Well, almost Canada. Earlier this month, Curt and I spent five days at Voyageurs National Park on Namakan Lake, which is about five minutes by boat from Canada. We were there with my parents, my brother Ben and his girlfriend Allie, and my parents' friends, Chuck and Meline. We left our trucks and drove the boats to McManus Island West, which took about two hours since navigator Chuck wasn't quite sure where he was going. To his credit, though, it had been 20 years since he'd been there and the lake is gigantic with many, many islands. And of course the one we stayed on had to be all the way at the west end. Hence the name.
Curt waiting to park the boat
Curt waiting to park the boat
Walking down the trail towards the dockOnce we arrived we had the daunting task of unloading the boats and setting up camp. The island was perfect for us, with two docks, two tent pads, a picnic table, a port-o-potty type toilet with no walls, and a beautiful cliff overlook. Curt and I claimed a spot down the hill from the toilet (no, surprisingly not a stinky spot!). We were away from the main area which made me a little uneasy at night (bears!), but the privacy was nice.
Sadie camped in her kennel next to our tent and did a great job. A few times there was some mighty growling on her part, but we never did have a bear near our tent or on the island, from what we could tell. Some were disappointed about that, but I was so thankful! One of the nights she growled, there was an animal huffing at her. It was like it took six big exhalations in a row, and it was pretty creepy. Not wanting Sadie to become some wild beast's meal, I was pretty alarmed at first, but when Curt reminded me that a bear would've been hella noisier and anything smaller wasn't much of a threat - to her or us - I calmed down and was able to sleep.
When it wasn't raining, our days were spent fishing/boating, reading, walking around the island, playing with Sadie, eating, playing games, and bathing in the frickin' freezing lake. In the evenings we had some awesome dinners (including a fish fry thanks in large part to me! Read on) and amazing fires. If I remember correctly, we had rain most of two days and two nights, including our last night there and the next morning on our way back - with just some drizzle while we were packing and cleaning up, luckily. Mom and Dad had brought a shelter and the boys used a tarp to extend it over our table/cooking/food storage area so we had a place to sit and be dry.
Sadie camped in her kennel next to our tent and did a great job. A few times there was some mighty growling on her part, but we never did have a bear near our tent or on the island, from what we could tell. Some were disappointed about that, but I was so thankful! One of the nights she growled, there was an animal huffing at her. It was like it took six big exhalations in a row, and it was pretty creepy. Not wanting Sadie to become some wild beast's meal, I was pretty alarmed at first, but when Curt reminded me that a bear would've been hella noisier and anything smaller wasn't much of a threat - to her or us - I calmed down and was able to sleep.
When it wasn't raining, our days were spent fishing/boating, reading, walking around the island, playing with Sadie, eating, playing games, and bathing in the frickin' freezing lake. In the evenings we had some awesome dinners (including a fish fry thanks in large part to me! Read on) and amazing fires. If I remember correctly, we had rain most of two days and two nights, including our last night there and the next morning on our way back - with just some drizzle while we were packing and cleaning up, luckily. Mom and Dad had brought a shelter and the boys used a tarp to extend it over our table/cooking/food storage area so we had a place to sit and be dry.
Dad and Chuck finagling a tarp to extend our shelter areaSadie had an absolute blast up there. She was endlessly energetic every day and crashed hard each night by the fire. She loved to run around the island, jump and play in the water, fetch sticks, and chase chipmunks and birds, not to mention get spoiled with food scraps and lots of petting and cuddling. I kept saying she'd be depressed to be back at home without all that lovin' and excitement, but she's still having puppy fun here, too.
It got pretty windy up on top of our hill!
A view from the lake of our cliff-side site
Chuck caught the first fish!
I caught the biggest walleye ever! Not really, but it was pretty huge(especially for such an infrequent fisherwoman), and I brought it in all
by myself and got to brag about it the whole time! It was really fun
and definitely a highlight of the trip.
A beautiful sunset viewed fireside
Campfires never fail to mesmerize meAs for me surviving away from my baby, I missed him terribly, but the hardest part was leaving him behind at Grandma and Grandpa Wojo's. We spent Tuesday night there and had to leave at 2:30 Wednesday morning, so I cried pretty hard putting him to bed that night. And on the drive to my parents' house. And then to Chuck and Mel's. And on and off on the way up. Once we got to breakfast at 6 a.m., I was doing okay. Once we were finally there, off the boat, and on the island, I was really relieved to be starting the vacation and to have fun things to do to stay busy.You can imagine how upset I was Thursday morning to wake up to rain. I thought I'd be miserable in the tent all day, just thinking about Jackson and wishing I was home. But thanks to the shelter and tarp we were still able tohang out, socializing, reading, playing games, and - my favorite - eating. I cried a little a few times up there, and once a lot when I went off exploring the island on my own, but it helped having Sadie there to distract me. And my own mommy's shoulder to cry on. :)
We got home late Sunday afternoon. I was so overjoyed to be with my baby again! It could just be my wishful thinking, but he seemed pretty excited to see me, too. Oh yeah, and his daddy, I guess. Hehe! Brea and Andrew had picked Jackson up at Wojos and watched him here so we could come straight home. When we got home he kept looking back and forth between Bre and I, trying to figure out which was really his mama. It was pretty funny.
A hot shower was also wonderful, after which we unpacked and cuddled Jackson all night! All in all, we had a wonderful time and we'd definitely go back. Maybe next time it'll be on one of those houseboats with a water slide and a hot tub on top like we kept seeing drive by. When it's warmer. In August. Oh, and with Jackson. :)
A hot shower was also wonderful, after which we unpacked and cuddled Jackson all night! All in all, we had a wonderful time and we'd definitely go back. Maybe next time it'll be on one of those houseboats with a water slide and a hot tub on top like we kept seeing drive by. When it's warmer. In August. Oh, and with Jackson. :)
Far and away the best thing about coming home :)
