Saturday, November 15, 2008

Of Waterfalls, Maple Syrup, and One Superior Lake

Yeah. I really need to get myself a digital camera if I'm going to keep trying to blog while travelling, aren't I?

**Update on 11/20--Photos are here! Check them out below!**

You see... It would be so much easier for you to understand what I'm talking about if I could just upload the pictures as I go along, instead of waiting until after the film gets developed. But I get ahead of myself...

Yesterday (once we got moving--even after getting out of bed to witness the 7am sunrise, it's still hard to be out the door before 10) we headed even farther north (yes. such a place exists!). 

We drove along ever-smaller backroads to buy Wild Country maple syrup at it's place of origin (out of an unmanned shack in the middle of the woods), 
and picked up some Maple Sugar Caramels as well. We stopped in Grand Marais to hike around on Artist's Point 
(and to buy some optical orange vests--having been reminded that it is deer season around here). We drove all the way up to the Grand Portage State Park (the entrance to which is--literally--a stone's throw from the Canadian border crossing) to see an amazing waterfall,
 
walking on the icy boardwalk to the point where we could see Canada just about 20 yards away (if you ignore the massive ravine in between). We hiked along the gloriously rugged Cascade River 
(which is "root beer" colored because of the minerals it picks up along the way to Lake Superior). And we had dinner at the hotel's restaurant (the Bluefin Grille) where we got to watch the full moon come out from behind clouds and shower the lake with sparkling blue light. 

And, yes, we got to spend the rest of the evening reading in front of the fire. The Lake has been remarkably calm, which is a mixed blessing, since it means it's not as cold and damp as it could be, but it also means that we don't get to see--or hear--the waves breaking along the shore. But this morning the sun came up over a distant cloudbank and the whole apartment is flooded with brilliant clear light. 

Christopher has been making our plans for the day. I can't wait to see where we end up this time!