Excitement

This week,  I have the opportunity to hop on a plane to fly to Minneapolis, Minnesota to go camping at the beautiful Lake Maria. I have hiked there are numerous occasions and this will be the first time that I have actually camped out there. Lake Maria is fairly easy hike. There's no super strenuous climbs, it's fairly easy terrain, and there not a ton of rocks if you ever have a chance to go  out there.  Just wear a decent shoe.  You don't want to walk out there flops or sandals or anything, because it is still working trail.  Sneakers, trail runner ,and hiking boots, any of those would be good for that area.  One word of caution - it is also like a horse trail so watch your step. 

Brexit - You frickin suck

With more and more stories coming out of England following the vote to leave the EU, I'm reconsidering my trip there in May.  I'm not one to support the hate, and I don't want to support a country that openly supports discrimination.  I get enough of that here in the US.  I'll probably go, but I'll be very careful where I spend my money. 

Porcupine Mountains - the trip home

Leaving a place of such beauty is never easy.  We packed up and got on the road around 6:45am.  This meant we'd get back into Grand Rapids around 6pm, based on how many stops we made on the way up.  The trip home was pretty uneventful.  We dropped Michelle in Greenville and hopped on the road for the remaining trek back to my house.  Once back, Queenie and I said our goodbyes, they left, and I unpacked the car.

While this trip may not have been one on my bucket list, it was still wonderful to get away.  I can't wait for my next adventure!

Day Three - Porcupine Mountains

Today we're hitting up Presque Isle, Lake of the Clouds, & the Folk school for their Midsummer festival. Presque Isle was cut someone short because of my friend's ankle injury.  We did get to two of the three falls though. 

Afterward, we went back to the cabin for lunch & a nap.  From there, we went to the Folk school for their Midsummer festival.  That was actually pretty cool.  They did an eclectic ceremony where they welcomed in the elements and asked for their blessing.  From there, they played finish music and we got to sing along.  I felt like these were my people.  I even got somewhat teary eyed during the ceremony.  The place just made me happy.

Around 8pm, we decided to cut out early in order to make a trip up to Lake of the Clouds.  Unfortunately, because of the angle of the mountain, we couldn't see the sunset from the Lake of the Clouds viewing area.  We had a great encounter with a deer in the parking lot.  It was pretty cool. 

After Lake of the Clouds, we ran back to the cabin for a quick snack before heading out to the lakeshore to watch the sunset.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  You don't see sunsets like this in the city.

It was too windy for a campfire, so we called it a night early.  The alarm is set for 6am.  I'm going to miss this place.  I always do.

Day Two - Porcupine Mountains

Today we decided to hit up the Union Mine trail, which is roughly about 1 -1.5 mile trail, and it's about as easy as you can get here in the park.  Both of the friends I brought with me had health conditions that limited what they could do, plus we had a 2 yr old with us.  It took roughly 2 hours to do the hike, which is slower than I'm used to, but faster than I expected with a small child in tow.  Afterward, we went back to the cabin for lunch and naps.  It looks like there is more rain in the forecast for tonight.  I'm really hoping to catch a sunset.  Plus there is a midsummer festival tomorrow night, which may be interesting.

Day one - Porcupine Mountains

The trip started out ok... a little bit later than we had originally planned.  This, along with a lot of stops, meant we didn't get to the park until 5:50pm.  The visitor center closed at 6pm, so we just made it.  That didn't stop a shitty park attendant from locking up early.  I made it in before he locked the doors, but my travel companions weren't as lucky, which sucks when you have to pee.  Looks like I may be filing a complaint with the parks department, because closing 10 minutes early when visitors are trying to use the facilities doesn't make for a very welcoming experience.  I had rented a rustic cabin in the park, which meant no electric or running water, and it turned out to be a pretty nice place.  It reminded me of a summer camp cabin actually.


We spent the rest of the evening unpacking and getting settled in.   We had a little bit of a sprinkle happening so we didn't build a fire, which in hindsight, we probably should have because it turned out to be the best night for a fire out of the three nights we were there.

Summer adventures happen so fast...

Time flies!  My trip to the Porcupine Mountains is in just a few short weeks, and I'm already making plans for two additional trips.  My boyfriend, Rob, and I are going camping & hiking in Wisconsin in August, and back up to the Porkies to do some fall backpacking in September.  We went up there last September to catch the color change, but because it was so warm, we were about two weeks early for the peek color.  Hopefully, the weather cooperates and it cools off when it should so the fall color change is on schedule.

I've also inked in my first bucket list trip.  I've decided to go to England in late April/ early May 2017.  There are so many places I want to see there that it was easy to pick that as my first foreign destination.  I need to look at getting my passport sooner rather than later.  I'll be my first time in a foreign country that isn't Canada.  Time to start planning the details!