This is what retirement is all about

I love the opportunities provided by the freedom of being retired!  We have enjoyed spending time with family celebrating birthdays, traveling north for another wilderness experience, having frequent meals with friends, going on long bike rides, attending reunions, and being civically engaged.

Pierce, Reece and I helped Olivia celebrate her birthday on Sept. 8.

The evening started with lobster and other delicious fish meals at Jarocho in KC.

Then there was cake & candles, presents, and lots of love!

A couple days later...

I rode with these folks to Seward and back. 

On a darker note, It's not been a good week for cyclists in Lincoln.  Two people were seriously injured when struck by cars and another person was killed.  All three drivers were drunk!

In mid September we hosted Lindsay, Jeff and Celeste for dinner.  What a delight to spend time with all three of them!

We celebrated Lindsay's 29th birthday with tiramisu and trick candles.

Rusty and I drove to Columbus, NE, where I had attended school at St. Bonaventure (now Scotus) for most of grade school and all of junior high.  We did a little driving tour past familiar places, including the home I lived in.  I knew and recognized nearly everyone in attendance!  It was such fun to catch up with people from my past.

Me, dolled up and ready to meet classmates from 50 years ago.

I attended a meeting with the  NE Dept. of Roads regarding bicycle access to the south Beltway that should begin construction in 2019.  It was remarkable for the committee to hear our concerns while the planning has not yet been completed and there is still the option of making changes.  Too often it is common practice to invite public comment only after the design of the project is 95% completed.  Kudos to Julie Harris and the Nebraska Cycling Alliance!

I also attended the protest when Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was visiting the Zoo School in Lincoln.

BWCAW
Rusty and I had another 9-day trip to northern Minnesota to spend time in the wilderness.  We arrived in Ely on Sunday evening and went to dinner at the Ely Steakhouse where we play pool.

Rusty is very kind and gives me lots of do-overs.

My very first shot put the 8-ball in the pocket!  Perhaps I should play more than twice a year.

The next morning we drove over 20 miles up the Echo trail, a very curvy gravel road that cuts through the middle of the forest.  The colorful trees were breathtaking!

Then we hauled our canoes and gear a half-mile to our entry point.

This was our entry point on Moose River North.  Pretty, huh?

Some predictable things happened, like...

washing dishes

portaging...

paddling...

portaging some more...

and paddling some more...

and chopping wood so that it's ready to start a fire for morning coffee...

and cleaning and eating yummy fish.

Some unusual things happened on this trip, but sadly I'm not quick enough with a camera to capture most wildlife, so use your imagination.  We saw a loon family and heard the young loon practicing his voice.  We also saw a pair of trumpeter swans with their young one.  We saw an otter (my first!).  We deposited fish guts close enough to camp so that we had lots of eagles nearby helping themselves to the leftovers.

Most exciting of all, we saw a bear!  He walked right into our campsite on the first night just as we were beginning happy hour before dinner.  Maybe he smelled the hot cocoa and peppermint schnapps.  We were all amazed at the beauty of his black coat; it was shiny and lush, not mangey like I expected.  His light brown markings were very cute.  He really looked like a giant teddy bear!  Agnes Lake, where we camped, has over a dozen different campsites.  At first we were relieved when the young men in the campsite closest to our campsite had a bear permit and were doing their best to cook up bacon and other strong smells to draw in the bear.  As days past, we heard reports from campers all over the lake with bear sitings.  One group had their clothing bag stolen by the bear, but they were able to get it back, although damaged.  In the middle of the night, the campers across the bay fired a weapon multiple times and began yelling, "Get out of here!"  I slept with our two tin cups in order to make noise in case the bear came too close.  On our third day we paddled and portaged into Boulder River.  At the beginning of the portage we saw a large bear poop.

The black pile is bear poop.  It had been heavily rained on the previous night.

As we were portaging back to Agnes, Rusty set the canoe down at the water's edge and turned around to see the bear walking towards him.  Rusty picked up a paddle and shooed him away.

The bear hunters had no bear sitings so they relocated to another campsite.  By the end of the trip we discovered that the only campers on Agnes who did not see the bear were the bear hunters.

We had gorgeous warm weather with beautiful fall colors.

Agnes Lake

Boulder River

One of the benefits of hiring a guide, is his local knowledge.  Upon Steve's advice we paddled through a rice swamp that he knew would open up to the next portage.

Would you guess this might take you to someplace other than a dead end?

Most of the rice is gone before mid-September, but I found a few grains to pick.

Each grain has a tiny spear on the end.  When it falls into the water, the spear drives the grain into the ground and the rice grain grows into next year's plant.

The dreaded rice worm will eat all your rice if you don't carefully pick them out before storing.

Straight ahead on the far shore is our campsite.

This is our campsite up close.

I did lots of soaking up sunshine.  I even used the rocks in the background for privacy while I took a little dip one afternoon.

I enjoyed soaking my toes at the end of the day's paddling...

...while Rusty brought me libations.

I find the lilypads to be captivating.

Rusty, peeking through the clothesline.

Shoes are a very important part of each spring and fall trip.  The water is cold, so good, neoprene, knee-high socks are a must.  The beginning or ending of a portage often means wading into knee-deep cold water or balancing on a partially submerged rock while trying to get in or out of the canoe. Boots with protective toes and substantial soles are helpful while navigating the rocky portages.  Camp shoes need to be waterproof, have good toe protection, and be easy to slip on in the middle of the night.

My boots (with pink shoelaces), neoprene socks, and camp shoes.

Rusty took a fly rod and flies this year.  It was his hope to catch a Northern on a fly rod, but Ramshead Lake proved to be more mirky than expected.  (Be sure to watch this on Full Screen.)

After we exited the BWCAW, we spent a night in Ely and then drove to Marshall, MN for the first leg of our homeward trip.  Our favorite place to eat in Marshall is the Bello Cucina.

Two happy, but very tired campers.

On the next day's drive we saw this!

These would have made GIANT s'mores!!