Brooklyn Park Tater Daze

The city of Brooklyn Park held its annual Tater Daze celebration last weekend, and on Friday all of us went to the opening parade with our friend Jen and her two kids.


Sarah agreed to go out and hug Mr. Potato Head, but chickened out at the last second. She'll be taller than him next year.


Ah, the spoils of a parade ... stickers from politicians, faux Godfather's hat, store coupons, and CANDY! She took home an entire hat-full of sweets.


Sarah and Daddy took a ride on the ferris wheel.


I'm way up high! Cheeeese!

2009 Jaunt with Jim Klobuchar, Part I

Rich went on his 19th Jaunt with Jim Klobuchar bike ride in the past 20 years this past week. This year's ride was in the Minnesota Arrowhead region, centered around Grand Marais on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Here's Rich with friends Laura and John on the first day of the ride.


After setting up our tents in Grand Marais on the first day, about 30 of us rode an extra 12 miles to a general store in the woods for lunch. The ride included a HUGE three-mile hill that we had to ride up ... of course, we got to ride back down afterward, and Rich hit 40 mph on the way down. Fortunately, no Junebugs were out to hit him in the teeth.


Tim, Steve, Rich, Laura and Mary enjoyed supper at the Angry Trout Cafe in Grand Marais. That's the same place Rich and Erin visited on their first getaway trip together back in 2003.


The harbor at Grand Marais.


Steve, Paul, Mary, Laura and John in Grand Marais.

2009 Jaunt with Jim Klobuchar, Part II

Rich sets up camp on the second day in Grand Portage, near the Canadian border. That's Mount Josephine in the background ... yep, we climbed up that one on our bikes, too ...


... on the way to see the High Falls on the Pigeon River, which forms part of the border between Minnesota and Ontario.


At 120 feet, the High Falls is the highest waterfall in Minnesota.


Coming back from the Pigeon River to Grand Portage, we had to climb Mount Josephine again. Nice view!


Ridgeline of Mount Josephine on Lake Superior.

2009 Jaunt with Jim Klobuchar, Part III

Headed back toward Grand Marais on Day 3, we stopped for a break at Naniboujou Lodge. The lodge was built in the 1920s as an ultra-exclusive private club. Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey and sports columnist Ring Lardner were among its charter members. A membership of 1,000 was originally sought, but the club failed after the stock market crash of 1929. It changed hands many times and has since been restored. Ellaina and Aaron have spent time at Naniboujou!


Rich visits the Middle Falls on the Brule River in Judge C.R. Magney State Park. The North Shore is a great place for hiking and seeing many waterfalls.


Pat (our bike mechanic) and Bob finish up their supper at Sven and Ole's Pizza in Grand Marais.


The Coast Guard station on the harbor at Grand Marais.


Sunset view of the Grand Marais harbor entrance and the Sawtooth Mountains in the distance. Taken from Artists Point.

2009 Jaunt with Jim Klobuchar, Part IV

The Gunflint Trail as we approached our destination for two nights, Gunflint Lodge. Most of the trees in this photo were burned during the extensive Ham Lake Fire in 2007. That fire burned 75,000 acres in total, making it the largest forest fire in the region in at least a century.


Gettin' ready to go kayaking!


Dick, Warren, John and Mary start out on the half-mile walk from our cabin to supper.


Bob, Steve, Sherilyn and Mary parked on the dock at Gunflint Lodge. Bob and Steve stayed on the dock all afternoon eating nachos!


Rich and Jim Klobuchar even took a spin in a canoe on Gunflint Lake.

2009 Jaunt with Jim Klobuchar, Part V

The view of Gunflint Lake from our A-frame cabin. That's Canada over there across the lake!


Our cabin. Rich shared it with five others.


During a solo canoe trip on the lake, Rich shadowed a loon that was diving for fish. He popped up 20 feet away at one point.


My partner fell out of the canoe! No, it was a solo canoe trip down the lake to supper.


The beach area at Gunflint Lodge, where we spent much of our time during our two-day stay.

Flying with Craig

On the way north for this year's Jaunt with Jim bike ride, Rich stopped at Richard Bong Airport in Superior, Wisconsin, and received a one-hour flight in the new airplane purchased by his friend Craig.


Captain Craig, just after we took off and turned northeast toward the Apostle Islands.


The panel of Craig's four- or five-year-old Cirrus SR20. We spent much of our time at 3,500 feet.


A very large bar island just south of Madeline Island in Lake Superior.


Basswood Island in the foreground, with other Apostle Islands in the background.

Flying with Craig, Part II

Craig was generous and let Rich take the controls for much of the flight. Here we're heading back toward Superior, with Lake Superior in the background.


The harbor at Duluth-Superior.


Loading docks at Superior.


Duluth Sky Harbor Airport, with water all around. Rich landed here a couple of times several years ago.


Short final back to runway 21 at Bong Airport. Thanks, Craig!

Sunny summer day

Noah spent a week with us after finishing up seventh grade in Moorhead. He and Rich biked four miles each way to visit the Coon Rapids Dam.


Sarah sporting her new yellow sun hat and sandals.


Princess Erin.

Sarah's first train ride

Last Saturday, Sarah took her first-ever train ride with Daddy and Grampa Gordon so we could visit her great-uncle Arthur, who lives in Indiana and is sick. We took Amtrak's Empire Builder from St. Paul to Chicago, then rented a car and drove the rest of the way to Indianapolis. Here's Sarah, all decked out with her traveling hat and her pink backpack stuffed with toys and goodies.



The Empire Builder was about an hour late that morning, so Sarah and Grandpa had to kill some time.


All aboard!


Sarah was pretty excited during the first part of our trip. Here she is in the observation car, pointing out the spray being kicked up behind the cars driving on the wet road.


"Look, Dad! Lake Pepin!"

Sarah's first train ride, Part 2

We ate lunch in the dining car while riding through central Wisconsin, and sat with a nice lady traveling home to Cleveland. Sarah ate some of grandpa's salad, then enjoyed some penne pasta with meatballs.


Then she settled in with a Scooby-Doo video and some crackers ...


... before falling asleep for a couple of hours before we got to Milwaukee.


Beauty and the beast.


Sarah sees the Sears Tower in Chicago!