Taylor's Falls Canoeing and Climbing

The boys and I picked the wrong day to canoe on the St. Croix River. I envisioned a leisurely paddle with the boys catching a couple of smallmouth bass and all of us enjoying a picnic lunch along the way. The gusty winds (better than 20 mph) that blew upstream made the 7 mile trip a hard paddle. There was no time to sit back and let the current take us; we had to paddle or get blown sideways. Jeffrey and Andrew split the first hour of paddling, but Andrew's arm was still bothering him. Over the second hour of the trip, when the wind really picked up, Jeffrey was a beast paddler, really pushing himself. We'll both be sore tomorrow.
Though canoes can hold more, I am constantly amazed that anyone can favor them over kayaks which are so much more stable and easy to handle, especially in windy conditions.


While we were canoeing, Elizabeth was rock climbing with a group from Vertical Endeavors. The pictures are of her doing an "easy" climb, one that Andrew also made earlier this summer during his rock climbing camp. I'm glad that the 3 kids didn't get my fear of heights; I still get nervous when they clamber around the rocks.

Last Days of Summer 2010

On my last Friday of summer, the kids and I enjoyed a nice summer day in Cannon Falls. We grabbed lunch to go from Old Market Deli with desserts from High Quality Bakery, then Elizabeth and Jeffrey kayaked 7 miles down to Miesville Ravine. Meanwhile, Andrew and I headed to the river to fish. With Andrew wearing his lucky Iolani cap, we caught 4 smallmouth and 5 freshwater drum (all released) in an hour and a half. The largest smallmouth was a healthy 15", much bigger than smallmouth we had caught earlier in the year.

Tomorrow, Elizabeth will be joining the Vertical Endeavors climbing team for an outdoor climb at Interstate Park in Taylor's Falls (about an hour from home). While Elizabeth climbs, Jeffrey, Andrew, and I will canoe down the St. Croix River to Osceola, Wisconsin, about a 7 mile trip. Andrew is hoping to catch more smallmouth bass.

Andrew did have his elbow checked out this week and the orthopedist said there was no fracture this year. He strained his elbow a couple of weeks ago when he slipped on an algae-covered rock while fishing. The initial x-rays were inconclusive, so he had a splint on until Wednesday's thumb's up diagnosis. He's very happy to have his casting arm available again for fishing.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey is hobbling around with sore knees from freshman soccer practices. The long lazy summer did not prepare him well for training, but he's hanging in there. I'm looking forward to seeing them play, since there are 5 or 6 players on the team that I coached in EAA.

Artemis' New Home

Artemis the Green Snake moved into a 37 gallon terrarium today, a significant upgrade from her old 5 gallon tank. The tall new tank gives her lots of room to climb, a good habitat for an arboreal snake. In the first few hours, Jeffrey and I have enjoyed watching her explore her new home. It's amazing how far Artemis can stretch out her body, how strong snakes are.

Andrew's Hotel Birthday Party

Andrew had his birthday party at the Saratoga Inn in Cannon Falls. We had three poolside rooms (the rooms you see in the pool pics are ours) and the swimming pool to ourselves. The kids had a great time; they'd have a Nerf gun battle, go swimming, come in to play Risk, then jump back in the pool. The boys also headed to the park to play disc golf and to wade in the Cannon River, looking for minnows or crayfish. It was a fun time for all.

The (Fishing) Kids Are Alright

On Thursday afternoon, I went fishing at Lions Park in St. Paul Park for the first time. The park is on the shore of the Mississippi River, a few miles downstream from Pig's Eye Lake. It's not the nicest part of the Mississippi, a bit of an industrial area. Since I was coming from karate, I brought my lunch along. While sitting at a picnic table, eating my ham and turkey sandwich, 3 young men (late teens, one Hispanic, an African-American, and one white) came to fish and grill a lunch. We chatted briefly and I offered them the picnic table since it was by the grill. I went to the beach area to continue fishing while they grilled. After a few minutes, they called over and offered me a hot dog. Very nice. I declined but it sure made me smile. And farther down the shoreline, another pair of teens were peacefully fishing the day away.

Later, I saw another group of youths, probably early 20's, sitting in the middle of the park. Looked like a study group of some kind, maybe practicing a reading for a play. Good to see all of these kids enjoying a warm summer day out in the park.

The Kids Are Alright

Fun week with the kids; lots of hanging out with friends, a couple of sleepovers, some good meals (slow-cooked pork, quiches, BLTs with heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella on French bread), and some nice chats.

Elizabeth, Jeffrey, and I stayed up late on Friday and Saturday nights, part of the time watching the one and only season of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I loved that show when it came out, then Elizabeth got hooked on it from my Netflix rentals. The kids gave me the dvd set for Father's Day, so Jeffrey started watching it with Elizabeth this week, and he couldn't stop watching it. We talked about the show, then moved on to chatting about their experiences with Destination Imagination. Elizabeth loved her 4 years of participation, Jeffrey detested his one. He's still mad at me for not letting him quit, but the 3 of us enjoyed sharing the stories.

I like how the kids influence each other, especially when it comes to sharing reading interests. Elizabeth and Jeffrey have been tipping each other to good reads for a number of years, and now Andrew has been guided to some good books. The latest is the Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce, four books about a young girl who becomes a knight. Andrew could barely put down the third book, Squire, this week, reading the last 300 pages in two days. He intends to finish the last book this coming week.

Don't think that Andrew and I don't get to chat; we talk all the time because he loves coming on errands or playing games (cribbage and Tripoley are our current favorites). On Friday, we went shopping for guppies for his aquarium. We visited 3 pet stores, finally ending up at Twin Cities Reptiles. This store is a herpetologist's dream with so many kinds of lizards, turtles, and snakes (as well as fish). This is where I had bought my green snake (now renamed Artemis) and where Andrew found a nice pair of guppies. We also just like visiting the store because of their zoo-sized monitor lizards and snakes. There are a few 8' or longer boas and pythons; one massive python is 16 feet long!