Mouse pillows being marshmallows and big noculars being binoculars, of course.
It was a very enjoyable trip up North. We had a cart-in site pretty much right on the shore of Lake Superior and, after an initial three hour thunderstorm which began moments after our tent was set up (it really wouldn't be a Hylton camping trip without some precipitation at some point), the weather was beautiful.
Outdoor-guru Cliff Jacobson speaks about how it can be difficult to hike with small children or the elderly if you're in the prime of your life. Not so much because of differences in physical abilities, but because people of this blogger's age tend to think of hikes in terms of goals and destinations, whereas young children and the elderly live almost entirely for the moment. And I suspect I am at the far end of that spectrum, in terms of goal-fixation; so overcoming that "tension" (all tension totally within my own brain) is the biggest challenge for me on a trip like this-especially in arguably the most scenic park in the state. There would be no hike to Shovel Point; no hike to The Cascades. Of the park's 26-some odd miles of trail, I would guess we covered about one to one-and-a-half.
We did make it down to the main outlet of the Baptism River into Lake Superior, which was beautiful, and spent a few hours wading around, looking at rocks, and so on. We were also able to park at a trailhead a little farther into the park and make it to the High Falls (the highest waterfall contained entirely within Minnesota). But all-encompassing vistas are not what float Lucy's boat the most. She like rock climbing (as in, climbing individual rocks), finding caterpillars-two of which we were unable to identify even with a field guide, and telling Momma & Daddy where to stop & when to go all the way along the hike. There are moments of frustration & the inability to truly unwind due to having to be constantly vigilant, but the reality is that we're really pretty spoiled about Lucy when it comes to camping. She now understands pretty much everything that goes into setting up camp & making things happen and at least attempts to help with various tasks. And she just plain loves being outside.
A few highlights from the trip:
- Piecing together bits of information she'd been given, Lucy explaining to me that a bear is going to come into our camp and get toothpaste out of the fire pit and put it on their toothbrush.
- My opportunity for an early a.m. hike (before the women got up Sunday morning). In future camping trips, I think I want to begin bringing running shoes. If we're not going to cover a lot of ground as a family for a few years, I'd love to get in a trail run and get some of that energy out of my system. Plus, with my love of trail running, it would be a shame to not take advantage of doing it in some of the neater places we go.
- Saw the Aurora Borealis for only the 2nd time in my life (other time, oddly enough, was at Johnson Street). Not a particularly dazzling display-mostly greenish-white, but a display nevertheless.
- View from Palisade Head (2 miles south of the park-we drove up there on our way back)
- A new type of bread that Sharon introduced. Forget what it's called, but you make it like I guess pioneers used to (except we used powdered milk)-mix the ingredients, then cook it on a stick over the fire. AMAZING. Sure to be a part of nearly every future camping trip in which there is a camp fire.
- Sights of the beautiful mountain ash-a tree that grows in the park with amazingly red berries that contrast beautifully with the grey rocks.
- Going down at dusk-Sharon had already retired with Lucy-to a rocky area down below our camp by the water. Watching the moon come out and begin to shine on the water while the water rolled up all along the shore.
- The time we spent at that Baptism River/Lake Superior confluence.
One other thing about the trip-it got me hungering for a good ol' backpack trip along the Superior hiking trail. Yellow River State Forest is well & good, but it just doesn't compare.
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6 comments:
You've seen the aurora borealis one other time. At your brother Sean's when he lived in Le Grande and we spent the night their playing Nintendo.
Sounds like an excellent trip!
Since my brother was getting sloshed and actually fun to be around, I thought I dreamed EVERYTHING from that night.
Way more Gauntlet than should ever have been played.
Yet the circumstances could not have been any more ideal for that amount of Gauntlet.
Truly a synergy of 4 willing participants, the Nintendo 4 controller port, and the game Gauntlet.
Blue Wizard needs food. Badly.
Sounds great! When I was working at eagle Bluff, we called it stick bread. We would grind up corn and add flour to make the dough. We then wrapped it on a stick and held it over the fire. It was very good and we enjoyed it. I guess the Oneota people made bread that way too.
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