The spoils of resilience!

What’s up, Hive? I’m doing a wellness check on all of you after the last few days of bloodshed in the market. Honestly, Hive has held up pretty well. Of everything I’m holding, Hive was extremely resilient. I’m currently at a cabin in Northern Minnesota with @ghostfish. If you read either of our blogs with any regularity, this is going to sound familiar. I would suggest reacquainting yourself with a few blogs from December of last year.

@kommienezuspadt/the-storm

@kommienezuspadt/the-cabin

@ghostfish also wrote a four part blog about this disastrous misadventure, so check his blog out as well.

@ghostfish/the-quiet-charm-of-nowhere-pt2

We planned for a two day writer’s retreat to Isabella, MN at the end of last year. I had just gotten my Tesla and was looking forward to its first stress test against the harsh Minnesota weather. It would be a test that the Model Y ultimately failed, nearly colliding with other cars as it slid down a Duluth hill. Upon arriving at an uninhabitable cabin with single digit temperatures and no way to heat about 40°, the car also had a heat pump failure, even in defeat as we drove home.

The owner of the cabin did offer us the chance to rebook in the spring, and this was our opportunity to right some wrongs. We left Saturday morning after a sushi lunch with @lovejoy and @roadscape. I picked @ghostfish up, and from the very start, this felt like the trip we hoped for a few months ago. Perfect weather, no traffic, quick charging and no delays. We got to the cabin Isabella. The outside temperature was in the mid 40’s°. Once we got a fire going, it was cozy. The remoteness and quiet is what we longed for since last year.

On our second day, we sat and wrote for hours. I realized I’d forgotten my contact solution and toothpaste and after a quick search, the nearest grocery store was 45 minutes towards Finland. We decided to make the drive because less than 10 minutes from that destination was Palisade Head. Palisade Head is a massive 100+ foot cliffside bluff on the edge of Lake Superior. This crazy sonuvbitch has climbed it, as did, @velveteendream. Just standing on the edge was almost too much for me.

I got some specular drone footage of the view, then upon returning to camp, some aerial footage of the cabin grounds. It was great to get the Mavic Air out again. Much of the rest of the trip, @ghostfish and I have spent in our respective chairs. He’s reviewing Blue Flame and I’ve been writing for @mirrorpool. We’ve spent an hour each night in the sauna here at Snowshoe, talking about sex, drugs and metal. Really, I couldn’t have asked for a better time. We even stayed an extra day, going back tomorrow. I’ll share more sights and moments tomorrow.