Fall Update

Most of you know that my computer hard drive died in Canada, so we weren't able to keep up on the posts. I was saved, however, by an angel who loaned me a laptop so that I could finish teaching remotely.

The big fall event would have to be Jonas' birthday.




Jonas invited friends to the pumpkin patch for his party. They spent about ten minutes carefully choosing pumpkins, and then spent an hour playing on this big dirt hill. Too much fun. It was one of those beautiful Colorado fall days with the brilliant blue sky.

Blue Lake Provincial Park

We spent two lovely days at Blue Lake Provincial Park with Greg's cousin Erin and her partner of 30+ years, Murray, and Duke the Dog.



We also visited Greg's Auntie Georgie and Uncle Elmer who are both doing well.

The park is a camp site with many amenities––nature trails, amphitheater, interpretive center, kids programs, and a wide sandy beach with famously clear––but cold––water. The boys were hoping to swim in Blue Lake, but it was very windy both days with little rain storms blowing in intermittently. The swimming lasted about five minutes.



Instead, we spent many hours on the park trails which were deserted, despite the fact that the park seemed very busy. Duke is a great trail dog and saved us from grouse and deer on the trail.



Erin was a great trail guide. She knew much of the flora and fauna of the area and we grazed through a few hikes, eating lots of blueberries. (We did not eat any mushrooms!)



As soon as we drove into the park, Sam said, "There are other children here!" Within an hour we had little girls asking if we knew where Sam was. It was a Lord of the Flies scene with an instant community of children running and biking through the park. Sam borrowed a bike from a family camped close by and Jonas got a lot of exercise running along behind.

After two nights of tent camping in the wet park we were ready to come "home" to Bathing Beauty Bay and our own sandy beach and cold water.

Greetings from the North, eh?

We are in Kenora, Ontario, Canada on the Lake of the Woods in our humble cabin for another summer. I'm teaching History of Rock and Roll on-line and Greg has been paddling the canoe, swimming, life-guarding for two little blondies, and beating up fish.

For those of you who know Greg's love of cycling, you need to know that the top tube broke on his Kestrel road bike. He sheds a tear or two everytime he walks past it, and since our cabin is only about 400 square feet, he passes it quite a bit. He's having a mountain bike mailed up here so he'll be able to hit the trails soon.

Sam and Jonas are having a blast. It's amazing how much there is to do on the beach during the day. Sticks, rocks, sand and water; snakes, turtles, dogs and frogs. What else does a boy need?

The picture at the top is of the largest Northern Pike caught so far this year by a Heimbecker. (Click on the pictures for a larger view.)

Sam still loves his costumes, even on the beach. He's created a quiver from birch bark to hold his stick arrows.



Jonas also enjoys the occasional costume.



Unfortunately, we let him wear this to go color with some Tibetan monks who are in town for the week. They are creating a sand mandala and hosting workshops on Tibetan arts and culture. It's been really great to see them in town this past week. However, it was not PC to let Jonas dress up as a Chinese warrior. The monks either didn't notice or were very, very gracious.



The monks will spend many, many hours this week creating the sand mandala and at the end of the week they will let it blow into the lake to be spread around the world. The purpose is to remind us of the temporality and fragility of life, and frankly, North Americans could do a lot more thinking along these lines instead of living in our hotel, fast food, Wal-Mart culture. (We want to be comfortable, entertained, and we want someone else to clean up afterwards.)



We can't say we miss Greeley yet, but we miss our friends. More pictures later!