Saved some money

I am not an auto repair guy but I figured replacing a broken side mirror couldn't be too bad. The Ford dealer was going to charge $310.00 just for the part plus I don't know how much for the labor. But the worst part was I couldn't get it fixed for almost a month.

I backed into a column in the parking ramp at work. Tore off the driver side mirror unit. It is heated and motorized.

Thanks to the internet I found an auto parts shop in St. Paul and multiple YouTube videos on the steps to replace the unit.

The used part was $110.00 and it took less than 1/2 hour to complete!

It isn't perfect. There are some scratches on the black cover and turns out the motor doesn't adjust up and down. But it adjusts in and out and the mirror moves manually up and down. Best of all it isn't going to fall off or flop around.

Before - mirror cracked up

Before - bungees holding it in place

After - it isn't in primo condition with some scratches

After - nice mirror

Gray Jays

When we came back to the cabin after our BWCA adventure, a Gray Jay family was waiting for us. Gray Jay's are very sociable birds that with no prompting ate right from our hands!

Annual BWCA Trip - part 1

This past week was what has become a near annual camping trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) Wilderness.

The usual foursome of Jenny, Julie, Brian and me drove up north on Tuesday. We spent the night in Jenny and Andrew's cabin on Gust Lake off the Grade (road). We paddled in on Sawbill Lake from Sawbill Outfitters.

There is a very long and, looking back, funny story on how we ended up where we did but I'll make the text of this post short and post the photos that I took. There will hopefully be more photos when the others get theirs off their cameras and phones.

Paddling in on Sawbll

Around the campfire grate

Fire grate and some of our cooking gear

A Jack Pine pinecone. The Nut Hatches really like these.

Dramatic sky while paddling. We did have storms during this trip.

A double water lily. We saw lots of these on our river paddle.

We love to swim in the lakes. We always where our life jackets.

A dramatic sunset. The reflection off the lake is always a winner.

One of our campsite sitting rocks.

We all happened to wear our Gust Lake t-shirts!