59F this morning at Gunflint Lake. All of upper Minnesota is under an air quality warning today and tomorrow. It seems a large wildfire in Canada is sending smoke southward, creating a haze and trouble for those with impaired breathing, the very young and the old. Just about covers everyone.
We head out by 8:00 for breakfast at Justine's Bistro ordering our usual eggs, bacon and toast. Just as good as yesterday. Our early start is due to our having booked a lake ride and hike for this morning. We load into one of the lodge pontoon boats together with two couples from St. Paul and our naturalist guide, John Cilamon. We took about 45 minutes traveling along the water, spotting bald eagles, ducks and loons. We learned that the Loon is truly the state bird of Minnesota. The name Loon comes from a Swedish word that means "lame," as Loons cannot walk on land. Their legs are placed too far rearward to walk. They exist solely on water and in the air. They are great divers, perhaps the fastest in the bird kingdom. They mate for life and migrate from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico in the winter. It is said that the Loons return the first day that ice is out of the lake, waiting in Lake Superior until the time is right. John tells us that loons have solid bones, unlike all other birds that have hollow bones. They are not related to ducks but are an entirely separate genus and species. They are a protected species and are not hunted. Although we call them Loons, the areas of Scotland and Ireland call them Great Northern Divers, perhaps a more apt name.
We land at a beach and begin our hike to Bridal Falls, about a mile through the woods. We are the old and slow ones, so bring up the rear of our party. This means that we travel at our own speed, but also that we can hear very little of the information the Naturalist Guide is imparting. Nevertheless we enjoy ourselves and soon arrive at Bridal Falls, a natural multilevel fall in the woods. The underlying bedrock is slate, which, over the eons, have been tilted up to vertical, leaving a very slick surface for the water to spill over.
The younger couples climb up to the upper falls for a look, while the two oldsters remain below, knowing that the scramble up the rock, and especially the return down, will get the better of them. Along the walk back, we stay closer together and learn quite a bit about the plants, snakes and fauna of the area. Eventually we return to the pontoon and push off for the lodge, returning around 12:30.
After checking emails and sending out yesterday's report, we step inside for lunch. We sampled a wonderful burger and a spinach flour Quesadilla stuffed with walleye, cheese, and wild rice. Very tasty and innovative.
Then back to the cabin for some reading and a bit of what was referred to around our house as a "ceiling inspection". We arose around 6:00, poured a glass of wine and went out to our deck chairs to view the lake, ducks, loons, and assorted vacationers returning from their day's activities. As we had a late lunch, we opted to skip dinner, and around 7:30 we walked up to the lodge to find the Celtic Music show. We finally found it by walking past the nature center and our naturalist guide, John, came rushing out, guitar in hand, to invite us in to the show. Come to find out, we were the only audience members and John the only performer.
He played guitar, fiddle, dulcimer, bodrin drum (sp), wooden spoons and tin horns. He proceeded to give us lessons through talk and song about the six Celtic language nations: Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Mann, Cornwall and Breton. John is quite the Celtic fanatic, following his introduction via a concert by Celtic Women (now probably 4 concerts in,) and progressing on to his studies of the music and culture. He fulfilled his dream by traveling to Ireland in 2015, being joined by his mother and also being escorted for a time by Deb's favorite tour guide, Mr. Terry Flynn, a churchmate of our neighbor's mother, Bernadette Cleary.
The entire presentation lasted 2 hours, and was probably stretched by all the conversation between the three of us, considering our familiarity with the area and our love of the literature. John was reading and quoting poetry of Yeats and Burns, some of them familiar songs and others just glorious poetry. It's peaked our resolve to get home and leaf through some of this poetry ourselves.
We walked out of the nature center to a clear cool evening and walked to the end of the dock to be out from under trees, looking up at the stars. We strolled back to our cabin, had a last glass of wine and some cheese and crackers for our belated dinner, and fell into bed around midnight, an unusual, enjoyable and unforeseen end to our time at Gunflint Lake Lodge.
