From Voyageurs National Park on FB: Called “Catamaran” by locals, Bert Upton is among the strangest of historical characters on area waters. He lived in a hut built over a dug-out at Squirrel Narrows. Found frozen to death in the 1930s by Kettle Falls pioneer Oliver Knox; Upton was perched lifeless in the snow just a half-mile from his home. Shunning civilization, Upton defined the word hermit. First spotted rowing his crude log raft on Namakan, no one knows how he got there. Upton’s accent implied an English heritage but any personal inquiries brought a stony silence. Some suspected him a man fleeing the law; others saw a bizarre outcast; everyone knew he was peculiar. Just five feet tall and wildly unkempt, Catamaran wore hacked-off pants and walked barefoot with a stick. Winter demanded shoes but no socks, a cast-off Mackinaw, and a trailing cap made from the leg of old underwear. He was oddly religious, and suspicious of being poisoned. Surviving on snared rabbits and fish, he ofte...
Have a happy birthday!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Erik! Aside from going out Saturday night, we're going to try to watch every Marvel movie in order over the weekend.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great plan!
ReplyDeleteMy wife, who is not half self-proclaimed a geek as me, has been checking out all the Marvel movies (we own a few) from the library. I suspect Chris Helmsworth, Chris Evans, and Chris Pratt have something to do with her interest. I know she likes Ryan Renolds too, since she married a handsome wise mouth!