Boundary Waters, Day 4

I was in surprisingly good shape for rowing as much as I did without training for it. My ribs were a little stiff during the night, but the only soreness I had when I woke up was a muscle in the left side of my neck running up from my collarbone. I thought about lying in bed until it got warm out. That was unrealistic. I couldn’t sleep after 6:30, and my back told me it was time to get up and move around.

Jane had not slept well and was also slow to get up. We drank coffee until 8:30. I made eggs with green pepper, scallions, cheese curds, leftover foil pack potatoes, and French fries. We had bacon on the side and half a piece of toast each.

Eggs with stuff and bacon

It sprinkled a bit during breakfast. It wasn’t enough to get anything wet. Still, the sky was dark and we decided to go to the Chik-Wauk Museum even though it was Children’s Day. They have a new activity building where the children would all be, we hoped. On our way up the Gunflint Trail, a snowshoe hare hopped across the road in front of us, notable for its large back feet. Other than that, no wildlife. Jane said she read at the Aquarium that moose populations were in decline for three reasons: habitat loss, a brain disease, and maybe climate change. She wasn’t sure what the third thing was. I thought we probably would not see a moose again this year.

We paid our $4 admission fee (per person, up from $3 last year) at the Nature Center and went in to see if there were any new displays. We spent most of our time going through a notebook of Gunflint Trail businesses from 1915 to 2015. Many of the lodges had closed or been sold to the government. We learned that Sue and Bruce Kerfoot sold the Gunflint Lodge in 2016. Dave and Nancy have owned Hungry Jack since 1991. Twenty-six years. That’s a long time to work every day all summer long.

We took a short hike to Blueberry Hill, a rocky outcrop on the side of the lake opposite the buildings. It was a nice view, but the bugs were bad. The flies swarmed our faces, which was the only part of us uncovered. There was a plaque at the top of the hill showing what the lake looked like when the Chik-Wauk Lodge was operating. It was interesting to compare then and now. A lot of buildings were torn down.

Plaque of the Chik-Wauk Resort in the 1950's

The same view now

I stopped to smell the roses.

Wild rose on the trail to Blueberry Hill

We drove up to the campground at the end of the road. Just as we pulled in we saw a small raptor with a rufous back and a black and white tipped tail fly by. I later identified it as a female American kestrel. Cool.

We literally drove past a roughed grouse at the side of the road. She was in no hurry to get out of the way.

Grouse by the road

We also saw four turkey vultures in a dead tree by Campsite 13. Years and years ago, there was an eagle nest at Campsite 13, and for years the abandoned nest was still visible. Not anymore.

Three of the four vultures we saw in a dead tree. One flew off before I could take the picture.

It was well past lunchtime when we headed back home. I made quesadilla with the leftover steak, green pepper, onion, and jalapeno pepper. The jalapeno was not at all hot.

Steak quesadilla for lunch

And then it was nap time. When I was nearly asleep on the couch, Jane suggested I lie down in my bed so that I would not wake up with a stiff neck. She failed to take her own advice and fell asleep in a chair, waking up with a stiff neck.

When my nap was over at 3:00, the weather had developed into a steady drizzle. I love being in the cabin in the rain. It’s so cozy and dry. We were both cold, so Jane turned on the thermostatically-controlled, natural-gas-powered pseudo-woodstove. We pulled up chairs and warmed ourselves. Grilling the chicken was out of the question. At 4:00, I cleaned all the cloves in a bulb of new garlic from the garden. I chopped a bunch of garlic and did my best to make a garlic/salt paste without a chef knife or kosher salt. I rubbed the paste under the skin of the whole chicken (which came with a broken keel and no giblets). I threw the rest of the garlic cloves and a quarter of an onion in the cavity of the chicken and put it in the oven at what I hoped was 350F. I added two potatoes on the lower rack. I resisted the urge to open the oven door for an hour.

At 5:30, the chicken was ghostly pale. The potatoes were rock hard. I cranked the temperature. In another half hour, the chicken was browned and seemed done. The potatoes were soft. I put some frozen peas in the microwave while the chicken rested. It was a lovely meal.

Roast chicken, baked potato, and peas for supper

When the chicken came out, I put in a cobbler made of blueberries, peaches, and cream scones. I made the scones at home and froze them uncooked. It took longer than the usual 30 minutes, but to our delight, the peaches were better cooked than raw.

Blueberry/peach cobbler

After supper, I separated the chicken meat from the bones and skin. I might as well make stock, I figured. We could have soup or chicken and noodles. I put the meat in a container and the bones, skin, and pan drippings into the largest sauce pan. Everything went in the refrigerator overnight.

We went to bed at 8:30. I read for an hour, but still was not sleepy. It felt like I lay awake for a long, long time. I finally fell into a deep sleep that I thought lasted for hours. When I woke up, it was 10:30. And that was the best part of my night. I had aches and itches and bad dreams until morning.