What have I been up to post-Korea?

I'll start a series of posts regaling my activities post-Korea. Second up:

My Cabin

From Liz's house, Sarah and I and my parents drove up to my cabin. Which is what you Wisconsinites apparently call a "cottage." And Kiwis call a "bach." (pr. 'batch', not like the composer). Anyway, it's located in northern Minnesota between the metropolises (metropoli?) of Big Fork (population 457) and Marcell on Big Turtle Lake. We stayed there a week. We only swam once as it was friggin' September in northern Minnesota. The lake was COLD.

While at my cabin we took a trip to a part of Chippewa National Forest (in which my cabin is located) called the Lost Forty. It is named this because in 1882 a survey team was surveying the area. Possibly due to bad weather or swampy land, they mis-plotted Coddington Lake about a half mile further northwest than it actually was. Therefore, when the loggers came to log the area, they left this area uncut as it was mapped as being under water, leaving behind a section of old growth forest with large red and white pine trees. The Lost Forty is actually 144 acres. Today, only 2% of Minnesota's forested land is considered old growth. I like trees. Look, I'm a tree-hugger!

We also went to the headwaters of the Mississippi River, stopping in Bemidji (home of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox) along the way. We got to see a bunch of Paul Bunyan's stuff, like a giant fishing pole, a huge gun, etc. Very exciting. Did you know that the Great Lakes were formed by Paul and Babe's footsteps? Old-time loggers recall the excitement of Paul's birth when it took five giant storks, working in relays, to deliver Paul to his parents. In the year of the 'Blue Snow' when it was so cold the geese flew backward, Paul found a baby ox in the snow. It was so cold, the ox and snow was blue. The ox was then named Babe.

Then we went to the headwaters of the Mississippi, which are but a trickle. We walked across the river on a pile of stones. Sarah waded across it as well. Exciting.