Voyageurs National Park

A couple weeks ago I took some extra time off so we could spend 5 days up on Rainy Lake at the Cabin. While on this mini vacation we also spent two nights camping in Voyageurs National Park on Rainy Lake. This was my first time camping on the lake and it was wonderful to be out there for a few days! We had the best conditions possible, the water was like glass and the sky was clear blue. If anything, it was a little on the chilly side!

To get to the camp site we got a tow from family.... the canoe was really going fast! We of course were not in the canoe, but in the boat, making sure the canoe didn't tip over while we went down the lake at 30 MPH.

While camping we spent two nights fishing from the canoe. Eric caught 6 fish! While Eric fished, I mostly read a book. I did cast a few times, but I didn't catch much other than weeds.

On our full day of camping we completed a 12 mile paddle exploring part of the Lake. The paddle consisted of crossing a big bay and then winding through a river/creek until it stopped. At the end of the creek was a 1.4 mile portage trail to an interior lake. Eric and I were more than excited to give our arms a rest and give our legs some exercise so we pulled the canoe on shore and started hiking. We got about 1/4 mile in when we came across a boardwalk... unfortunately it was not passable. Looked like a beaver dammed up a creek and it overflowed so much that we would not be able to pass without walking through some nasty water. So we turned around. We were bummed but got back in the canoe and headed back to camp!

When we weren't paddling we relaxed in the hammock, swam, read, and enjoyed each others company. As always we had 2 great sunsets on the lake. We also cooked on the fire and enjoyed its warmth when the sun went down. We were lucky enough to have a meteor shower the night we were there and saw some amazing shooting stars. We also saw a lot of wildlife on our camping trip, we saw deer, beaver, loons, geese, and lots of other birds. I am also pretty sure we had some raccoon visitors on our second night but I was not going to look outside our tent to see :) Here are some more pictures of our adventure: 



Our campsite location



Crazy Busy Summer Time

I can not believe it has been this long since I have blogged last....wow. We have been super busy with being gone almost every weekend this summer. Since going to Kauai we have gone to the cabin, gone camping and hiking, spent time with both of our families and friends, and before we knew it... school started again! So here is a quick re-cap of part of our summer time.....



Spent time with friends at the MPLS Aquatennial Fireworks (Jenessa, Oren and Jason - far right - we in town from living overseas.)



Eric and I ran a 5K called the Color Run with some friend. It was so much fun!



And we had colored powder all over us!



Spent the 4th of July on the St. Croix with my parents and friends DJ & Rachel

 

Spent a lot of good time on Rainy Lake & the St. Croix River

In the next few days I hope to blog about our camping/paddling trip, a summer birthday-costume-ski party, a surprise party for my Dad's 60th and a hiking trip on the N. Shore. Stay tuned!