Jan and Jen have houseguests this week, Marcus and Susanna from Hanover Germany. This morning we went to breakfast at Jordie's Cafe. Jordie transformed the parking lot next to the cafe into a wonderful outdoor seating area.
You might wonder what there is to do in Bowlus that would motivate us to take a rest day. When Jan and Jen told us about "cross rocks," we knew we wanted to go look for them. They can only be found in this area and one other place in Russia. First stop is to borrow a sifter from the stand outside Jordie's.
Then you ride another 4 miles down the Soo Line Trail which is the next section beyond the Lake Wobegon Trail. Dick also brought a shovel in the Bob trailer.
After crossing the bridge in front of Blanchard Dam, you follow the canoe portage trail down to the water.
Then you sit in the gravel/rocks and sift rocks looking for twinned staurolite crystals, called "cross rocks." It took a couple of hours, but Susanna and I were lucky. We each found one 3/8" specimen of good quality. I actually came back with a bag of staurolite crystals which I will mail to brother-in-law Tom, a geologist who loves this kind of thing. Dick rolled his eyes at the thought that I'm going to carry a bag of rocks on my bike. The best way to see a picture of "cross rocks" is to go to this website:
http://www.littlefallsmn.com/CrossRocks.php
Our tent is pitched in the shade of the yard with a most comfy, sleep-inducing hammock nearby.
In the evening, Marcus and Susanna made us a German specialty: potato pancakes with homemade applesauce. Absolutely delicious.
After dinner, we enjoyed beer, conversation, and Revel Bars for dessert on the deck.
To aid digestion, we also had a little (just a little) frozen Linie Aquavit. A great big thank-you to Jen and Jan for their generous hospitality. We had a great time staying with you.
The Revel Bars were so delicious, Jen is going to send me the recipe and I'll post it in this blog.
You might wonder what there is to do in Bowlus that would motivate us to take a rest day. When Jan and Jen told us about "cross rocks," we knew we wanted to go look for them. They can only be found in this area and one other place in Russia. First stop is to borrow a sifter from the stand outside Jordie's.
Then you ride another 4 miles down the Soo Line Trail which is the next section beyond the Lake Wobegon Trail. Dick also brought a shovel in the Bob trailer.
After crossing the bridge in front of Blanchard Dam, you follow the canoe portage trail down to the water.
Then you sit in the gravel/rocks and sift rocks looking for twinned staurolite crystals, called "cross rocks." It took a couple of hours, but Susanna and I were lucky. We each found one 3/8" specimen of good quality. I actually came back with a bag of staurolite crystals which I will mail to brother-in-law Tom, a geologist who loves this kind of thing. Dick rolled his eyes at the thought that I'm going to carry a bag of rocks on my bike. The best way to see a picture of "cross rocks" is to go to this website: http://www.littlefallsmn.com/CrossRocks.php
Our tent is pitched in the shade of the yard with a most comfy, sleep-inducing hammock nearby.
In the evening, Marcus and Susanna made us a German specialty: potato pancakes with homemade applesauce. Absolutely delicious.
After dinner, we enjoyed beer, conversation, and Revel Bars for dessert on the deck. 
To aid digestion, we also had a little (just a little) frozen Linie Aquavit. A great big thank-you to Jen and Jan for their generous hospitality. We had a great time staying with you. 
The Revel Bars were so delicious, Jen is going to send me the recipe and I'll post it in this blog.
Has anyone ever seen a little girl have more fun in sandbox than Arlete sifting for cross rocks?
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