May Boundary Waters Trip

     Canoe trips to the Boundary Waters and Canoe Area Wilderness have become a regular part of our adventures.  True enough, the only things one finds up there beyond creatures are water, trees and rocks.  Rusty and Steve (our guide) seem to have incredible memories of each trip, each campsite, each portage, etc.  They will be discussing a map and say "Wasn't that Lake YOUNAMEIT where you caught that large northern right off the point on the northeast side?"  Or, "Wasn't that the campsite with the big red pine on the west edge where it got below freezing and then the next day we had afternoon thundershowers?"  The two of them look at me for confirmation.  My standard reply is, "Were there rocks?  Were there trees?  Was there water?  Then, yes."
     I enjoy the beauty of each river, lake, sunrise, sunset and campsite, but  to be able to distinguish and remember the individuality of each one is beyond me.  For my blog readers, I imagine it might be hard to read through another blog of trees, rocks, and water.  So if you've had enough, I get it.
     That said, we had a fabulous trip, so here goes.

The entry point at Little Indian Sioux has giant rocks that make for a smooth path, but it's much steeper than this picture illustrates.  It's a 40 rod portage. (1/8 mile times 3 trips)

The beginning of our trip up the Little Indian Sioux River.

Rusty was brave enough to paddle through one of the rocky spots with fast water, while Steve and I walked the portage.

We paddled through 3 lakes and 2 rivers and 4 portages on the first day to arrive at Shell Lake where we set up camp.

This was such a perfect campsite that we stayed there all four nights.

Home!  Flowering Juneberries all around.

The first afternoon the guys went fishing and caught fish for dinner and returned with a canoe-full of firewood.

On the front of our campsite were some stacked rocks we named "Mr. Rockhead."

We had mostly sunny weather, very calm winds, and temps in the 70's for this trip. (We also had black flies!)  Shortly after 8 p.m. I took these two shots.

Looking west from our campsite.

Looking east from our campsite.

We day-tripped to various lakes and were very successful in our fishing.  Every evening meal we had fish.

I have my very own tackle box.  (Rusty switches lures for me.)

I caught a Northern and a small-mouth Bass.

The guys caught most of the fish, but then they worked at it more than I did.

While the guys fished, I paddled around in Steve's foldable canoe and took pictures.

...like this pretty bay.

One of the great things about having a guide is that he's super at cleaning the fish!

We had a great deal of flat water (no wind). I found the symmetry captivating.

Lunch spot on Lynx lake.

Fly-fishing

Finding the right pine needle for a toothpick.

Steve takes a breather.

Di enjoys the sun.

My favorite lure.

Beginning of our moonlight paddle.

Ahhhhh.  Peace and loveliness.

Two sun-burned and happy paddlers after 5 days in the wilderness.

May, Part I

The first weekend in May was grandparents' day at Visitation School in KC.  Rusty and I and Grandpa Fisher enjoyed seeing Reece's and Pierce's accomplishments for the year.

Reece is finishing his Kindergarten year.

Pierce is in 2nd grade.

Pierce made his First Holy Communion on Sunday.  It was a beautiful celebration at Visitation Church.

Chad, Olivia and Pierce

Pierce is on the right in the back row.

Since the boys were dressed up for the special occasion, I took the opportunity to try out my new camera.

Mr. GQ

The Brookside Art Festival is a yearly event with artists from all over the country.  Luckily it was happening the weekend we were in KC.

Both boys enjoyed all types of art, including this man's musical boxes.

Pierce and Reece are excited to go on their first BWCAW trip at the end of July.

Papaw and Pierce check out fishing equipment for the upcoming trip.

Back in Lincoln:

One evening we ate dinner at Lincoln's newest Farm-to-Table restaurant.  You won't find burgers and fries at this place.  The food is very fresh with some unique pairings. Large windows and additional outdoor seating provide a great view of the Antelope Valley trail.

Selfie at the Hub Cafe (click this link for more info)

We helped Celeste celebrate her 6th birthday!

These gorgeous lilies arrived on Mother's Day!

As is normal for NE, we've had many days of storms, hail and tornado sightings.  In fact, it's storming as I write this blog.  I hope my computer doesn't blow up!

This is me in our tornado shelter.

This beautiful double rainbow appeared after a recent storm.

I already have over 1000 miles in on my bike for 2016.  I lead one bike ride a month for the Great Plains Bicycling Club.  My next one will be 45 miles to Wahoo and back.

This was a 24 mile ride on trails in town.

A few of us from the Christmas Tea group checked out the book grant project we funded last December.

The Fowler family had two graduations again this year, my niece, Bailey, from Pius X and my nephew, William, from Lincoln East.

I'm not used to being the shortest one in the picture.

This is the beginning of our 4th growing season at this house.  Little by little, the landscaping is starting to develop.

Gretchen is approaching 9 months old and still takes a lot of time.  She loves to play catch with Rusty.

waiting for the ball...

Gretchen and I are repeating the Obedience 2 class.  She is doing better, but I think what she really needs is some maturity.  The training ring next to ours is for agility.  She is only inches away from dogs that are running through hoops, over jumps, and up and down teeter-totters.  There's lots of whistling and shouting.  And I'm trying to get her to sit quietly for 2 minutes.  She looks as me as if to say, "Why am I stuck over here with you?  I'd much rather be running and playing like those other dogs!"