Good news! They are calling the Ham Lake Fire 100% contained on the US side, and the Gunflint Trail and the BWCA (with the exception of the Granite River) should be open for "buisiness as usual" starting on Tuesday, if all goes as planned. We're ready to begin a normal summer here at Tuscarora, and our guests will return on Tuesday.
We woke up to snow.
Andy slept more soundly as the piece of the north side of Round Lake was covered in snow. On May 10th we left Andy to shuttle the fire fighters to attack the blaze from the water. Fire fighter Stefan Moran generously sent us this photo taken from the boat---the scene of the fire on Round Lake that has been haunting Andy since that afternoon. 
Like other parents, Andy and I constantly evaluate whether we are doing right by our kids—whether the choices we make help them to grow to be the best they can be. I remember on May 5th, comforting my distressed kids in the car after driving through the flames and I wondered--is this going to mar them for life?
Daniel had a chance to fish today; we’re reflecting on these last two weeks. We’ve had a little taste of displacement, we’ve worried about Andy’s safety, we’ve had moments when we’ve wondered whether we had lost our home and possessions. But we didn’t. We had no tragedy. Maybe this experience will help enhance our compassion for those who have lost their people, their homes and communities to natural disaster or war, for those who do not get to call it over and return to their regular lives after a mini “adventure tragedy”. It has certainly helped us all to count our blessings today.
Daniel had a chance to fish today; we’re reflecting on these last two weeks. We’ve had a little taste of displacement, we’ve worried about Andy’s safety, we’ve had moments when we’ve wondered whether we had lost our home and possessions. But we didn’t. We had no tragedy. Maybe this experience will help enhance our compassion for those who have lost their people, their homes and communities to natural disaster or war, for those who do not get to call it over and return to their regular lives after a mini “adventure tragedy”. It has certainly helped us all to count our blessings today.
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3 comments:
Thank you for your descriptions of the conditions in the Boundary Waters area. Our family has enjoyed being able to have a place to check and see what is going on, not just the facts, but the feelings, the descriptions of the hard choices in life, wondering how the experiences impact the future of everyones life, especially children. The caring the sharing. I would suggest you consider writing a book someday.
Thank you for sharing the experience with us. We are thankful you all are back as a family and safe...along with all of the other fine people of the North Country!
I find it incredible that you shared so much of your emotions thru the entire ordeal. There were times I was reading your messages with tears in my eyes. Both for the incredible amount of pain you were going thru and the staggering amount of grace with which you dealt with it. What a phenomenal person!
I wanted to comment on one thing…you were pondering the effect the fire, and perhaps your northwoods lifestyle, might have on your children.
I think that we all struggle with the impact our decisions will have on our children, no matter what the circumstances. However, we must live our lives as honestly and authentically as we can. Children learn what they see and they see so very much. They will see us following our dreams and working toward our goals and without knowing why, they will be encouraged to do the same in their lives. The best gift we can give them is the courage to live our convictions.
Thank you again for sharing a piece of yourself with us and for keeping us up to date with what was happening. Not too many folks in Central MN even knew there was a fire. It was nice to have a place to go for good information.
I cannot wait to get back to Tuscarora!
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