Much needed rain

Finally got some rain here in Minneapolis. Sucked for the folks setting up the Uptown Art Fair today...which they seem to start earlier and earlier in the day.

Hennepin Avenue wasn't even closed yet and vendors were setting up their shelters. And blocking the sidewalk.

Supposed to be hot and humid this weekend with showers. Finally summer.

In flight internet service

I am flying from Dallas to Minneapolis and my plane has internet service.

I should be home in about an hour. Is this in-flight internet a blessing or a curse?

Boundary Waters - the true story

I realized I left out some of the funny stuff.

Brian, Jenny, Julie and I had such a fun time. Stories of families and work and books and movies.

Brian started the laughter off with "Shiny thing!" Jenny was telling a story while we were driving up and she was distracted by something. Brian shouts out "Shiny thing!" which became one of repeats all weekend and we laughed every time.

Julie has an awesome husband, Bob, and three amazing kids, Sylvia, Henry and Oliver. Julie just recently got back from a trip to China to visit her father who works over there. When she got back, her kids were all catching her up on what they had done while she was gone. They didn't really care about her stories.

Turns out Bob (Dad) let the kids burp at the dinner table as long as it was followed by, "Thanks for cooking!". For some reason being outdoors and eating good food does make you burp. So there were lots of "Thanks for cooking!" going on.

You'll have to ask Jenny about the two flies sitting on a turd. Ask Brian or Julie about "Brown chicken. Brown cow" -- they thought that was funny. Brian even made up a joke about a pregnant woman, a woman in a cast and blond woman. Impressive.

Dallas for a few days

Going back to Dallas today through Thursday. Looks like it is back in the 100's in North Texas.

Will be home this weekend for Uptown Art Fair crowds.

Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) trip - warning several photos

Our trip started on Wednesday before noon when Brian Crow and I met at Jenny Batten's to load my Ford Escape Hybrid (FEH) with all our camping gear. We drove to Shoreview to pick up Julie Elias, our fourth. We headed up north to Tofte on the North Shore. We stayed at Chateau LeVeaux right on Lake Superior.

Our BWCA entry point was on the Isabella River. It took a little over an hour's drive to get there. The river is very slow flowing but there are rapids - some of which we could paddle through and others that required portages.

Rain into rain about half way to our campsite. It stopped in time for us to set up all the gear in the dry.

Jenny and Brian had great fishing success. Brian caught a northern pike right from our campsite. He and Jenny jumped in a canoe and got several small-mouthed bass just off the best campsite ever.

We ate really well that first night.

Julie and Jenny on our sunny day, Friday.

Some serious paddling.

We went on a day trip down the Little Isabella River up to a set of rapids where we sat on the rocks to eat lunch.

We saw this turtle going up the Little Isabella. He jumped in when we got to close. He was back again when we came back by.

Lots of different plants.

Before the storms of Saturday arrived, a fantastic sunset.

Incredible winds Friday night and all day on Saturday. It rained some but it was the wind that kept us off the lake.

If your browser is video capable. Here is short video of our campsite. Turn up the volume and you'll hear the wind howling.

Jenny and Julie think this is a good picture of me.

Fields of wild rice filled the river. There was no other way but to paddle through. The front of the canoes accumulated a lot of it.

The end of our paddle out.

Below the fold

The Uptown Neighborhood News for August, 2009 has hit the streets. My friend and ace newspaper reporter, Bruce Cochran, has published a story about my bodybuilding contest at the ripe young age of 50.

The newspaper is not available on-line yet so you'll have to get a "hard" copy, as they say.

The story with picture made the front page but fortunately it is "below the fold." The large quote Bruce decided to go with was "Of course, the big question was should it go straight down or to the left?" -- Yikes!

Irony

I'm working from home this week...at least Monday and Tuesday. Going to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on Wednesday with Jenny, Brian and Julie.

Here's the irony...it is warmer in Minneapolis today than it is in Dallas! We're in mid-80's up here in the upper midwest. Dallas is a cool and misty 76 degrees.