The U. of Minnesota has a college of forestry and they have an experimental forest and center out here in the woods. They have a "compound" in their forest, some administrative buildings, large classrooms, forestry-type stuff buildings, and cabins. Typically, forestry students come and stay in these cabins for a summer semester as they do field work and learn how to become bona fide foresters. In fact, one of my bosses back in SLC did indeed stay here in one of these cabins for a summer.
These cabins are more like dorm rooms. You walk in and you see bunk beds, a shower, toilet, sink, and desk. I'm blown away that they have wireless internet here because they have no TV or phone in the room, either. Most of the people that attended the symposium I spoke at were local, so they just drove in from home. There were about 5 people staying in these cabins, but they've all since left (I leave here in a few hours, too). It's very quiet around here, especially at night. Out in the woods, no loud TVs, no cars; just the wind blowing through the 100-foot conifer trees (jack pine? white pine? I don't know) all around. It felt like I was at a cabin high in the Utah mountains. The ground is covered with snow and we got a fresh inch or so yesterday.After my meeting yesterday, I got in my lame rental car (Mom, I got a Chevy Cobalt!) and drove in to Duluth. My main objective: seeing Lake Superior. I've been here before, so it isn't the first time I've seen the lake, but I wanted to see how frozen it was. I drove into Duluth, crossed a bridge (the kind they lift so boats can go through), and drove down a "barrier" island of sorts. I found a place to pull off and it happened to be the Duluth Rowing Club. I parked the car, bundled up, and walked out on the lake. Wohoo! The ice was very thick, but there's still something a bit eerie about walking on it. I don't know how Dad ever got brave enough to drive the Bobcat on the pond in Nebraska. That would just seem to freak me out. Anyway, even at 6:30pm, with the sun gone, there were 4 ice fishing huts about 300 yards further out than I was standing. These guys are die hards. The bays and inlets were frozen, but that's about it. There was plenty of water still in liquid form.
When I got back to Cloquet, I stopped at WalMart and bought "The Goonies" and watched it on my laptop. It's been soooo many years since I've seen that movie.
The car thermometer was registering 5 degrees in Duluth by the time I left, but there was a steady (!) breeze and I'll say 5 degrees in the Midwest is colder than 5 degrees in Utah.
Time to pack my luggage, head to my frozen car, and begin the long drive back to Minneapolis. My flight leaves around 2:45pm, but it's only a 2.5-hr. flight back to SLC. I'm looking forward to the 45 or so degree days ahead in SLC this weekend.
4 comments:
Ir looks like a nice place. I'd love to go up there in the summertime.
You said you rented a Chevy Cobalt - was it blue in color? Isn't cobalt a blue color? Where do car mfgs come up with the names they do anyway??
Yes, any degree whether warm or cold are always warmer or colder east of Laramie, WY. The humidity is a killer of all good things.
Glad you had a good meeting and will be glad when your plane is down on the ground safe and sound.
Mom
Hey, you guys, whatever you do, don't watch "The Goonies" with Michelle. It is her favorite movie and she knows every line, every sound effect, and every note of music. By the way, the guy that played Sloth was a former Iowa football player (he is now dead as is the woman that played Momma).
Glad you got to enjoy a little of our wonderful Midwestern winter.
I love the idea of being in the woods with nothing to come between me and quite. You are good at writing, Jess. I like reading your posts because they are so detailed and allow me to really visualize it.
I would have loved (!) having snowshoes because I could have gone exploring. It would have been a very serene experience, but I didn't have the appropriate winter gear nor the snowshoes for that goal.
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