Skiing in Lutsen

The Lutsen Resort was the first resort in MN, established in 1885.  The lodge shown here was built in 1952.

The lobby had big comfy leather chairs and a roaring fire.  I spent much time here sipping wine and reading.

 The lobby also had over-sized checker sets on the end tables.  Rusty and I played only one game.  It lasted over an hour and ended in a draw!

I also tried out the indoor pool and the hot tub.  Sweet!

View from our room overlooking Lake Superior, the world's largest fresh-water lake.

 Unlike many of our other outdoor adventures, this one was pure luxury!  We had a nice room, complete with indoor toilets and a hot shower!  A big plus was, because we were there during the week and not on a weekend, our room rate was cheap!  We paid much more to stay at the Holiday Inn Express in St. Cloud on our trip up to Lutsen.

On the afternoon of our arrival, we threw on our snow shoes and tried out the trails.

Several of our lunches were at Moguls Restaurant up on Lutsen Mountains in the Sawtooth Range.

We're enjoying hot soup, sandwich and good beer.

Interesting chandelier.

This snow sculpture of a bear seated on a tree stump was much more defined before the several inches of new snow.

This was our first day of skiing.   A groomed trail was a new experience for us.  We LOVED it!

This day was beautifully sunny.  Although it wasn't above freezing, we were wearing too many clothes.

A few fresh snowflakes added to the fun.

As we drove down the mountain we had a great view of Lake Superior.

Back at the lodge, Rusty challenges the polar bear.

The lodge had both a restaurant and a bar.  We found all of our meals to be remarkable good---way better than we could have expected, and reasonably priced.

Walking bridge from the lodge, over the Poplar River, to Lake Superior.

It snowed every day we were there.  On this day, the wind and wave activity picked up quite a bit.

Brrrrr!  Wouldn't want to capsize in this!

 After a fun day of skiing, we decided to go back up Oberg Mountain on the following day.

This trail wasn't groomed, but it had more downhill, which was fun!

That evening we decided to drive north to Grand Marais, near the Canadian border.

Grand Marais has existed for centuries, although it wasn't always known by its current name. The Ojibwe called this location Kitchi-Bitobig, meaning “double body of water”, and it was a Native American village for many years before any Europeans arrived.  Grand Marais has been a fur trading post, fishing village, lumber town, hay fever haven and sports center, and it is now a destination that welcomes visitors enthralled by Lake Superior's majesty.

The harbor at Grand Marais with two lighthouses at the opening of the bay.

We had dinner and beers at the historic Gunflint Tavern.

We shared a big plate of mussels.  Excellent!

Rusty & Di on another adventure.

The drive back to Lutzen from Grand Marais was a little more challenging than I would have liked. It was snowing in earnest, the roads had snow and ice on them, and we had a headlight out.  We only saw one car in the ditch and made it back safely.

Quite a bit of snow had fallen by morning.  We went back up Oberg Mountain and tried a new hiking trail (wearing our snow shoes).  

The wet snow stuck to the trees.  Here's the trunk of a beautiful Birch tree.

We had fun playing in the snow.  This snow angel is for my grandchildren.

I wouldn't want to lose the trail and end up in this maze of look-alike trees.

Rusty climbs to the top of the mountain.

Deep snow obscured some of the trail, but made for a winter wonderland!

Rusty, looking towards the Sawtooth Range.

After fun on the mountain, we went back to the lodge.  This short clip shows some of the wind and waves on Lake Superior.

Bye, Lutsen!  Hope to see you next year.

January-- beginnings and endings

It was a lovely weekend in the middle of January.  Temperatures were in the 50's.  The Nebraska Chamber Players were performing at NETV, a venue as classy as the music.  Wine and other beverages were served along with fancy hors d'oeuvres.

The crowd was receptive and enchanted by beautiful music.

Rusty is playing "Montuno"  with five other musicians.

The "Duo for Viola and Double Bass" was a very fun piece written by former Cincinnati Symphony bassist, Frank Proto.  I heard many rehearsals in our new home studio, but to hear this piece in concert was very special!

Clark Potter on viola, Rusty White on bass.

The high point of the evening for me (and perhaps also for Rusty) was the "Duo for Marimba and Double Bass."  Rusty has not written music for many years and he wanted to give it another shot.  The result was both unusual and spectacular.  The audience gave it a very warm reception!!

Rusty exploits the timbral possibilities of the instruments.  The mallet was one of many creative choices he used.

The movements were I Pulsar, II Swampy, and III Giocosoandso.

We celebrated Rusty's big performance with dinner at Issara.

Kinda weird to see both the parking lot outside and the reflection of the restaurant within at the same time.

On Monday morning Rusty informed his colleagues of a decision he has been contemplating for over a year.  He announced that he is retiring from the bass!  He has some commitments that he will need to keep in the next nine months, but after that there will be no more bass playing for Rusty!  This decision gives us both pause, but it's one that I feel sure will open new doors for Rusty.