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!