I should finish up my story about our trip to Minnesota, right?
Friday
We arrived at Camp Friday afternoon. A few other people were there, and we went in and said hi, and figured out where we should park. But before anything else, the boys and I headed right down the path to the lake! There were a couple of cousins I knew, along with one of their kids. Before you know it, shoes were off, boys were out on the dock, feet were in the water.
As more people arrived, we had a fun time meeting everyone and figuring out how we were related. The evening was hot and humid, and there were definitely lots of mosquitoes. I was beginning to wonder if we were going to have two days of misery ahead of us! Eventually, the boys ended up in the lake, shorts and all, and had a great time with new cousins. Really, that's what we came for, so mission accomplished.
We slept in bunks, and it was not the most comfortable arrangement - for one thing, we did not bring the best bedding; but a few hours of swimming makes a boy sleep well, and everyone bunked in and did fine.
Saturday
BFJ and some of the boys went down to the lake early in the morning, and scared up some loons who gracefully skimmed off into the fog. The first thing I did on Saturday was get dressed and take an early walk through the forest with BFJ. Every step smelled like Christmas trees, fresh and piney. We spotted lots of interesting fungus and I was thrilled to find not one, but three, beautiful spiderwebs, with great backgrounds and beautiful lighting. What more can a photographer ask for?
bracket fungus and lichen
spiderweb... you probably knew that
We went to breakfast and then right down to the lake. We spent several hours there, wading, swimming, canoeing, boating... Pretty much, we spent the day on the lake. BFJ and I attempted a four-person canoe ride which threatened to dump us all in the water, and was short-lived. Then, my dad gave me a canoe lesson and we went around a small island - you can actually see it in this photo of some of the kids jumping off the dock!
We all got rides on the speed boats, supplied by Cousin Greg and Cousin Darrell, and four of us got rides on the inner tube things pulled behind the boats. My parents even tried it, and they also had a canoe ride. We ended the day with a luau with 90-ish relatives, and a white elephant gift exchange which was fun, but I think we'll all remember the water most!
Sunday
A rainy morning was highlighted by a pair of bald eagles that sat in the dead tree just outside the mess hall. I think just about everyone spent a few minutes getting wet for a good long observation of the beautiful birds. We had a family church service with a musical special from Cousin Heather's family and a lesson by my dad. The rain continued through the afternoon, and made pictures difficult, but we did get a family picture of each branch of the family. We spent a little more time visiting, and had lunch.
Eventually, the seven of us (we five and my parents) packed up and headed to Duluth. We stopped in to our hotel and unloaded, then went to Canal Park on the west side of Lake Superior. We really enjoyed the water, the beach, and the atmosphere in general. We took a ride on a seven-passenger surrey-type bike, powered by four of us on pedals. Interesting, to say the least! We went out to a small lighthouse on the seven-person vehicle, then had some dinner overlooking the lake, and best of all, if you ask BFJ, we watched a large ship pass through the channel, under the Aerial Lift Bridge!
We stopped at a souvenir shop where my dad had a t-shirt made, and the boys acquired slingshots. And we made it back to our hotel room in time to enjoy the hotel swimming pool before bed.
Lake Superior
ship in the channel
Monday
The next morning, we packed up for the drive back to Lincoln, but first, we stopped at Brighton Beach. Luckily we had three handy slingshots, and enjoyed skipping rocks and shooting rocks into the water. Low-hanging clouds made it difficult to see much out on the water, but a few yachts passed by. It was a beautiful morning, and made for some memorable pictures.
Brighton Beach
With a short stop at the Mall of America, we made it to Lincoln and halfway home. On Tuesday, we enjoyed a fairly uneventful trip back to Colorado. And there you are, our weekend in Minnesota! For a quick little trip to a family reunion, we really enjoyed ourselves. You can see my whole set of pictures here, including more spiderwebs, more fungus, more rocks, more water.
Best moments: knitting with my mom in the car - well, she was crocheting, running into a deer in the forest with Zoom, canoeing with my dad, and walking through a mysterious forest with my best friend. And watching my kids play in a lake with their cousins.
We all got rides on the speed boats, supplied by Cousin Greg and Cousin Darrell, and four of us got rides on the inner tube things pulled behind the boats. My parents even tried it, and they also had a canoe ride. We ended the day with a luau with 90-ish relatives, and a white elephant gift exchange which was fun, but I think we'll all remember the water most!
Sunday
A rainy morning was highlighted by a pair of bald eagles that sat in the dead tree just outside the mess hall. I think just about everyone spent a few minutes getting wet for a good long observation of the beautiful birds. We had a family church service with a musical special from Cousin Heather's family and a lesson by my dad. The rain continued through the afternoon, and made pictures difficult, but we did get a family picture of each branch of the family. We spent a little more time visiting, and had lunch.
Eventually, the seven of us (we five and my parents) packed up and headed to Duluth. We stopped in to our hotel and unloaded, then went to Canal Park on the west side of Lake Superior. We really enjoyed the water, the beach, and the atmosphere in general. We took a ride on a seven-passenger surrey-type bike, powered by four of us on pedals. Interesting, to say the least! We went out to a small lighthouse on the seven-person vehicle, then had some dinner overlooking the lake, and best of all, if you ask BFJ, we watched a large ship pass through the channel, under the Aerial Lift Bridge!
We stopped at a souvenir shop where my dad had a t-shirt made, and the boys acquired slingshots. And we made it back to our hotel room in time to enjoy the hotel swimming pool before bed.
Lake Superior
ship in the channel
Monday
The next morning, we packed up for the drive back to Lincoln, but first, we stopped at Brighton Beach. Luckily we had three handy slingshots, and enjoyed skipping rocks and shooting rocks into the water. Low-hanging clouds made it difficult to see much out on the water, but a few yachts passed by. It was a beautiful morning, and made for some memorable pictures.
Brighton Beach
With a short stop at the Mall of America, we made it to Lincoln and halfway home. On Tuesday, we enjoyed a fairly uneventful trip back to Colorado. And there you are, our weekend in Minnesota! For a quick little trip to a family reunion, we really enjoyed ourselves. You can see my whole set of pictures here, including more spiderwebs, more fungus, more rocks, more water.
Best moments: knitting with my mom in the car - well, she was crocheting, running into a deer in the forest with Zoom, canoeing with my dad, and walking through a mysterious forest with my best friend. And watching my kids play in a lake with their cousins.
Wow -- your photos are gorgeous Karen -- it sounds like you had a the perfect trip! I'd love to have a big family reunion in a place like that. Well -- except for the mosquitos -- oh how I remember the big annoying mosquitos in MN. And you saw the Mall of America! We used to live about 10 minutes from there -- that was our local movie theater LOL.
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