The Boundary Waters - Part 4

Well, eventually, we had to leave our very awesome campsite on Cherokee Lake, and make our way back home.  That meant we had to go through the same tough portages as we did on Day #2.  It was easier, slightly, because we knew what to expect.

Floating down the Cherokee Creek to our first portage in the morning.  I found a frog in my canoe, and handed it over to Kiddo #3 in the Blue Canoe eventually.

See that big pack in the front of my canoe - in front of Kiddo #2?  That is a heavy pack to add to the 59 pounds of Kiddo #2.  

I discovered trim is very important in a canoe.

Beaver dam - You gotta get out of the boat, stand on the dam,

and lug the canoe up and over.  

Usually, they are pretty shallow and easy.

Once on the other side, make sure 

everybody is on board before paddling away.

Here's a few pictures of our final campsite - our 5th night.  It was pretty rocky all over.  I think mountain goats would have a tough time traversing this site.  

There were only 2 good tent pads, so we set up my tent on the far outskirts of the lower tent pad.  I was sleeping on a few pretty big rocks for the night.  It wasn't too bad, because when you're tired enough, you can sleep anywhere.

This site did have some great views though.

 And the next day, we worked on paddling out of the wilderness.

Only 5 miles or so to go in the morning, and it was a nice morning with only a little breeze.

Here's the ol' Blue Canoe coming into Sawbill Landing.  By this time, Kiddo #1 up front was pretty tired, so they were slow going.  A well earned rest ahead.

One more trip post to make - the trip home.

The Boundary Waters - Part 3

For part 3, I'll introduce you to our awesome, and most favorite campsite.  The best feature of this site was the big rock outcropping.  From here, we were able to see a 270 degree panorama of the lake.  And it was a great place for star-gazing.

The rock is just one of the many amenities of this site.  There was also a little cove off to the side that let kids swim safely.  

I even took a dip.  My t-shirt could use a washing,

so I simply went swimming with it on.

It was also a great place just to hang out and enjoy the warm afternoon.

 A little ways off the rock was the slightly submerged bolder that was fun to swim out to.   

Camp life was good.  We let the kids swim, and play cards, and run around and do as they please.  We were able to relax in this site.  

Here's the definition of chillin' out.  Kiddo #3 looks like he fell asleep with this snack mix in his cup.

Dusk was a nice time at this camp site.  The loons called as the sun set.  Kiddo #3 wanted his picture taken with the moon in the background.  

Also at dusk time, we read books on the rock.  It was a good way to end the day.

The Boundary Waters - Part 2

We take off to the wilderness!

We have 3 canoes for this adventure.  My canoe is the Mad River Expedition (18 feet 6 inches long,  Kevlar, 55 pounds), and paddling up front is my Kiddo #2.

The rest of my family is in the Blue Canoe, the Swift Winisk at 17 feet long, and about 53 pounds or so.  (I haven't officially weighed it yet.)  Kiddo #1 is up front, Kiddo #3 is duffing in the center, or more accurately, bouncing around in the center, and Lovely Wife is paddling stern: 

Our friends rented a 3 person canoe.  Seated in the center are the two girls side by side.  They could really move out in that outfit.  I tried out their canoe sometime during this trip, and was impressed with how well it handled and its stability.  

I don't have any pictures of our first night's campsite, but suffice it to say, it was a pretty small site.  The picture below is a standard campsite "kitchen" with a fire grate.  We cooked all of our meals over a backpacker stove.  The camp chairs were super nice - it really beats sitting on a wet log.

Kiddo #2 is demonstrating the water filter.  It is a blue bag of lake water that runs through a filter and into a water bottle (via gravity).  Giardia and other water "bugs" are in the water, but can be avoided if you are careful.  Some people take a chance and don't treat their water.  I chose the more conservative path of filtering.  

In the middle of the big Cherokee Lake, we found a couple of big rocks suitable for climbing on.  Later on in the week, we would swim out to these rocks from our awesome campsite that I will show you.

Sometimes, those big rocks are just barely submerged

 and makes for a good "walking on water" picture.

At the end of the day, we were rewarded with a great sunset.  If you look real close, you can see a rock outcropping on the left side of this picture.  That will be our campsite for the next 2 nights.  

Yes - the next day, we decided to switch campsites from our super small site to one with a great rock peninsula to play on.  As a teaser for the upcoming Part 3, here is Kiddo #3 chilling out with lunch on that big rock peninsula the next day.  

More to come....

The Boundary Waters - Part 1

Our trip up north to the Boundary Waters was just great.  We, along with another family, spent 6 days and 5 nights out in the wilderness.  But first, we had to get there.

Here we are loaded down with the 2 canoes strapped tightly on top.  From home, we had 700 miles to travel to the north.

Along the way, we stopped in Chippewa Falls.  They have a great park and zoo that is all free.  Kids burned off some car energy bouncing around.

This is one of the tunnels along the north shore highway of Minnesota.  This is the view from the passenger seat of the van.

We took another healthy stop at Gooseberry Falls and hiked around the property.  Kiddo #3 always has to strike a pose when he sees the camera come out.

Another shot of Gooseberry Falls.

We hiked around and got to the upper falls.  Along the hike, Kiddo #1 showed off her amazing strength!

We finally made it to our final destination.  Sawbill Canoe Outfitters on Sawbill Lake is a great starting point for entering the BWCA.  We even found a great sale on used gear, and bought 2 bent-shaft paddles for a great price.  

We geared up and packed our packs before heading out.  Here, the 3 kids are showing off the new packs I made for each of them.  They worked out tremendously well.  Each kid could haul their own gear, and the older 2 even hauled some of the communal gear.  

Those are Canadian bug shirts on the two boys.  Borrowed from a Guy at work - they worked out very well for this trip.

 Kiddo #3 is ready to go, and is marching his gear down to the Sawbill landing.  Our adventure starts with the next blog post!

Chopped Hair

Our Number One Kiddo has had long hair for ages.  The problem is it gets tangled up easily.  In the same breath, she doesn't untangle her hair or care very well for it, so that chore falls on the Loving Wife.  She's getting pretty well tired of dealing with it every day, so off it goes.

Today was the day for the big chop.  I'm very pleased with the results.  I think she looks like a little lady.

Catching Up Through Pictures

Wow - where did the last 2 months go!  I can't believe time flies so fast.  Here are the top 10 happenings since my last posting:

1.  Spring Fling at Purdue (but we're old enough to know it as the Bug Bowl)

(yup - that's ol' John Purdue below)

 

2.  Easter.  We spent the day with some friends, and went to a local park for a few pictures of the families.

  (And the obligatory egg hunt afterwards)

3.  Fat Night

4.  Cub Scout Shootout - with archery

 and BB guns

and sling shots (with dog food as ammunition)

5.  Pre-Kindergarten Graduation

6.  The Flood - just another spring shower

7.  The Monster Lego Set - So we've been teaching Kiddo #2 about money.  He decided to pool all his Christmas money, Birthday money, some bank money (and a loan from Kiddo #1) to buy the Lego set 42055 - The Bucket Wheel Excavator.

It has just under 4000 pieces.  The instruction book is 550 pages.  

 It took him a solid 4 days of work, with some tender fingers thereafter.

8.  Mother's Day - it was a beautiful day of weather.

9.  Portage Pads - for carrying the canoes.  Once I made up my mind, I was able to make them rather quickly.

10.  Kiddo #3 Sleeping.  Nothing too special, other than rounding out my tenth place to make a nice even number.