What an incredibly beautiful day after yesterday’s gloominess. I woke up at 7 to go for a run along the shore of Lake Superior.  A sign at the boat launch said that Lake Superior accounts for 10% of the world’s total surface fresh water. Listening and watching the waves lap upon the shore almost lulled me back to sleep.  Thankfully the camp hostess had out coffee and hot chocolate. Scott and I sipped our warm beverages while we watched the waves.  The kids came and joined us and the rock throwing soon commenced.

We found a fresh snake skin that wasn’t there last night.  The kids found the snake that belonged to the skin a little later.

The beautiful open shoreline was a welcome change to the crowded campground.

Cody brought rocks to the campsite to continue his rock factory pounding. Brooke turned her rocks into pizza.

Lake of the Clouds- short hike- located seven miles from our campground. We encountered some Adventure Scouts who were also partaking in Cody’s favorite recreational activity: throwing rocks.

Mama deer and her fawn after Lake of the Clouds.

Presque Isle River – The largest river in the Porcupine Mountains.

Manido Falls – In Ojibwa Manido menas spirit or ghost

The amber-colored water is due to tannins and other plant compounds.

Scott noticed the footings under the boardwalks had moved quite a bit from their original placement.

At the end of the Manabezho Falls the Presque Isle River flowed into Lake Superior. Cody and Brooke had been running ahead and came back to us with wide eyes and excitement.  They had found an incredible spot to throw and skip rocks.  We played with rocks for at least a half hour.

Scott stepped up the rock throwing and started throwing driftwood. Cody was happy to bring Scott some large pieces to throw.

Scott decided he wanted to crawl through a hollowed out log.  We all laughed pretty hard as he pulled himself all the way through.

Cody was working on pulling out a tooth while we drove. He suggested we attach a string to it to help pull it out.  We had lunch at Landry Square in Mellen, Wisconsin at an itty bitty picnic table at the edge of a grocery store and gas station.  Shortly after we sat down a older gentleman joined us.  He was pleasant enough, but the mom in me was already feeling nervous about him.  The last time I had a nervous mom feeling about a gentleman at a park less than a mile from where Brooke dances while playing soccer the gentleman decided he wanted to try and steal the soccer ball away from Brooke too.  He had knocked Brooke with his hips before I could exhale.  He turned out to be developmentally delayed and was steered away by Brooke’s soccer coach who acted quickly. I wasn’t taking any chances this time.

Back to Mellen, WI - The next thing I knew he took out a knife…to scratch off his lottery tickets. After we ate the gentleman left.  I couldn’t help but think that we had missed out on an interesting conversation with the gentleman, but at the same time my desire to protect my kids, just in case, was stronger than my desire to have another conversation with a stranger with a knife.

Scott was going to skip the Chippewea Flowage, but due to the nine inches of rain in a few hours and the Route 2 and other roads’ bridges being out we are adding on at least an extra 100 miles and an extra canoe trip. We arrived at the Chippewea Flowage in Hayward, WI, back in the central time zone, at 4pm.

We paddled to Turkey Island to see if we might be able to camp out there.  However, it is first come first serve and only one family per island.  Since it was late Friday afternoon it was no surprise that Turkey Island was already taken.  It took us 16 minutes to paddle 1,000 meters.  We would have had to take two trips back and forth to get the tent and the sleeping gear to the island.  The next island was 3,000 meters away, so it would have been near impossible to paddle 45 minutes each way three times before bed time.  So, we toured around Turkey Vulture Island and then pulled ashore on a super tiny island so the kids could play.

The kids played lifeguard for at least a half hour.  It was nice to see them enjoying each other and giggling.  While on the island Scott was researching his potential newest camp accessory: a Nemo rain shelter.  He had phone service on the island.  He has phone service a lot more often than I do.

Even after we arrived back to the car the kids amused themselves without incident while we packed everything back into the car. It was a beautiful day.