Note: I have taken the liberty of
mixing in some of last years photos from Ft. William along with this
years photos.
Hint:The pictures with the bigger kids are this years.
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Gwen's mom, Artilla, had
been in town for about a week when Marshall had to journey across town and
drag Sam, Marshall's good buddy from Montana, out of the Whiskey Junction
Bar. No, it wasn't Sam's intention to wind up in a bar on the south side
of downtown Minneapolis the night before our little journey; he was just
following Gwen's directions and was led slightly astray. He was supposed
to get off in northwest Minneapolis; oops! After getting directions as to
Sam's whereabouts, from a friendly barmaid, Marshall journeyed into
unexplored parts of the City of Lakes and saved Sam from being ravaged by
the friendly young lady. Marshall is sure that Sam will be forever
grateful for his rescue and thank him many years into the future. After a
winding journey across town the wandering two were forced to stop at a red
light. Sam hollered at Marshall, "Hey buddy, I'm right on your
ass" in a rather threatening tone. The guy in the car next to Sam,
with the lights, badges and other assorted cop stuff, wanted to know why
he was right on Marshall's ass. Sam explained his lost status and that he
was following me home and all was well. Sam makes friends every where he
goes! On arriving at the house, Sam made a grand entrance and surprised
the heck out of Artilla. The two have known each other for many years and
we had all vacationed, for a short period last year, in Yellowstone and
had a wonderful time. Marshall congratulated the grandkids, Alan and
Amber, for keeping the surprise. They had been sworn to secrecy and upheld
their end of the deal very well. Seeing as it was now near eleven, every
one bedded down with visions of vacation and good food dancing through
their dreams.
Marshall, the slave driving Fun Master, rolled the
adults out of bed at five thirty on Friday morning and declared that the
fun had begun. Since this was still B.C. (before coffee), there was not a
second to this motion so the beginning of fun was tabled until after
coffee. The kids were awoken and transferred into Artilla's mini-van and
instructed to have fun. They went back to sleep instead. This fun stuff is
hard work! The van was loaded with bodies and tunes were placed in the cd
player. We rolled through the neighborhood with Canned Heat's "Going
Up the Country" blaring from the speakers. "Going up the country
where the water tastes like wine ....". We were more interested in
the pursuit of fun and food! |
| When
we reached the border we met a fine young fellow who was very interested
in our health. He wanted to know if we were carrying any tobacco, alcohol,
or guns. After playing 20 questions and getting all of the answers
correct, "Do you have reservations? Yes? Where at? etc.", he
wished us a pleasant stay in his fine country and sent us on our way. We
drove on up to Thunder Bay observing the road signs that warned us of
moose on the road. We all know from previous trips that these signs are
all bogus because we drove all the way around Lake Superior a few years
ago and never once saw a moose. We did see lots of road signs with moose
on them though.
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| We arrived in
Thunder Bay in time for dinner. We unloaded the van and then headed for
"The Keg". Sam and Artilla had been regaled with stories of the
fantastic food here all the way from Minneapolis. Alan and Amber love the
place, too. We had to wait in the bar for about 45 minutes before we could
eat. Sam and Marshall spotted some material that had previously covered a
cow, leather, that was now just as tightly fitted to a young lady. That
both agreed that that was one cow who had given it's life for a good
cause! We were then led off to the dinning room to gorge ourselves on FINE
food. Steak and lobster, escargot stuffed mushroom caps, French onion soup
to die for, salads, and other assorted goodies. We all ate like pigs and
stuffed ourselves to the point of misery. These folks know how to cook! I
also had to change my opinion about reserved Canadians. This was Friday
night and these folks were unwinding rather loudly. We warned Dave, our
waiter, that we would be back tomorrow. We headed back to the hotel to
collapse and lay around in misery. Marshall noticed that his clock and the
hotel clock were an hour different. Oh yeah, for some strange reason,
Thunder Bay is on Eastern Time. |
The next
morning we headed to Robin's Donuts and pigged out on pastry and coffee.
The kiddos substituted hot chocolate for coffee. We were running a bit
late this morning but no one really seemed to care. There was no schedule
to follow.
We headed on over to "Old
Fort William" and a trip back in time. We stepped out into the North
West Company's inland headquarters in the year of 1815. We were in the day
of the fur trade complete with voyageurs, clerks, shareholders, Native
Ojibwa, free Canadians and tradesmen. We checked out the native encampment
where they were smoking fish and drying furs. We chatted with the
voyageurs camped outside of the main compound and discussed what they were
going to have for lunch. Mmmm food! They invited us to stop back later and
sample their lunch of wild rice and vegetables. We all agreed that we
would. We entered the compound and quickly lost Alan. Seeing as how you
are out of town and a ten minute walk out in the woods and then inside a
fenced compound, there is not much to worry about. Alan promptly made
himself at home and began participating in every activity in sight. The
whole place is extremely kid friendly. Amber promptly joined in making
necklaces from reeds and beads. |
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| The
rest of us wondered off to check out the fur trade. We entered the Indian
store and Sam got into a bartering battle with the proprietor. Sam was
informed that he would need 7 beaver hides to purchase the blanket that he
was looking at. Sam asked the man if he had any idea how much work it was
for him to trap and skin 7 beaver to trade for one measly blanket. The
conversation went back and forth until Sam told the man that he had heard
that the fur trading companies were known to screw the fur trappers every
chance the got. At that the trader informed Sam that he could go trade
with those crooks at Hudson Bay Company but the folks at North West were
not like that. Sam said he would keep his beaver and trade else where.
After a round of laughter and hand shakes we moved on to see who else we
could find to harass. |
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We went next door to the fur
stores and checked out the furs. Hundreds and hundreds of furs hanging
from the rafters. We found a pleasant young man who was only to happy to
tell us what any fur was that we could not figure out. He would also find
specific furs for us to feel. The whole fort is based upon "hands
on" experience. You can pick up anything that you see and in fact you
are encouraged to. This is the reason that we love coming here. We found
Alan outside observing the cleaning and skinning of a rabbit. We also had
a conversation with a lady about tanning the deerskin she had with her.
Artilla pitched in and helped scrape the hair from the hide. Hands on
folks! They had another hide that was hair free and had been soaking. Gwen
pitched in with this one and helped stretch the hide. |
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We checked out the wares
of the Ojibwa and found some exquisite jewelry very reasonably priced.
Amber got a very pretty inlaid barrette. We continued wondering around
checking out the building of birch bark canoes; some of these were over 30
feet long!
Into the Great Hall, where the
meals were served, we went. Marshall got into
a conversation about the meals served and who sat where. The rich folks
sat at the front table and it tapered on off to the back where the
riff-raff sat. Marshall promptly took up a seat in the back row.
Alan was out playing La Crosse
prior to heading into the canoe shed and helping out the canoe builders.
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| We
crossed the saw yard where timbers were being made from trees. A trip by
the blacksmith shop was very entertaining. A couple of gentlemen were
making cups and other utensils used at the fort. Marshall took Amber and
explained to her what a "Gaol" was. When the door closed and all
she could see through was a tiny barred square, it suddenly dawned on her
that "Gaol" and "Jail" are the same thing. When she
got out she could hear a voice a few doors down. "Hey! Let me out of
here!" "I have friends in Montreal you know" "Contact
them and let them know I'm here" and on and on and on ... It takes
you a few minutes to realize that it is a recording. |
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We
toured the stock yard and visited the various animals around; horses,
chickens, cows and pigs. We wondered back past the bakery where fresh
bread
was cooling. Wow! A smell that has always made me hungry. We stepped
outside and were offered a taste of a strawberry drink made from fresh
strawberries. Tasty stuff. We sauntered into the kitchen to check out
today's meal. Roast and a stew cooking over an open fire. There was a
rather ingenious spit rigged up with a clock works. It kept the meat
rotating over the fire.
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| We wondered
back into the square and munched out on hamburgers. 1815 be danged! The
main square was alive with activity including a bagpipe player. Marshall
has always had a weakness for bagpipes and that hauntingly eerie sound.
The Ojibwa drums had fired up and pounding out their rhythms. After a few
demonstration dances by the Ojibwa, the audience was invited to join in
some intertribal dancing. Gwen and Artilla, both of Navajo ancestry,
joined in the dances along with others. Amber thought they were both
silly.
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We
picked up a few things on the way out. Marshall found a beaver carving to
add to his collection of western carvings and art. After wondering around
a while longer we headed into town and a drive around the area. After
cruising we headed back to The Keg to gorge ourselves again. Dave had
thought that we were kidding about coming back but he agreed to wait on us
again since Alan and Amber requested him. Steak, crab legs, shrimp,
calamari, more French onion soup and salads and other assorted goodies.
Alan went for an 8 ounce medium rare steak which he ate with his eyes
rolled back in his head. The boy knows good food when he tastes it. During
some kidding with Dave he told Marshall that he could have the meal free
if he could beat him to the front door. Marshall glanced over his shoulder
to see if he could get a head start by going over the tables behind and
below him. Instead he informed Dave that if it had been 30 years ago, the
race would have been on. Instead Marshall tipped Dave handsomely and
waddled to the front door.
The group then wandered around
until they found the bay front and went for
a nice little walk at a park. We headed back to the rooms and once again
died. The kids went for a swim while Marshall and Sam went for a snooze.
The next morning we found the Hoito; a restaurant in
the Finnish part of town that Dave, good ole Dave, had recommended. After
stuffing ourselves on bacon, sausage, eggs and Finnish pancakes (very thin
and the size of your plate) we started the days activity. |
| Our
first stop was the amethyst mines. This is the largest amethyst deposit in
North America and it is commercially mined in an above ground vein. The
tailings are hauled out and scattered over a wide area and you can dig for
your own pieces. You always find lots of stone and occasionally you find
some nice crystals. Alan found a nice piece and Sam and Marshall found
several nice clusters and individual pieces. After checking prices in the
store, they determined that they had found about thirty dollars with of
stones. It cost you two bucks a pound to keep them and the spent about
four bucks. Not too bad. After a discussion with the owners it was
discovered that you can bring shovels and other tools if you wish. We
immediately began planning next years dig. |
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We headed on down the road after
a few hours and hunted up Ouimet Canyon. Our first order of business was
to have a picnic. More food! After pigging out once again, we took a nice
little walk to the canyon. We walked over a narrow bridge spanning a gorge
and thought that was nice but not much of a canyon. Walking on a ways
further we found and overlook. When you look over the edge it is a mere
800 feet to the bottom. That will sure make your head swim! The plants
living in the bottom of the canyon never see daylight and are the same as
the plants that grow hundreds of miles north in the tundra. We wandered
along the trails enjoying the wildflowers and large pines. Nice country. |
Leaving
there we headed over to Sleeping Giant. This is a peninsula that resembles
a giant lying on his back with his arms crossed, from downtown Thunder
Bay. We drove down a dirt road until we found a very secluded overlook.
This one was about 600 feet down to the water of Thunder Bay. In fact we
could see a bald eagle in a tree below us. The city of Thunder Bay could
be seen FAR in the distance. As we left here we saw a fox who entertained
us for quite a while.
Back to Thunder Bay we headed for
more food. We ate at a family restaurant
with a very nice waitress. The TV's were on and Tiger Woods was embattled
in a three hole playoff. The waitress had a bet with here husband against
Tiger. She lost.
The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and then
rolled out of town to a little drizzle. We rolled down some very deserted
and beautiful highway. There were small piles of rocks on the sides of the
road.? Some were very creative and were piled in the shapes of animals.
They were entertaining. We stopped in International Falls, Minnesota to
convert money and pick up some goodies at Border Bob's. Gwen found a nice
bear painted on a feather. Sam found a pair of humping bears for his
sweetie. I think he was trying to send her a coded message. We stopped
again to refuel on food. |
Down
the road we rolled. Our next stop was in Bemidji; home of Paul Bunyan and
Babe the Blue Ox. After a brief stroll and a few photos we moved on.
We rolled on over to Itasca State Park to check out the
river. This is where the Mississippi begins it's long journey to the Gulf
of Mexico. A mere 2552 river miles away at a drop of 1475 feet. After
taking the obligatory pictures of everyone standing in the river we headed
on back to the house. We took a slow drive through the park to wrap up our
trip. We did have to stop on more time for food though. After this trip no
one wanted to see anything to eat for several days. Yeah, right! |
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