Apostle Highlands Bayfield

... woods. However, 'The Caddy' apparently was having heater troubles that winter. On the way back to her house that night the heater stopped working. It was 2am and we were freezing! I had never experienced a cold like that. Ashley drank too much so I was driving and even with snowboarding gloves I could barely hold the steering wheel it was so cold! I started yelling that we were ...

... than cattle -- I assume they have been shipped to feed-lots and our bellies. Second-hand stores here have a humungous number of jeans but nary a jean jacket. Gas was US$2.69 a US gallon -- obviously much cheaper than our over-taxed Canadian fuel which helps support our health-care. Lastly, this state had great coffee, especially from Montana Traders.

North Dakota was mainly rolling hills. Weird that Highway #2 across ...

... city is connected to Duluth by incredibly long and high bridges.



Things we Observed:

· A rail line through northern Minnesota is maintained by CN personnel and is used exclusively by CN trains, hmm???

· The water of Lake Superior in Duluth is red - don’t know if it’s from the algae in the lake or the iron ore content in the water. The gravel shoreline is red as well.

· When ...

... br>The girls are holding up well. I think I have the packing thing down better too. Tomorrow we will enter Michigan and cross the upper peninsula trying to reach Mackinaw where we will camp. Here's some photos of today's adventures. The big fish is "Willy" and lives in my hometown, Baudette, MN, which is the town on the Southeast side of Lake of the Woods, and it is the "Walleye Capitol of the World. " LOL.

... Ashland.

Ken & I left the group and headed out to Copper Falls State Park. This is about 30 miles north of Ashland. We took a beautiful 2 mile loop hike along the banks of the Bad River. This hike took us past 3 different falls along the river and through the basalt rocks of and forest. It was a great way to end our day but unfortunately we arrived back at 'home' just as happy hour was ending!

... a period of time which is difficult to comprehend. The islands are in fact made up of layers of sand, gravel and stone which have been shaped over time by wind, water and ice.

Our trip would take us past most of these islands and there unique features. It was a wonderful 3 hour tour which we hated see come to an end. This area is very popular with boaters and kayakers who are allowed to ...

... playing the penny machines. Don't laugh, these machines actually cost more than a few pennies to play, really! Ken, on the other hand has been having a pretty good run at the Blackjack tables despite the previously mentioned 'children'. Well, after about an hour I walked away ahead for today but down about 40 dollars over the last several casino visits. Ken is still ahead. Maybe I should take up Blackjack!

We made it back to the ...

... in a calm lagoon which had plenty of plant life which Brian enjoyed. The lagoon turned into a small river, which then came out at the BEAUTIFUL Lake Superior! The wind was causing some waves and Brian wasn't too much of a fan, but i was enjoying every minute of it! Even without going to the sea caves, we saw some pretty sweet cliffs and even some bald eagles. One of the guides was more our age and talking ...

On the road by 9:00. For the most part it rained all day and we were remeinded that the roads in Minnesota are terrible. We listened to country music once again and we made it to the Apostle Islands! Halfway home! woohoo!!

... arrived -- these are supposedly typical in the summer months. Hiked to the caves from Meyers Beach and got stuck (soaked) in a huge squall on the return; the trail turned to mud and I fell a couple of times (thankfully uneventfully) - Bogie needed to be on a leash due to the severity of the storm and most kayakers beached for an hour until it subsided. After changing into dry clothes, the van sidled over to Cornucopia for a hot lunch of ...