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Kwitchurbeliakin

Wisconsin & Minnesota

By Time2Geaux Unplugged

July 23^rd, 2019

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

With parts on order we headed to Superior WI to wait for parts and schedule repairs. We landed at an older park that had a clubhouse and $2 beer in the evenings. The clubhouse and bar had been overgrown by the owners sewing hobby with machines and projects engulfing the tables and high-tops. Ms. Cindy was very flexible with arrangements ‘since we're not sure when we are leaving… just pay when you leave’, she said and offered to loan us any tools we may need to make the repairs. Our parts did arrive after a delay in Memphis due to weather and we had to make the repairs ourselves. We were able to make the hydraulic pump swap but managed to spray some oil in the front bay. No big deal, we can clean but our hydraulics work again!

While in Wisconsin, we managed to visit a ‘Supper Club’, a tradition that is dying in the reports I saw. It's like a restaurant but only evening meals are served and your table is yours for the night… so you're not rush to leave. We also managed to take a day drive to the Apostle Islands which is famous for some of the finest sea caves in the country.

We then traveled to Itasca State Park and the Headwaters of the Mississippi River. It was fun to see the river we were raised next to at it’s beginning. The small clear stream not more than 20 feet wide and a little more than knee deep is a much different river when it reaches Louisiana! After this pilgrimage we headed to Ely and the Boundary Waters for some canoeing in the finest water that this country has to offer. I joined Troop 7 many years back for a 75-mile canoe trek that took us into Canada along some of the canoe trails that were used by the Voyagers. I was excited to introduce JoAnn to this style of travel...how to portage and canoeing the trails around Ely. We then headed to International Falls and Voyager National Park.

Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Supper Club was a nice cultural experience but I can see why the ship is sailing on this type of business. When alcohol was not available during prohibition, members could drink at a private club, which was the original driver for Supper Clubs. We checked that box, time to move on…

The Apostle Islands were a kayaker’s dream. Sitting in Lake Superior and getting up close to some of the sea caves we saw from afar on the hiking trails would be an experience to remember. We hiked to one slot canyon that went more than 150 feet into the to sandstone bank. We looked down to the kayakers 100 feet below squeezing one boat at a time through the crevice. After our hike, we drove on over to the port city of Bayfield and enjoyed a late lunch at Greunke's First Street Inn before heading back. This historic B&B and restaurant was featured on Hotel Impossible.

Mississippi River Headwaters

The Mississippi River Headwaters flow from Lake Itasca in Minnesota where with the help of a Native American guide, Henry Schoolcraft mapped the Mississippi River's source in 1831 and was credited with its discovery. Since the river flows north from Lake Itasca, many had been fooled as to the source of the Mississippi. Being able to walk across this clear flowing stream is quite a contrast to the river that flows past our home town of Baton Rouge on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Hanging in the boat shop near by is a life ring donated by Chris Ring who swam the entire Mississippi River in 2015 to bring awareness to Gold Start families. Can you imagine swimming 2300 miles?

During our visit to Lake Itasca we also took a cruise on the lake and enjoyed seeing tons of eagles and loons. The cruise was given by a second and third generation family who worked on the lake and was a wealth of knowledge about the history and wildlife. We saw more eagles on this 2 hour cruise than we had seen this entire season of travel.

Jeff crossing the beginning of the Mississippi

Boundary Waters and Kwitchurbeliakin

We headed to Ely and the boundary waters, the finest canoeing in the country. We got to the RV park and you can tell this isn’t going to be a place you wanted to extend your stay. The owner was more interested in doing as little as possible while charging RV Resort prices.

We took a day trip out of Kawishiwi Lodge and Outfitter canoeing on Lake One which included a 19 rod, 25 rod and 45 rod portage taking us on some nice lake fingers for a ½ day of paddling. The outfitter did a great job preparing us with suggested routes. When we left I didn’t expect we would do any portaging since I remembered ones with mud from my trip years ago. When asked if we wanted a portaging yoke for the canoe (something that helps you carry the canoe on your shoulders), I said no…regretting this decision later, my shoulders hurt for several days after that!

After the canoe trip we stumbled on the story of Dorothy Molter at the Interpretive Center which is a small museum run by volunteers to preserve the legacy of the ‘root beer lady’. She lived on an island 15 miles by canoe and 5 portages away from the nearest city that would later become the Boundary Waters. The government allowed her to stay on the property which had been fishing camp because of her outreach to the recreational travelers. I remember hearing about her from our guide and how she made homemade root beer and bottled it by hand for visitors and sold nearly 12,000 bottles a year. She was also a nurse and offered emergency care to the backcountry travelers from her remote cabin on the Isle of Pines on Knife Lake for almost 56 years. All supplies had to be canoed in and she also gave visitors a bit of back-country wisdom, like using the term ‘kwitchurbeliakin’, it’s a made up/funny spelling but one of Dorothy’s favorite saying, it meant ‘quit your belly acing’. The Saturday Evening Post called her ‘The Loneliest Woman in America’ which she sternly disagreed with…she had over 10,000 visitors a year every year, she keep visitor logs of those who came to her remote cabin to share stories of the boundary waters and a cold root beer. JoAnn fell in love with her story, and we both felt she lived 'a life well lived'. What a great story.

You can read more about her at

www.rootbeerlady.org

Rainy Lake and Voyagers National Park

We found a camping spot in Ranier, MN a small-town west of International Falls and met our host, Ms. Joanne who was so nice and accommodating we stayed a week rather than the few days like we originally planned. Ranier is a small town just outside International Falls sitting on a natural harbor of Lake Rainy that you can walk to the local pub, restaurant or ice cream shop, we just loved it!

Just down the road was Voyager National Park, where we visited and took a boat tour of that section of the park, seeing bald eagles and loons. We also got to tour a small island where gold was discovered and started a short-lived gold rush in northern Minnesota.

What we Learned:

-When it comes to making repairs, you can only plan for all the possibilities you know about. YouTube is not a substitute for experience.

-You meet all types of park owners; some you can’t wait to leave as some like Ms. Joanne on Lake Rainy that you reserve a spot for a few days and stay a week.

-Ask for the canoe yoke even if you don’t plan to portage…canoes are hard to carry without one.

Next Stop:

We plan to head into Canada, north to the Trans-Canada Highway, over to Winnipeg. After a stop there, we plan to head on to Calgary and hope to catch the Stampede. From Calgary we will head north to Jasper and Banff.