sunset at dockside

At the end of a tough day in the sun, it’s a good bet you’ll find me along a shoreline waiting for Nature’s big finale, sunset. This trip brought us to the mouth of the Clam River on the deck of a well known Torch Lake watering hole, Dockside. All the front row seats for sunset were taken, so we claimed a table riverside with a clear view of the boat traffic and a pair of busy ducks.

Margarita. Shirley Temple. Chicken strips and French fries. A burger with all the fixings. We were all set for the show for a little more than $20. And we were making friends left and right. Our friend, colleague and MyNorth blogger, Lauren moonlights as a server at the Dockside and she let us snap a picture of Gnorth the Gnome. (read her blog.) Gnorth has attained celeb status. Once sighted, he was obligated to visit table after table for the ensuing photo opps. If you’d like to join the paparazzi, check out Gnorth’s webpage.

But the real star of the evening was the setting sun. And I wish the picture could do it justice.

Note: Gnorth made his MyNorth debut in this list of 75 fun things to do in summer. When the list appeared in the June 2009 issue, one mother told me she and a girlfriend had earmarked 20 things on this list with a goal of doing them all this summer.

Check out where we stayed that night and what we did in Alden the next day.