Saturday

I'm almost ready to start the long trek home, but before I go I want to tell you about some scenic views that just can't be missed when you're down this way.

I took a morning off from ballooning last week, and drove the “Turquoise Trail” from Albuquerque (ABQ) to Santa Fe. Don't miss it!! Cutting north from Interstate 40, about 20 miles east of ABQ, SR 14 meanders along the high plateau on the east side of the Sandia Mountains, going through villages full of art galleries and Indian craft shops. But, I didn't stop at those – just can't take in any more.

BUT, I did take a 14 mile detour off SR 14 to the highest point of the Sandia Mountains - 10,700 feet above sea level, 5,000 feet above the valley floor along which runs the Rio Grande.

Unlike most mountain tops where the view is crowded by trees or other mountains, from this one you can see all the way to the western part of forever – according to the Automobile Club guide, the Sandia Crest panorama “encompasses 15,000 square miles”. That's a big lot of desert, mountains, city, volcanic cones . . . . And the road up to the Crest provides great views of the plateau and prairies to the East.

These photos are from the Fiesta toward the Sandia Crest; then

from the Crest looking west.

Take your telephoto lens; a tripod, lunch, and go!!

I paid only a brief visit to Santa Fe; walked through the Old To

wn main square which is much larger and more picturesque than that of ABQ. Local craft people sat on the porch floors of adobe buildings that line the square, selling their own silver and turquoise crafts. Evidently they have to be licensed as authen

tic to be there, and a lottery decides who gets a turn to sell.

I didn't do justice to touring either Santa Fe or ABQ – guess I'll have to come back :)

And, just so I don't forget why I came here, here's a photo of a morning "Mass Ascension" -

organized chaos, but beautiful, isn't it?

Morning at the Balloon Fiesta

Dream – I'm reading a book – a mid-40's male detective remembers 15 years back to when he ignored the long blonde hair on the stairway – and, the aftermath. The price 'they' paid, for his oversight.

Is it morning? Still dark, but I hear more cars passing; get up – 4:30, yes, time to get up. Wash with babywipes (no water); dress in the ever-so-dim light of battery operated lamp; jeans, 3 layers, cap, Canada bandana, cloth gloves.

Sky is black, stars abound, no light on the horizon.

Meet new-found Minnesota friends in next campsite who crew for 2 Canadian balloons; drive to Field;give parking attendant banana bread; go to Crew Hospitality tent.

Breakfast – breakfast burritos, all you can eat Krispy Kreme donuts; Belgian waffles, juice, coffee, coffee, coffee. Several hundred pilots, crew and Fiesta volunteers laugh, chat, eat, and get ready for the day.

Off to launch site – continual phone calls between fellow chase-crew; pilots (2 balloons from Montreal). Pilot briefing with weather and ground control is over – pilot has to decide - Yes, we'll go; no, not yet; no, wait, YES, NOW.

Sky lightens a bit in the east; stars still glimmer; concessions open selling coffee, 'funnel cakes', breakfast burritos, souveniers, . . . Announcers begin their daily spiel, giving the schedule of the day; bad jokes; lifting spirits to an even higher peak. Sightseers crowd the field; stumbling a bit in the grass, waiting for light, for BALLOONS! Photographers everywhere. Check the number of cameras on this tripod!

Crew unpacks “envelope” (the balloon); gondola; ropes; radios; lights; fan; propane. . . . Lay it all out; I get to help lay out the envelope and ropes and then do traffic control, keeping the sight-seeers from walking over the envelope and ropes (Why, they ask, in a snit? Because if your heel goes through the rolled-up envelope it can ruin a $15,000 balloon.) Hurry up!! Pilot wants to go NOW, to be part of Dawn Patrol, launching at 5:45.

Ready? Use fan to inflate the balloon with cold air; keep walking under the envelope, touching only with cloth gloves (oil on hands ruins silk envelope); fluff envelope up so it will inflate more quickly. Attach the Crown with velcro strips; keep people off of the envelope and ropes; answer questions from observers; HURRY.

Envelope is full of cold air, still lying on its side; tethered to truck. Pilot lights the propane; as air heats, the envelope begins to stand up. Noise, flames, heat. Gondola still on its side, crew checking – instruments in? Lights attached; crew has keys to chase vehicle? 2 way radios working? HURRY. Envelope is up, gondola is in position, pilot is in; double checks everything, mixing propane and air to keep the balloon upright and ready to go. . . . . .

Zebra-garbed field official arrives – ready to go?? final instructions to pilot. Pilot decides who to ride – darn, not me, this time. Zebra checks the field, the wind, the 10 other balloons in our immediate area – not yet, not yet - - then, two arms up, frantic whistle, you're off!! The group cheers!! Away he goes.

Crew gets another coffee, then begins the chase. Pilot says “I'll try for Second and Alameda, near the school”. Roger. We drive the streets near the Field, find our balloon touched down in a dirt parking lot of a small condo development. Chatting with our two guys is a t-shirt garbed woman, who tells us she was walking the arroyo (drainage channel), on her way to school.

She helps us pull the balloon over to the pavement (pilot uses hot air to lift off a bit); then to roll it up, pack, lift, put everything away. She tells me she's 'retarded', and we agree that helping with this balloon is a wonderful thing to be part of. We give her a trading card for our balloon, and she carries on to school, to tell her friends about the start of her day.

We return to the field; drive home; and back to bed. It's 8:00 a.m. Can I pick up that dream where I left off? I want to know how the book ends!

My favourites, so far.

"Arky", with lady bug trying to catch up - I guess Noah forgot her.

and, "Pondemonium", the most creative and original I've seen so far.

Enjoy!

update October 4

October 3, 2010

It's been a busy 2 weeks - finished the Habitat build in Grand Rapids, Minnesota; stayed overnight in St. Paul, seeing the season's premiere of Garrison Keelor's "Prairie Home Companion"; waiting in Wichita for a replacement tail light for the trailer, and now have been in Albuquerque (ABQ) for 5 days.

Above is where I'm camped - note the shade tent - it's been in the mid-90's which is a little hot after the long underwear weather during my last 2 weeks in Minnesota.

The Balloon Fiesta is just great - words can't describe the sight - hundreds of balloons, hardly any alike (except Wells Fargo bank - they have 2!); and funny shaped ones too - a parrot from Holland, a little man from Japan, one from Lithuania, and at least 3 from Canada. I hooked up with one of the Canadian ones last night, as I wanted to crew for my home country; so, I toured the balloon field (equal to 54 football fields), looking for Canadian license plates. Didn't I find "Wicked", a ballon built in Aylmer Quebec by a fellow who works 3 blocks from where I live in Ottawa. So, I got to help launch the balloon, and put it away again when lightning started to strike on the field. Have I found a new hobby? We'll see.

So far, the most magical moment of the Fiesta is the sight of 50 balloons directly over my head, backlit by an absolutely blue sky. As I lay back in my chair, looking straight up, the balloons looked as if they were little globes of colour, floating in a clear blue sea. Magic! Here's a picture from my "living room", the RV park is directly across the street from the Fiesta site.

another memorable moment was this morning when I had a breakfast burrito - hashbrowns, chiles, scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese sauce, all wrapped in a tortilla - to my Potluck pals - care to try it?

Spent a half day at the "Very Large Array", in Soccoro about 50 miles south of ABQ. It's a set of 27 radiotelescopes that are linked together; moveable; that are set up to receive radiation signals from outer, outer space. Fascinating (to me), as the scientists continue to try to understand how the universe started; how it's grown; how it is / or is not, shrinking. . . . . Sure makes me think about God - did She know what she was doing or what!!!

ABQ is a beautiful place to visit - the city is in a huge valley -

probably carved by the Rio Grande River; and is bounded on the East side by the Sandia mountains. There are so many places where one can see for miles and miles and miles, across the valleys to the next mountain range. Not like we'd see in Alberta as we drive toward the Rockies, but mountains that are 7 - 10,000 feet high covered with sage brush and tiny trees. Saw a herd of antelope, grazing next to a herd of cattle - anyone remember the song "Oh Give me a home, where the buffalo roam?" No buffalo though.

Am about ready to come home - have been "dry camping" while in ABQ - that is, no electricity, no water. Since it gets dark at 7:00 p.m., the evenings are long, or at least they are until I go to sleep at 8:00 p.m. - I miss not being able to make my coffee and stay in bed in the morning, as I am able to do whenever I have electricity. The other thing I really miss is radio; I considered whether to buy a satellite radio before I left, but didn't; that's the only purchase I should have made. Another thing to consider for next time is to buy a tiny generator, so that I can have some electricity when there are no hook-ups. Ah well, live and learn, eh?

September 19 - Grand Rapids, and more

It's been a busy 8 days since my last post – I left Roseau on September 8, having enjoyed a lovely five days with cousin Leanne and family, and learning even more about my family history on my father's side.

Then to Moorhead and Fargo (cities across the Red River from each other). I only went to Fargo to check out Cabela's, a full service sporting goods store. Wow – everything any camper would ever want, and could ever need, from soup to nuts to overalls and propane powered coffee-makers. Cabela's is decorated around stuffed animals, of all sizes – chipmunks to moose, and everything in-between.

By way of contrast, I also went to Scheels, another full-service sporting goods store. Much of the same products for sale, BUT an interesting contrast in decorating. In addition to all of the stuffed animals – bears, moose, deer, chipmunk, beaver . . . . Nearly all of the US Presidents were also gracing the interior – in full-size replicas a la Madame Tussaud's. Would anyone care to write an essay comparing and contrasting the décor of the two stores; or, do an analytical piece on that topic :)

Also spent a half day at the Hjemcomst Center in Moorhead. (Hjemcomst means homecoming in Norwegian). This Center memorialises the individual dreams of two men.

The first, Bob Asp, was a guidance counselor at a local high school and had a dream about constructing and sailing a replica of a Viking ship to Norway – and this is from the middle of Minnesota remember. After years of work his dream became real, and though he died shortly before the voyage was to begin, his children carried on his dream, and did indeed sail to Norway. For more on this inspiring tale, see http://www.hjemkomst-center.com/ship/main.htm

The second dreamer was Guy Paulson, who wanted to replicate a Norwegian Stave church. As a worker in wood, he wanted to honour those who had gone before, and the thousand-year old stave churches which still stand in Norway. He too perservered, and made his dream a reality. For more info on this one, go to http://www.hjemkomst-center.com/church/main.htm

Then, I resumed my east-ward journey to Grand Rapids, Minnesota where the next Habitat Build is taking place. On my way, I stopped at the Mississippi Headwaters Centre http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/itasca/index.html

and stepped over the beginning of that great River. I took a photo of the River, on my way out of the park, ½ mile from where the river begins. What do you think? Does that look anything like the River you know or think of?

Arriving at Grand Rapids – birthplace of Judy Garland by the way – I set up at Pokegama Dam camp site , which is a beautiful and well-run campground right on the banks of the Mississippi., above. I wake each morning to the sound of the river rippling by – wow! Spent some time at an annual meeting of the Minnesota Street-Rod Association, and may have located my next tow vehicle, if I decide to get rid of the Mazda Tribute that has carried me so many miles.

Also went to Hibbing, MN, to see a three-way continental divide. I had always thought that there was only one, THE continental divide that runs down the Rocky Mountains; but no, there are several of them. The one near here is not at a high altitude, but a drop of water that falls upon it can go one of three ways; One to the Red River, then north to Hudson Bay. Another, to the Mississippi and then to the Caribbean; and the third, to the east, to Lake Superior, the St. Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean. Boy am I learning a lot!!! For more info, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurentian_Divide

While in Hibbing, I visited another open pit mine site – there are so many in this part of the world, and I didn't want to miss anything. The Hull-Rust mine is said to be one of the largest in the world. For more info, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hull-Rust-Mahoning_Open_Pit_Iron_Mine .

See http://www.gogeometry.com/mining/hull_rust_mahoning_hibbing_open_pit_mine.html for a short video that shows the entire scope of the mine.

And, on the way back from Hibbing, I ran across a planetarium, giving free admission. I saw a great movie on the demise of dinosaurs – the movie ran across the dome of the planetarium, and it was fun to see/hear the dinosaurs stomping to their end. As well, two fellows were using a sophisticated, though small, telescope to look for sun spots. They showed me how to use the telescope, and I saw 2!! They then explained sun spots, and were very envious when I told them I hope to see the Great Array in Soccoro, NM (stay tuned for that.)

The Build here is going well – we're working on three houses, one of which is to be finished in time for a September 26 open house of the HomeBuilder's Association – I'm learning how to put on exterior siding, put on j-channel in an elegant fashion, and carry stuff. I love it. It combines much of what I love best – immediate results; Christian service; good company; being outdoors; travel – could I become a 'full-timer', living year-round in my little rig? Food for thought.

Off to church now – I'm finding that the United Methodist churches are closest to my theology and I feel comfortable there. After that, I'll be repairing a few minor leaks in my baby Boler – can't see myself sitting in the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, festooned with a blue tarp, so I'll try to get that fixed before I leave here next Saturday. My Habitat experience is giving me confidence that I can fix some things, and knowledge about what questions to ask before I start. Good stuff!

Bye for now. Keep in touch, eh??

September 8 - Minnesota, and relatives!

What a heart-warming experience! I've been in Roseau, Minnesota since Friday, visiting with my second-cousin, Leanne, and her husband Keith. They've welcomed me warmly, and I've really enjoyed staying in the warm, comfortable roomy house – quite a contrast to my 13 foot Boler trailer!

We met last year when I was touring through the area, and we just hit it off. Leanne is a central person in my family history, as she is related to many people in the area, and knows almost everyone else. Being a former school teacher, a very active church member and of Sons of

Norway, and a participant or instigator of many local activities, she's well-connected. Among other things, Leanne is a quilter, and plays accordion in a local band, entertaining not only at local events, but also at Norse-focused events in the mid-West. Keith is a highly skilled carver and carpenter, and both he and Leanne have displays in the local historical museum of the Norse art.

My paternal grand-mother and grand-father (Karen Gaukerud and Theodore Haaby), were both from families of 9 children; and Leanne is the grand-child of one of Karen's sisters. Many of the children from both sides stayed in this area, and some of their children (people my age) are also nearby. And, that means that I have so many relatives in this area that I have only to close my eyes, throw a stone, and I'll hit one. Being so well-behaved I don't do that, but during my visit, Leanne has frequently said, “and you're related to that person, through the Gaukerud (or Haaby) side of your family”. It's been overwhelming to me to see how many relatives I have here.

Leanne and Keith have showed me around, taking me to local cemeteries, one of which contained headstones for TWO Karen Haaby's (my maiden name); and another where my grand-mother, another Karen Haaby, is buried. One was my great grand-mother. Very eerie to see a headstone with one's own name on it. Thank goodness the dates were wrong, so I'm not dead yet.

On Sunday we went to the Rollag Steam Show, an annual event in a village 3 hours away – it brings together hundreds of tractor and other steam engine machines, and thousands, yes thousands of people from near and far. Remember we're in northern Minnesota, about 50 miles from the border with Canada, and farming has been the way of life here since the settlers came (my ancestors among them) in the late 1800's. We saw tractors and farm equipment of all sizes, some dating from the early 1900's; a working sawmill, powered by steam engines; displays of Norse hand-work – embroidery, weaving, knitting.

I also experienced some Norwegian food – lefse, of course, which is a tortilla-like bread made of potato and flour. I was also treated to Rømmegrøt (Sweet Cream Porridge) . I was chatting the white-bearded fellow in front of me while waiting in line for my lefse, and when he told me what he was ordering, I said “what's that”, and the conversation all up and down the line halted, faces turned toward me in disbelief – how could a person not know what “ Rommegrot“ is?? (Could they tell I was not a local:) Nothing would do but that I had a bite of it. He offered me a clean spoon in a gentlemanly fashion, and I slurped into a bit of heaven – wow! What a great taste – fresh cream, thickened with a tiny bit of flour, mixed with sugar and a bit of cinnamon, and topped with melted butter! Sort of like condensed milk on steroids. I was later told that this was often eaten by women who had recently given birth, to restore their strength. I guess!!

If you want the recipe, go to: http://www.gjenvick.com/Recipes/Rommegrot-SweetCreamPorridgeRecipe.html

For those of you that attend our potlucks, stay tuned - you may get to sample some!

We had dinner last night with Leanne's brother John and his wife Randi; and talked and laughed about many things. John took over the family farm years ago, and now their son is at school studying agricultural business. They have 1500 acres of diversified crop (wheat and beans, maybe some beets), which John carries on by himself. When need arises he can hire help, or sons and sons-in-law also help. In the past Randi worked there too, driving the huge combines to get the crops in. But, her work as a nurse took her away from the farm work, and John has carried on, and is a successful small farmer.

As always, Americans are interested in our Canadian health care system, so there was lots to talk over dinner about that. We also compared notes on living in the heart of a culturally diverse urban Canadian area with life here in rural northern Minnesota. Neither side won out, by the way – I think we agreed that each has its pluses and minuses, and it seemed we were all content with our choices.

This visit has been good for my soul; it's great to feel connected to so many blood relatives.

And, now I'm off to the next leg of my journey – will end up in Grand Rapids, Minnesota for Saturday, as my next Habitat build starts Sunday. But, am taking the long route going west to Grand Forks, North Dakota, then south to Fargo-Moorhead for a day or so, before heading east again to Grand Rapids. Bye for now.

September 2

This is likely the last of my Mine Visit entries – don't know why they're so fascinating lately, but yesterday I visited my 5^thin the last 6 weeks. Part of it has to do with the fact that I'm where they are, and they're really interesting. Here in northern Minnesota and Michigan, mining was the heart of much of the economic development of the area, in the mid 19^th and early 20^th century, and some have been preserved for tourists.

Today I visited the Soudan Mine Underground Laboratory at Soudan, Minn. (drove up from Duluth this morning, as I didn't have enough time to both see Soudan and Duluth and still make my rendevous with my cousin on Friday.)

The Soudan Mine was a working iron ore mine for about 80 years (1882 – 1962 I think). It produced high quality ore in huge chunks that steel mills could use without any processing, and was in great demand when open hearth furnaces were used. But, when Blast furnaces came into being, they needed small pellets of iron, and so the processes used at the Mine I visited outside Marquette were developed, and Soudan Mine closed.

In 1965, US Steel donated the Soudan mine to the State of Minnesota, on the condition that it be maintained as a demonstration of a 'deep' mine, and after a touristy type visit by a theoretical physicist, his wife suggested that the mine could be used as the location for a laboratory that needed shielding from cosmic rays for its experiments – and, there, the Soudan Lab was born.

For more detailed info on the Labs and their work, please see: http://www.hep.umn.edu/soudan/brochure.html

Enough to say that we travelled down ½ mile in one of the 'cages' pictured here – the Cages are placed upright, and run on vertical tracks, at a 78 degree angle, at a speed of 10 mph. The cages are made up of two parts – one to carry people (18 at a time); and the second to carry iron ore, 6 tons at a time. It takes 2 ½ minutes to descend 2341 feet to the 27^th level, where we went on two tours. The first was a straight mine tour, which followed the descent from the surface with a ¾ mile ride on a little train, horizontally into the mine.

The cage was sort of enclosed, but the guide did go in each time we entered, to shoo out the bats that may have been visiting.

This mine was notable because the seams of iron were so pure and so dense, that no shoring up or drainage was required. Just blast and extract – much simpler than the other mines I saw whose seams of ore were so mixed with other minerals, that constant drainage and shoring up was required through-out.

The Lab tour was separate one, so after a half hour back at the surface, some of us descended again to the 27^th level, and toured the theoretical physics lab. This lab was established to capture “neutrinos”, shot from a cyclotron in Illinois – yes, really, 500 miles all underground! Each second, we on the surface are bombarded by trillions of neutrinos, and the physicists want to understand how that affects or is affected by gravity, the atmosphere, the Sun, and outer space. So, by capturing neutrinos which have NOT been affected by rays from the sun, the scientists can help us get to Mars. (I'm about to make my reservation :) Is the lab effective? So far only about 10 neutrinos PER WEEK are captured; but according to the scientists that's fine, as it gives lots of data.

We were told that though the effect of neutrinos can be observed, their existence can't be proven; so physicists had to make up the idea of them, to explain things like gravity. Hold that thought.

There is a second lab on the same level, this one dealing with “dark matter”, that is, the 90% of the universe that we can't see, hear, feel, experience. The idea behind the “Cold Dark Matter” experiments is to show the action of molecules down to absolute zero (minus 480 degrees F), so the molecules can be tracked, as they move much more slowly when it's cold (just like the rest of us?) This lab is tracking “Weakly Interacting Molecule Protons” or WIMPS. Hmmm.

We were told that the concept of 'dark matter' can't be proved, but it must exist to explain how the universe is made up.

[I learned while in Soudan that there is an underground lab in Sudbury also studying neutrinos; but using a different method - guess I'll have to go see that one too sometime. For more info on that, g to http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/

So what's all this mean? I don't know of course – you theoretical physicists out there will understand it all. But for spiritual people, isn't it interesting that even hard scientists, so dedicated to 'proof', have to make up things to explain how the universe started and how it works. For me, the Mine Tours have been a wonderful confirmation of the existence of God, a God who helps scientists find ways to explain Creation and how it works, and helps people like me understand better how the world works.

September 1

Spent a lovely day in Michigan's Copper Country, at the extreme end of the Keewanan Peninsula – look on a map of Lake Superior, and see the peninsula pointing to the left, near the extreme west end of the Lake. It's a lovely drive up from Marquette, and the last 15 miles into Copper Harbor were arched by elm and maple trees, just beginning to turn colour. The two lane road is fine to drive, and I recommend Copper Harbor for wanderers. DO GET GAS IN HOUGHTON/HANCOCK, before going further.

Also, good camping at the Fort Wilkin's campground at Copper Harbor – full hook-ups for Rvs, clean, level shaded tent sites, clean bathrooms/showers, good fishing (I hear); a local Camp Host who provides info and teaches how to bake bread on a stick over an open fire.

Copper Harbor houses two bars, no churches, no gas station, one ice cream store, and a wonderfully restored military fort, dating from the mid-19^th century. Originally built to maintain order during the first Copper Rush, Fort Wilkin was active for only a few years in the 1840's; then recommissioned again briefly in the late 1860's – was there a perceived threat from Confederation?? Don't know.

The Fort is staffed by in-costume interpreters, who not only know the actual history, but also local myth from both Indian and Soldier perspective. (Was local lovely Fanny Hooey really kidnapped ? Both local and Indian legend agree that it was so, but formal history does not substantiate the event– hmmm.)

After Copper Harbor, drove back through Houghton and Hancock, Michigan - a local university seems to provide most employment, and students on their first days back at class did their student thing – walking out in front of passing traffic etc.

The Keewanen Peninsula is well worth a longer look – it has a history for both fishing and copper mining, and there are many small villages around the exterior; and so many beautiful views of Lake Michigan, that one can't take them all in.

What to do in Marquette

Marquette is quite lovely – built on low hills bordering on the Lake, with some beautiful Victorian homes, in good repair. There's also some interesting buildings; for example, a former Lutheran Church, turned into a personal residence. It's brick, and the words “Lutheran Kierke” are still etched in the stone above the doorway – couldn't see the inside of course, but beautiful from the outside. The public library has been restored, and also is beautiful in a classic style, inside and out. It overlooks the lower harbour, and I've spent quite a bit of time at the desks with huge windows admiring the view while I do my computer stuff. It's very scenic – the lake forms the northern and eastern horizon everywhere, and is just so huge! Usually quite calm, but when the wind comes up, you can see white-caps, and waves.

Northern Michigan University lives here, and the students have now returned. Even so, the town is pretty homogeneous, as was Iron Mountain – I do miss the diversity of Ottawa, with colour, language, dress, food from everywhere, everywhere.

On my first day here, I took in a tour of a local iron mine – an open pit mine, measuring one mile East to West, one mile North to South, and 1100 feet deep. (Sorry, no photos – not allowed.) According to the Guide who showed us around, this mine has 30 years of Iron left in it – wonder what size the dig will be then?? The portion of iron is much lower than in mines that are dug into the ground – at the one in Iron Mountain, the portion was 70% I think; here it's about 30%, so they have to move 3 tons of ore to get one ton to process. AND, the resulting ore has to be 'pelletized', to be usable by steel factories. To do that, the ore is powdered, then combined with limestone and baked at 2,400 degrees, (yes, no typo); then pressed into marble sized pellets and taken by train to Escanaba for shipping. On our tour of the Plant, we passed by tanker-car sized kilns, through which the pellets are baked. Why not shipped from here? The docks aren't big enough for the ship size needed to make the transport economical – needs to be around 1,000 feet long, such as I saw in the Sault, and the docks here only accommodate 750 feet ships. So the docks here are used mostly for off-loading coal and limestone, to feed the ore plant. The plant is so big it needed it's own electricity -generating capacity; and the plant had surplus capacity which now powers the rest of Marquette – size matters!

Did I tell you about “Da Yoopers Tourist Trap” ? A Yooper is a resident of the Upper Peninsula – get it?? The Tourist trap is a gold mine of local humour – deer hunting men; truck sized rifles and chainsaws. Etc. Fun! Didn't buy anything, but sure enjoyed the humour.

"Da Yoopers Tourist Trap"

I've taken in a local production at a theatre which is housed in a working boat-house, owned by the power boat man I'll tell you about in a minute. It was an original production done in opera style of a melding of 2 of Aesop's fables, illustrating the theme that even the mighty need the small. The singers were uniformly very good, especially considering Marquette's small population (about 30,000). Well worth seeing. The boat house was being used for a wedding reception the following night, so take down started immediately after the performance. But, it's still used to repair boats!! And, I've sampled local food – ever heard of Cudighi? It's Italian sausage, shaped and cooked in a patty, put on a bun, covered with mozarella and pizza sauce. Well worth one try. And, pastys also abound here – they've been served to us by three different groups, and reflect the mining history.

I haven't tried the Gaming at the Casino where we're parked – in the first place, it doesn't look like anyone is enjoying themselves – they don't talk to anyone, just glare at the machines; in the second place I wouldn't win; in the third place, the Casino is so smoky I can't breathe, so I'll keep playing Mah Jong and Freecell on my computer, and call it a day. Won't win any money that way, but on the other hand . . . .

We've been well-treated by HFH here; one of the staff invited us to join her at her favourite local restaurant, and we enjoyed the largest stack of spareribs I've ever experienced at North Woods Restaurant. Then, we went to her home on a near-by small lake, and dove into strawberry shortcake, and more stories.

One night last week, a local supporter of HFH took us for a scenic tour of this part of Lake Superior on his 50' power boat. 3 bedrooms!! What a treat, to see the coast from the lake view instead of the other way around. Toured by a beautiful home sited into the rocks; a tiny cove for a boat; a pool carved into the rocks – gorgeous!

We've been told frequently how dangerous the Lake is – people drown near here nearly weekly – there are rocks near the shore, many just below the surface; and the heat and winds cause currents that sweep people away from shore regularly. One young man drown 2 days ago – the water looked calm; it was very hot; he thought “I can swim to those rocks, no problem”. Sad. And, the boat owner emphasized the point, saying that even in the middle of the lake there are rocks just below the surface – there are always some novice boaters that say “I'll just take 'er out and let 'er rip”, and they do, sometimes ripping the bottom out of their boat.

And, we were here just in time for the annual Rotary Seafood Fiesta – 3 evenings of fish and music. I went twice – free admission – and bought a bit of fried whitefish and some strawberry shortcake and listened to the bands – mostly blues, but some bluegrass. No jazz. But the sky was blue; the food was good, and the music was better – a great way to conclude my travelogue of Marquette – it's a nice town to spend some summer days in.

Finally, we did work, really we did. Here's a photo of this group of builders, which includes a staff person, the homeowner and some of her friends. What a crew, eh?

Habitat Build - Marquette, Michigan Aug 24

Exterior of one of the HFH houses to be finished by Thursday.

This build is very different from the one in Iron Mountain. In the first place, we're putting finishing touches on 6 houses, all of which will be turned over to the new owners on Thursday August 26. The fact that 6 houses are involved and to be Dedicated all at once is unique, according to “Mike” who is the executive director of HFH here in Marquette County, Michigan. HFH got a rural development grant from the federal government on the condition that the houses be located outside the urban area and that no owners could move in until all houses were complete. (there may be other conditions, but that's the gist of it.)

Following usual HFH criteria (living in sub-standard housing; sweat equity; ability to pay interest-free mortgage) six families were chosen, and work has been underway for about 18 months, I think.

So, at this build, we 7 Care-A-Vanners came in 12 days before the dedication ceremony, by which date ALL 6 houses have to have passed building inspections, etc., as well as be in ready-to-move in condition. Most were pretty much ready, but the new owners and we Care-a-vanners have been doing touch-up painting; caulking missed nooks and crannies; putting in window blinds and doors; but also constructing, roofing and painting sheds; installing and painting molding / baseboards; building interior and exterior stairs; helping lay cement pads for stairs. We have an onsite supervisor - Matt, who is 25 years old, and has built 46 HFH homes, 40 in Washington State, and 6 here. He reports to Gerry, a retired staff sergeant in the Air Force; she oversees all of the construction, purchases materials, deals with inspectors, etc. Gerry has the final word, but Matt is the on-site director.
This is a view of the interior of the kitchen on the day we arrived.

Our Care-a-vanners group is small – 5 rigs, but only 7 people, as I and two men are sole occupants of our rigs, joining two couples to be a small but might force :) Jim has been on 40 builds, Leroy and Janice about 15; Skip and Dave have not only done HFH, but also helped with Katrina rebuilds and other Red Cross rebuilding activities; Larry and I are the new-bies, but Larry has sophisticated skills in fine carpentry and cabinetry and has been doing the precise work. I'm a good go-fer; and am learning so much. All are patient with me, and will take the time to teach me new skills, and coach me as I try to do the work.

Our days are simple – work; beginning each day, and each meal with prayer; a “Happy Hour” in late afternoon, where we talk over the events of the day, and tell many tales of our travels – my goodness, have we as individuals put on the miles around the world and over the years! Several times Leroy who has been a professional musician plays bluegrass on guitar and sings his own and other's music – mostly of the Johnny Cash variety – and we try to sing along. Music around a camp-fire is a wonderful thing. An early supper; and early to bed as we have to be on-site 15 miles away by 8:30 a.m.

I shower at the Y (15 miles away), as I don't have facilities – the others do. I also use the bathroom at the Casino, as again I don't have facilities – I don't mind, generally – it's the price I pay for living full-time in a 13 foot trailer.

We're housed at the local Casino, about 10 miles from town; we have electricity but no water, and no dump facilities. The Casino had set aside 5 sites for us, for 2 weeks, and the out of towners who come by in their big rigs looking for a nice place to park, look sideways at us. We offer them a hammer and 2 weeks worth of volunteer work in exchange for a site, but so far, no one has taken us up on that.

The site is very sandy, as much of this part of Michigan seems to be, so keeping sand out of the trailer is an on-going challenge. However, right out my door is a forest bedded with blueberries, so I add them to my granola every morning and get my vitamins that way. The Casino parking seems safe – well lit, with lots of security. And, to my surprise it's relatively quiet; some cars coming and going, but not much people noise, though occasionally, very rarely, we hear someone in the parking lot yelling “I won, I won”. I've not been tempted yet, but who knows!

Enough for now – bye all.

Adieu to Iron Mountain

Well, the Iron Mountain build is finished, at least for this group of Care-A-Vanners. We closed down yesterday (Aug 13), having finished the roof, the inside framing, the basement insulation, and installation of soffits and beginning of fascia. Evidently we were lucky that the weather allowed us to work every scheduled day, as so often rain closes down the Builds in this part of the world. I think we were only down for about 3 hours, as lightning kept the guys off of the roof, but we all just moved inside and worked there.

This has been a real learning experience for me in many ways – learning the vocabulary of house construction (joist vs truss; stud vs nailer; speed square vs framing square; framing hammer vs finishing hammer. . . .). I'll be well-prepared if I run into a crossword puzzle based on house construction. And, I'm developing some skills – using different kinds of saw; different sized nails – who knew there were so many!!! Measuring, measuring, measuring, then cutting. So much to learn!

Working with others has been a challenge for some– we've had an informal structure, and it's sometimes not clear who's in charge; or who has the last word on how to do a particular procedure. For those who like clarity, it's been a bit of a challenge. But, on the other hand, so many have been bosses and leaders in their professional and pre-retirement lives that following instructions is not as easy as it might be if we were young and naïve in our experience.

It's a great feeling to have helped Aimee and Joe get their house underway. Their joy and appreciation has been obvious every day. They, and her father Mike, have worked more hours than any of us, every day; and while Joe had taken the two weeks off; Mike has often gone into work and done a 12 hour shift at his paid work at the paper plant before heading back to the Build Site. Joe carries Aimee across the threshold, to celebrate the completion of the roof; and the family shows their joy at our farewell party.

Aimee's sister Nicole; and Mike's wife Jody, took care of the 4 children, and made sure we were well fed. What a family!!

As Care-a-vanners, we've had lots of fun – 'happy hour' every day talking over the day's work, jokes, story telling. We've taken tours together – the Big Spring, Fayette, the Iron Mine; and eaten many fine meals.

It's been a great experience.

And now, on to Marquette.

Build Day 6 and, the week-end!

What a great week-end! On Sunday most of us toured two great tourist sites - highly recommended to those of you travelling this way.

First, we went to "Big Spring" - Kitch-iti-kipi where, legend has it Indian braves and maidens made decisions about their love lives. 200 feet across, 40 feet deep, with 16,000 gallons per second flowing from the underlying limestone. You float across the Spring on a self-operated observation raft, and get to take pictures through the crystal clear water of the water bubbling up through the sand. For more info, and location go to www.uppermichiganwaterfalls.com

Then, on to Fayette Historic State Park, which is a townsite formerly owned by Jackson Iron Company. It closed in 1891, and in the late 50's the State bought the site and has been restoring in since then. Many buildings, or their foundations still exist, and the free admission, and free guided tour and good signage make a visit very informative. Learning about life in a company town in mid-19th century makes me very grateful for being alive today, not then.

For more information, go to this website

Here's a photo of the old smelter.

Then, on the way back, the foreign visitor in the group (me), was introduced to a new American tradition - frozen custard at Culver's. I had a brownie blaster cement mixer with chopped up heath bars added - think Dairy Queen, on steroids! yum.

Today at the build we continue to make good progress. The insulation is on most of the outside of the house; the tar paper is on half of the roof; we'll finish both tomorrow. It was another hot day - high 90's, plus humidity, so we sweat a lot, a lot. I should lose weight, right??? I spent the day with the Skilsaw; and cutting insulation with a box knife. We were disappointed to learn that the windows won't arrive in town until next week, so we can't put them in; that also means we can't insulate or sheetrock the interior walls; or finish the siding. Darn - we really would like to leave Joe and Aimee further along, but it's definitely out of our control.

Here's where we got to by end of day today. Bye for now.

Saturday August 7 Iron Mountain, Michigan

Well, we got the sheeting on the roof yesterday - hauled the sheeting up by hand, and nailed like crazy. We had access to a nail gun, and boy does that speed things up. And, the ladies' team prepared all door and window frames for early next week, when they will arrive on site.

Our aim is to leave the house totally enclosed so that interior work can continue as the weather gets cold.

We're all quite sad that we can't finish the house before we go; we'd love to help Aimee and Joe move in, but the house won't be ready for quite a while yet, as after we leave there are just a few volunteers who donate 1 full day per week to continue the work.

Last night we went to a 'fish fry' at the local Elks Club - some of the folks in our group are members, so they signed us in. While tasty, the most memorable element was the salad bar - the only lettuce I've seen all week! We are being fattened up I think for next week. I may treat myself to a big salad tonight, just because I can!!!

This morning we went to a old iron mine, in nearby Vulcan, Michigan. We went into the mine in a little train, and about 1000 feet into the mountain. I believe we were 300 feet below the surface, though we had gone in horizontally. The bats graciously shared the space with us.

It was quite spectacular - at one point, the mine had caved in (after it had closed because of the economy, in 1945), leaving a huge cavern 700 feet across, 180 feet high, and, in one place, 1400 feet deep - quite an exciting vista, but couldn't get a good photo.

This mine was interesting to me, because I had visited a silver mine in northern Ontario a few weeks ago, and while they had to take out several hundred tons of ore to get one ounce of silver;the iron ore here in Michigan was 55% iron, meaning much less was taken out to get at the iron. Evidently the ore was shipped by train to Gary Indiana for processing.

There, your history lesson for the day. And to top it all off, here's a picture of me in a hard-hat. It may be a while before you see that again!!!

Now, off to do laundry - my clothes have more dirt in them than they do fabric. And they're held together by very lady-like perspiration :)

Iron Mountain Build - August 4 and 5

(1) before a.m. break (2) before lunch break (3) end of day

August 3

A very productive day at the Build today. We put up the exterior walls, which we had unloaded from a truck the day before. They were pre-fabricated, made to measure, by inmates in a nearby prison. The hard part, besides the lifting and carrying, was making sure everything was 'plumb' (straight up and down); and “square” that is, fit to the foundation precisely. “level” as a concept comes later. We got the exterior walls up before morning break. (see 1 above)

Before lunch, we got most of the interior walls up – again, pre-fabricated by inmates.(2) Then, before we left for the day, we finished installing the interior walls, got the 'top plate' on the top of the exterior walls, and put 'hurricane clips' on the top plate, to fasten the roof trusses to the house. (3) As you can see, I'm learning lots of construction-specific vocabulary.

The men are doing much of the construction-specific work, reading the plans, confirming location of walls to the 1/2”, leading in lifting the heaviest pieces. But while all of the above is happening, the women are busy too - organizing the materials – 2 x 6's here; 2 x 4's there; labelling the tool shed – hammers here, chalk lines / measuring tapes there; they're doing all of the caulking around all of the joining places - ll of them!!, both on top, and underneath in the now floor-covered basement.

Women are double checking measurements, sawing boards with the power saw, lifting, toting, carrying everything here and there. Moving, putting up, taking down, moving, putting up the scaffolding. Some of us have now had a lesson in how to effectively nail, and are putting that to good use, as we follow behind the men who have put in the main nails to hold the pieces in place, and our nailing secures that the pieces will stay together. One of our leaders, Roseann, told a story about Roslyn Carter, wife of the former president, who was asked about her greatest aspirations – the audience expected to hear of desire for world peace, or some such lofty goal. But no, Mrs. Carter's highest hope was to be able to drive a 16 penny nail with 6 hits!! Now there's a practical wish!

The home-owners, Aimee and Joe, have been there much longer hours than we have – we work from about 8:00 to about 3:00 (all of us are over 65 at least!); but Aimee and Joe are there until it gets dark, making sure that their home is getting done as quickly as possible. We have a photo of them putting the first exterior wall up – what pride, what joy!!

After this pleasant day – really, it was great – temperature only 85, humidity only 75%, we went to a water-ski show put on by a local ski club. The Bad River Ski-ters are a national award-winning ski club, and we watched young people from age 6 up put on all manner of displays – 15 skiiers behind one boat; pyramids of 12; doing a 360 on swivel skis; barefoot skiing; slalom ski jumpers doing a complete vertical rotation off the jump; people starting on their back, feet first, then rising to ski backward around the lake – Wow!!! A pleasant end to a good day.

And then for Thursday, the crane came in, and we put the roof trusses up before lunch, and are getting the bracing reading to begin putting sheeting on the roof tomorrow. See photo below. It was amazing to see the crane operator, working from controls on his belt! He walked around the site, keeping his eye on the crane and his thumbs on the buttons on his belt, moving the roof trusses back and forth with great ease. He was done in less than 45 minutes - glad we didn't have to do that part by hand.

We also put up the shed for Aimee and Joe; but lifted the roof up 'by hand', so to speak. Good reminder of the olden days!

To top off another great day, we went to a fund-raiser for Habitat - a Door County Fish Boil, with Lake Superior whitefish, topped with melted butter; red-skinned potatoes, boiled onions, baked bean, coleslaw and pie. And that was on top of "pastys" for lunch - think Jamaican patties with hash for a filling - they are the speciality in many mining towns where men from Cornwall came to show the North Americans how to dig in the mines. I won't lose any weight at this rate - we are indeed well-fed.

(4) roof trusses in place, end of day August 5

Iron Mountain Build - day 2

August 3

We started work on the Iron Mountain build for Habitat for Humanity (HFH) Monday. 9 rigs - 3 from California; one from South Carolina, Oklahoma, Minnesota,Texas and other parts of the U.S., and me, the sole Canadian. You're welcome – glad to hold up the side.

The picture on the left is at the start of our work - there is a foundation poured, but that's all!

The picture on the right is at the end of Day one - centre beam down, all joists in, flooring begun.

FYI, the Habitat “Care-a-vanners” here all have rigs that are substantial – except for me of course. Several 40' RV's, several couples are 'full-timers' who have sold their land-based homes, and live on the road year round. More on this later.

We were welcomed Sunday with several orientation meetings, one led by our 'group facilitators' who are part of the construction crew; one led by the HFH local affiliates Executive Director, and followed by a picnic dinner put on by the local affiliate and the young couple who will own the home we're building. Joe and Aimee are their names.

Joe and Aimee and their three children will live in the 3 bedroom home which they hope to be able to move into by Christmas. Like other HFH buyers, they're chosen by a local committee according to 3 criteria; currently living in sub-standard housing (Joe and Aimee's family live with her adoptive father, his wife, her sister, 2 other children.) Second, they have income adequate to make the payments that will arise from the purchase (Joe works full time in Green Bay, Wisc, about 70 miles from here – he commutes 2 hours each way). Third, they have agreed to put in sweat equity (work on the house, or related to it). Joe has taken two weeks vacation from his job to work with us while we're here, and Aimee is here all day, as is her grand-father, and her sister when she's not working.

It's now the end of Day 2. We've gotten a good start, putting down the centre beam, adding floor joists all along, as well as ?sill? and other boards around the edges (no laughter from the house builders among you). And, today we got all of the flooring on. The pre-fab exterior and interior walls were delivered today – and unloaded by hand, by our crew. And, just when we we were feeling a little overwhelmed, another truck delivered the roof trusses, and the pre-fab materials for a shed we're also building.

End of Day 2

Tomorrow morning we start with the exterior walls. That will be fun, as they have to be lifted by hand. Thank goodness for the crane that's coming Thursday to put up the roof trusses.

It was a good day, but hot!! Temperatures around 100 degrees, and no shade where we are. We have good leaders, and they insist that we drink lots of water, wear hots, sunscreen etc. All good, so far.

After today's shift I went for a swim in beautiful Lake Antoine (that's An-toy-ne here in Michigan); and really enjoyed the cool water after a hot day!!

While I hoped I might lose a few pounds on this Build, I'm learning that Builds are classified as either 5-pounder, or 10-pounder – not according to the difficulty of the build, but according to how much weight participants gain. We're well fed at lunch by the local church people, and the donuts just keep coming for morning break. Ah well.

Now, I'm off to have some ice cream - I deserve it, after all that hard work. ::)

Sault Ste Marie > Iron Mountain, Michigan

Trouble with photos -

SHIP INTO LOCK - note position of name of ship, centre of photo.

CAN'T GET OTHER PHOTOS INTO THIS POST. SORRY!!

I've arrived safely in Iron Mountain, Michigan after driving from Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan yesterday. Stayed in the Walmart parking lot in SSM, Michigan, and I think I'll double check again before I stay at another. There weren't many rigs there - 2 others to be exact – and though another pulled in at 10:00 pm, and another at 4:30 a.m. (?), there just weren't enough folks around to feel really comfortable. No one bothered me; and, I had introduced myself to the folks in the big rig that I parked next to, but it wasn't a night of 100% comfort.

I was glad when morning came – had breakfast at Subway and used their free Wifi to check my email. Then I went to the Soo Locks, and saw two huge ships go through – one was 1004 feet long, the second about 750 – amazing to see how quickly the water rushing into the lock pushed them up 21 feet – the pictures should show the change in height. I remember once many years ago, when my daughter and I were driving through the Welland area in Ontario, and in the middle of a big field appeared a full size cargo freighter – that's how I learned of the existence of the Welland Canal, between Lakes Erie and Ontario. At the Soo Lock yesterday, I met a couple from Ireland who told me about the locks that have been built between two lakes near Dublin I think, which are self-operated, and you pay by credit card – the wife said it's quite amazing the first time you do it, following instructions on the LCD screen. But the fellow says he prefers the canals that have lock-masters who do all the work, winching the gates up and down, open and closed, and guiding the boats by hand.. He knew of our locks in Ottawa, which operate on that principle. I told him they were built by Irishmen, and he was pleased to see their influence in the New World.

The locks were the most interesting thing for me in the Soo, although being stuck in traffic at the top of the international bridge for an hour had its moments.

My trip to Iron Mountain was uneventful; about 5 hours I think, with an unexpected time change as I got close. I learned today that the four counties that border Wisconsin are on Central Time, rather than Eastern – that explains why my GPS kept telling me I'd arrive at 4:40 pm when I knew darn well I wasn't going to go 120 miles in one hour. Going across Highway 28 I was struck by how straight the road was for maybe 50 miles – there were several places along the route that looked like former air-fields or something – maybe a WWII training area? I'll have to look that up. But, for the most part, just small pine trees; no towns, no houses; a village of 2 or 3 houses every 15 – 20 miles – pretty empty!! I see on the map that this is the Hiawatha National Forest.

I did stop for 2 hours in Manistique, Michigan, which is where my ex-mother-in-law was born more than 90 years ago. Took many photos, and happened to meet a historian who's just published a book about the history of the town. I was interested to learn that the lumber industry there was fading by 1913, because all of the big trees had been cut – isn't that what happened in our Ottawa area as well – and about that time?? I'll send photos to the lady I mentioned, and can meet with the historian again in two weeks if she has questions. It's a quaint little town on the North Shore of Lake Michigan, and absolutely beautiful in the views of the Lake. It was fun to have the historical photos, and match them with the ones that I took of the same land-marks. Manisique is well worth a stop, with several good museums.

Going back to Friday, I had a learning opportunity that morning at the Walmart in North Bay, where I had stayed overnight, uneventfully. I had gone to MacDonalds for my coffee at 7:00 a.m., just in time for the morning staff meeting of Walmart employees. The meeting was held in the MacDonalds, and free donuts were available to all, even the non-employees. It began with the manager asking about birthdays or anniversaries; then the crowd was cajoled into doing the Walmart cheer – did you know there was a Walmart cheer? It was led by two who were coerced by the manager into doing so – one, the only dark skinned person in the place, the second the only identifiably mentally challenged person in the place. They began reluctantly, but the manager cheered them on, and then the whole group of employees joined in. Let's hear it for Wal-mart – give me a “W” . . . .

Then there was bingo, for about $120 – maybe they had to buy the cards, and that's where the money came from? Then, a few words of encouragement, from the manager, and the meeting broke up.

So that's how the day begins for employees at that Walmart – wonder if they're all like that?