The Bayfield Inn

... 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 ...

... with electricity, intercom system, burglar alarm, a central vacuum system, hand carved walnut decor and 14 carat gold leaf ceilings. Chester Congdon made his fortune by buying up 2nd grade iron ore properties and waited until the mining companies cleaned out their 1st grade deposits – he then multiplied his investment by 16 times. THEN, he built another house twice this size in Yakima, Washington (close to his ...

... 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!

... out on some of the islands at National Park Service maintained campgrounds. It almost makes us want to take up kayaking
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Once done with the trip we were on our own. We chose to have a quick bite to eat in town before doing some shopping. Once our obligatory t-shirts had been purchased we took a drive along the scenic shoreline, making a few stops along the way to take in the scenery.

... 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 ...

... Brian to see them for himself because you can't understand how awesome they really are until you get out there, but i was also kind of relieved at the decision, just because i wanted brian's first time on lake superior to be a good one. Even the day that I went out with my campers was kind of choppy and some of the girls even got sea sick...so yeah good choice not to go out. Our alternate route ...

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 ...