: Hello all,

: Well I am back from a trip to Minnesota for a wedding. Thanks to
: all who responded to my request for locations to find white oak.
: That's why I love this forum. I ended up instead spending all my
: money on tools! I just want to say that you guys can never ever
: rag on me again for the beautiful waters I paddle in, because
: now I have seen western red cedar at Home Depot for around $1.50
: a board foot. I was like a kid on a sugar rush.

: It started with a trip to Menard's where I got the new Porter Cable
: 892 router for just $165! This is the one with the built-in lift
: mechanism so you can lift it from the top of a router table when
: used in such a way. I was disappointed to find that the handle
: for the lift mechanism is sold separately, but stoked to get the
: router at that price! Then I went through the tool section: 24
: router bits for $49. INSANE! HVLP spray gun (although not the
: highest quality one) for $26!!! We were running behind, so I
: didn't get to go to the wood section but I did rack up on tools.

: THEN I believe it was Dave that posted a response that Rockler had
: a store in Minnesota. What? Rockler? The place I go online and
: drool over all their beautiful blue-anodized router accessories?
: Could it be? Turns out he was right. Apparently they even have a
: home office in MN. So on the way back from the wedding I asked
: if we could make a detour. Lo and behold it turned out it was
: the next exit. Walking into Rockler was like passing through the
: gates of heaven, except instead of streets paved in gold there
: were aisles paved in blue anodized aluminum. Amy said "Oh
: my God, he's never leaving." My friend's kid was running
: amuck and I was being told "Hurry up, we need to get Gavin
: home." Ugh... So I had little time, but enough time to get
: the tool for the router lift that didn't come with the router, a
: router plate, a fence, and some t-slots. As I cried and screamed
: and held for dear life onto the salesman's arm I was dragged out
: of the store before I could buy anything else.

: I also went to Home Depot and got the plunge router base for my
: Dremel tool so I can do inlays much easier. I picked up a new
: chuck for $6 that was going for $12 locally. That was when I
: smelled the amazing wonderful aroma of CEDAR!!! OMG. They had
: cedar in up to 6x6" and lengths to 15'. I was in bliss. I
: was picking up cedar and smelling it. A guy walked past me and
: looked at me kind of funny. I think I was drooling. I was
: literally saying aloud "OMG, they have a whole aisle just
: for cedar! Oh look- cedar decking, and look- cedar posts, cedar
: planks..." So anyway I decided not to try shipping any wood
: since it was now Sunday and a holiday weekend. I do wonder now
: why my HD doesn't get in the furniture grade pine that the ones
: in the US have. We have red oak and poplar, but that's it. Our
: other lumber is horribly crooked and knotty. No cedar, no
: redwood, and a lot less tools.

: Another thing I saw was nearly every house had a garage, which I
: was calling a "workshop." "Look dear, they have a
: workshop." "That's a garage, not a workshop."
: "Maybe to you it is." We walked through a neighborhood
: and every single house had a workshop either attached or
: detached. :-) Down here land and building costs are too
: expensive. Only the mega-rich have garages. I am fortunate to
: have a spare room that opens to a porch so I can have a workshop
: where I can roll all the tools outside for mess-making.

: So next time I post a picture of clear blue water, sunny skies, and
: white sandy beaches, you can't complain. Just respond with a
: picture of Home Depot's cedar section, or Rockler's storefront!
: By the way, I must say that the water in the St. Croix river was
: pretty brown. Even the stern wake from powerboats was brown. It
: was also getting cold. 60 degrees- which to me is freezing. At
: least winter is a great excuse to build a boat! I guess
: everything is a tradeoff. By the way another thing- food cost.
: Four adults and one kid had dinner in MN for $36. The first
: night home we (just two people) went out for just an appetizer,
: one bowl and one cup of soup, and two beers each... $48 without
: tip.

: Thanks to those that responded, especially Dave for letting me know
: Rockler was in town. I actually buy from them online but didn't
: realize they had retail outlets. Dave you are a saint in my
: book, but Amy isn't too happy with you! :D So I went to MN with
: one carry-on bag, and returned home with three checked bags
: chock-full uf tools!

Hi Malcolm,

Too bad you didn't have a couple more days, not "that" far away yesterday we were running a perfectly clear local creek with about a 5 mph current, only time you couldn't see the bottom was when it was raining (4 times). Otherwise was perfect. We're going back in a couple weeks to paddle the headwaters of this same creek, only about 10' wide at the put-in :) Overall this creek is about 30 miles long and crystal clear and full of fish.

Bill H.