which was yummy.  

Thought of the Day:  Sometimes you are just to tired to think!