Jessica's folks' House
Within minutes of arriving at Jessica's folks' place, Natalya had a slip down the stairs. She tumbled the full length and bruised around her eye but luckily she had been holding a stuffed animal that took most of the weight of the fall. Natalya seemed perfectly fine but it was her grandfather that seemed the most shook up about it (he got to see it from the top of the stairs where he couldn't do anything to stop it). Fortunately I didn't get to see it happen as I was bringing stuff (of which there was a mountain) in from the cars but when I got inside Natalya was acting as if nothing had happened and if it wasn't for a little redness around her eye I'd have never have known without Jessica telling me.
Upon arriving in town it was cool, (minus 5 F / minus 21C) but the temperature was dropping fast. By midnight it was down below minus 20F (minus 28C) and cold. It was pleasant to sit by the woodstove and relax after the long drive.
The morning saw us doing some light shopping in town and during the evening I actually managed to convince Jessica to come ice-fishing with me for a few hours. I know her tolerance for fishing isn't long so we headed out to Mink lake for the last hour or so of daylight in the hope of catching ourselves a splake or two (splake are a hybrid between a lake trout and a brook trout that show hybrid vigor and therefore are a desirable hatchery fish). It was a fair effort just to drill through the 28 inches or so of ice and we weren't rewarded with even the slightest sign of fish activity. Still it wasn't too cold (hovering around 0F) and there was only the slightest breeze.We stopped off briefly to visit Marja and Skinner, had a bit of a chin-wag, and headed home to see how the little ones did in our absence. For the record, they did fantastically, or at least that was the report and evidence when we arrived.
Proof that Jessica does fish, albeit rarely
A look across Mink Lake
A look across Mink Lake
Friday saw Jessica and I again get to abandon the kids at their grandparents place and we skipped off to ski (Nordic not downhill). We skied the Pincushion Mountain loop and the trail was in pretty good shape. I would have liked to have skied longer but we had to get back to get ready for a foray to the sledding hill. Sledding was an activity Natalya, (and I suspect Grandpa and Grandma) really enjoyed. In fact, I think that was our best family activity of the trip. We followed that with a trip into the library to pick out some kids movies. To celebrate my birthday we had chocolate cake and ice-cream after dinner - yum!
Birthday Festivities
Saturday lured me away to again try for splake, and due to a DNR personnel suggestion I was once again set up on Mink Lake. This time I had my shanty up and a propane heater going. The snow was falling steadily but inside I was warm(ish) as I stared without interruption into my hole in the ice. After several hours of zen like boredom I opted to head up to Clearwater Lake to try for a lake trout in the last hour or so of light. I had no bait and only a limited amount of time, but this lake has been good to me in the past. When I finally got through the 30+ inches of ice I drifted my aeroplane jig to the bottom and began jigging. Within five minutes I had a take and the fish (I suspect quite small) was on for about 10 - 15 feet but then dropped off. That was the fishing action in it's entirety. The real adventure was driving the icy roads full of sliding, skidding, slipping, spinning and crashing gently into snowbanks. I'm sure for some people that is great fun, but for me, I'd rather be in control of my vehicle. While I was out fishing, Jessica went to a baby shower with Marja and some other ladies, something I know Jessica enjoyed immensely. That night was a long one as Natalya got quite sick.
Morning saw Natalya in a bad way and there was no way any of us were going to church. The weather was warming up quickly and reached freezing point by mid morning. Jessica and I did get to slip away for lunch with Marja and Skinner and little Kaj and after lunch I took Pierce out for a snowshoe around the woods on his grandparents land. The sun was beating down and it was warm and I couldn't help but wonder how the sled-dogs were doing as they started the Beargrease Race down in Duluth - certainly it was too hot for them!
The Kadunce River
The mouth of Kadunce as it enters Lake Superior
The mouth of Kadunce as it enters Lake Superior
We were also scheduled to meet up with Art Kidd at Pincushion for another ski, but this time with Jessica, her sister Mandi, her father and Art all being better skiers, it was decided we'd ski the north advanced loop. I had reservations but figured if you don't test yourself you'll just stay the same so off I went. We came to a good sized drop, but it was well tracked and straight so I thought I could do it but obviously I couldn't. I won't go into much detail, mainly because I don't remember much about the fall or from what I do remember I don't know how I fell. Either way I fell hard, landing on my head. My initial though was to get up and quickly catch up to the rest of the group but then I felt my neck and it occurred to me that maybe I was hurt. Turns out that I then took an easier route back to the warming shed but felt pretty dazed and tired for the rest of the day. Oh, did I mention the headache?
After skiing, which I probably ruined, or at least marred, for everyone else we all headed to the indoor pool to meet up with Grandma, the kids and Beth. We also invited skinner's daughter Brandy to come along and she was a delightful pleasure to have around as she enjoyed herself. I spent most of my time in the hot tub and kiddies pool and sauna, all of which felt great on the myriad of sore spots beginning to pop up over my body. In the evening Art and Beth came over and we all shared a hearty meal consisting largely of the bounty from Jessica's folk's extensive garden and an apple honey custard pie. I'm a little hazy on the evening but I remember going to bed quite early and was amazed that it was so warm it was raining outside but the wind was howling and there was a huge temperature drop coming. Predictions had basal temps below minus 20F(-29C) with windchills well below minus 50F (-44C). I don't care how you look at it, that's cold. How upset would the mushers down the shore be now? Apparently many of the teams with Siberian Huskies had already scratched from the race because it was too hot, now the temps were plummeting it was windy as hell and the trails were ice.
Despite the icy conditions we ventured down to do our duty and observe the dogs at the Sawbill Checkpoint on the banks of the Temperance River. I've seen the teams at the start in Duluth before but never seen them out on the trail. There's no real fanfare, it's not for the crowds, there's no showmanship or skylarking. All I saw was down-to-earth, get-it-done attitudes enjoying meeting the challenges of winter. Driving on very icy roads was well worth it once I saw the dogs and just the atmosphere and the people is a very captivating thing - at least for me. Although I probably don't have the drive for it, I think I'll always daydream of having my own dog team mushing across some vast wilderness with the northern lights beaming down.
Jessica (facing) and Mandi at the Sawbill Checkpoint
A team leaving after a brief rest
A team coming in
The roads were bad, the snow storm was coming and Mandi had to begin her drive home. Somehow she seems to always get bad luck for driving weather, but she must know how to drive in it as she always gets home safe and sound. I guess it you're going to live up north you just have to suck it up and do what needs to be done. While she was going through that we all sat by the fire watching "The Man from Snowy River".
A team leaving after a brief rest
A team coming in
After loading the cars up I thought we were done with the trip but little did I know there was still one event planned for us. Jessica's mother was heading to work just ahead of us and she blew out her rear tire along the highway. The winds were gusting strongly and the basal temperature on the bank sign read minus 17F (-27C). Changing that tire wasn't much fun for anyone concerned and delayed our return home by a bit.
Now that's a flat tire!
All in all the trip wasn't everything I'd hoped and there were a few things that downright sucked. But there was also a few good things that made it worthwhile. I am convinced now though that winter in the northwoods can be a savage and unpredictable thing - so bring two cars loaded with everything and you just might be prepared :)
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