schulz5: A most superb weekend

On Saturday morning, I raced in my 3rd triathlon of my life. Does that make me a triathlete? I use the term loosely, since the fastest finisher completed the entire race in less time than it took me to finish the bike portion alone. At any rate, I did it, and I’ll accept my medal with pride. I'm very proud of Mike and my family (see photo) who also participated and completed the Northwoods Triathlon in Nevis, MN. The event requires participants to swim ¼ mile, bike 14 miles, and then run 5K. I think we've started a family tradition. We're all talking about what we're going to do next year, and how we might be able to improve our times. A big thanks goes out to my mom, Bri, Rachel and Hannah for taking care of the munchkins, and for cheering us on throughout the race.

Our 3 kids participated in a kids running race after the triathlon. Lilah and Gavin both did the race last year. Emma, who is quite adept at running fast, was really looking forward to "competing" since last year, she was stung 7 times by bees prior to the event, and had to bow out gracefully. She was prepared and ready to go. She got off to a great start, but got tripped up and skinned her knee at the start. She did finish, but not in the order she planned. She's thinking about next year already.

Aside from the fact that we all finished the race unscathed and still among the living, we were blessed with an awesome place to stay on Lake Belle Taine (thanks to the Groves family!), glorious weather, great company and conversation, and a multitude of fun-filled activities to keep us busy as we enjoyed the North/Central part of Minnesota.

Highlights:

*Enjoying the lake

*Margaritas and yummy food at Companeros in Dorsett

*The Logging Camp!

On Sunday, we ate breakfast at a place called The Logging Camp. The breakfast menu is always the same and includes the following: a big jar of prunes for the group, all you can eat pancakes and ham, a serving of hash browns per person, and the number of eggs you request. Egg options are soft or scrambled. Coffee, juice and milk included. This was most definitely a highlight of the events that transpired over the weekend. The routine goes like this. First you enter the main building that serves as a place to register and pay for your dining party, and also as a “gift shop” with a bunch of crap for sale. Emma bought a tiny horse for her small Barbies. Lilah bought a suede-like, fringed pink purse that is “not an authentic Native American artifact” and was “made in China.” Gavin bought a bow and arrow set, which included a plastic bow and 3 arrows with suction-cupped ends to stick to the cardboard target, also included. After registering and making your purchases, you wait outside for your name to be called. While waiting to be seated in the log building, a.k.a. mess hall, parties hang around and have options for entertainment. You can feed sunfish in the creek, although the fish don’t eat any of the food since there are bugs galore hanging out on the water. You can try to lift a large chain. (See picture) You can feed chickens, turkeys and ducks, none of which eat the food you throw to them. The turkeys do, however, jump out of the pen and eat the bugs from the grills of cars.

*Itasca State Park.

This is a view from the top of the Fire Watchtower

*The visitor center
(I need help with turning this photo)
There are phones randamly positioned throughout the visitor center that play prerecorded messages giving information about Itasca. Gavin tried on this forest firefighter ensemble and proceded to pick up a reciever and repeat "Who are you? Who are you?."