Dreams are free...and they talk you into crazy things!

I bought a sea kayak several years ago and took it in the Two Harbors 18 mile race. That day was the roughest they have ever run it. I found out that day that I like waves! I started looking at kayak surfing and thought that would be a blast. So I bought a whitewater boat and took Canoe U to learn how to paddle a tiny boat. Then I got caught up in river running and playing. In August I had my first chance to surf in Lake Superior and even though the waves were small I learned alot and had a great time. Today it came full circle to actually surfing some big surf. Brian, Bill and I headed up to Duluth to check it out. We stopped at the Lester and there wasn't much there. On the advice of Roger and Scott we headed to Stoney Point. WOW! It was great! We were out for more than four hours! Met some fun people and all of us are hooked on surfing. The photo of me that I would have liked to have seen was when I wasn't paying attention and a huge wave broke directly behind me. I tried to catch it but it was too steep and just starting to break. Needless to say I had a fun ender, ending in a fine combat roll. Great day on the Lake!

Vermillion River Clean Up

Great job on the clean up! What a treat to float down the river after the clean up and not see trash! Click on Bryan's blog for more photos of today. http://liquid-addiction.blogspot.com

Bay City Beach Pelicans

I stopped down to Bay City to see if the south wind had kicked up some decent waves. No such luck but I did see the Pelicans are migrating. They are awesome to paddle out to see. We did it last year and you can get fairly close before they get nervous. On the photo the white areas are the pelicans out feeding. To see the pelicans, click on the photo to enlarge it and you can see 2 flocks in the distance. I saw about 5 flocks in all today.

Canine Chiropractic went well today

Boo's first session went very well today. Dr Jennifer and I sat on the floor with Boo between us while she worked on her. She found a couple of minor things in her neck area but starting halfway down her back things got pretty sore and out of place. At first Boo was surprised with the instrument Dr. Jennifer used but she soon figured out that this was helping her and was practically sitting on her lap at the end. I have a very good feeling about this and will continue with the treatments. Dr Jennifer figures another session this week and two more next and we should be in good shape. Of course she cautioned that there could be degenerative disease that will never be fixed but that's just what the Vet said also. Considering so much was out of place I figure this is going to be a huge help to her. It's hard to be an Alpha Pug when your back hurts
;-)

A little off the wall post...

My girl, Boo, has had a pinched nerve in her back since she gained all that weight. She had a thyroid problem which not only made her gain weight but also weakens the muscles. She has been getting better with anti inflamitory's, thyroid medicine, and losing 5 pounds which is huge for a pug. She is still not back to normal. The new Vet at the clinic is going to try her on Prednisone when her other meds are out of her system. Now I started wondering if there was something else I could do for her. I needed to go back to see my Chiropractor this week and wondered if there was such a thing as Cannine Chiropractic. Turns out there is. It's taught at the U of M St Paul Vet School for starters. Well when I made my appt for this tuesday I asked the receptionist if they do dogs. Dr Jennifer Patterson had done one dog before and was willing to try to help Boo. So this tuesday morning Boo and I are in for a "cracking". Now I wouldn't trust my dog to just anyone but Dr. Jennifer is one of those people that has a gift for healing.
Has anyone heard of this or had experience with a situation like this? I'll post next week to let you know how it turns out.

A couple of more North Shore shots

I had a few requests for a closer shot of Devil's Kettle. It's the scariest thing I have seen on a river. The other photo is my favorite of the trip. The Sawtooth Mountains.

Proof of the fish story

OK Here's my big fat bass out there for all to see. He was a keeper all right! Between 7 of us we filled a five gallon pail with small mouth bass. Great day fishing!

Gunflint and the North Shore Trip

I had a great trip to the north land! I arrived on the Gunflint to join my friends Wednesday evening. Thursday we spent fishing on Bearskin. We took two boats out and our boat, with Melissa, Elizabeth and I, caught almost nothing but large bass. Lots of them! We ate very good that night. We discovered that the best seasoning for grilled bass is to grill a rib eye steak along side. The taste was incredible! The steak was good also!
Friday was cloudy and rainy so we went to Grand Marais so Shirley could get on line to check her classes. The surf was huge! But my kayaks were back on the Gunflint. So when we got back we went trout fishing on Leo. Miguel caught the only trout. I caught another big bass. Again we all ate great! That night Melissa and I got our rears kicked in Euchre. We won one game though.
Saturday my friends had to head back home so I moved my camp to Grand Marais hoping to get in on the big surf action from the day before. When I got to town all was pretty calm. I pitched camp and headed for Paradise beach to try to find some of those Paradise beach agates I've always wanted. What I found was the surf starting to come up. There was a small squall off shore kicking up a few waves. This time I was prepared and surfed the rest of the afternoon. I really had a blast!
Sunday was spent kayaking the 6 inch waves and roll practice. Then I headed out to find those agates. I found alot of them and one really nice prize agate about the size of a small chicken egg. Beautiful! Then I hiked to Devil's kettle and spent the night star gazing on the beach.
Each time I go to the North Shore it calls to me. I really feel at home on the beaches there and I was not anxious to return home. I can see myself retiring in a small cabin on the shore with wood heat and solar power. An old fashion wood cooking stove in the kitchen. Ah but I dream...maybe someday.




Big surf
Little surf

Happy 21st Birthday Shane!

Stopped at the Verm today...

I stopped for a quickie after work today. It's really low, low, low. A summer low with lots of green moss growing. Triple was barely there as was RR. Donut was gone. Still it remains just a beautiful float down the river. The water was clean and cold. I did shed some of the work tension I had accumulated during the day. I think as it turned out that I was meant to be on the river today as everyone I talked to was interested in getting into whitewater or was just starting out. To everyone I talked to today...I hope you follow up on your whitewater desires. Follow the Rapidsriders board to see when a group of us are heading that way and feel free to join us. To get your gear in line I have to say talk to Peter at Midwest Mountaineering. He's a great help and source for information.
My Zen moment of the day was sliding across Donut and having thousands of shiney minnows leaping in the air and landing on my boat. They were just in the Donut area, no place else that I saw them on the river. Beautiful!