Cook, MN

We arrived in Cook after a week near Duluth, MN. Cook is way out in the "boonies" on the border of boundary waters, an area in northern MN which has thousands of lakes and nothing else. No one lives in the boundary waters and there are no roads. It is a wilderness where individuals can go on canoe expeditions.

We plan to stay here for 2 days and then drive up past International Falls to a locations in NW MN which is the farthest north you can go in the US.

The weather for the past week has been cloudy, rainy, and cool. It is hard to believe that it is August 22.  Average temps have been in the 60's, but feels cooler.

While camping near Duluth we spent 3 days with Barb and Mike Lhotka. Barb and I met 3 1/2 years ago when Salus created a cohort of students from MN. Barb and Mike have a camper and joined us on our adventures up north. They took us to a historic home, Glensheen, built in Duluth in 1908 by an iron magnate. One day we drove to Ely, MN to a wolf conservation center and shopped in several outfitter stores for people who go into the boundary waters. Yesterday we drove to Grand Marais. In each city we ate pies (apparently that is very popular up here). While I hoped to lose weight on this trip I have, so far, done the opposite. Eating all those pies doesn't help!