In September Dad (Grandpa) invited us up to Grand Marais to stay at a resort and do some fishing and see the sights. We all had a blast, and made memories we'll treasure for years to come.
We decided to meet up at the resort, so our crew piled in our van and headed for our first must stop destination: Duluth.
After siting in the vehicle for 4 plus hours, a place where we could all get out and run around was needed. What better place than the Duluth Zoo. Nora has had a strange fixation with Emus (you know, the smaller than an ostrich birds), so she was thrilled that there was one there.
She also found some feathers from the many peacocks there.
After the Zoo, we became true tourists and did some window shopping. On almost every corner there was some neat fountain or statue. The kids liked this fish one...
I saw a shop we just couldn't pass up, and the kids agreed. Sadly, they didn't have my absolute favorite treat of all, chocolate covered gummy bears.
We even got to watch the lift bridge let a barge through.
We took the old scenic drive road the rest of the way up, and often stopped at the outlooks to stretch and watch the boats on Lake Superior. The boat we watched go under the lift bridge seemed to be following us.
Being train buffs, we had to stop at the Two Harbors Train Museum.
A block down from the trains was a harbor. We noticed a big barge heading into it, so we went over to check it out.
Here she is turning (without any help from tugboats and such!) and pulling into the loading dock.
While waiting for the boat to finish docking we walked out to the end of the pier and back. It was a bit windy, but we made it out to the small lighthouse and waited for Lee to finish filming the boat. Here he comes now.
The boys were excited to have a large wave come up and splash them. Here they are, showing off their wet pants.
Looking back, it's amazing one of us didn't fall in!
The lighthouse closed a couple minutes before we got there, but we still enjoyed the view...
We finally got up to the place well after dark. The next morning we set out with Grandpa Bill and Uncle Derik to explore Grand Marais.
We clamored all over the rocky breakers and small islands. It was a beautiful day, and Lake Superior was rather calm. Here's the boys...
The sailboats in the harbor...
Caleb...
An artist was out trying to capture the wondrous morning...
We noticed all kinds of names and dates carved onto the rocks. Caleb decided to write his with a bit of rock...
Nora tries out one of the trees on the island...
And gives Corbin a big squeeze back out on the breakers...
One last look...
We went back to the cabin for lunch. I say cabin, but it really was a full house, with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a full kitchen, and two dens. It also even had an attached garage! Here's the view out the back window of Devil Track Lake...
Here's the "cabin" from the back...
The beach area was all rocks, but it just seemed to add to the beauty of the place. Alex and Caleb even found some crayfish exoskeletons. Here they are out exploring...
I had to do the tree root thing with Rosa, too...
While the boys went out fishing us girls went out and did some of our own exploring. The girls' absolute favorite activity was throwing rocks. In fact, most of the trip consisted of the kids throwing tons of rocks into various lakes, streams, and creeks. Here's the girls on some rocks that were too big to throw in...
The boys didn't catch anything, but always came back with stories of the big one that got away...
Here's the girls posing in front of the resort's sign...
This scene looks so serene, but if you had been there, the sound of rocks constantly being tossed into the water would have echoed throughout the area.
Ah... here's a more accurate photo...
Now that I think back, it really is amazing that nobody ever got hit by a flying rock. (Well, except for Grandpa, once off his head.)
The next morning we all got up extra early so we could have a full day of adventures. Nora is patiently waiting for me to do up her hair for the day...
We hit all the tourist shops in town, then stopped at a local pizza place for lunch. We got some ice cream for desert, and went down to the Lake to eat.
It was a perfect day, even Grandpa was smiling!
Nora and Corbin decided to give the rest of their ice cream cones to the sea gulls. It was fun to watch them all hovering around us.
Lee and I had stopped at the visitors center in town and picked up tons of brochures of various hiking trails and such. We would come to find out, by the end of our vacation, that the people who made up these lovely pamphlets must have either made them centuries ago or had never been anywhere near the area. At any rate, we found what seemed like a perfect hiking trail for our crew, it was supposed to lead us to a deep canyon with waterfalls. It was supposed to be a three mile loop. Hahahaha...
But fun was still had by all. Here is a neat view of the canyon...
Grandpa's phone made a funny "quack" sound every time he took a picture...
Part of Lee's diet was that he always had to be carrying someone (Just Kidding!) Lee with Nora...
and with Rosa...
After many, many upwards climbs we came to a breath-taking view. That's Lake Superior way in the background...
Thankfully Lee had brains enough to have grabbed a large bag of Skittles at the gas station before we set out for the day. It became our way of getting the kids to walk a bit farther. Here we are, on one of our many Skittle breaks...
Here is a wonderful photo of our young man, Alex...
Every step had to be taken with great care, there was a steep drop-off to one side, and the ground was full of twisting and turning tree roots, just trying to get you to trip...
Here is a neat photo of Caleb...
Rosa on the rock...
Rosa with Mommy...
The trees were so tall! Look up...
All the birch trees made it seem like we were in a white-barred cage for a while...
Around this time a nice lady with her dog informed us that the ranger told her this trail was NOT a loop, and it was a seven mile hike ONE WAY to the falls. So we headed back. On the way back to the cabin we stopped at the scenic lookout. Here is a nice fall shot of Grand Marais' harbor...
Another view...
Hey! Who's driving our van!?!?
When we got back to the cabin the boys went out fishing some more. Grandpa and us girls went up the road to another little path from a brochure. It was a lot of fun, and it looked like we had been the only ones there in a long time. Nora found lots of treasures, which eventually migrated into my jacket pockets.
Grandpa commented that we should see a grouse, and then there they were! Six lazy birds who finally took off when Nora gave chase...
There was a neat little creek half way through...
We lost the trail towards the end. Actually, the trail just disappeared. Grandpa commented he was surprised we hadn't seen a deer, and then we noticed he was standing on one! The only thing left of it was a fur outline and a bit of spine. "Wolves," Grandpa pronounced. We walked to the road and then back to the van. We never did find the rest of the trail.
It was another perfect evening on Devil Track Lake...
We decided to have a bonfire so we could roast up some s'mores...
Nora helps bring the minnows to the dock...
Alex was quite the camera man on our trip. He notices things like I do, like this web in the fading sunlight...
Here's the camera man himself...
The next morning started out early again. Using our good ol' pamphlets, we decided to head for a waterfall in a state park. After driving much farther than it said to, we arrived at the park, but where was the falls? We asked some campers, who said they've been coming here for years and have never seen any falls. The man suggested going up the road a bit farther to an old rock mining site, where there was old trails. I was disappointed.
I decided to walk into the woods a bit, to see if I could get to the creek and see the falls. The others soon followed. We finally got there. No waterfalls, but it was pretty.
Another view...
One more...
We walked along the edge for a bit, looking for an easier way back to the trail...
Here's a nice shot of Corbin...
Rosa was busy throwing rocks, of course...
We eventually found our way back to a road and then back to our van. When we got back to the cabin, I gave all our useless brochures to Nora. Derik had a sudden change of plans or something, so he and Grandpa had to go. While they headed for home, we headed for Cascade State Park. Finally, a waterfall!
Most of the kids were thrilled...
Rosa was not so impressed, however...
The trail followed the river along. It was so pretty...
The Cascade River flows into Lake Superior. We decided to go down and have a look...
All the water was rather shallow, so we hopped rocks to the middle of the river to get some neat shots. Here's the kids...
and the parents...
Nora just couldn't resist splashing just a bit...
Caleb and Rosa stick to throwing rocks...
Here's Daddy with his girls, looking out at Lake Superior
We spent the evening walking along the shoreline in town. I found a nice agate rock. It was a wonderful walk... listening to the waves constantly whooshing over the rocky shore. The kids climbed and clamored over and into everything we found...
The kids also loved chasing the gulls, who never seemed to fly too far off.
The gang all posed for a glowing sunset on the face shot...
Nora really stood out to me... the way her hair tossed about in the wind with her perched on her rock... she looked like a princess mermaid...
The waves became a bit rougher than earlier...
Rosa and I enjoy watching them...
Alex the camera man films the scene...
Alex got one last shot of a gull...
We returned back to the cabin for a night of cleaning before checking out the next morning. Here I am in the kitchen...
That last sunset over Devil Track Lake was breath-taking...
As was the fog over the lake the next morning...
After checking out, we heading for Split Rock Lighthouse. We arrived right before it opened for the day, so we walked the trails a bit. Here is a marvelous view with the lighthouse barely visible over the trees...
Split Rock Lighthouse, up close and personal:
This is the view from just outside the lighthouse...
We walked down some 100 plus steps to get these two shots...
Gooseberry Falls was just a hop and a skip over from the lighthouse, so we headed there next. More waterfalls! We had a blast, and got some more rock throwing in...
Here are some nice shots of the lower falls...
Lee and the kids...
Nora...
The water levels were so low there was more rock than water, but we still thought the place was really cool. Here's Daddy and Rosa exploring...
Nora kept yelling that she saw bumblebees everywhere, and soon we figured out what she was talking about. These fuzzy yellow and black caterpillars were everywhere!
The upper falls were just as pretty...
And a side view...
With the kids...
There were even some shallow caves to hang out in...
The kids were actually starting to get tired out, so we all piled in the van and headed for Duluth. We had promised Corbin we would go to the Great Lakes Aquarium on the way home. A highlight was driving through two big tunnels on the way...
Here's Corbin the Otter welcoming us to the aquarium...
We all had a fun time watching the many fish, ducks, and other water animals in action. Here are some turtles doing what they do best...
Corbin and Nora had fun "driving" a big barge on the lake...
Rosa enjoyed watching the otters and beavers from her own den...
She also made friends with a little boy. They nicely took turns on the otter slide...
A highlight was getting to touch the stingrays.
The aquarium had a special deep water exhibit. Here the boys try out an underwater submersible...
It was really neat seeing creatures we'd never seen before. The jellyfish were awesome...
While others, like this fish with huge eyes, were just odd...
Before we left for home, the kids played with the waterworks a bit.
Nora got soaked, as usual!
We made it back home late, but happy. It was our best family vacation yet.
