This task was suggested by Janet (a.k.a. Jabby). Our original plan was just to go by ourselves, that was when neither of us were dating anyone. So when we decided to start planning this trip we included the guy I was seeing and a platonic guy friend of both of us. To make things exciting Pete (the guy I am seeing) had a total hip replacement 19 days before we were to leave. Just in case he couldn't make it due to health issues we selected a replacement guy to go. Then Glen (the original platonic friend) had work commitments that he couldn't change come up, so Steve (replacement guy) ended up going anyway. The crew ended up being me (a.k.a. Janica), Jabby, Pete (a.k.a. Pesky) and Steve (a.k.a. Claw Toe). We kinda lied to Steve and told him that we would be leaving at 6 am, he is known for being late. We did get going a little late and that was my fault. It was the "I have time to do one more thing before I go" syndrome. We gave each other nicknames (or earned them). There was lots of talking and laughing on the car ride up (more napping on the way back).
This is the first picture of the posse together. Pete was the last into the car, we picked him up on our way since he lives by Brainerd. We decided to take Glen along (we named a plastic cow Glen) in spirit. He got in the middle of the fun, participating in almost everything we did.
Glen's turn in the bathroom.
Swimming in Lake Superior at Cut Face Creek.
We even found him a girlfriend later in the trip. We crossed the border later in the day, the guy at the booth was kinda crabby. He was all business and very short with us. Canada have lots of Poplars and pine trees but not many other kinds of trees. It has a different look to the countryside. Our Hotel was great (Thanks, Jabby) and the view was of the sleeping giant. The first full day there we were going to go to the Amethyst Mine, but went the wrong way down the major highway (as in going west not east). We ended up going to Kakabeka Falls and Fort Williams instead.
The Falls were amazing! Very, Very beautiful! Fort Williams was very informative. We had a nice guide, Charles Champagne. He lead us through the buildings and explained who would have lived there and how they did their trade. The Doctor's house was very interesting with the turpentine enemas and the worms crawling to the corner. (It was the way he explained it) We saw many different kinds of furs and got to touch them. That is a big deal to me, I am a very tactile person. I forgot my camera in the van when we were in the fort, so I didn't get any pictures.
We enjoyed late afternoon naps each day, Which was very nice. The first night we ate at the Gargoyle, a very interesting place. The food was really good too. The second night we ate at Montanta's. It was a steak house like Bonanza . The third night we split up and Pete and I went to Boston Pizza, good food with a sports bar atmosphere.
The second day we did manage to find the Amethyst Mine. It was up a very curvy and at times steep road. There were lots of fun things to see just on the drive there. The mine was awesome!! I wish we would've been able to see more of the mining operation. One of the reasons we didn't was because they had just opened and were still getting rid of snow, ice and excess water. We got to dig in their tailing's pile for treasures.
Glen found a rock he liked, but it wasn't for sale.
On the way back to Thunder Bay we stopped at The Teri Fox Memorial for a rest from driving and a potty break. The sun was so nice and warm on the rock wall, we took a short nap. Glen and his new girlfriend Glenda did too.
On our way back to the US, we were going to stop at Pigeon Falls on the Canadian side, but they weren't open due to high water and flooding. We stopped on the American side instead. The water was really rushing over the falls, we could hear rocks hitting as they were washed down. I have never seen the water so high, of course I have only been there in July or August.
I am sure glad that Pete could go with, he did really well with all the hiking we did.
I had a great time, lots of laughs and great company. The weather in Canada was actually nicer than it was at home that weekend. Thank you Janet for suggesting this! We always seem to have a great time together!
The Janet's!!
No comments:
Post a Comment