The Royce Files

Just came back from a place where you find a lot of these: Depot Signs   Maplelag Resort is a literal repository of  railroad depot signs and a bunch of other railroad signage.  In fact 2 of the lodges are named for former lines that served most of the region- Great Northern and Northern Pacific. From what I can discern, most of the signs are from towns in western Minnesota, North Dakota, and the prairie provinces of Canada. However, I do know there is a depot sign for my hometown which is just south of the Twin Cities. I have yet to discover its hanging place at the resort. My MFS (mostly Finnish spouse) and I enjoyed a few days respite by skiing 80 km at the resort. Yes, this was a vacation but we enjoy being outdoors even when it is 8 below. Plus you really need to ski with all the delicious food that the Maplelag kitchen cooks up for us not to mention the bottomless cookie jar of 5 flavors. The skiing was fantastic...

Shopping will continue to be a part of this festive time of year until....well until money and stores and desires cease to be. So not tomorrow or the next day. Christmas shopping can be a stressful holiday tradition because literally everybody does it. And this year there was more of it because of the early US Thanksgiving. I have tried to do most of my shopping online but I do run out of time and end up at the stores on Christmas Eve poring over merchandise, speculating what will be the best gift. I suspect the the Magi who visited the infant Jesus did not have the same dilemmas we do with Christmas shopping. There must have been an unwritten custom on how to give gifts to someone important. Gold and myrhh and francescence are not traditional given in these times. Ipods, Ipads, and Kindles seem to be all the rage. What would I get someone important? I would put much thought into it and look at potential items online and at store...

When you live in the United States there is much to be thankful. Though it seems we take much of it for granted- like paved roads and lights. I am thankful I can ride my bike just about anywhere. I am thankful there are wild places which we can still visit. I am thankful for my Mostly Finnish Spouse, who loves me even when I mess up and make mistakes. Way back in my college days- I was a DJ on KUMM in Morris. I started as a news reader and then did a little weekend show on regional music. One year, I think 1994, I wrote a Thanksgiving Pageant that some of my colleagues at the station decided to perform live on the air. You can find the full audio download here .

The following is a continuation of the log from the Sioux Hustler Loop hiking trip I took in October 2012. In this entry I meet up with hiking partner 3 Names and head for Orr, MN.  Voyageur Welcome Center in Orr  Due to a mutual friend's funeral- 3 Names and I met up in Thief River Falls. From there we drove to Clearbrook and spent the night out of the wet and chilly elements in a farmhouse of a Christian brother. We left the next morning for Bemidji where we left 3 Names truck and then proceeded through the northland towards Orr, MN. Upon our arrival to Orr we stopped at the Voyageur Information center. I did not realise how close we were to Voyageurs National Park. No info on the Sioux Hustler Trail was to be found at the center. We progressed into town to get a bite to eat at the grocery store. Apparently the A&W attached to the store must only be open in the summer. It was not particularly busy place but it was not dead either. Minu...

6/17/2022 Update: There are considerably more articles online about the Sioux Hustler Trail since I took this trip almost a decade ago. Most are narratives of treks taken upon this loop. The info from pemmican site linked to below is no longer online. The biggest news to come out about the trail was the discovery of the remains of a missing camper found near the area of the trail in 2019. There has been some maintenance done  around the Sioux Hustler but based on what I have read the trail is still mostly rugged.    Small map of Entry Point 15- Sioux Hustler Trail  A few weeks ago my friend Man of 3 Names I journeyed up to the BWCA to embark on an adventure. With it being October and the weather not always cooperative at that time of year (although in the past I have had some great October trips), I planned a rugged hiking trip. Our goal: hike the entire Sioux Hustler Loop . The challenge: the ~32 mile trail does not get much maintenance and is at best prim...

 how dapper   Ah Halloween, that holiday that while growing up in the church was conveniently avoided and replaced by the likes of the Hallelujah Hoe Down or the Holy Ghost Weenie Roast. Good reasons no doubt since my birth All Hallows Eve has become more about the gore and scare and more recently a little bit of sexy. And Christians really wanted to avoid the big scare that Frank Peretti  painted in a lot of his books. I think my 'brethern and sistern' responded in reactionary ways and did not engage the culture or have a desire to influence it. However, I am not going to delve into the merits of why or why not you should recognize Halloween. Too long, too complicated and I don't have time. I desire to be neutral towards it. So disguises, sweets, meeting neigbors- I like. Scares, gore, witchcraft and their ilk- I do not like. Strangely enough, Martin Luther decided to begin an scholarly engagement  t...

Quetico landscape The following series is a narrative from my first canoeing trip back over a decade ago into the wilderness of the Quetico. In this final episode we hike an old logging road, are visited by rain showers, and head back home. We went hiking the next day on trail north of our island campsite. We canoed to a closest entry point for the trail. It was not close enough so we ended up bushwhacking through the forest and underbrush until the trail was spotted. During that foray we discovered a wooden boat hidden in the woods. I am not sure how far we hiked but it took up much of the day. The trail deteriorated at a marsh that was once a beaver colony. There we made instant pudding. Unfortunately I had no water, just a little lemonade. In substitute of the water I added Tang. It was a regrettable decision. Orange and chocolate do not taste pleasing together. We returned the same route only exploring a spur that went to another lake. Along the...