Tofte

It has been so beautiful up here.  On my days off I took a trip to Grand Marais Silver Bay, and hikes and points of interest.
I spent most of Tuesday on the beach at Sugar Cove.  What a beautiful place!  The walk through the nature area was cool and the wind whispered through the pines.  The scent of the pine was incredible.  The beach is covered in smooth round rocks and although you are not allowed to remove anything, I did spy a couple of rocks and agates I would have loved to keep.

If you get up this way, stop at a park or a ranger station.  They have so many guide pamphlets on fishing, hiking, camping, etc that you could go a couple of weeks and never see the same thing twice.  I have taken some pictures and will be posting them when I get home.  The Internet up here is either Wifi at the Tofte General Store (sort of hit or miss) or I have to use the computer at work which is not very private.

I had some students up here this week from a college in Iowa.  They were taking a traveling biology class and came up to help plant trees out on the Gunflint.  The professor was cautious to split up the group:  3 girls with me and 8 guys in the next cabin.  We had plenty of room in my cabin but because he was rather prudish, he slept in the van.  And it was cold when they were here.   He hurt his knee somehow and I just can't help thinking what agony he must have gone through sleeping outside like that.  He went to the Grand Marais Pharmacy and bought crutches.  The kids went out to help plant trees and he had to stay as he just couldn't hobble through the brush with the crutches.  When I asked why he wouldn't stay in our cabin and sleep on the couch, the girls said he was uncomfortable sleeping in the cabin with his female students. Gad!  Even if he had "wanted" one of them, they would not touch him with a ten foot pole.  I asked if they would do it for an easy A and they shrieked and said they would rather fail the class.  Pretty cute kids.  The ladies are teasing me now about my "brothel" as the young fire guys came down too (which they have not done the whole time I have been here).  They said they wanted to ask ME to come up to watch a movie but I am not that slow and I knew I was not the draw.  I refused gently and told them to ask the students next door.  They must have because I heard giggling and laughing until pretty late.

The deer are still out my front window.  I can stand and watch them get closer and closer until I could reach out and touch them.  I have to be very careful because the wood floor squeaks and scares them.  These cabins were built by the CCC and should last forever if taken care off.  I scrubbed this one top to bottom as no one had cleaned it this season.  And the fire boys were here so there were smudges of soot all over.  I will have a room mate later on (June) as far as I know.  She is a naturalist that is a teacher in the twin cities.  She has come up for a couple of years to do nature things with the campsites, resorts, and other places for the families.
Maybe I will tag along with her one of these days just to see what she does. 

I wanted to go out to see the fire crews do a controlled burn yesterday but it was called off at the last minute.  So, I went out with Nichole, the full time receptionist and we went up the Sawbill Trail to see some of the lakes and campgrounds.  We did stop at Sawbill but Bill was in Grand Marais and Cindy went to Duluth.  It was her birthday yesterday.

Have to get to work.  I haven't done much as my computer was acting up and I couldn't connect.  Take care all!