Is there such a thing as a real vacation anymore? I recently took a full week off and headed to the Great White North and then into Minnesota’s Northwest Angle. The stresses and strains of work and certain things, not pertaining to work, was not whispering but shouting at me to get out of town NOW! I have a family relative who has a cabin on Lake of the Woods at the “Angle” and he said anytime to stop up to Roseau, pick up the key at my aunts and relax. My aunt came with and was my guide on the back roads to the cabin and the next door neighbor was our guide on the lake. Now, they had so much rain up there that Lake of the Woods had gone up 4 ½ feet in early summer. Water was literally lapping at the back of some of the cabins. When I got there I was told these were the most beautiful days of the season. The huge body of water was like a sheet of glass. Hardly a ripple could be seen. The sun shined brightly and the mosquitos were bearable. The wildlife was not as abundant at I thought it would be but we did see some deer, and a lot of waterfowl.

Just down the road from the cabin was the Angle Inlet School. The only one room school house in the state of Minnesota. This year’s enrollment….Five! It’s amazing that one of these schools stills exists. The students are all grade school age, from 1st thru the 6th grade. When some of the younger students are receiving direct studies from the teacher, the older kids will be studying on the computer or doing a group project. By the way, each student has their own computer station. The length of the class day is standard with the rest of the state and they didn’t start until after Labor Day. It is not unusual for the teacher to come to work by boat in the fall and spring, and by snowmobile across the lake in the winter months. I know what you’re thinking! “Bob what happens after 6th grade?” The student is bused to Warroad for Junior high (or middle school), a drive of almost two hours each way.

Of course you need a passport to get between countries. Going into Canada at the Roseau crossing, I was asked two questions: “Where are you from?” and “Is there any alcohol or firearms in the car?” I answered “Fargo” and “no” respectively and was then told to have a nice trip. Now, getting home was a different matter. Stopping at the Roseau crossing again I was asked to see my passport card. It was in the protective sleeve you get with it when it’s issued to you. It was dirty from the special lining inside this protective sleeve and their automatic reader couldn’t read it. The guard tried to clean it up, but had to enter the information manually. I showed her the envelope and it read “keep in protective sleeve” and she said politely “That’s government for you.” I then had my trunk searched but I knew I shouldn’t have much back there or I’d be there all day. I had two bags, so the search was quick. I only had a jacket in the interior of the car so there was no problem there. In all, one minute to get into Canada and almost 20 minutes to get back in the states. And why do they ask if I’ve got $10,000 or more of cash on me? If I had that much I’d be flying and not driving!

I finished up the vacation in Bluestem for the “Roots on the Red” two day music festival. All great acts but I want to point out one of my favorites. “baskery” (they spell it with a small “b”)is a trio of sisters that hail from Stockholm Sweden but now live in Nashville. Their “banjo/punk” was a huge hit with the crowd that gathered at the Gazebo stage at Trollwood. One of their songs is called “Cat flap” and Stella Bondesson asked the audience if anybody knew what a “cat flap” was. I sheepishly raised my hand and gave the correct answer. The name is mainly European and refers to “doggy door” for cats! Check out their videos on Youtube because I see a big career for these ladies. A REAL vacation….I’ve had none better!