Busy Week of Training

Bushyhead Mine

It's been a busy week as we finished out the interpretative training for the rangers.  Donna and are are humbled by the amount of training and time invested by this park for us as volunteers.

As noted in earlier posts, this park is a water park as it protects a portion of the fur trade routes.  So this meant getting out on the water.

That's Canada on the left

We've enjoyed the visits (and

information overload) on the tour boat Voyager, an over-nighter at the Kettle Falls Hotel, more time (and more info overload) on the tour boat Otter, ecobiological training at Rainy Lake & Ash River Visitor Centers, canoe safety training (we watched), and a well done north canoe trip with real "Voyageurs".  Yes, they train the characters, too (though some don't need a lot of help!)

 If you've ever taken the "Behind the Scenes Magic Tour" at Walt Disney World, then think of this as a behind the scenes tour of NPS at Voyageurs.

There's not enough room here to talk or show everything.  I know Wednesday night I posted 94 photos of just the Tuesday & Wednesday training on Facebook.  Those pics just scratched

Cruiser Lake

the surface of what we got to do and see

those two days.  Hopefully, these few pictures will give you a feel what we've been blessed to do and see.   Later, David

Dam at Kettle Falls (again, Canada on the left)

This picture to the right is of Mike Williams as he gives us a history of Kettle Falls Hotel as he remembered it.  The hotel sits on a spot of lodging for people who traveled through this area as they passed around Kettle Falls.  Mike's family (including grandfather & father) has owned or worked this hotel for three generations.  The current park concessionaires running the hotel are his relatives.

Hoist Bay

Interior of Ash River Visitor Center

Green house of native plants used for restoration

Ash River Visitor Center

Canoe Safety training

Donna checks out the exhibits at Lake Kabetogama Visitor Center

Voyageurs Natl Park HQ

Built to resemble a lumber mill from the river, Voyageurs National Park Headquarters is one of the nicest gov't buildings I've ever been in.   The building is leased to the federal gov't by the local/state gov't.  All office spaces face the river.  The building also holds a library of reference material on Voyageurs National Park and the area's history.  Get the "special" tour, and they might show you the museum artifacts

housed there.  While it's not a visitor location like a visitor's center would be, it's worth a stop if you're in the area.  They do have parking for RVs.

We spent today in training at HQ with all the interpretation staff and volunteers for all three visitor centers.  Training continues tomorrow.  We tour the voyageur canoe route by boat tomorrow and spend the night at Kettle Falls Hotel (www.kettlefallshotel.com).  Wednesday we visit the other two visitor centers and other visitor destinations.  As it's mostly a water park, almost all travel is by boat or on foot.  Looks like a long day Wednesday.

And if you're curious enough to click on the Google maps link below for the location, you won't see it.  The buildings were only recently completed (2011).  Later, David

Rainy Lake Update

North Birch-bark Canoe; typically 22-25 ft long (corrected 5-19-2012)

Just an update as we work to get settled into the visitors center.  We're finding that International Falls is just a short ride away, but everything we're interested in is on the far side (west side of town) from us.  Nice little town.  We'll get pics later.  Like Priest Lake in Idaho, best restaurants are at the resorts on the lake.  So far our wild life sightings are of deer & beaver.

Staff here is great! We're still learning our way around the visitors center.  Lots to know.  It's been quiet with short bursts of activity here & there.  Seems everyone comes in at once.  Everything is written down for us.  Pamphlets everywhere and procedures are well documented.  But let someone pop in and ask for something, and I can't find it.  Usually the ranger finds it for me and, you guessed it, it's right in front of me.  Then there's that "I know it's here somewhere 'cause I saw it" moments, too.  The cash register gets less intimidating each day.  And we've got a good one - the credit card scanner actually works.  You know how many places we visit that that little credit card scanner is a problem child?  Anyway, we must be doing OK on most things.  Staff hasn't told us to leave, yet!

Our training continues next week.  We visit park HQ on Monday for a full day of training with the rangers.  Tuesday & Wednesday is our trip & team training plus an overnight stay at the Kettle Falls Hotel.  It's a boat ride in and a boat ride back (remember, it's a boat to get anywhere here).  Probably a trip we wouldn't have done if we hadn't been working here, but it's one of those bucket lists items of many, many people in this area.  Think of it as their version of the Durango-to-Silverton Narrow Gauge Train Ride.  All of this is done to ensure we can work at any visitors center and assist the park rangers as necessary in their interpretations.  Believe me, there's no way we'd learned this much about this park if we weren't working here.

We're still excited that we came!  Later, David

Testing the Video Capability

Blog spot always indicated it could show videos, so we're trying it out.  Taken at the Rainy Lake Visitors Center's Picnic Area.  Hopefully, you won't get too "airsick" by the camera movement.  This is only the second video I've taken.  David

Arrival Day @ Voyageurs Natl Park

tour boat dock

Thus begins our 9-week experiment as volunteers in a national park.  We arrived today, given our "uniforms" and radio, and taken to our spot in the woods.  I anticipated being in a 30-amp FHU electrical site next to a maintenance building.  Instead we got a 50-amp site (one of two) out in the woods by ourselves.  Donna picked the larger, nicer one of the two sites.  We've

found that if we park the truck in the second site and park it toward the back a little, no one sees us from the main road.  Oh, and we're now an official "Authorized Vehicle"!  Anyway, we start training on Tuesday.

The visitor's center is just beautiful.  While the outside gives you that "Up North" look, the interior reminds you of the interior of a log house.

Lots to see & do here.  Most of it requires getting on a boat.  As volunteers, we can do that on the tour boats as standbys.  We plan to do that as much as possible!

Later, David

Two Harbors, MN

Two Harbors' harbor entrance

 Today we returned to Two Harbors, MN (3,700+ residents) and took a walk along the Lake Superior north shore at Gooseberry Falls State Park.  Significantly prettier day, today.  Note that the lighthouse is a B&B.

Later, David

View of Lake Superior on trail behind the lighthouse

Yellowstone class of steam engine

Mouth of Gooseberry River at Lake Superior 

North shoreline of Lake Superior at Gooseberry Falls State Park 

Gooseberry Falls State Park

Middle Falls

Middle & Lower Falls

We arrived at Saginaw, MN yesterday after a beautiful drive through the remaining portions of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin around Lake Superior.  This is our "hold" spot before moving on to Voyageurs Natl Park. 

As a front is coming through, we decided to do a little sightseeing along the north shore of Lake Superior before buying groceries and returning to the trailer for an afternoon nap. Donna found Gooseberry Falls on the internet, so off we went.  Other than a cloudy day, it's a beautiful drive over to Two Harbors and the state park.  The park has a great visitors center and numerous hiking/ bicycling trails.  We chose to just circle three of the water falls today, but plan to return tomorrow (with, hopefully, better weather) for a longer hike and views of the north shore of  Lake Superior.

Another view of Middle & Lower Falls

We ate lunch in Two Harbors which appears to be a quaint little town with a lighthouse (more reason to return) and, possibly, a scenic railroad.  We'll see.

On other news, we did get permission to come on in to Voyageurs' Rainy Lake Visitors Center.  So either we've passed the background check or they've got a  workaround.

Upper Falls

Either way, we're excited to get there.

More later, David

Wide angle of Middle & Lower Falls

Lake Michigamme, MI

View of Lake Michigamme from our campsite

From the campground brochure: "Where the middle of nowhere is somewhere."

We're at Michigamme Shores Campground, and it's about midway between St Ignace, MI (our last stop) and Duluth, MN (our next stop). Today's adventure was a visit to Van Riper State Park, walk the overview trail there (which follows the Peshekee River) to see more of Lake Michigamme, spill diesel all over the bed of the truck, eat at a famous restaurant, tour a somewhat dead Michigamme, MI (small tourist trap where it's season hasn't started yet), fill a propane tank, and clean up the bed of the truck. The picture to the right is of the Peshekee River.

We tried various views of Lake Michigamme, but I think this one is the best as it includes the blooming trees and bushes.  Yep, we're back in pollen season!

The finches of  Mt Shasta Restaurant where some scenes of the movie "Anatomy of a Murder" were taken.  I recognized Jimmy Stewart in some of the pictures hanging in the restaurant.

Once, again, we're the only transients in a campground...

...that has a train run through it.  Not bad, though.  One train a day during the early afternoon is all we've experienced during our stay.  If we were to decide to be Michibama snowbirds, this would make an excellent summer spot.

Later, David

Mackinac Island, Michigan

Fort Mackinac

Residential area along the public piers

A cold, cloudy, damp day at Mackinac Island.  Still motor vehicle-less (except for emergency vehicles), so still an island that requires walking, bicycling, or horse-drawn carriages for transportation.

 About half of the local businesses were open.  Walked a couple of the streets in town, visited the state park visitor's center, ate lunch, and took a carriage tour. We required hot chocolate and a

Arnold ferry ariving

quarter pound of fudge to recover from the carriage tour.  Still impressed by hardwood trees growing right next to the edge of the lake, though.  Mackinac Island still looks like a great place to experience a B&B get away.

David

Grand Hotel

Grand Hotel carriage

Lake Huron as seen through Arch Rock

Looking south from Arch Rock

Main Street

Local lodging