{weekend round-up: part one}

Boy did I have a fun weekend! You can see just HOW fun in the next few slides.

First off say goodbye to old Bertha Cooker. Yep. The old lady settled into the arms of a really great farming family up North. I told my girlfriend over coffee, who was wondering how the moving was going, that if you can imagine moving a dead cow THAT is just exactly how much this beast weighed. No kidding. I know... I helped. Sheesh Louise. Crazy thing.

But what fun! Look what we got from them! A HUGE paper bag of farm corn, cucumbers and eggs! I had to close my eyes for a minute. It reminded me so much of when we were on our farm. Made me really home sick in a way. "Someday." I told myself... someday.

So what do a bunch of crazy knuckle-headed Duluthians do after loading 'Ol Bertha up? Take a drive up the shore. Only next time, remember to fill up the tank because Lutsen is like an hour away and even though my little car is a miracle that doesn't mean driving on the red hazard light on an empty tank for thirty miles is a really good idea. Adventures of Emme! I lived.

Destination: Lutsen Mountains for some hair raising gondola rides... =)

But what a beautiful sight right? Yep this is the entrance to Silver Creek Cliff. The Scenic North Shore Highway, circling the shore of Lake Superior is one of the most beautiful places in northern Minnesota. When I was a little girl they did all the blasting to create this. As you can see, the North Shore is full of bedrock, cliffs, crags, and rocky shore. Probably what you can compare to seeing pictures of eastern Canada's shores in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Beautiful. Takes my breath away every time!

It was a boat and trailer show the whole way up. Many tourists are still hanging around but I have a feeling this may have been the last weekend. With school now in session, starting today, I am sure the roads, shores and shops will quiet down considerably.

More rocky cliffs. There is a lot of construction happening up the whole way. I hope they can get some of it done before winter. I can't imagine how hazardous all the pieces of rock lying around will be in the gale force winds of November.

Finally, after finding a gas station about five minutes before Lutsen (I'm telling you folks it was iffy... whew) we came upon our destinations. And it is exactly what it says too. Mountains. I'm not exaggerating. Well, you'll see what I mean. =)

Oh yeah.. here's my ticket. Don't look at my nails please? I am one of the most lazy people. I'm telling you though... I'm taking care of them tonight. So just... don't... look. =)

Here they are! The little pods! The little gondolas! Two person occupancy. Which means that me and miss Flora are going together. Which means that she is going to try to make a fool out of me. She did. Want a story? Okay... so I give the guy my ticket. Yellow teeth, gold caps glinting at me from behind a fringe of red beard. So I get in and the door closes. TIGHT. Then the swinging starts. Violent swinging. He is behind me grabbing on to the bars and swinging the pod while I laugh hystericaly, not because it is really that funny but because I am so darn nervous and scared TO DEATH! Here I am facing most certain death, and he is swinging me over the edge of a cliff! I could have smacked him upside his crazy fractured looking head! You know what Laura was worried about? Not the whole death part but the possibility that I would throw up all over her. ROFL! I was pretty tempted.

There is my mom and my sister Ashley (the lovely curly headed brunette, stinker) They are ahead of us and you can tell a little apphrensive about going up the hill.  

Here is my sister Laura (the other brunette) and see the top of that mountain in the distance? That is where we are going, right on the top! I'm nuts but I'm having so much fun!

Going down!!! AAAAAAHHHHHH!

Still climbing the big mountain. Half way there!

Here is a cliff on the right side going up. More rocks! I told you didn't I?

Here is the view up at the top! Isn't it gorgeous? Look at that beautiful lake! All blue and churny with currents. Down below is an 18 hole golf course. Whew!

And this is the view going back down. Do you see those tiny buildings in the far off distance? That is were we are going. I know... straight down. Laura threatened me that if I kept on wincing and making noises every time we went over a connecting link in the line that she was going to smack me. So I stopped... not wanting to go into work with a black eye on Monday. Because she is fully capable. But really, wouldn't you? That's one big scary leap down to the bottom. Sheesh.

So THAT was Saturday. Wait till I share with you some of the fun things I did on Sunday. =)