Last Wednesday (the 24th) we left on what’s becoming our annual winter trip to Gunflint Lodge in Minnesota. January 28th is Pole’s birthday, so that’s primary reason we make the trip. Unfortunately, we only had a full three days up here, so the whole trip was rushed, and a bit of a disappointment, really. The entire last day — the 28th — was spent driving the 1000 miles from Gunflint (basically the Canadian border) to Chicago. Happy Birthday, Pole.

On our first full day we headed to Aitkin County, MN, and saw a lifer on County Road 18: a SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. And when I say “we”, I mean Pole. We caught a only quick glimpse of the bird as we drove past. I pulled over about 100 feet away, and as I was setting up the scope, it flew off. Pole, of course, watched the creature the whole time and saw its diagnostic tail feathers as it disappeared into the boreal wood. Typical. Further down the road, though, was a nice consolation prize: a couple of the always magnificent Great Gray Owls.

The next day, Friday, we made a trip to the Fond-du-Lac Conservation Department office in Cloquet, which is on an Indian Reservation. We went there was because there was a lot of excitement on the Minnesota bird lists about some unusual visitors: GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCHES. They weren’t around when we got there, but some people came out of the office and gave us encouragement, and soon enough, three of the birds showed up. We watched them for a while as they hopped around the potted plants. We actually came by to see them the day before, but missed them; we weren’t even sure it was the right location. It’s a very odd place for such a bird, and doubly odd that it’s so far out of its normal range. A lifer times two.

We spent a great deal of time on this trip driving. Gunflint Lodge isn’t really conveniently located for anything but Gunflint Lodge, so going south, as we always did, takes time. We also spent most of Saturday visiting the International Wolf Center in Ely. We were unimpressed, and the wolves seem bored and overfed. They’re neutered and spayed to make them more docile. But when they spayed the former omega wolf, they messed up big time. Apparently, one of her stitches opened up, and when the other wolves smelled the blood, they disemboweled her. So much for docile. The intern naturalist told us that, in the wild, bleeding packmates often get torn to shreds. First, I doubt it, and second, then the idiot naturalists shouldn’t have let Miss Omega in a pen with the other wolves. So in addition to being bored and overfed, the wolves are also neglected and psychotic. And hell, I can see wolves in Chicago at the Lincoln Park Zoo. The long drive to Ely was not worth it.

We had some time to kill in Ely, so we went to dinner at a funny little Italian restaurant. The food was OK, but it tasted like something your non-Italian mother might make. Strictly suburban. And when I asked for the smaller portion of lasagna, the waitress asked me if I wanted the senior portion (senior being 55 and up). That never happened to me before. Kind of humiliating, but Pole was absolutely delighted.

Another funny and memorable thing happened at a McDonald’s on the way home. Some woman there had a t-shirt that said: “If you could read my mind, you wouldn’t be here.” That sentence is totally illogical to me. I mean, if it said, “If you could read my mind, you’d know I despise you,” that would make sense. But the whole, “you wouldn’t be here” means — what? — that the reader would be offended by reading the wearer’s mind? Does not compute. Anyway, I was rattling along in this nerdy manner about the shirt, and Pole was getting more and more irritated. So I said to her, “I know what you’re thinking: ‘If you could read my mind, shut up.’ ” We repeated this joke for the rest of the drive home.

So what did we get out of this trip? Two lifers for Pole, one lifer for Scrubb, and 2500 miles for the odometer. We did have fun — we always have fun — but next birthday, we need a better plan.