Babine’s grandfather served in the Coast Guard, an unlikely choice for a landlocked kid raised on a farm in southwestern Minnesota, and one that his family disparaged – the land being solid, and the water less so. Perhaps that is his legacy: a legacy of water. Babine’s emotional home is her grandparents’ cabin on Third Crow Wing Lake, where she spent time each summer. She grew up in Northern Minnesota, three blocks from Lake Belle Taine, learning to swim in the frigid June waters. She spent every last day of elementary school at the Headwaters of the Mississippi, skillfully climbing over slippery rocks. She took school trips to Duluth, where she learned about the power of the lake to take down ships. She marvels at the weight of a bucket of water – forty pounds – so heavy for something so clear.