Belly Laughs

When’s the last time you laughed uncontrollably? I mean the deep down guttural laugh that goes on and on until your diaphragm muscles are screaming in pain… for me it’s been a while.

This week at Rustic Pines, we welcomed Katie’s mom & dad up to the property to take in the fall colors and the crystal clear sky covered with every star in the universe (so it seemed.)

It was quite an event to have them make the trip. What most would call an average trip to the north woods, was a big undertaking for Katie’s mother.

I like most, take my heath for granted. Although I’m experiencing aches and pains that come with getting older, I still have a fully functioning body, and could get out and run a mile or two, even if my life was not threatened. Most days, I don’t even think about it.

Paula (My mother-in-law), isn’t old by any stretch. She’s got many years ahead of her. Unfortunately, she’s plagued with Rheumatoid Arthritis, which has made mobility a challenge to say the least. If you want to know what kind of challenge, stand at the bottom of the stairs in your home, and ascend them without bending your knees. The task alone is daunting… I know, I’ve tried. Then imagine trying to do it with stabbing pain in both your knees. Not a pleasant thought.

When Katie told me that her folks were going to make the trip, my mind started racing to the things I needed to do to make our place more accessible to her mom. Don’t get me wrong, Paula is a tough ol’ bird, who wouldn’t have said a word even if we didn’t try to make it easier for her to get around. That said, our efforts were put forth to ensure the visit offered the least barriers to enjoyment of our spaces.

We’ve made two previous trips to Rustic Pines, that we didn’t write about on our blog, because we didn’t want to give away the surprise, and we also didn’t want to worry Paula. I’m sure if she’d had known, she would have told us not to bother. It wasn’t a bother for either I or Katie. Katie was incredibly excited to see her parents get out and enjoy the sights, and I was doing my best to be attentive to my wife. If it’s important to her, it’s important to me.

On the two previous trips, we spent time adding low rise steps in front of the outhouse and cabin. We acquired gravel from a friend up the road and created an even path from the cabin to the outhouse. All things that would allow her the freedom to move about on her own.

One day, on my way home from work, I called Katie to ask her opinion on an idea I had. Although I’m proud of our little cabin, and the awesome screen porch we built, I didn’t think it was cool to expect my mother-in-law to sit in or around our cabin, when there was so much more to see. My idea was to acquire a few quality minivan seats from my Brother-in-law, Dean Peterson at Upsala Motors, mount them to our 4’x8′ ATV trailer, and take the folks on a leisurely ride through the fall colors of Superior National Forest. Katie agreed that the idea was a good one, and at once “operation “Princess Cart”, as Katie declared, was a go. At home, the seats were modified and bolted to the trailer, and with the help of a neighbor and my wife, rigorous testing was performed throughout our neighborhood and the ditches of highway 10. I filled two tumblers with their preferred adult beverages, ran the route, and observed evidence of spillage upon completion of the test. They both agreed that the ride was smooth enough as long as I kept the speed down and avoided the ditch along highway 10.

Friday came, and with the forecast of rain, we wrapped the seats in plastic, loaded supplies and the dog, and headed out for Rustic Pines. Paula and Dave were driving up on Saturday, and would not arrive until they after checked into the hotel in Two Harbors. Saturday morning was spent on last minute preparations, which included building a set of steps for the “Princess Cart”. Katie made several trips up to Fire Tower Hill to check for text messages from her mom, and finally we got the word that they were on their way.

We towed the trailer to the same clearing where my sister and brother-in-law parked the massive RV when my parents came up. We decided that our muddy driveway (we’ve had a lot of rain lately), was best un-navigated by Katie’s folks. After dropping the trailer, we headed for the blacktop to meet and guide them in. As Paula and Dave followed us in, the clouds were clearing and the fall colors seemed to be brilliant along the road. We arrived at the clearing, and quickly hooked up the trailer (princess cart) and deployed the stairs for Paula to climb.

photo courtesy of Dave Doyle

I’m not sure what their initial thoughts were, but they were smiling as we pulled away from the clearing.

Once we arrived at our tiny cabin, Katie showed off our north woods digs, and conversation turned to what we’ve accomplished, and what we planned to do. Dave seemed to be drawn to the pond outside the cabin because he is a bit of a dragonfly expert. The four of us walked the path that skirts the pond. Katie had been so diligently clearing it in the past weeks and these were our first visitors to use the trail. A proud moment for me for sure! Dave had his camera slung around his neck, and was taking photos of the landscape as we took our stroll. After the trip by the pond, I led them over to our tamarack stand. Dave seemed to get very excited over the type of moss that covered the tamarack bog. Apparently, it’s the favored habitat for a specific type of dragonfly. I extended an open invitation to him and his fellow dragonfly aficionados at the dragonfly society and he seemed receptive to the idea… who knows, maybe we’ll become a haven for dragonfly hunters?

photo courtesy of Dave Doyle

We also walked our way up the path to the old homestead and took in the sights along the large wetland that borders our land to the east. There, Dave and I parted ways with Katie and Paula, who made their way back to the camp fire. Dave and I headed deep into the woods towards the “black forest”, and made the loop around the sizable tamarack grove, taking photos along the way.

Once back at the cabin, more wood was added to the camp fire, drinks were made, charcoal was fired up, and dinner was prepared. Paula asked Dave to pick up some steaks for grilling in advance of their trip up. Dave did not disappoint. I was left wondering just how many cows were involved in the making of our dinner… Katie had marinated shrimp for grilling, and also cooked up some mashed potatoes. Dinner was topped off with the requisite fireside consumption of s’mores as the sunlight faded over the horizon and gave way to a crystal clear sky full of every star imaginable. We moved to the picnic table, extinguishing every light we could, while Dave set up a telescope he brought along for an up close look at the constellations. We even caught a peek at some fast moving satellites in the sky. I counted three of them visible at the same time. We all smiled and waved hello to the NSA.

As evening drew to a close, we loaded up the princess cart and drove Dave and Paula back to their car. We said goodnight, and I cautioned them to watch for deer on the way back to the hotel… the deer must have heard me, as there were a few in the ditches greeting them as they drove by.

But what about the “Belly Laughs”? Well, with Katie’s parents tail lights fading in the distance, she climbed aboard the princess cart for the trip back to the cabin. Did I mention that we’ve gotten a bit of rain in the past weeks? Free from fear of jostling my precious mother-in-law, I hit the gas and stayed on it till we reached the cabin. ATV’s can be loud, and my hearing isn’t what it used to be, so I heard no complaints. However, when I screeched to a halt and killed the engine, the first thing I heard, was Katie exclaiming “YOU ARE NOT VERY NICE!” It was dark, and I didn’t understand what she was so upset about, I mean, she’d driven fast on the ATV before, what was the big deal? With a little illumination provided by a mobile phone, I discovered what the fuss was all about. My poor girl was covered head to toe in globs of mud thrown off by the ATV tires. Now I love my wife, but to be honest, to say I wouldn’t intentionally undertake such an effort would be a bald faced lie, but this was unintentional. Scouts honor. Which, taken in context, made it all the better… it was like Christmas morning, a surprise birthday party, and hitting the lottery all rolled into one. I don’t know why it was so funny to me, but I laughed until my gut hurt, then laughed some more. Katie might not have been laughing, but the look of her covered in mud will bring a smile to my face for years. These are the memories that make life awesome.

Paula and Dave arrived early the next morning for a breakfast of flapjacks and bacon. The dog seemed to wear holes in the cabin floor with her wagging tail as she visited each of us for “her share” of the pancakes and bacon. After breakfast, we boarded the princess cart, and headed off down one of the many trails. We wanted to take our guests to the location of our failed fishing hole. The elevation offered a great vista for Dave and Katie to snap photos. We were treated to the sight of a train rolling by the intersection and the conductor blew the horn and waved as he passed by. We spent time hunting for agates along the road, and discussing sedimentary rocks. The sky was filled with rows of clouds swiftly moving by and offering great contrast to the green pines and fall colors. After a while, we loaded up the cart and headed back to the cabin, but not too fast. We stopped from time to time for Dave to snap a landscape photo or to take in the wildlife. The grouse were out collecting gravel, and we even saw a bald eagle soaring above.

photo courtesy of Dave Doyle

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. We dropped Paula and Dave off at their car, so they could head out to take in a few sights on their trip home. They both thanked us for the fun weekend before driving off, and something inside told me that the memories of this weekend would be cherished for quite a while. Once again, as Katie’s parents taillights faded into the distance, she climbed aboard the princess cart for the trip back to the cabin. Noticing the devilish grin on my face, she chose the seat with her back to the ATV, as to stave off any shenanigans.

We spent the afternoon putting the cabin to bed, spending a few moments of “just us” time, and of course, cutting, splitting, and stacking, more wood than we used during the weekend. It was 5 PM before we hit the road for home, and as usual, our hearts hurt a little knowing we were leaving. Needless to say, we’re already excited about our next trip and the plans to clear a spot for our “forever cabin”.