Sunday, May 15, 2011

By the shores of Gitche Gumee*

One of the dozens of shoreline photos that I took. I couldn't resist!
"Lake Superior: Culture, History, and Walks in a Spectacular Setting" was the title of last week's Road Scholar trip.  We stayed at the historic Naniboujou Lodge outside Grand Marais in northeastern Minnesota. 
The weather cooperated:  cool, some cloudy days but also some sunshine. It was too early for mosquitoes and blackflies so we could hike through the woods comfortably.  Our 27 fellow Road Scholars came from as far away as California, but most from the Twin Cities.
The great hall at Naniboujou
We began each day with Tai Chi Chih exercises (a variation of traditional Tai Chi). We hiked in the woods along the Brule River.  
Karl in his "gentleman's" garb
We spent
Wednesday at Grand Portage. The video was taken at the High Falls, the highest waterfall in Minnesota. Grand Portage National Monument is a restored fur trading post. The portage was an 8.5 mile shortcut between Lake Superior and Fort Charlotte.


Over the course of three evenings Karl Koster told us about the fur trade -- the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Company, the voyageurs who were "the long-distance truckers of the era," and the beavers whose pelts were sold as far away as China. Karl is a reenactor par excellence! 
The traditional Road Scholar/Elderhostel group photo.
*Longfellow spelled it "gitche gumee" in "The Song of Hiawatha." "Gichigami" is Ojibwe for "Big Water," or Lake Superior.

3 comments:

  1. What fun! Your shoreline photo is as beautiful as a jigsaw puzzle picture!

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  2. Emily was just there the beginning of this month. She is backpacking around Lake Superior. She is now in Wawa, Canada. She has 1.5 more weeks living in the wilderness.

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  3. I grew up in Minnesota and miss the shores of Gitche Gumee. Thanks for sharing your trip.

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