Rumors

 Rumor has it that we ventured out of our super secret undisclosed location. Well the rumors are true. I can say that now because we are locked up inside our super secret undisclosed location, safely ensconced behind the safety of our walls and moat.

Very similar to the one pictured here.  That's not actually our fortress of isolation but a close facsimile.

Our daughter called us up and wanted to go on a vacation with us. (Isn't that sweet?) So we agreed, and quite frankly we needed a little break from our fortress. Not having been anywhere now for over a year. (Thank you Covid.) She wanted to go to the North Shore of Lake Superior. We love going there and it has been a few years since we were there so we made plans to head that way. Luck would have it that when we would be there, it was during the dreaded heat wave of June 2021. It is always cooler around the lake and that felt great.

We loaded up the fifthwheel, which is strange to admit. We used to live in it fulltime and everything we could possible need has always been inside it. But now living in the cabin, we had to actually think about what we would need and then pack accordingly. Just one of the trade offs for not being fulltimers now.

Our first stop was going to be Duluth for a couple of days. From there we could do our exploring. Most of the state parks along the North Shore are not big rig friendly, and even if they were, it is virtually impossible to get a reservation in them because they book out a year in advance. (Thanks Minnesota for  going to a reservation system.)

Our first obstacle to get over was going to be our driveway. Yep our driveway. We have only traveled 300 yards and we have obstacles.

It is steeper and longer than it looks. Especially with a 16,000 pound forty foot camper behind you. That was the first time we ever went down the driveway but now that we have done it once it will be no problem. I just don't want to do it when there is snow and ice on the ground. The next obstacle was getting used to pulling that thing around again. It has been almost a year since I pulled it before and almost 2 years since we have gone farther than 25 miles in it. 

To make a short story long, we made it to our campground outside of Duluth.

It was a nice shaded spot to relax in. The only downside is that when you sit outside, the gnats will feast on you the entire time. So bugspray is a must. But duh! This is Minnesota. Land of 10,000 lakes, taxes and the occasional mosquito the size of hummingbirds.

The first thing on the agenda was to drive along the North Shore. The day was perfect. Sunny, mid 70's and no wind. Which is rare to see a lake the size of Lake Superior without a wave on it. I have never seen it so calm before.

It was a beautiful day for a drive. We stopped many times along the way for photos so I will shut up here so you can look at the pictures.

Seagulls on a rock. It was hard to tell where the water ended and the sky began.

Freighter heading into Duluth.

Is that ship flying?

My ship has come in.

Two Harbors.

These freighters can be over a thousand feet long.

Two Harbors lighthouse.

Falls at Gooseberry Falls State Park.

Black sand beach.

Mother, daughter time on Gichi-Gumi.

One of the many harbors along the way.

The water was very clear.

Our final destination, Grand Marais.

We couldn't have asked for a better day. Next up is Glensheen mansion and Duluth Harbor.

Kendra wanted to see the Glensheen Mansion on the shores of Lake Superior. This is a 20,000 square foot mansion with 39 rooms. It was beautiful and amazing. There was a staff of 13 people that lived in the mansion, just to take care of the Cogden family. I can't imagine what it would be like to live like that. If it was just  Lisa and I, it would be impossible just to keep it clean. I guess we will stick to our cabin.

The front of this shack.

Looking down a hallway as you enter. The wood work was incredible.

A small portion of the main living room. It was too big to get it all in one picture.

The main staircase to the second level.

One of the many bedrooms. Also much larger than I could film.

The breakfast nook. This is my favorite with the greens and stained glass windows.

Basement hallway.

Lower level family room.

The back terrace overlooking Lake Superior.

Looking back at the back of the mansion.

The boat house.

Looking back at the pictures, I realized that I missed taking pictures of so much more. Our tour went through the main level, second story and the basement. There was also a third floor but that was in a different tour. We saw the servants quarters, kitchen areas, carriage house, gardens and the gardeners house. If you are in Duluth, it is well worth the money to tour this mansion.

You can't visit Duluth without going downtown and see the infamous aerial lift bridge. Luck would have it that when we were down there to to see the lift bridge a 1000 foot freighter was passing through.

The lift bridge

Here comes the freighter!

It's getting closer!

This ship is so long I had to break up the video into 2 segments. I hope your sound was on.

There is not a lot of wiggle room for these ships that size.

As I re-watched those videos, I realized that my dead finger got in the way a little bit. Sorry for that and because of that I fear I shall not win an emmy for that. Well that is it for Duluth. On to Hayward, Wisconsin.

Hayward, Wisconsin? Hayward was kind of a last minute thing for us. We originally planned on camping in Grand Portage but when the campground finally returned our phone calls (plural), all they could tell us is that they were booked full because of the road construction project there. (They couldn't tell us that months ago? Sheesh!)

Camping at the KOA!

We rarely stay at a KOA. Mainly because of the price, but when you are scrambling at the last minute, you take what you can get. I have always felt that KOA's can not justify their prices. $65 a night? I will have to say that this is one of the few that can. They have so many things here for kids to do. We got there Wednesday and there were maybe a dozen campers there. By Friday it was packed. Kids running everywhere and the adults were chasing them around with beer in hand. We were glad to leave Saturday morning.

The only thing worth mentioning that we did in the area was to drive to Bayfield, WI and take the ferry to Madeline Island. I would suggest not to go there until the weekend though. Most of the few stores and restaurants they have there don't open until the weekend. So it was a bust for us. The few places that were open, the staff was very rude, like we were a bothering them for shopping in their stores. So the ferry was the highlight of the trip.

The ferry.

The ferry is a car ferry and they have a state park on the island. If you want to camp there they can accommodate large rigs. On one such ferry we saw had a fifthwheel going across.

A nice day to ride the ferry.

That is basically it for our little outing. It was nice to get out and act normal again. Just like the good ole' days of 2 years ago.

Our cabin work has slowed down now. We have been working on some outside projects. Lisa is busy, busy, busy.

Our yard this spring.

Lisa has been busy growing grass.

Some landscaping.

More landscaping.

And more landscaping. Our back patio.

We still need to work on the grass back there. All in due time.

The best for last. My finger update. I have quit physical therapy because there wasn't any improvements. Just a lot of pain. I am still waiting to get into the Mayo Clinic. I was supposed to go June 23rd but they rescheduled me to July 28th now. (I guess the doctor had a golf game he couldn't get out of or something.) 

Lisa tells me that after dealing with this damn finger for going on 9 months now, that it is making me crabby. I don't believe it. I am super jovial all of the time, and if you don't think that is true then, as my mother would say "I will stick this finger where the sun doesn't shine."

So Nameste'.

Mid-May

 When we last left our intrepid explorers, they were very busy cleaning out their barn so that it could be insulated with spray foam. A daring feat by any means, not to be taken lightly. Carefully removing piece by piece the treasures from within. Trying not to disturb the vile evilness that lurks inside.

I'm sorry. I tried to make cleaning out the barn sound exciting but in reality, it wasn't. We got it done though and we were ready for the spray foam company to come in and do their thing.

We removed everything except for our refrigerator and freezer and a pile of wood along the wall that wasn't going to be foamed. They will just have to work around those. We originally planned on just doing the ceiling but changed our minds once we started clearing things out. We didn't want to have to do it again so we bit the bullet and did it all at once.

If you notice closely, all of our house wrap is right side up. Not upside down like other people we know.

Just a couple of before pictures. The foam company came in with 2 foam trucks and 2 foam crews and foamed the entire barn in one day which was awesome. They originally planned on 2 days with one crew so that worked out great.

They sprayed 3 inches of foam everywhere. They did an excellent job. Now before we started to haul everything back in, I wanted to put up some peg board along the back wall. I also wanted to organize things better than before.

With the walls foamed now, there was nothing to nail the peg board to. So I ran stringers across the main beams and then nailed the peg board to them. Adapt, improvise and overcome. One of the many mottos I live by.

It went along very well. So much so that we decided to finish the other walls like that also. It was a good idea because we didn't want to have to take out a loan and finish the inside with plywood or OSB. The peg board was $14.99 a sheet versus $40.00 for 7/16th inch OSB. That is just crazy the way lumber prices have skyrocketed.

With that project done, we could move everything back in. I may have to put something up above the peg board later on. But for now, it is fine. It is time to get some outdoor projects done. 

Our property has been overgrown with prickly ash and sumac. So if anyone has some spare time and wants to cut brush, feel free. I had a pull behind brush cutter that turned out to be the biggest piece of poo poo I have ever seen. It quit working over a year ago and the place I was taking it to get fixed told me they didn't want to see it again.

So if you plan on buying this type of brush mower don't. Save the $1800.00 dollars for something better. So with my mower down, we rented a walk behind brush cutter. It was called the "Billy Goat". Aptly named because this thing went through everything that was in front of it.

Here I am about to tackle this area of prickly ash and sumac.

And this is the area after the Billy Goat got done with it. It will cut down anything that it can mow over. If the tree is too big you will know because it just wants to climb it. We took turns cutting. Here is Lisa doing a fine job of it.

Now when ever I post pictures like that, everyone always says, "Oh, all we see is Lisa doing all of the work". 

So now you can see that I too did some brush cutting. Even while handicapped. After 6 to 7 hours of us cutting we were able to clear a nice size area.

We have lots of acreage to do but for now we are done with that for awhile. It was a lot of hard work and we think we will just rent it once a year and just keep clearing all of the ash and sumac. Another project on the to do list was our downspout on the cabin. Whenever it rains, it washes the dirt away.

It has rained a lot this spring. So we wanted to try and prevent that so Lisa made a trench for the water to follow and then filled it with rock.

Our hopes are that the water will just continue to follow that same course. We planted grass seed there but it just washes away.

Now the news everyone has been waiting for. My finger. It is still as painful as ever. I have been going to therapy 2 times a week just to have them bend and mangle it which makes it hurt even more. With no real progress being made at all. So I have cut down to once a week of excruciating pain sessions. I have been in contact with the Mayo clinic in Rochester to see if they will look at it. If I could cross that finger for luck, I would. Personally, I am leaning more and more to just cutting it off and moving on to more of a normal life. This thing is so irritating and frustrating that I can hardly stand it.

The beginning of May was a very big week for holidays and special occasions for us. We had "May the fourth", otherwise known as Star Wars day. Lisa dressed up like Princess Leia. I was a Wookie. Then the next day was Cinco de Mayo. Endless fajitas for us. Then the big day. We had another anniversary! I beat the odds in Vegas. 32 years. I smothered Lisa with cards and flowers.

There were also plenty of balloons involved.

After 32 years of marriage, Lisa has finally figured out what I like best.

This is a real life 30 pack! Imported from Fargo. You can't buy 30 packs here where we live for some reason. Only 24 packs. Funhaters. And finally Mother's day was on Sunday. She feels spoiled after all of the attention I gave her.

That's it for now. Our next big projects will be asphalt on the driveway and a patio out back. 

Battle of the Hand

 I picked that title because it speaks for itself. This last month has been a battle with my finger issue and it doesn't look like it is going away anytime soon. Which is frustrating to me because it happened almost over night. So why doesn't it go away in the same timely manner? For the last few weeks I have been running to Fargo, 3 to 4 times a week for Dr. appointments. Chiropractors, Orthopedics, Therapists and Hand Surgeons. Trying to get some relief, The Carpal Tunnel surgery was a bust. Nothing came of that except a big beautiful scar that will rival Lisa's when the stories start around the campfire.

Everybody I see just wants to grab my finger and crank on it. Those that don't know what's going on is this. My finger is frozen into a permanent pointing posture. It's called a contracture and has been that way for 8 months now.It hurts and is super sensitive. Normally in a contracture the finger is curled up but I am one of the freaks of nature that it points straight out. If it doesn't go away, I may have to rethink my career choices. Like maybe an informational guide. 

"Excuse me sir. Which way is the Guggenheim?" To which I can say,

"You must go that way."

Or maybe find a sports team that needs a mascot. A winning team, not like the Vikings. Then I can get the crowd fired up by chanting, "WE'RE NUMBER 1! WE'RE NUMBER 1!"

Going to therapy has gotten it to bend a little bit. It is a struggle that is very painful. The therapist will grab that finger and bend it to actually touch my palm as tears run down my face. I can't get it to bend that far because of the pain involved.

It is funny how a little thing like bending your finger can be such an inconvenience. Typing this blog has become more of a hunt and peck type of typing. I guess keyboarding would be the proper term nowadays. When I went to high school, I took a typing class my senior year. Being the only boy in a class dominated by girls, the teacher gave me an old manual typewriter. She told me my fingers were strong enough to pound those keys. As I think about it now, I may have been a victim of sexism. Anyways, I learned the proper way to type and when I got to the end of the class, I could type 35 words a minute. Not too bad. 

On the house front. Lisa got her countertops installed on her new cabinets. They really look great. It is getting closer and closer to looking like a home. 

Between appointments and many other things, I have been working on installing more shiplap. I started working on the hallway and ran out of shiplap. So we ordered more and I was able to finish that. Also Lisa stained our bedroom barn door and we were able to hang that also.

The more I work with it the better it is getting. I still had a little left over so I continued on working on the laundry room wall.

The weather is warming up and that is letting us get outside to do stuff around the house. We are in a holding pattern at the moment for our next big project to happen. We decided to insulate the barn. So that means removing everything, and I do mean everything out so the spray foam company can come in and do their thing.

So Lisa and I rolled up our sleeves and went to work.

The view when you open the door. I know. How can 2 people accumulate that much stuff in a year? We are not hoarders, honestly. It looks like I should have doubled the size of the barn.

Once you get the fifthwheel out of there it looks better.

Finally, with the three campers out, it looked so much roomier. That just leaves us with the small stuff. Easy peasy.It should be empty by the end of the weekend and the foamers come on Tuesday. 

That's our life for the last month. Rumor has it that you may see us on the road again starting in September. So keep your eyes peeled for Tango Allejandro and Gladys Butterpump on a road near you.

Marching Along

 March has arrived and it did not come in like a lion. Temperatures quickly rose into the thirties, forties and even fifties. Quickly melting the snow we had and now making our driveway a muddy mess. I think we have decided that we need an asphalt pad in front of the barn so that we don't have to park in the mud.

The work is coming along on the cabin. The big project for the month is our cabinets. Lisa found kitchen cabinets, which meant getting the kitchen ready for the install. We needed to get the sheet rock up before the cabinets went in.

Since we were doing that we decided to also sheetrock the entire living room.

Not as easy as it looks because I am still operating with a half hand but more on that later. We also didn't want to have to work over the cabinets so we quickly put up the cedar tongue and groove on the ceiling in the kitchen.

Lisa was a huge help in doing those projects. She even overcame her fear of the nail gun and was nailing the cedar as I held it. It was funny listening to her. You would hear a "POW" and then a little scream. "POW", scream, "POW", scream. 

Finally the day came and our cabinets arrived. 2 days later and they were installed. They look great and we even found a table to match. The counter top will be installed next week so Lisa is a little giddy with anticipation.

We had some shiplap left over from the bathroom project so I started doing a section of the wall in the laundry room.

With that wall there now, I was able to take down the blue tarp that had served as our wall for months. I still had some shiplap left over (I guess I over estimated how much we needed for the bathroom) and started putting it up in the hallway.

I finally ran out, so we ordered more. I don't know how much more of that we will do at this time because the prices have more than doubled.

Now to my finger. I have not seen any improvement so I went back to Orthopedics for a second opinion. A little late, I know. He looked at my finger and said that I need to see the hand surgeon. He told me I have a contraction of the finger. It is rare because instead of being bent, it is straight out. He then takes my finger and tries to bend it, which he succeeded. However I was in excruciating pain. He let go after what seemed like hours and it went back to the straight position. So now I go to Occupational therapy for more torture. We will see if I can stand the pain. I wonder if it is really worth the amount of pain that the cure causes.

Maybe in the future my cowboy name will be 9 finger McGhee.