Day 14

I'm not sure why my dreams when I'm camping are so vivid and I remember them so easily.  Might be because I kinda sleep with one eye open like a mama bear.  Might be because sometimes they're especially creepy.  Last night's was up there for creepy for sure.

Ever since we'd been in Wisconsin, the ticks have been seeking us out and trying to come along on our trip.  Each child has encountered at least 2 stuck to them and they've been crawling all over the tent looking for a way in it seems.  Each night just like my mom did when I was a kid, I check all three of the kids for ticks. So of course I dream of ticks.  And not just one or two.  In my dream I had 8 lovingly attached to my back.

So then I have to start figuring out how in the world to get them off.  I have tweezers but do I trust my kids to get over their eww factor and get them?  Or do I go to the campground office young lady and embarassingly ask her if she'd get them?  Or do some kind of pretzel move and attempt myself? Rub my whole back against a brick wall and hope for the best?  Turns out in my dreams the campground has a magical spray that makes them detach and all is better.  If that already doesn't exist I'm totally inventing it.

With the clouds and the rain earlier in the day, it was especially cold last night so we slept with the windows up.  Being in the woods with the windows up makes the inside of the tent a lot darker than normal so we all were able to sleep in a bit.  I finally got up around 6 to go to the office for wifi to be able to send pictures to be printed for the kids to work on their journals.

Once I got back, Brayden was up and the girls weren't too far behind him so we went ahead and packed up to catch the 9am ferry.  If we'd have hurried just a little bit we would have been able to catch the 8am ferry, but we just got there a little early and ate breakfast in the car while we waited.

Once we were loaded up I handed Ryan the camera and she began shooting anything and everything. She even got a picture including me which barely ever happens!

Here is the little town of Bayfield.  I just love all the boats!  I don't imagine you could live here without one.

Next stop was the Apostle Island National Seashore Visitors Center so the kids could stamp the park passports.  We also stayed for a movie about the history of the islands.  I wished we had been early enough a few days before to stop by here before our stay, but I was nervous about the ferry situation.  We also stopped at the Northwoods Visitors Center for a little while to check out all the exhibits.

We learned a lot about the history of the area as well as the changes logging and modern life has caused.  There was a great display on how the Ojibwe life has changed over the generations.  I read a quote that I really liked about how people should think not just about their children's or grandchildren's generations but the seventh generation when it comes to environmental issues.  The kids loved the interactive displays and I loved the education and message!

Laney checks out a picture of girl scouts camping almost 100 years ago.

Next we picked up the photos and stopped for a big stock up on breads and fresh fruits.  We were running very low!  Tonight we will feast!  Once we got back on the road it wasn't very long until we made it to our next state!

We stopped in at the welcome center to check out local events and must sees then got back on the road to our next stop - Porcupine Mountains State Park.  We were still to be camping on Lake Superior just a couple hours to the east and directly on the water.  The kids were itching to play on the rocks the second they saw them!

Since the day was still clear we decided to head to a couple of must-see lookout spots to check out the views.  We were all pretty tired, but I was nervous about the clouds rolling into the area in the morning so we left the rocks for these gorgeous views.  These are from the Escarpment Lookout over the Lake in the Clouds.

And these are from the lookout tower at the mountain summit.

By the time we got back to the campsite we were all starving so I cooked while the kids played on the rocks, promising not to get wet.  That didn't work out to well.

Then they started a camp ball homerun derby.  Poor Laney didn't fair to well so she just joined me on the rocks for these pictures.  As you can see it looks like there might be rain in our future so I brought everything in for the night and we headed to the tent in an attempt to stay dry.

Day 13

There are no alarm clocks in the woods.  So when I tell my brain that I would like to get up for the sunrise, it proceeds to wake me up about every hour asking, "Is it time yet?". There were also some strange animal (exhaling? sneezing? sighing?) noises in the night that I'm just not familiar enough with to identify.  But finally 4:30 rolled around and I could see the sky was starting to lighten so I grabbed my camera and laptop and headed to the beach.  We hadn't had many horizons at our stops to take pictures of lately, so I was pretty excited once I saw the pinks and purples through the trees on the walk down.

I was especially excited when I saw a deer in the middle of the sand in front of the sunset.  The only problem was the deer also saw me so I would have to be quick to pull the camera out and capture him with the sunrise.  As I quickly pulled my camera out, the deer perked up and started slowly stepping in the direction of the woods.  At that same time I heard something fall from my bag, "Crack!" hit the boardwalk and "Sploosh!" into the lagoon water below.  "Oh no." was all I could think. Dave's head shaking back and forth was all I could picture in my sleepy brain.  I'd just dropped the camera charger into the lagoon water.

I ran over to the canoes at the end of the boardwalk and grabbed a paddle to see if I could coax it to the edge.  By the time I got back, the charger had given up all hope and decided to sink to the bottom. Ugh.  And the whole reason I'd brought the charger was to plug it in as my camera battery was low. We'll I guess now it would be dead soon.  And possibly me as well.  Whatcha think Dave?

I did end up getting some nice pictures.  This one was my favorite.

Once I got back to the campsite I sorted all yesterday's laundry, edited pictures, and wrote about the day before.  Just as I was finishing, droplets of rain started appearing on my computer so I quickly packed everything away and hopped in the tent.  Two of the three kids were up so we snuggled until laughter woke up a grumpy Laney.  It was a steady sprinkle so we closed the windows on the tent and read a few more chapters of the book.  It's getting good!

Once the rain let up, we headed to the office for wifi to check what the weather would be like for the day.  It looked like there was a huge band of rain coming just under us but we were to miss the worst of all of it yet again.  We'd be dry and able to get on with our day in about an hour so we got dressed and headed to the bakery for a snack.  We were lucky we walked in early as a lot of other people had the exact same idea!

Next we stopped  by the old Ojebwe Indian Cemetery the information guide had suggested.  The gate was locked but when Laney saw all the rocks along the fence she wanted to leave one too.

On the way back to the campsite I had to stop and take a picture of this barn we'd been passing every day.  Laney and I love these flowers so much!  We see them along the roadside everywhere but I'm guessing they aren't flowers that would grow in hot and humid Florida.

When I got in the car and started heading back to the campsite I could barely drive as something was tickling my foot.  Screaming and laughing, I stopped the car only to discover there was a little hungry caterpillar walking between my toes.  Oh my, he is lucky he is still alive.  Tickling and anything related to my feet means war.

We made it back to the campsite and geared up for the long hike to the state park on the other side of the island.  The hike was mostly boardwalk on a beautiful tree-lined trail between the lagoon and Lake Superior. We chatted, snacked, and learned about how all the trees and vegetation survive the harsh winters off the lake.

Once we made it to the park we met some people we'd talked to earlier at the bakery who were very impressed with the distance the kids had hiked so far.  After a quick bathroom break and a little exploring of the park, we headed back along the beach watching for birds and tracks along the way.  Brayden and Ryan picked up sticks of course and Laney and I named some new animals from the tracks they were making.  Rectango was the bird with rectangular footprints and there was also the hopping water slug which appeared very busy!

After we got back we checked the weather one more time and made the decision to go into town to eat lunch at a cafe someone recommended, stop by the post office, and hit the library.  Our lunch was delicious and we caught up with a pile of postcards - we mailed 21!  The post office desk was closed - seems I can't figure out the hours of the places here - so we headed to the library for some books and wifi time.  Ryan fell in love with this giant bear and wanted to take it home.  The library staff kept peeking at her and loved she was enjoying him so much.

Just as we were packing up to leave the library staff started talking about the record high temperatures.  While we do have to fight the rain a lot it seems, I am loving this 50s at night and 60s and 70s during the day weather!  I think I am slowly being converted to a snow bird!

After dinner we headed to the beach to play and say goodbye. The tide was going out so the kids enjoyed sorting through all the rocks.  Laney even found a new island!

Day 12

It had sprinkled most of the night so the morning was pretty damp and cold.  I slept in wanting to stay as warm as possible for as long as possible.  I knew as soon as the sun burned all the clouds off it would warm up considerably.

After writing about the day before, I started a triple batch of pancakes and the kids were up one by one from the delicious smell.  We were running pretty low on fresh fruit so I made a mental note to stop at some point and grab more.  By 9:30 we were ready to go hunt down a laundromat.  We were so low on clothes, Laney had to wear one of Ryan's t-shirts!  Luckily, the landromat had the extra-large commercial 4-load washing machines so we were able to fit our giant bag into one load.  I played chess and Trouble with everyone and before we knew it we were on our way.

We stopped by the visitor's info area and got some tips on where to spend our two days, but first we needed ice cream!  Grampa Tony's had some flavors we'd never tried so we just had to stop.  I keep having to talk Ryan out of the playdoh-looking Superman flavor each time. I'm trying to turn her into a eat/drink local traveler but it's hard for ice cream!

Brayden's was gone with in seconds!

Ryan finally settled for Madeline Island Mint!

Next up was the Madeline Island Museum recommended to us by several people.  The front of the museum housed several traveling exhibits while the back held most of the artifacts from the original museum opened more than 60 years ago.  While Laney and I learned about how a canoe was made by the Ojibwe Indians, Brayden and Ryan learned about all the ill-fated ships that had sunk in the area. There was a wonderful display on Ojibwe Indian dress as well as pow-wow history and tradition.

The bead work was incredible!

Next up is always a favorite in every museum we visit - time to dress up!  Laney grabbed the dresses while the other two put on shopkeeper and logger clothes.  The traded and switched and changed about 9 more times before we moved on to the local artifact section of the museum.

This part was almost overwhelming with all kinds of tools, clothes, and machines of the time.  The museum guide even turned on a french-cut lighthouse LIGHT originally from one of the Apostle Islands close by, Raspberry Island.  Laney is still convinced she could live in a tiny cabin like this sailor lived with his wife and child.  I'm all for down-sizing, but oh my.

Next we went in search of a snack before more discovery of the island.  It seems we've made it here about a week too early as every cafe and pub opens for summer hours in about 5 days.  Our only choice was back at the ice cream shop, so I opted to hop in the car and head to the tiny local grocery store.  I knew the prices would be steep, but oh my goodness some things were way higher than the organic prices I pay!  We opted a bunch of bananas and a slushie combine with snacks from the cooler.  I guess we would have to wait until we were back on the mainland to shop.

We headed back to the campsite to go spend some time on the beach before dinner.  The kids had been itching to play some soccer so we brought along the ball to hopefully have a friendly game while we were down there.  There were lots of other people so we staked out a small field and played until there were enough injuries to stop and head up to the wifi to let the kids check their email.

We did our usual Rock Family!

We still had quite a bit of sunlight so we headed back to make a fire for our dinner and change for the night.  We were betting the beach would be empty later.  Laney picked some flowers for our dinner table and we had a delicious nacho feast.  Our boy scout camp cups still come in handy for drinks as well as decoration!

We headed back down to the beach and Ryan met a little friend she named "Penguin" because of the shape of the white spots on his back.  He refused to leave her!

The kids raced back and forth and tried skipping rocks.  I don't know if it's the shape of the rocks or the water or both, but we can't seem to get more than 3 skips up here!  While the kids were playing I finally got my bearings and noticed this would be an awesome spot for a sunrise picture in the morning.  As we settled in and read a few chapters before bed, I hoped for little haze for some great shots.

Day 11

We all slept in today so once I got back from my shower, the kids were already peeking out so I started our fire and oatmeal.  Oatmeal is not Brayden's favorite, but if I load it with enough extras like this morning's apples, cinnamon, raisins, granola, and brown sugar, he'll eat it.  By the time he finished though, all we had left to pack was his chair, the dishes, and the tent - the girls and I had finished everything else.  I'm not sure it's registered yet that he could stall every pack up day and get out of all the work!

We stopped back by the nature center this morning to be able to see all the exhibits inside and since it was drizzling, so did everyone else!  It was packed but the exhibits were all very interesting and informative.  There were animals in tanks, animal skins, learning activites, animal bones and feathers, a whole exhibit on the formation of the Dells and the Wisconsin River, and a ton of historical photographs of the area.

Ryan pulled me into a room to check out the mystery boxes.  She loves these things, but only after someone does them first so she can be assured her hand will still be intact afterward.  All the kids were grossed out when they realized what they were touching was called "poop on a stick".  It wasn't actually poop.  Just the name for a fungus.

Our path out of the park was through the other campground and I was so glad we camped in the Northern Lights section of the park.  This campground reminded me so much of home with the sparse trees and flat ground.  I'd much rather be tucked in the woods - here was out site - absolutely beautiful!!

Today was to be one of our longer drives so I'd prepared a bunch of snacks, movies and activites to hand back.  The kids were actually completely quiet for the first 2 hours reading magazines I'd brought for each of them.  Brayden's of course was Kids Sports Illustrated so he rattled off random facts for the first hour.  Ryan's was an animal magazine which she traded with Brayden after she'd pulled out the poster and read everything.  Laney's was a pre-teen girl magazine that neither of the others wanted to get near so she had it all to herself.

We were going to be meeting up with a cousin of mine today I'd met once when I was 4 or 5.  I'd been to Woodhull, where the reunion was a few days ago, to visit all that family and see snow.  She was a little older than me but I can still hear my Great Aunt Joyce say her name.  Just before we stopped we just had to turn around to get a picture here since I'd missed the geographic marker 3 years ago in Indiana I believe.  This isn't the actual official spot but close enough.  And of course I missed the real one anyway just up the road.

 Fortunately for us, she was camping on our route to our next stop so we met up in a town nearby for ice cream.  It was great to learn a little more about my family as this other side has also been traced back to royalty, this time in Wales wow!

As we were chatting she mentioned we might want to go down the street and see the last log stacker in the world left over from lumberjack logging days.  We enjoyed the walk down there and learned quite a bit at the visitors center.  The kids enjoyed running an obstacle course across some tires even more and I appreciated the stretch with 3 more hours to go.

 

















We settled in with a movie for the kids and music for me and were off.  The gps said we would be at the ferry in just under 3 hours.  I quickly checked ferry schedule as I remembered they were every half hour during the day and became more spread out through the night.  According to the schedule we would get there with 1 minute to spare.  Now you all know I'm a pretty competitive person.  I have been known to throw games for fun for my kids to win, but also to practically run them over for a touchdown.

So I now have about 3 hours to make up some time to ensure our spot on the ferry as the next one would leave 90 minutes later.  Little did I know I'd be driving curvy Wisconsin back roads.  And do people in Wisconsin always drive the speed limit?  It seems every time I passed someone I'd be behind someone else within a few minutes that was going 5 miles under the speed limit.  Didn't they know I was racing against the clock here?

The drive was beautiful the entire way and the kids enjoyed more new books and listening to another cd of The Grimm Legacy.  We made it to the ferry with 6 minutes to spare after a slow construction zone and being stuck behind a really long camper for awhile.  The kids were shocked how cold it was after being closed up in a car all day!  It was a quick but beautiful ferry ride and the kids enjoyed petting all the dogs along for the ride.

The town of LaPointe was adorable and we couldn't wait to get back the next day.  We made it to our park, found our spot, and quickly set up.  Our site had a nice little elevated spot in the grass that was just perfectly about the size of our tent.  As I was putting on the rainfly I noticed about 41 slugs had already decided to make our tent walls there home for awhile so we unstaked and moved the tent back down to the gravel.  I'm not a slug-hater, I just don't want to have to deal with popping them all off in 2 days when we take the tent down.  If there is 41 now after about 10 minutes, no telling how many there would be by the time we leave?

We were all getting cold and hungry so we walked down to the camphost and picked up a pile of firewood.  Tonight would be macaroni and cheese in the fire!  It's definitely not the quickest method, but it sure was delicious.  The kids played a cooking game over the fire while I cleaned up and after we read a couple chapters we went to bed.  Tonight I we would have the tent windows zipped up as I already had socks on it was so chilly!