I finally got off the road on my long trip to Minnesota and back. We had a great time!
I want to thank GrandmaL for doing such a great job as Event Manager (we're not allowed to call it a race). She organized everything and everything went very smooth. She could have handled the weather a bit better, but I'll give her a pass on that small slip up. I was amazed when we showed up at O'Dark:Thirty for the shuttle to International Falls and she had bananas, boiled eggs and homemade energy bars for everyone. Then at the Grand Portage Casino she basically took over the whole place and was bossing all the hotel staff around. We completely rearranged the lobby furniture so we could all sit around and shoot the you know what around the fireplace. Outstanding job and thank you!
Kelso and Nordstjernen did an excellent job getting to the finish first. Since we can't race, they did not win, but they did get in first. Next time wear your lifejacket or I will have to DQ you :) But I know why they paddled so fast. Kelso wanted to see his lovely wife and the cutest baby ever since my GrandDaughter was born.
BeaV's team finished about one day later and they had a great time. I think MaKK's paddle with the constant sign of "BeaV, Paddle Harder" my have had something to do with their fast time.
Then we come to Team Kruger (ManitouCruiser and MooseLicker) who abandoned their team leader (me) so they could paddle and portage faster to the finish. I tried to tie a line onto ManitouCruiser's Sea Wind, but he was too fast and got away.
Mzee and Voyager finished next and showed that some (but not all) 70 year olds can finish this event. They did a remarkable job.
In the Voyageurs Challenge we only had one canoe with LaughingWarrior and Hylidae having fun. I could not believe how heavy their canoe is!!!! They both looked great coming in with heavy loads like it was easy. LaughingWarrior was carrying their heavy canoe with a heavy pack and Hylidae was carring a heavy pack and two buckets (I still don't know what was in the buckets).
And finally a special thanks to Clint Waddell and his wife for meeting up with us at the start and the finish. His stories had everyone's rapt attention. Clint and Verlen are the inspiration for these events.
I'm already working on plans for next year.
