Minnesota Family Vacation

Matt absolutely LOVES his yearly trip to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota each year with his middle school students.  He talks about it constantly and has always said that we should go as a family.  Well, I was really NOT excited about camping in tents without running water, showers, toilets, etc.  I mean, we did just get an RV. :)  So, we compromised and went up to Tuscorora (the outfitter he plans with) and stayed in one of their family cabins.  It is an absolutely beautiful area and we enjoyed some great family time together with no phone, internet, tv to distract us!
We left on Thursday, July 2nd and took 2 days to drive the 14+ hours.  The kids did GREAT in the car.  I brought some surprises (little trinkets from the Dollar Tree) for them to open every few hours just to keep things fresh and we also rented movies from Red Box and then returned them in a different city when we were done with them.  The kids liked getting to choose a new movie to watch and it helped keep them entertained.

July 3rd
When we got to the outfitter, we wanted the kiddos to get out and use some of that built up energy, so we all rode bikes around the cabins and lakes and the kids also went swimming in Round Lake, where our cabin was.

As you might guess, the water was cold.  They didn't mind though and once you got used to it, it wasn't too bad!

 July 4
We chose this day to do a day trip to Larch Lake before driving into the closest town (Grand Marais, which was an hour away) for fireworks.  Unfortunately, our day did not start out how we thought.  As soon as we got all of our equipment unloaded, Matt went to park our SUV and hit a sharp rock.  The guys at the outfitter were super helpful in making sure we got a new tire, but it definitely slowed us down a bit.  Once we got going, though, we had a great time canoeing through the creek to get out to the big lake.

While we waited, we explored the woods.

Swimming in the cold water (Landon wasn't too fond of it)

Cool water tower

 Grand Marais is right on Lake Superior, so it was pretty chilly for fireworks, but we dressed for it and had a great time.  The kids LOVED it, even though they wore about 4 layers of clothes in July! :)

July 5

After a late night, we decided to take it easy the next day and go on a few family bike rides and swim at the pier.

We saw several loons and bald eagles, but no bears or moose on this trip.

Love kids in goggles :)

Our sand castle

 July 6
This day started out overcast and rainy so we stayed around the cabin.  Matt took each of the kids out fishing for awhile while I entertained the other and read.

View of Round Lake from our cabin

Here's Emmy with her catch!

 We went about 25 minutes away to a yummy restaurant called Trail Center.  We enjoyed all the home cooked food and yummy milkshakes.  It's not the most economical place to get gas though, $4.75 a gallon.  I guess that is expected though when gas stations are few and far between!

Landon was thrilled with all of the state license plates in the restaurant

July 7

Matt and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary paddling out to Ham Lake.  I did not get any pictures on this day because we did some portaging where we had to get out of the canoe and carry all of the equipment through the woods on a trail to get to the next part of the lake.  We had a really nice day and the kids were great with helping carry things.

July 8

Our last morning at Tuscarora.  The kids will miss biking around and I'll miss the serene environment.  Matt will miss fishing (although he'll go back next summer).  The cabin was wonderful, 3 bedrooms, and everything we needed.  There were many mosquitoes/black flies at the outfitter.  You had to dress in layers for the weather and the bugs.

 I was interested in going to the Mall of America in Minnesota on our way home (actually it was about 2 hours out of the way).  I had been there as a teenager and remembered the rides and how huge it was.  We got there about 4:30 and the kids rode a few rides, we ate dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimps, and did a little shopping.  Emerson was in heaven finding an American Girl store.

 July 9
Today was a LONG day in the car.  We drove from 10:30-8:30, stopping every so often for potty breaks and food, but we were all very glad to pull into our driveway.
Overall, I think everyone really enjoyed our trip and I know the kids are already talking about going back.  Even though it was a different vacation from what I am used to, I had a good time and am certainly glad that we did it.