1800's Gold Mine 001

About two hours of paddling later and we are at the entrance to the gold mine. Luckily I had brought a good flash light as it is pretty dark in the back stretches of the mine.

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1800's Gold Mine 002

The shaft eventually goes under water so we don’t know how far back it reaches or if it ends at the water.

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1800's Mining Equipment

Along with the mine itself there are many rusted out tools, pipes, and debris that was left behind when the disappointed miners abandoned their search for gold. They did find iron ore but it wasn’t good enough quality to open up a full scale iron mining operation. I am very glad of that or the BWCAW wouldn’t look like it does today.

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Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

This week I had the privilege of introducing another young person to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Along with Matt’s uncle Joe, the three of us spent the day canoeing up a series of lakes connected by the Temperance River to an old 1800’s abandoned gold mine. I had written about this mine a couple of years ago but thought the trip was worthy of another “Photo of the Week”.

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Beaver Lodge

I always enjoy the look on kid’s faces and the excitement they show when they get an opportunity to see this beautiful wilderness for the first time. There is so much to see when you canoe into the BWCAW. Matt hadn’t seen a beaver house before so we spent some time exploring a very large newly constructed beaver lodge. Matt couldn’t believe how much work the beavers put into constructing their homes.

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North West Company Period Trading Items

It was fun to talk with the many volunteer voyageurs that set up tents and demonstrated what an earlier culture was like.

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Period Craftsman

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Rendezvous Family in Period Dress

Karla and I drove up to enjoy Rendezvous at the Grand Portage National Monument and the Powwow within the town of Grand Portage.

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Resident Fawn

Two weeks ago I showed a photo of one of our resident fawns reflected in the pond. As a follow up I wanted to let you know what happened last Sunday night. I was woken up at 1:30 AM to frantic screams. I jumped out of bed just in time to hear something chase one of the fawns by our bedroom window, down the hill, around the pond and into the woods. The fawn was bawling the whole time until the sounds suddenly ended. I thought maybe it was a wolf. When I went to investigate the next day I was kind of surprised. It turned out to be a black bear. I found three piles of bear droppings in the spot where the fawn had been killed and eaten. The grass was all flattened down and there were bone splinters with fresh blood in three different locations.

That is why the sound of what was chasing the fawn was so much more muffled. With each jump I heard the fawns little feet hitting the ground and a fraction of a second later the muffled thump of something else. I couldn’t believe how fast they moved. You couldn’t even think of outrunning a bear.

We have seen the does since but no fawns so I think the bear has gotten all three.

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Shaelynn 2011 Grand Portage Junior Princess

The Powwow is very colorful when hundreds of participants dance in their native regalia. Karla and I like to go each year but this year was pretty special as our friend’s granddaughter, Shaelynn won the dance contest and was named Grand Portage Junior Princess for 2011.

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