It was a very "maass" kind of getaway, as Greg and I had spent all week vaguely talking about "going somewhere this weekend." Friday night, the dog needed walking, the day needed to be rehashed for several hours over dinner (and wine?), and lo and behold, both Goldy and The Volks remained parked right on Scheffer Avenue.
Saturday morning dawned clear and bright. We missed that. But it was cloudy and cold as hell by the time we rolled out of bed at 11am, at which time Greg decided that Grand Marias would be a good destination. We quickly packed for an overnight (I brought 4 shirts, 6 books, 3 magazines, and 2 newspapers. Greg didn't even raise an eyebrow....we have been together for almost 10 years now).
The 4-hour drive to Grand Marais was made longer by stops at Sbarro in Forest Lake and Culver's in Two Harbors, but shorter by our new Storyhill CD. We arrived in town around 4:30pm. Hiking options were pretty limited due to the time, but luckily there is a short, scenic little trail out of town (Kadunce River trail) that's always nice any time of year. We set off, with Oscar practically leading a hundred-yard dash up the trail. Greg and I were just enjoying ourselves, walking and talking in the woods. We stopped at the river and the bridge for a couple minutes, but soon turned back due to the late hour.
The Kadunce River trail is short and well-marked. It's the kind of trail that it would be embarassing to have a map or guide for. Greg and I were immersed in a discussion (about well-behaved dogs, off all things), and Oscar was leading the way, when suddenly we came to an abrupt stop on the edge of a smallish cliff. We couldn't continue forward (though
Osky was contemplating it), so we turned around....and realized the trail was nowhere to be found. A closer inspection of our surroundings revealed that there was river on both sides of us, rather than just on our right (as it should have been). Oscar was summarily fired from his job as our GPS. The shame of it all didn't really seem to hit him, as he happily tore off after a red squirrel.
"This should get a lot more interesting once the sun goes down," I said to Greg. He glanced quickly at his watch. "Which, according to my calculations, should be in about 10 minutes."
Somehow it all seemed very funny to us, and we doubled over in laughter. Oscar gave up on the squirrel and we bushwhacked our way to the true trail, emerging from the woods just as the sun would have gone down (had it not been overcast). Oscar insisted on finding the only mud puddle in the vicinity and taking a huge drink from it after wa
lking through it (what, the Kadunce River water doesn't taste good enough?), and then jumping in Goldy's backseat with 4 muddy paws (he was depressed about losing his job, but hid it well as he gleefully spread mud from one end of the car to the other).
Saturday morning dawned clear and bright. We missed that. But it was cloudy and cold as hell by the time we rolled out of bed at 11am, at which time Greg decided that Grand Marias would be a good destination. We quickly packed for an overnight (I brought 4 shirts, 6 books, 3 magazines, and 2 newspapers. Greg didn't even raise an eyebrow....we have been together for almost 10 years now).
The 4-hour drive to Grand Marais was made longer by stops at Sbarro in Forest Lake and Culver's in Two Harbors, but shorter by our new Storyhill CD. We arrived in town around 4:30pm. Hiking options were pretty limited due to the time, but luckily there is a short, scenic little trail out of town (Kadunce River trail) that's always nice any time of year. We set off, with Oscar practically leading a hundred-yard dash up the trail. Greg and I were just enjoying ourselves, walking and talking in the woods. We stopped at the river and the bridge for a couple minutes, but soon turned back due to the late hour.
The Kadunce River trail is short and well-marked. It's the kind of trail that it would be embarassing to have a map or guide for. Greg and I were immersed in a discussion (about well-behaved dogs, off all things), and Oscar was leading the way, when suddenly we came to an abrupt stop on the edge of a smallish cliff. We couldn't continue forward (though
Osky was contemplating it), so we turned around....and realized the trail was nowhere to be found. A closer inspection of our surroundings revealed that there was river on both sides of us, rather than just on our right (as it should have been). Oscar was summarily fired from his job as our GPS. The shame of it all didn't really seem to hit him, as he happily tore off after a red squirrel.
"This should get a lot more interesting once the sun goes down," I said to Greg. He glanced quickly at his watch. "Which, according to my calculations, should be in about 10 minutes."
Somehow it all seemed very funny to us, and we doubled over in laughter. Oscar gave up on the squirrel and we bushwhacked our way to the true trail, emerging from the woods just as the sun would have gone down (had it not been overcast). Oscar insisted on finding the only mud puddle in the vicinity and taking a huge drink from it after wa
lking through it (what, the Kadunce River water doesn't taste good enough?), and then jumping in Goldy's backseat with 4 muddy paws (he was depressed about losing his job, but hid it well as he gleefully spread mud from one end of the car to the other).
