Pictured Rocks

"The next line that forms will be for your boat", she said. We had arrived early to get a better seat. We had been told that the Starboard side of the top deck was the best viewing for the sunset cruise to Pictured Rocks. After forty five minutes of standing, we were settled into our seats, three rows from the front on the right side of the boat.

Our boat was parked in the inside corner of an "L",  formed by the two sides of the large dock. Our captain came on to tell us that the 1st Mate, a young woman, would be taking us away from the dock, and heading us out on the first leg of our cruise. As the bow swung to the right, we sensed the practiced feminine touch of a master, as our boat cruised around the open end of the dock, heading for the open waters of Lake Superior.

The captain came on again to tell us we would be cruising for about thirty minutes before reaching the Pictured Rocks. The air moving across our faces was cool and refreshing, our sweatshirts feeling good against the late afternoon wind.

The captain pointed out a couple of bald eagles in tall trees, and an old lighthouse on the lake. There were clouds to the west, but they were broken with spots of blue showing in between. We started to anticipate a nice sunset.

As we started to see the great cliffs in the distance on our right , we began to forget about the sunset and started to marvel at the light on the approaching cliffs.

Edging closer to the bluffs we began to see the color starting to change in the evening light.  The captain was telling us how the different striations of color had developed over time.

We hardly heard his descriptions, as our eyes tried to absorb the bands and stripes of color on the face of the rocks.

After the initial views of the cliff faces, we began to notice the caves near the water line that had been formed by the continuous lapping of the water.

 Odd outcrops of trees growing from the faces of the rocks added to the scenes slowly passing by.

After what seemed to be miles and miles of this fascinating shoreline we began to feel the boat turn and our captain came on again to tell us we had reached the furthest point on our cruise and were turning towards port.

   

Forcing ourselves to look away from the Pictured Rocks and out over the open water to the setting sun, we noticed that most of the broken clouds were gone, having been absorbed by whatever it is that absorbs clouds just before sunset.

By now it was just plain cold. Jo's hoodie was cinched tight as the sun passed below the horizon.

Leaving the boat after a long freezing ride back, we were now anticipating the Hardy's a few blocks away and some hot coffee.

The coffee was great!  As we sat reflecting on our outing to Pictured Rocks, we began the slow process of warming up, with feeling beginning to return to our hands and feet.  The day had been an amazing "Retirement Day".....!

Buffalo Wings

BUFFALO WINGS

Over 60 years ago, a new menu item was added at the Anchor Bar and Grill. They called the item Buffalo Wings because, after all, this is Buffalo New York. Today they are copied all over the world. Most folks don't even know why they are called Buffalo Wings. Here at the Anchor, they are very proud of the name, as well as the wings. And from what we could tell the pride is justified.

These are the original "Buffalo Wings"..... and they are mighty good... We brought home a large portion of our "bucket" !

Kenora and Lake of the Woods

Situated on Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, the town of Kenora is a beautiful, picturesque little town that is a favorite landing spot for fly-in vacationers.

Planes fitted with pontoons are parked at docks all around the city, intermingled with boats of all sizes.

Popular with golfers and fishermen, it is also a favorite vacation spot for the rich and famous and commoners as well.

We arrived in the late afternoon, settled into our rooms, then hurried to the boat for our dinner cruise on Lake of the Woods. A fantastic meal of Walleye, seemed to be the perfect dining choice for a leisurely cruise on such beautiful quiet lake. 

Cruising among the islands, viewing wildlife, fantasy vacation homes, and a slowly setting sun made for a relaxing, peaceful time. Enjoying it with Jo's sister and husband made it even more special.

Walking and driving around Kenora afterwards made this a perfect "Retirement Day".

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Headwaters of the Mississippi River

For most of us, thoughts of the Mississippi river bring up images of multiple barges linked together in front of a large tug boat chugging along at slow speeds. The boats wind back and forth seeking out the main channel, trying to avoid huge sand bars. Often muddy, often between 1/2 and 1 mile in width, it is indeed the "Mighty Mississippi".

A visit to the headwaters of this great river adds another image, that of a 20 to 30 foot wide stream that is only a foot or two deep.

In fact it is so docile here you can walk across the river on stepping stones, wade across if you want to cool your feet, or walk across on a foot log positioned a couple of feet above the water.

Originating in Lake Itaska in Minnesota's Itaska State Park, the actual headwaters is just a short walk from the visitors center for the park. Wading across, then wading downstream to a bridge that crosses the path to the headwaters is encouraged and recommended. It makes for a cool and refreshing experience to your adventure.

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"Nobody likes Winnipeg"

Jo's sister, Priscilla, husband Gary, and the two of us took a whirlwind tour with stops in Manitoba and Ontario.

According to our restaurant server , no one has a positive view of Winnipeg. This sentiment was echoed by our motel front desk clerk who even seemed to suggest that we were a little shallow, and were only interested in things like architecture.


Both seemed to be more interested in night life, and preferred to visit the States on their vacations. To that we could only say, "come on down, we need the money". Perhaps it's just us... but we found Winnipeg to be an interesting town.

The moment you drive into the city, you can just sense that something is a little off... Perhaps it's the honking horns, or maybe it's just the fact that there are few truly square blocks. If you miss a turn, and want to go around the block to try again, you find that the block is not really 4-sided, but a triangle, and you come up one side short when you try to get back on your street. Then, just when you decide to roll with the 3 sided flow of blocks, they throw in a 4-sided one and you get confused all over again. Add to that the one way streets and you have quite a mess. That's about the time you realize that many of the honking horns are aimed at you ! Seems that in this part of Manitoba, Canadians are a little impatient with those of us from the US.

                                                     Manitoba Parliament 

In spite of the confusion, we did manage to locate a number of attractions. There is an area locally known as "the forks" that has several attractions.where two rivers merge  The province capital building brandishes some pretty impressive architecture.

The English Gardens are a memorable display of botanical wonders.

The sculpture garden is a beautiful wooded setting for the many well done sculptures.

There are museums, the ruins of the St Boniface Church, the impressive pedestrian bridge that adds to the view of the sunset, and restaurants and shops galore that add to the overall impression of the city.

Signing of Women's Right to Vote Documents

We only spent an afternoon and the following morning in Winnipeg, but all four of us enjoyed the time there.  

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