Next stop: Cass Lake, in the Chippewa National Forest, Minnesota. It's already dark when we arrive at 11pm but I can tell this is going to be a beautiful campsite. Plenty of space, fire pit, a picnic table, and a walkway right to the lake's edge. Splitting hairs I'd say the full moon is tomorrow but it sure looks full tonight, reflections spraying with the crashing waves' mist, like a rainbow in the dark. Tomorrow I swim.
Today was a drone of driving. We did see a few interesting things, like the "World's Largest Holstein Cow". It was visible from the freeway and the townsfolk were below in the immediate path, should the behemoth Bessie decide to flee for greener pastures. But she kept watch over her human flock as we drove past, slipping out of sight around the next bend.
Tomorrow we plan to explore Minnesota and possibly visit Lake Vermillion, my Grandmother's escape from the real world. I remember it for its red-cabin-in-the-woods feel, its educational dock, and of course, the sauna. Oh yes, the sauna. The Finns' original man cave. The place where 250 lb men are no match for fire-bred steam and little old ladies find relief from the arthritic advancement of time. But I was neither. I was just a life-loving little kid who loved to roast in the sauna before jumping into the lake. I can still feel my pores slamming shut and the slippery rocks at the bottom of the lake. Hopefully I will feel those same rocks tomorrow, but there is a problem: no address. I will be trying to use 43-year-old brain cells to reconstruct memories from before video games. Before computers. Before sex became "safe" and Halloween became "dangerous." Before I realized that I may never see that red cabin in the woods again. This sounds like an adventure just waiting to happen.
Nice!
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