Just TRY and Keep Up

In a couple of previous posts, I shared with you little slices of life as a ----------  ----------  ----------  ---------- .

Not today.  Oh, no.  Today, I am going to share with you a little slice of the “Life of Chaos in Paradise” (a.k.a. – being a “father of five”) is all about.

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After getting off duty at 3pm, I hop in my car and start heading home.  A couple of miles down the road and I notice that the gas gauge is a little lower than I care to see it – so I decide to stop for gas.

The Mother of Five is working later tonight, and that usually means that dinner for the clan is my responsibility, so I make the decision to solve two problems in one stop.  I take the exit off the freeway for a quick side trip to Sam’s Club where I can pick up a rotisserie chicken (I was planning on making Chicken Caesar Salad) and at the same stop I can fill up my gas tank too!

Seconds after pulling onto the freeway exit loop my telephone rings.  It is #2 of 5.  He is trying to tell me the car (which he is now driving) is “dead”.  Having driven that car for the past several years, I am familiar with it’s “eccentricities” (the headlight warning buzzer not working being one of them) and quickly assess the problem with the car’s failure to start as likely just a dead battery.  I assure him that I will swing by to give him a jump start just as soon as I can, but let him know that since I am so close, I am planning on stopping for the chicken and gasoline beforehand.  (I am pulling into the Sam’s Club parking lot by this point.)

Once I finish my phone conversation with #2 of 5, I (try to) call the Mother of Five to alert her that the boys were unable to get home for when #5 of 5 gets off the school bus, and that she will be home alone for a few minutes.  There is no answer at her workplace, so I leave a message to have her call me when she can.

I run into the store, grab my chicken and (like a 1970’s Hertz commercial) I snag some grape jelly on my sprint through the store.  (We are out of grape jelly – which is a staple in my diet).  I check out, load the chicken and jelly into the car then make a quick run to the gas pumps where I fill the tank and (simultaneously) call home to check to see if #5 of 5 (who should be off the bus by now) made it home.

I am relieved to hear that she has indeed made it home safe and sound.  I explain #2 of 5’s dilemma to her, and assure her that I will be home within 20 minutes or less.  She appears no worse for the wear, so after a short conversation with her, I hang up.

Another five miles down the road and my phone rings.  It’s the Mother of Five.  I catch her up with everything that has been going on.  That’s when I find out that she came home on her lunch break, and started a crock-pot meal (which was quite tasty I may add) and that I did not need to pick up a rotisserie chicken. 

That Figures.   

She asked that instead of going straight to the school to jump start the car for #2 of 5 (remember, he is still sitting up there waiting for me) that I stop by the house and pick up #5 of 5 first.  Then I can deliver her to the Mother of Five’s workplace – which is directly across the street from the Dance Studio where she takes lessons.  (Whoops, forgot today was dance class.)  I agree, but ask her to call #5 of 5 and have her all ready to go when I arrive.

All goes well for the next 15 minutes of my trip home.   Just as I pull off the freeway when I arrive in town, I spot #3 of 5 and a friend walking home along the roadway.  I slowly pull up along side of them, roll down the window and inquire - “Hey little boys, want some candy?”  

Creepy?  Yes.
Inside joke from way back?  Yes.
Reason for concern, or to call the police?  No.

I look around to make sure the police (or any do-gooder) is not watching me, and tell the boys to hop in the car.  (Can you imagine the 911 calls that may generate??  I can!!)  I quickly run #3 of 5 and his friend  home.  He lets me know he is scheduled for work at 5pm.  NO PROBLEM (or so I tell myself).

Once the boys are dropped off, I located #5 of 5 who is indeed ready and waiting for me to take her to dance.  I unload the rotisserie chicken and grape jelly… (Remember the rotisserie chicken and grape jelly?) put it in the refrigerator, then load #5 of 5 up and head for The Mother of Five’s workplace.

Once #5 of 5 is safely delivered to the Mother of Five, I head up the hill to rescue #2 of 5 who is still waiting patiently for me in the High School parking lot.  Amazingly, he has only called to check my “status” once in the past 30 or so minutes.  I arrive at the school, locate the car (with #2 of 5 in it) and quickly get the car running again.   Since he does not work, he asked if he could head off to a friend’s house.  I tell him to “enjoy”, and bid him a fond adieu.

Time to head back home to start preparing cleaning the kitchen for dinner.  One more quick stop for batteries (#3 of 5 needed them for a new calculator – which has my blood boiling and will be fodder for another blogpost soon enough) on my way home and I should be back cruising on easy street.   As I enter the store, my phone rings.  It’s the Mother of Five (again).

It seems that #4 of 5’s volleyball game (45 minutes away) was canceled, and that the team was upon the bus on the way home.  I was asked to also make sure I was at the Middle School to pick up #4 of 5 by 4:45pm.

By now, my head is starting to spin.

I grab the batteries, and head home.  I head inside the house, install the batteries, and plan on cleaning up the kitchen before the Mother of Five comes home for dinner when all of a sudden I hear voices in my head from the basement.  Whoops!  I have completely forgotten #3 of 5 downstairs who still needs to go to work!

#3 of 5 came upstairs to tell me that his friend (who also works at the same McFastFoodJoint) was called by their manager and asked to come in today.  I explain that I need to have the BOTH of them dropped off at McFastFoodJoint by 4:45 (or earlier) so I can run up to the middle school and grab #4 of 5.  They agree.  The friend runs home to get his uniform, and I prepare to head out yet again. 

Once both boys are in uniform, I load them up and drop them off at McFastFoodJoint  then quickly head up to the Middle School where I find #4 of 5 waiting with a friend.  Apparently, there was a little confusion and the friend’s mother thought she was bring #4 of 5 home.  Had I been even a minute later, the friend’s mom would have not been there, and I would have sat in the parking lot trying to figure out where my kid was at.   

Once I pulled into the lot and was spotted by her friend’s mother - #4 of 5 jumped out of their car and into my car.  Then, and we headed home.

I arrived home at 5:15pm – roughly two hours and fifteen minutes from the time I left work.  In that period I bought dinner (that I did not need to) gassed the car, made/received four phone calls, found one of my kids wandering around town, brought that kid home, took another kid to dance class, rescued yet another one of my kids who was stranded, picked up batteries for some uber-calculator (don’t get me started), received another phone call, took the found wandering kid (and his friend) to work, picked up my daughter from the vollyball game that never happened and brought her home…

Oh yeah.. One other thing.  During these couple of hours - I LOST MY DAMN MIND!! 

Father of FIVE???  Sheesh…  What was I thinking??

Will you help me?

I am going to try a little experiment – and I WANT YOUR HELP!

For the past two and a half years I have been collecting hoarding content on my kindle in an attempt to re-establish “reading” back into my life as a recreational activity.  I must admit, for the past two and a half years it’s been a pretty successful endeavor.  I went from reading nothing (for several years), to an almost regular diet of reading!  Some of the books I have read are better than others – but I have yet to read one I disliked completely.    

As proof of this success, click through to the link of my Kindle Reading List. 

It now contains TWENTY completed books!!  Yup, twenty books in twenty months!! 

Normally, when it’s time for a new book, I just go through the collection of books on my Kindle (which is sorted by date) and find the first book that “tweaks” my interest at that moment.  The problem is, I add (roughly) ten books on my Kindle for every one book I read.  This leaves me with content I added years ago (and have often even forgotten about) that could prove to be quite entertaining, but I never scroll down far enough to find.

So, I am going to try an experiment.  Below, you see a number of unread books that are in my Kindle that come from various locations throughout collection. (My current penchant for historical / religious fiction / thrillers is glaringly obvious!)   

Here is where YOU can help me!  Look through ‘em.  Tell me which book YOU think I should read.  (Maybe you have knowledge of one of these books – for the better or worse).

The book with the most votes by 7am (central USA time) on Monday morning will be my next read! 

Leave your vote in the comments below, on one of the Facebook status updates, or on the Twitter “tweet” and feel free to share the link.  The more the merrier!        

Thanks in advance!

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The Messiah Matrix by Kenneth John Atchity

First Jesuit Pope predicted in THE MESSIAH MATRIX!

To what lengths would the Vatican go to suppress the secret origins of its power? Current papal politics has made this thriller eerily prophetic! The Messiah Matrix is a myth-shattering novel whose protagonists delve into the secrets of the past—and expose the fundamentalists who hide them still.

A renowned scholar-monsignor is killed in Rome while a Roman coin is recovered from a wreck off the coast of ancient Judea. It’s up to his young American protégé--a Jesuit priest--and a vivacious, brilliant archaeologist to connect these seemingly disparate events and unravel the tapestry that conceals in plain view the greatest mystery in the ecclesiastical world. Together they pursue their passion for truth—while fighting to control their passion for each other. What they uncover is an ancient Roman imperial stratagem so controversial the Curia fears it could undermine the very foundations of the Roman Catholic faith--much like the secrets emerging from the Vatican in today's news.

From the ancient port of Caesarea to Rome's legendary catacombs and the sacred caves of Cumae, this contemporary novel follows their exhilarating quest to uncover the truth about the historical existence of the real "Christian Savior."

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The Shekinah Legacy by Gary Lindberg

In this controversial Amazon best-selling thriller, international cable TV journalist Charlotte Ansari and her Asperger's son are caught literally in the crossfire of history when terrorists, the CIA, Mossad and the Vatican all converge in a pulse-pounding search for relics that could forever change the balance of power in the world.

Three decades ago, Charlotte's mother suddenly vanished with no trace. The mystery was never solved. Then suddenly, on the same day that Charlotte's home is attacked by terrorists, her son receives an email from the grandmother that he has never known. The coded message catapults Charlotte and her son on a dangerous mission to India and Kashmir to find the only objects that can save the old woman's life. Unfortunately, Charlotte and her autistic son don't know what they are looking for.

The Shekinah Legacy is a thriller in the tradition of Dan Brown, Steve Berry and James Rollins. In this provocative novel, author Gary Lindberg uses the form of the thriller to explore the limits and perils of belief.

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The Gar Diaries by Louis Bourgeois

Young Lucas grew up as a gar fisherman's son, in the steamy backwater bayous of southeastern Louisiana. His story invites you into a brutal world that is dominated by domestic violence, poverty, and the day-to-day struggle for survival ... a struggle that might have left even the strongest of us emotionally scarred and bitter.

Lucas (a distinctly non-heroic hero) reveals the childhood fights, the family traumas, and the fiercely wrought beauty of a visceral existence that feels ill at ease with itself. He gives us an unflinching look at a place and people we need to know.

As you begin reading The Gar Diaries, be aware: the language is vivid, the emotions are intense, and the honesty is often disturbing. This book will truly reshape your perception of life in the Deep South - and might very well haunt your mind for years to come.

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The Delphi Agenda by Rob Swigart

Papyrologist Lisa Emmer’s world flips when the Surete meets her at her Metro station with news of the savage murder of the esteemed Paris historian Dr. Raimond Foix, her friend and mentor in the study of ancient documents. Horrified, Lisa finds clues at the crime scene left behind for her by her mentor—clues to a secret kept hidden for centuries. These clues make her a prime suspect in the murder investigation, and also put her directly in the cross-hairs of a deadly commando group that proves to be none other than a contemporary offshoot of the Inquisition.

They want an ancient document that reveals a secret so explosive it could change the world—a document they’ve been tracking for centuries. Led by a sadistic priest and a vicious but very accomplished nun with excellent military cred, their mission is to destroy the document—no matter what the cost in blood.

Desperate to clear her name and to stay alive, with the help of a handsome yet mysterious banker, Lisa must solve the clues and uncover the millennia-old secret before her adversaries can find and destroy it. Since she was a child Lisa had suffered from uncontrollable fugue states. Now she discovers just in time that what she always thought was a liability may in fact be an almost paranormal ability to see things in ways others cannot. The trail leads everywhere from ancient cemeteries and tombs throughout France to Istanbul and Greece, as Lisa and Steve desperately stay one step ahead of their enemies, solving the clues to a dangerous treasure hunt their lives now depend upon.

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The Lost Journal by Chris Blewitt

In 1778, during the peak of the Revolutionary War, a secret document is hidden and its whereabouts are known to only one man. Now, more than two centuries later, Seth Layton accidentally discovers the journal that will unlock its location and he is on a quest to find it. Joined by his grandfather and new female friend, Madison, they are chased by unsavory characters and some powerful people through historic Philadelphia to the streets of Washington DC. What American secret will the journal unveil and will Seth and his companions live long enough to reveal it?

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The Templar Concordat by Terrence O’Brien

When the truth is your greatest danger, and the enemy knows the truth, things can only go downhill when the enemy finally gets the proof. And that's the proof the Hashashin get when they steal what the Vatican doesn't even know it has. Now the infallible decrees of two Twelfth Century popes and three kings, stolen by the Hashashin, threaten to catapult the bigotry, bias, and religious blood baths of the Third Crusade straight into the Twenty-First Century. When Templars Sean Callahan and Marie Curtis are drawn into the mess, they face an ancient enemy that has already nearly won the battle, a newly elected Mexican pope being undermined by entrenched Vatican powers, world class scholars who will sell their prestige to the highest bidder, and terrorists lingering over lattes in sidewalk cafes. Moving from Rome to London, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia, Callahan and Curtis are desperate to find some way to stem the success the Hashashin are having enlisting the majority of moderate Muslims in their Jihad. Out maneuvered at each step by the Hashashin, only a last ditch roll of the dice has any chance of success. But it's the only chance they have.

Milestone

I want to wish a very special  Happy 20th Anniversary to the most amazing, most wonderful, most bestest woman in the whole wide world!

We've been though many ups and downs.  We've shared much laughter and and a few tears.  We've experienced some wonderful triumph and some unbelievable heartaches. But, through it all I have always known just where to find you...  Right by my side.  You have always been there.  Supporting me in times of need,  and celebrate with me in times of rejoice. 

Twenty years ago today God gave me a special gift and for twenty years I have tried my best to nurture, share, enjoy, appreciate, and be thankful what was given to me. 

I can only imagine (and look forward to) what the next twenty years will bring! 

Thank you for making me the happiest man alive twenty years ago today – and for making each day since even better than the last!

I truly love you.

Another Reason I Love Living in Jordan!

Back in December of 2010, I wrote a blog post about one of our Minnesota Blizzards.   In that post, I added a photo, and wrote…   

 

“One of the things I like about living in a small / rural town is seeing things that others may find quite odd.  Things like snowmobiles driving along side of you, and folks gassing up those snowmobiles – not on trailers mind you, no, they drive up to the gas pumps ON their snowmobiles and gas ‘em up right there at the pumps!” 

 

 

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Well, it’s now July 2013 – and today I had a very similar experience. 

But, since it’s July, there is not enough snow for snowmobiles – so today I had to share the road with something else most people don’t see very often!!

You Taught Us So Much

Those of my readers who attended Nativity of Mary School at any point during the 1970’s or 1980’s will undoubtedly remember Mrs. Audrey Wacker and for those of you who didn’t, permit me a moment to fill you in.

Mrs. Wacker was one of the four Junior High School (7th and 8th grade) teachers at Nativity during my time as a student there.

One of my first memories of Mrs. Wacker (as my teacher) was a humorous lesson about the pronunciation of her name. She wrote her name on the chalkboard, and acknowledged to all of us that while her name LOOKS like it should be pronounced “whack-er” it is actually pronounced “walk-er”. (Remember folks, she is teaching 7th and 8th grade students.) It’s almost as if she knew these pre-pubescent junior high school kids were going to grab hold of the obvious, and using humor – she emasculated that power that “whack-er” may have had right from the moment of introduction!

Smart lady!

As a younger Nativity-ite (a student grades 3-6), I would often get short glimpses into her basement classroom from my lunchroom table. These glimpses were filled with wonder, amazement, and (to be honest) a little trepidation. Her classroom was filled with items that would capture the imagination (and maybe even fuel a few nightmares) of “tweenaged” school children. She had several glass display cases filled with various “scientific” items. Bird nests, birds eggs, snake skins, turtle shells, rocks, minerals, fossils, skeletal remains, preserved animals of various species, and jars of formaldehyde filled with tapeworms, bovine (or equestrian?) eyeballs, brains, and even a one very large jar containing two fetal whitetail deer (that would seemingly stare out at me from their perpetual state of suspended animation inside the jar). It was obvious to all around that her passion was teaching Science class.

If you had Mrs. Wacker as a teacher, you will certainly remember many things. Just a few of the things that stick out in my mind include…

“Pithing” and dissecting earthworms, grasshoppers, and frogs.

Using microscopes to search for some elusive protozoa or amoeba (the name of which escapes me at the moment, but am certain I would know it if I heard it) in droplets of water “brewed” in our own micro swamps (buckets of swamp water, leaves, sticks, and debris left to ferment into “cesspools” of bacteria).

There was her famous slide shows from trips to the Galapagos Islands, and stories about big game hunts and African safaris.

I’ll never forget being introduced to the concept of genealogy, and how Mrs. Wacker had us build and challenged us to expand our own family trees.

Her lessons often included a television element. We would be asked to view one of several educational television shows (usually on PBS – Shows like Nature, Nova, or Cosmos) and she would have quizzes ready for us the following day.

And, let’s not forget the “World Geology Timeline” that I unearthed during a recent amateur archeological discovery (and lamented my “less than deserved” grade). That was a Mrs. Wacker project also (and so was that darn grade)!

While science was her obvious passion, she taught other academic subjects (and many non-academic lessons) as well. Mrs. Wacker was the last teacher I had that started the day off with a prayer, and had her class stand at attention to pledge allegiance to the flag each and every day. She was the teacher who made us memorize many of the formal Catholic prayers I still use to this day, and she had NO FEAR of openly and quite frankly sharing her thoughts on the subject of pre-marital sex with her students. (I recall several instances of her telling us how much she wished she could jump up and down, stomp her feet, and shout “no sex until marriage” from the rooftop – actually stomping her feet, jumping up and down, and cupping her hands like a megaphone for emphasis.)

Mrs. Wacker was a patient woman. She dealt with kids in an age group well known for their “squirreliness”, lack of maturity, and hormonal imbalances (a truly volatile combination of traits) in a kind, compassionate and understanding way yet was not afraid to discipline students that required it. I am not aware of any students that harbor any ill for having been disciplined by her.

The genuine interest she had and maintained in her students was obvious – both during their time in her classroom and well beyond. Several years after passing through the halls of Nativity, I ran into Mrs. Wacker. Not only did she remember me (by name) – but she also inquired about my sister (by name) as well.

Mrs. Wacker captivated our attention, challenged our abilities, and left a lasting impression on so many of us. Even now 30+ years later, I still can recall many fond (and vivid) memories of the time I spent as her student. More so than with any other teacher I have had. It’s not just me. When my Nativity “Family” (quotation marks intended) have a little get together – inevitably, our conversations turn to our memories of Mrs. Wacker.

Sadly, a few days ago Mrs. Walker was called home into the loving arms of our Lord and Savior. Yes, sadly for us – but at the same time I am grateful for her eternal freedom from the struggles and limitations she and her family dealt with for the last several years.

Thank you Mrs. Wacker.

Thank you for all you have done for me, and for all you have taught me. Thank you for all you have done and all you have taught the countless students that filled the desks of your classroom. There is a special place for an angel like you in heaven!

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For those of you who knew Mrs. Wacker and are so inclined - here is a LINK to her obituary and on line guest book on Legacy.com.

Also, feel free to share any of your favorite memories of Mrs. Wacker in the comments of this blog - below!.

Garden 2013

I began posting about my foray into gardening back in 2011.

The following year I posted about my “original intent” for the garden (but, after doing a little research for this post, I quickly discovered I never completed any follow up about final garden 2012 post).  Well, the “original intent” for Garden 2012 failed miserably.  Garden 2012 - 2.0 was pretty similar to Garden 2011.  I ran into our local greenhouse, picked up some tomato and green pepper plants and planted a few of the remaining seeds (beans and cucumbers) directly into the garden. In addition to the regular harvest of tomatoes and peppers, I got 1 cucumber, and a single serving of beans.  (I just do not do well with seeds).  Also of note was the removal of the raspberry bushes that took up half of our garden real estate.    

With some repairs needed on the framework of the garden box, the Mother of Five and I decided we were going to try and expand the garden this year.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature (and other various factors) had different plans.  The unyielding grip of this season’s Minnesota Winter, and my lack of spare time resulted in not only our failure to expand the garden, but an actually lack of any garden whatsoever. 

I can be a bit of a procrastinator.  I kept telling myself I’ll get around to planting a garden – but suddenly it was June 23^rd, and one of our two local greenhouses was packing up for the season.  This had me feeling a little melancholy.  I have been enjoying the whole gardening experience the past few years – even in the limited quantities / varieties I have been involved in – and I really didn’t want the garden to sit idle this year. 

On a whim, we stopped by the primary greenhouse in town, and found them OPEN FOR BUSINESS.  Not only open for business, but clearancing out several items!  Since it was so late in the season, some of these plants were already fruiting.  Like a kid in a candy shop, I quickly nabbed up three varieties of tomato plants (cherry, grape, and just like me – “Big Boy”), two varieties of peppers (sweet bell and those lovely gypsy peppers I tried in 2011), and on the whim of #5 of 5, we tossed in two cantaloupe plants. 

In these photos, you can see the condition of, and various stages of production of the Garden project 2013. 

  

In anticipation of some gardening earlier in the year, the Mother of Five had #3 of 5 turn over the garden.  This was several months ago now, and the weeds were beginning to take hold once again.

 

#4 of 5, #5 of 5 and myself pulled what weeds were growing, then proceeded to till the garden again.

 

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I also had a couple of left over pepper plants that I could not fit in the garden – so I am trying my hand at the idea of potted pepper plants!   (Try saying that three times as fast as you can!)

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Since I am already in the thick of it – I am going to post a few of the flowers we have planted around the old compound.  Much (if not all) credit for these belong to the Mother of Five.  If it was not for her, our front patio would look pretty darn drab.

(Above) Come on now.  What good Catholic house does not have a small statue of Mary in their garden? 

(Above)  Four pots with various flowers (planted from seed) by #5 of 5.

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(Above) Front door and front sidewalk.

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(Above)  Various shots of the front patio – from the front yard.

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Miscellaneous shots from our overgrown and neglected side garden.  I had good intentions there a few years back, but the clematis took over and tore down our lattice work – then we lost one shrub to some sort of insect – and the other (large red shrub) just got neglected and has overgrown.

Perhaps a future gardening project?

I Lost an Old Friend Today

For much of my life, I have owned (and displayed) an interesting piece of “furniture”.  The piece in question?  An antique Glenwood Inglewood water carboy that I received as a gift sometime in my “tween” years.  It is a thick, heavy glass container that was originally used atop an old Glenwood Inglewood water cooler.

For most of my life, it has sat in a corner collecting pennies.  It has followed me through various moves, sometimes boxed up (I still have the original box) and sometimes displayed. 

A few years ago, I put it in #3 of 5’s bedroom as an added bit of decoration. 

With some impending changes in the world of bedrooms around the ol’ compound – I took it out and set it in the corner next to my computer desk.  It has been there for a couple of weeks.

Today, while doing some home remolding, I happened to drop a small object near the bottle.  I even thought to myself “I better be careful, I might bump that bottle” – but because of the thickness of the glass, and the unlikelihood of hitting it, I was less cautious that I should have been.

I heard a crack.  It was more than just a crack – it was more of a crack, splinter, and then the sound of pouring pennies.

Yup.  I broke my 5 gallon glass carboy.  I am slightly disappointed, but I have no one to blame but myself.

(For the record - It would have been so much better if I could have blamed one of the kids, and then ranted and raved like a lunatic – droning on about responsibility, careful behavior, and respecting other people’s items.)    

So, for the time being – my corner will sit empty.  Void of the coppery disks (in various stages of tarnish) glistening behind the green tinted glass of my Glenwood Inglewood bottle.

A GeoCaching Weekend

It had been a couple of years since my last GeoCaching adventure in Duluth.  MUCH earlier this year I asked Best Bud Ed what he thought about doing it again.  Ed was all for it, so we scheduled a weekend (several months in advance) to ensure it would work out.

Ed lives in one of the hardest hit areas of the 2012 Duluth Flood.  (For more photos, check out here.)  While I have been to Ed’s place since the flood, and have seen some of the damage done (from a distance) – I had not really had a opportunity to see the damage UP CLOSE and PERSONAL.

We decided to GeoCache around one of the nearby Trail Heads to the Superior Hiking Trail.  This trail starts at Mission Creek Trail and winds in and around the creek gorge until it meets up with the SHT.  This area was one of the major sources of flood damage to the area.  According to the Mission Creek Trail web page…

“Mission Creek trailhead is just above the DNR holding dam which was built to catch and hold logs and other debris from spring runoff or heavy rains.”

That holding dam caught TONS (literally) of debris from several significant mud slides.  Once the dam was blocked, the creek flooded and filled the town with flood water. 

As you can see from the “terrain map” (and/or Topo map) below, Mission Creek cuts through a DEEP gorge in the landscape, and is subject to some “significant’ elevation changes. 

 

Last year after the flood, we visited Ed and his family.  He took us around and (as best as he could) showed us much of the damage that occurred.  Many areas were completely inaccessible – so we could only get so far in to see.

This GeoCaching trip would take us deep into Ground Zero of the flood, and over / through / around many of the mudslides that ultimately caused the flooding of Ed’s town.

It’s been just under a year now since the flood – and unfortunately due to the economy – the cleanup is only partially complete, and there has been little (if any) actual repair to the damage.  The trail we walked is still “officially” closed (photos below will indicate why) – but hikers, sightseers, and GEOCACHERS still regularly use the access.        

  

In these two photos, we are past the most significant obstruction.  Here you see the trail has been completely washed away.  We are looking back toward the parking area which is way off in the distance.  From the left edge of that photo to where the trail would have been is another wash out.  That is a tiny little “stream” coming down from the hill.  In the second photo (the one with Ed poised on the edge of the washout) you can see a portion of the culvert that USED TO run under the trail and out to where it would spill into Mission Creek.  This is (I believe) one of the primary areas / reasons why the trail is closed.  We had to navigate up that little stream until we could find a safe crossing, then make our way back down the stream to where the trail picked up again. 

That was not the the only place the trail disappeared.  Further down the trail we came to another area where the trail ended, and we had to ‘bushwhack” our way around a number of obstacles. (Downed trees and some significant mudslides… I call them “mudslides”, but the were actually “clay slides”.  Very dense, wet, and VERY SLIPPERY clay…) 

 

Here, you see me on the edge of yet another wash out.  This one was further down the trail from the first one.  The photo was taken from ahead on the trail, looking back. 

As we progressed along the trail (and often off-trail), we were ascending the gorge.  The further we ascended, the less trail washout we encountered.  Instead we found ourselves having to cross a number of the mud clay slides.

  

Once we made it to the top of the gorge, it was very interesting to see where these mud clay slides originated. 

They start relatively small, but as they progress down the hill, they wipe out more and more, cutting a wider and wider swath of devastation as the travel.   

From this vantage point, you could hardly tell how significant this mudslide really was.  The results all but decimated a small town. 

 

Here we are.  at one of the highest points of elevation.  It’s difficult to see in the photos, but one wrong step and it’s going to be a quick (and I would suspect, painful) trip to the bottom.     

         

Left:  Another portion of the trail.  Right along the ridge. 
Center: The same trail – with Ed a few yards ahead of me.
Right:  Ed, logging a cache find.  LOGGING a cache find from the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!  It’s amazing what technology will allow us to do. 

We stumbled upon one anomaly.  Something we both found pretty interesting.  Think about this one.  How does this happen??  I know how a tree braches off and becomes two trucks as it grows up, but how does two separate and distinct different trunks grow back together into one tree??    

 

 

All totaled on our first outing…  Five caches found for five caches attempted.  A total of four hours, 4.2 miles and assent / decent of over 600 ft (highest elevation point was 984 feet and the lowest was 335 feet). 

Thanks to my GPS and Everytrail.com – you can follow us along our journey! 

GeoCaching Weekend #1

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Once we made it home, we enjoyed a well deserved (and amazingly cooked) dinner of Stuffed Pork Chops from Superior Meats while #3 of 5 and I tried to warm up / dry off near the fire. 

 

Ed and I had previously discussed the possibility of trying to find a couple of “night caches”. 

Night Caches are GeoCaches with night time attributes – such as reflective tacks - that lead you from waypoint to waypoint in order to aid you finding the GeoCache.

We never found any Night Caches in the immediate area to attempt, but Ed had another idea!  Once we finished dinner and got the younger kids settled into bed – Ed, #3 of 5, and I headed out to find a couple of nearby Caches that Ed already knew about.

We Geoached by the light of the moon – only since it was so cloudy and overcast, we actually GeoCached by the light of our flashlights!! 

One hour, nearly two miles, and three found GeoCaches later – we headed back home to call it a day!! 

 

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GeoCaching Weekend #2

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During my second and final day in Duluth, it was raining.  It was very wet, cold, and windy.  Much of the day was spent in Ed’s garage, playing cribbage, smoking cigars, drinking beer, and watching episodes of Sherlock and Dragnet.   

 

Yes, before call me out on this, let me be the first to point it out… The deck of cards we were playing with do say “Sexy Girls” on them.  But, it’s not what you think!  They are reproductions from classic paintings of “Pin Up Girls” by well known artist Gil Elvgren.  His work spans from the late 1930’s to the early 1970’s. 

Honestly, between the beer, cigars, and these cards - I truly believe that Ed was trying to distract me from my most excellent cribbage playing skills!! 

We decided that rain or shine, we would make one more attempt at GeoCaching before I had to head for home.  We scoped out a nearby Multi-Cache (a GeoCache with two or more components to it) that was also near another traditional cache, and headed out.    

The first phase of the Multi-Cache was located in a nearby park, located near the mouth of the St. Louis River and Mission Creek called John Jacob Astor Park.  It required us to locate some data from a plaque within the park about the park’s history in the Fur Trade of early America, decipher that into data that was converted into GPS coordinates.

Again at John Jacob Astor Park, the mud, clay and damage from last year’s flood was still very prominent.  There was still a layer of mud, silt, and clay from the previous mud slides all around us.

We took the deciphered coordinates and headed off to the final phase of the multi-cache.  Here is Ed, again logging his find on his uber advanced technical smart-phone with installed geocaching app!     

Our final cache for the weekend was located in Chambers Gove Park.  Chambers Grove park is a beautiful park located along the St. Louis River above the mouth of Mission Creek.  It too saw a significant amount of damage from the flood.  Damage that has yet to be repaired.  Most notable was the boardwalk that runs along the river. 

 

In the first photo, we are standing near the beginning of the boardwalk, looking NW along the river.  In the second photo, we are looking back SE towards where the first photo was taken.  You can see the warping of the boardwalk in the first photo, and the washout of the support under the boardwalk in the second photo.

This short outing lasted just over 30 minutes and added another mile and two more caches out our weekend GeoAdventure!

GeoCaching Weekend #3

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All totaled, Ed and I spent more than 5 hours traveling over 7 miles to locate 10 GeoCaches.  We had a great time and made some fun memories!  I want to thank Best Bud Ed and his family for their hospitality, and good times!! 

I am looking forward to being able to do it again sometime soon!! 

GeoCaching Weekend - Combined

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