October's End

We're winding down here at Tuscarora. The paddling season is nearly over, we've closed a few of our cabins....it seems mostly hunters are visiting the Gunflint Trail, a quiet time for us.






I woke up on Saturday morning and I couldn't help the little jolt of snow joy. Remember when snow meant nothing but frolicking fun? This time though--I wondered about the team driving up to run.
The Cross Country team/parents gather on Saturday mornings, for the long slow training runs. Some run 10, some 5, some hike, some bike...........then we have breakfast. I love this tradition....Cook County has some beautiful trails. Since I'm usually late on the draw.....we hosted the very last one here at Tuscarora.

Chris is a unique coach. He is very blunt....during the Tuscarora Triathlon once he passed me running ---and said.."Well, at least you can swim." There is no room for false praise, but he is just as excited about improvement in his slowest runners as he is about his all-state runners. His goal is to promote life-long running fun and health. And he is full of success stories---along with a team of 40+ runners, which is really something for a small town and an independent sport.

So the run for the day - the Centennial Trail, in the bright sun---and snow. It's Shelby and Daniel's favorite, so .........they all slid through it! I think there is nothing so bonding as exercise in the blue sky snowy woods.

Later in the day, the Murder Mystery crowd showed up. This crowd is game for anything.



Notice the French Maid, the Butler.......and Fabio the pool boy.









Can you tell by the photo that shady Neil the chauffeur was the killer?











The sisters were dressed in lovely velvet gowns, .....and only one of them needed a chin-wax.









On Sunday--we decided to stay home for Halloween. We were a little nostalgic about that, the marking of a new era. We could have hauled into town, and even trick-or-treated---some kids do, but Daniel wryly realized that he's a little tall for that. 5 years ago trick-or-treating was the most fun thing imaginable, and now......they're sort of exempt. Nobody actually wants to go back in time, but for all of us (maybe especially me)......it was bittersweet.

So we went for a paddle (freezing) , Daniel made his pizza dough and carved a pumpkin, we watched a movie, and had a mellow Halloween. I felt lucky to live here, and lucky to still have time with the kids. It was really nice.