Canoeing with my Kids

The BW was fun! But sharing the experience with my kids would be amazing. 

For now we settled with just canoeing in a tiny lake and after about twenty minutes we were still in the same little cove probably thirty feet from shore. -Why? The kids loved being able to "HELP"... consequently would not share the oars. Paisley spent the second half of the trip outside the canoe hanging on to it because it was way more fun than actually sitting in the canoe. We didn't make it too far, but had a blast. It was one of those moments where there was no time schedule or really any plan but to wonder aimlessly as a nuclear family.

Daphney noticed some trees in the distance breaking the surface of the water. She wanted to canoe over there and the realist I am told her we will never make it. But then she looked at me and said, "But mom it is my DREAM to sit on a tree in the middle of the lake!" So we set coarse for those trees although boats created big waves all around us we made it and Daphney got her dream- I hope they are all that easy!

On the way out to the lake in flat KS. We met a slight incline (not even really a hill...) Demitri started freaking out, "Mom we are going up the MOUNTAIN!!! Then when we reached the top he excitedly exclaimed, "Mom I can see everything from up here!" - That is when I realized he had vacationed in KS too long!

Fun side note: When I was little I was "quite smart" and my dad and I practiced geography questions because the bee was coming up. My dad told me, "always to guess, because you never know if it might be right..... " "Yes dad I WILL!"

There I was sweating bullets and hearing his advice in my head as the teacher read the question..... What is the tallest mountain in the world?....  [always guess]  ...Soldier Hills? (Those hills are epic when you are a kid and your dad turns around just to drive them again for his begging children.... but sadly not the correct answer since it didn't end in the word mountain.)

Yep I was raised in KS!

The Boundary Waters ("BW")

Shane and I just recently were able to sneak away for a canoeing/fishing/camping week up on the Canada Border. 

1.) Was it fun? -Yes! 

2.) Was it Hard? - Yes! (reference video) 

        I think most of the reason it was so fun was that portaging and canoeing in and out were so miserably hard. The video doesn't do it justice. It was fun to have to pull together and pick up slack for each other when the other spouse was dying. I think it did wonders for our relationship having time to show concern for each other. With three kids I will be honest their needs are often more immediate or at least louder and we forget to put each other on the top of the priority list. 

       We traveled up giant mountains and around cliffs. We sloshed through mud and the mosquitoes loved the mud and ME! They probably ate more than I did, because filtering water and starting a fire and washing dishes in the lake is such a task for the blasted oatmeal package.  

It was gorgeous overload. This is the sight from our campsite. You are seeing the Canada border. Our group only saw about two groups of canoes a day. 

 Northern Pike and Walleye were the two main types of fish we caught. And believe me I carried in a lot of fish oil and fun flavored tarter sauce!

I caught bigger ones but of coarse the one picture we have is this baby...

 More Scenic views....

We laid out fish on a rock to attract the Bald Eagles. It was fun to watch them fly in, and an otter in the wild which neither of us had seen before. 

Okay so there is my map! It was forty miles for the whole trip!

If you find the smudge mark in the bottom left that is where we started, and then we made a loop and exited there as well. Basically I traveled all over everything you see there, and base camped the longest up in quadrant number sixteen at the top right. 

VICTORY PICTURE!!! 

This was exiting after a twenty mile canoe/hike that day! We started at 8am and exited after 9. We didn't have time to stop for breakfast, lunch, or dinner yet so we were exhausted, starving, crazy and had to find dinner and a place to sleep. Oh and yes it is once again raining!!

 BUT WE DID IT!!

While eating GLORIOUS MICROWAVE sandwiches at the gas station a police officer commented, "Wow you guys are hungry?!" Yes sir, promise we will pay for these after we eat them!