I don’t write much about politics; I know, my father did. I believe

everyone has a right to an opinion and should vote that opinion. That

being said, I’m blown away by the state of California – first no water

in the hydrants, then they won’t take the water from a reservoir due to

a native frog. Now protests are allowed, and no, they are not peaceful,

and they are out of control. I lived in California – state income tax

12.3 percent, sales tax 9.75 percent in Los Angeles, and finally they

have a disability tax of 1.2 percent. The state has a multi-billion

dollar budget deficit. The state is full of homeless, riots out of

control, and yes, I was there last week – no idea where the money is

going – not into law enforcement or fire protection.

Isaiah and I spent last weekend camping in the Grand Tetons and

Yellowstone. Love both of these parks – pretty hard to describe how

beautiful and peaceful they are. We camped inside the Grand Tetons. It’s

pretty nice now – 20 years ago I had to help Isaiah do everything… now

he cooks, cleans up, and carries all the heavy stuff – AND helps pay for

the gas and food.

A friend of his gave us recommendations on what to do. We did two big

hikes in the Tetons – Jenny Lake Trail and Taggart Lake Trail. Then in

Yellowstone we did go see Old Faithful and we saw elk and buffalo, but

the coolest thing was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I didn’t want to

go see it – I was wrong! I don’t have words to describe it, but it was

amazing. We hiked about 15 miles a day and Isaiah brought about 40

pounds of camera equipment, so whenever he stopped to set up, I could

take a nap. His friend batted a 100 percent on places to go see. It was

great to get to spend four days with Isaiah and see these parks.

I then came up to Cook for the rest of the week. I spent one day fishing

– not catching on Lake Vermilion. Then I took the ATV out and went up to

trails on the Holm Logging Road. What a great place we have for enjoying

the outdoors. The only issue I had was the screws on my windshield came

out, so if you saw someone on an ATV carrying their windshield, that was

me. But outside of that minor mishap, I had a great day.

I know a lot of the area businesses are looking for help in the summer.

When Isaiah was in college, he would come up here and work for the

summer. There was plenty of work for him. It was at Moosebirds and

Head-O-Lake. Additionally, he would work at Fishers’ gaining experience

that helped him get into veterinarian school. Finally, it let him spend

time with his grandparents. If you have family outside of the area, you

might want to let them know. There are not many places where you can be

on the lakes or ride the trails. I think Isaiah’s time up here has

helped him to become a very successful veterinarian and when he does

come back and IF I catch a northern, he can clean it with no bones – I

can’t.