Up North, Ya Know (part 5)
While at Bearskin, we woke up one morning feeling adventurous, so we decided to take an actual honest-to-goodness hike into the BWCA. We asked at the front desk and Bob, bless his soul, took a look at us and said, "FOR YOU, I suggest Caribou Rock...."
For us, it turned out because there were spectacular views within a mile or so of the trailhead. We could go as far as we liked (the whole of the trail apparently takes you to the border and can be done as a 4 day hiking trip,) but there was a very fast (if moderately challenging in terms of steepness) reward for people LIKE US who were amateur hikers who just wanted to see some woodsy stuff.
Here's the view:
We also attempted a camera-timer "selfie":
I should take a moment to discuss the mosquito situation. The mosquitos were out in full-force nearly the entire time we were there (on the dock and in the canoe, however, we'd often get a reprieve because of the wind.) Some days were buggier than others, though. The day right before the one day of rain we got was, by far, the worst.
What I found interesting about the mosquitos is that they clearly favored Mason. There may be a couple of reasons for this. First, he's always been very warm-bodied. We often call him our hot-tot, because if you snuggle up to him, he seems to radiate heat. So the mosquitos probably could sense that and made a... well, not a bee-line, but a mosquito-line for him.
They seemed equally attracted to Shawn, however, and she is one of those people who sometimes, when you hold their hand, you think, "Wow, your skin is so chilly!"
Mosquitos mostly avoided me. We wondered aloud about this phenomenon a lot during our vacation. (Mostly because it made Mason mad. "Why don't they go after YOU, Ima?!??") We eventually concluded that the reason the mosquitos liked me the least was because of my sushi habit. I east sushi fairly regularly for lunch and I know for a fact that consumption of raw fish changes your body odor. So, it very well could have been that the mosquitos just didn't register me as tasty. Or at least a second choice to the more strictly carnivores in my family (because I also have a tendency to eat a lot more veggies than either Shawn or Mason.)
This time Bearskin also offered a number of kids' activities. Normally, we're not joiners, but Mason saw the list and wanted to try out slack lining, so we went to the demo. The demo was led by Andrea. We kept running into Andrea though out our stay. She seemed to be the children's events coordinator, but she was also the only one to introduce herself to us when we went to the wine and cheese mixer. (At which we tried Gunflint Trail wine and had... Colby and cheddar cheese. Not a fancy do, but very... erm, authentically "Fargo" if you know what I mean.)
At any rate, here's Mason on the slack line with Andrea and I spotting:
I even tried it, but you know, with me on the line, it dipped pretty close to the ground....
And this was the day that the mosquitos were at their absolute WORST. So we stayed long enough to enjoy it, but were eventually driven away and back out into the canoe to escape the bloodthirsty hoards.
The mosquitos also chased us away from our beloved "Moose Viewing Trail," where last time we were up we actually saw several moose. This time not only did the mosquitos dog us the whole way to the marsh and back, but there was really nothing to see there once we got there. Except, of course, the mysterious buried car...
This year, apparently, we didn't take a photo of the weird car in the woods, but it is there. It's very mysterious, being several miles off the road, and, well, having a boulder in the trunk. But you can clearly see the roof, the engine block and actually pull on the door handle which is fully-buried in the ground. (Which is also odd, because it kind of seems.., off, like maybe somehow the car was dropped with enough force to have bent the doors so that they lay parallel to the ground.... as if dropped by... aliens???)
Very mysterious.
We probably didn't get a picture because all you would have seen was the massive swarm of mosquitos....
In other news, my Loft class has ended and I'm reading no.6 a new manga I discovered on Saturday, when I worked at the Maplewood Library. I've written a review which I'll probably link back here once I get it up.
And.... here's the review: http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/review-no-6/
For us, it turned out because there were spectacular views within a mile or so of the trailhead. We could go as far as we liked (the whole of the trail apparently takes you to the border and can be done as a 4 day hiking trip,) but there was a very fast (if moderately challenging in terms of steepness) reward for people LIKE US who were amateur hikers who just wanted to see some woodsy stuff.
Here's the view:
We also attempted a camera-timer "selfie":
I should take a moment to discuss the mosquito situation. The mosquitos were out in full-force nearly the entire time we were there (on the dock and in the canoe, however, we'd often get a reprieve because of the wind.) Some days were buggier than others, though. The day right before the one day of rain we got was, by far, the worst.
What I found interesting about the mosquitos is that they clearly favored Mason. There may be a couple of reasons for this. First, he's always been very warm-bodied. We often call him our hot-tot, because if you snuggle up to him, he seems to radiate heat. So the mosquitos probably could sense that and made a... well, not a bee-line, but a mosquito-line for him.
They seemed equally attracted to Shawn, however, and she is one of those people who sometimes, when you hold their hand, you think, "Wow, your skin is so chilly!"
Mosquitos mostly avoided me. We wondered aloud about this phenomenon a lot during our vacation. (Mostly because it made Mason mad. "Why don't they go after YOU, Ima?!??") We eventually concluded that the reason the mosquitos liked me the least was because of my sushi habit. I east sushi fairly regularly for lunch and I know for a fact that consumption of raw fish changes your body odor. So, it very well could have been that the mosquitos just didn't register me as tasty. Or at least a second choice to the more strictly carnivores in my family (because I also have a tendency to eat a lot more veggies than either Shawn or Mason.)
This time Bearskin also offered a number of kids' activities. Normally, we're not joiners, but Mason saw the list and wanted to try out slack lining, so we went to the demo. The demo was led by Andrea. We kept running into Andrea though out our stay. She seemed to be the children's events coordinator, but she was also the only one to introduce herself to us when we went to the wine and cheese mixer. (At which we tried Gunflint Trail wine and had... Colby and cheddar cheese. Not a fancy do, but very... erm, authentically "Fargo" if you know what I mean.)
At any rate, here's Mason on the slack line with Andrea and I spotting:
I even tried it, but you know, with me on the line, it dipped pretty close to the ground....
And this was the day that the mosquitos were at their absolute WORST. So we stayed long enough to enjoy it, but were eventually driven away and back out into the canoe to escape the bloodthirsty hoards.
The mosquitos also chased us away from our beloved "Moose Viewing Trail," where last time we were up we actually saw several moose. This time not only did the mosquitos dog us the whole way to the marsh and back, but there was really nothing to see there once we got there. Except, of course, the mysterious buried car...
This year, apparently, we didn't take a photo of the weird car in the woods, but it is there. It's very mysterious, being several miles off the road, and, well, having a boulder in the trunk. But you can clearly see the roof, the engine block and actually pull on the door handle which is fully-buried in the ground. (Which is also odd, because it kind of seems.., off, like maybe somehow the car was dropped with enough force to have bent the doors so that they lay parallel to the ground.... as if dropped by... aliens???)
Very mysterious.
We probably didn't get a picture because all you would have seen was the massive swarm of mosquitos....
In other news, my Loft class has ended and I'm reading no.6 a new manga I discovered on Saturday, when I worked at the Maplewood Library. I've written a review which I'll probably link back here once I get it up.
And.... here's the review: http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/review-no-6/