Thanks to Joram for inspiring me to get back on the blog wagon. To start with I thought I would pick up where I left off. The summer was full of fun travels. Not too long after my trip to Oregon (see last post), I was off on an amazing sailing trip. Along with 5 other crew mates and a captain, I went on my longest sailing excursion to date. The adventure started with a drive up to Thunder Bay Ontario. According to our captain it is home to the number 1 natural attraction of Canada, the sleeping giant. Sadly I didn't get any good pictures of it.
From there the group ventured out on Frodo accompanied by owner Captain Greg. Isle Royale National Park was our destination, a 40 mile crossing from Canada to the largest of the Lake Superior's islands. Our focus for the trip was the North end of the island. The crossing was perfect with plenty of wind. The first stop was Rock Harbor to sign in with US Customs. From there we worked our way down into Moskey Basin. The following day we did some hiking which included a wolf sighting and also checked out the Edisen Fishery. At the end of the day we sailed for McCargoe Cove where we stayed two nights. On the way we spotted a Moose and her calf. We spent two nights in McCargoe, a beautiful spot. There we relaxed, hiked (to Chickebone Lake) and swam. One of my favorite parts was eating Thimbleberrys as I hiked. To add to taste experience, one of my crew mates Julia caught a fresh Northern. It was grilled up for breakfast the second morning of our stay in the cove. I can’t imagine a more idyllic scene. Another favorite part was swinging out of the water to jump into the lake.
Thanks to an adventurous group, our sail back was undertaken as a night sale. In watches (shifts), the crew started for Thompson island, just a few ours from Thunder Bay. Lucky for us the night also happened to by highly active with meteor showers, and filled with enough wind to make using the engine unnecessary for the crossing (~30 miles). At Thompson island we were greeted by a lovely cove. The area had been converted into a haven for boaters. There was a sauna, trails, scenic views and a playground. My favorite memory of Thompson island was running from the sauna to jump into Lake Superior. Again, I can’t imagine a much more idyllic scene.
After the wonders of Thompson island, it was the start of the trip home. We spent one more night on Frodo before heading back to Minneapolis. We made a brief stop to tour Fort William on our way out of Thunder Bay. The trip home was pleasant, the whole crew getting along to the very last second. I was happy to retreat into a book (David McCollough’s John Adams). Here are a couple pics from the trip. The rest are on Flickr.
Thompson Island scenic view (Frodo is the sailboat in the middle);)
Thompson Island view looking out from the Sauna;)
Onboard Frodo;)