Here we go! 6 people, 4 of which are over 6' tall, in a mini-van for 9 days. Sleeping bags, clothes, toiletries, tents, pillows, towels, cooler, hats, hiking boots, snacks, DVD's,
camping cots, coffee maker.....
I made reservations for the camper cabin at Jay Cooke one year in advance. So when they sent me a confirmation before the trip, I checked the dates. I did not read the one, small sentence that said they would have no water anywhere in the park for the entire summer of 2018. It was still a fabulous park, even though we had to shower and fill water bottles somewhere else.
The swinging bridge.
Morning coffee.
We drove the North Shore from Duluth the first full day.
Gooseberry Falls
This was the picnic area at Gooseberry where the kids broke a cardinal rule of parks: don't feed the wildlife.
This was the beach near the picnic area. Freezing cold, but refreshing!
And in Duluth/North Shore, you must skip those beautifully polished rocks.
Siblings love each other so much. Good thing this picture only recorded the smiles. The smiles coming from them laughing at their own "roasts" they were giving each other.
T-post Tuesday Teenagers.
These two are such buddies. Best buddies who roast everyone in the family who is not them.
Like this brother who is not them.
After Duluth, we headed to Bayfield Wisconsin and the Apostle Islands. And look at this brother. He's adorable... and roastable.
Chris and I each had to steer a 3 person kayak with our feet. It was the most physically uncomfortable I have ever been for an extended period of time (except for being pregnant). Luckily, the view and adventure was well worth it. Kind of like pregnancy?
Sea Caves.
Bayfield is such an adorable town. Chris saw the exact, first car he ever had that he bought from his sister Mardi.
Eating at Gruenke's. I mistakenly thought the person had said "Drunkies" and had to clarify that this was a family eatery. We tried their famous "whitefish livers." I still don't like liver. All I can think of it how big livers are and how your probe goes right through them when you are dissecting. And it tastes gross.
The next morning, we headed from Bayfield to Munising, Michigan. We were attempting to beat the rain for the first night of tenting. We arrived with barely enough time to set up the tents before the rain and our cruise. But, our site was lovely, right on the shore of Lake Superior.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore cruise.
Chapel Rock.
The rock fell away; the tree remained.
After raining all night long, our campground was flooded. But we were dry! I got up and went hiking by myself. I should've dragged everyone with me, because these were short hikes with high-reward views and many waterfalls.
But these two were busy being silly. (this is how well they got along for about......5% of the trip? I had to photograph it.)
These two, with Travis, were sent to the laundromat, where I thought they'd have wifi. Nope.
After letting the tents dry out and washing clothes, we drove from Munising MI to Empire MI. And again we were able to set up our tents before the rain started. We waited out the rain at our favorite restaurant of the trip: Friendly Joe's Tavern.
Of course the day we planned to explore Sleeping Bear Dunes National lakehore was raining. So we waited for breaks in the rain to do some climbing. Luckily, the rain was easy to spot.
This overlook was 450' above Lake Michigan.
Why wouldn't we just dune it?
Luke, Eva, Travis and myself climbed down to the lake. The climb up was exhausting, but only took about 45 minutes round trip. Travis started calling me "Mrs. Butt-kick Jones" after I was CERTAIN there was no way that he would beat me back to the top. That wiry, little bugger Travis is ridiculously quick on those dunes; I couldn't catch him.
Empire Bluffs trail.
Hiking without whining.
My dune-hiking partner Eva. She claimed me, even though I looked like this. I loved climbing these dunes and could've done it day after day, over and over again.
Luke is pretending to hold up the two legendary bear cubs that perished in the waters that became the Manitou islands off sleeping bear dunes.
This photo was taken just after I almost had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on Marie. It almost deleted this photo, because it was that scary.
But minus the the near-death choking experience, Abbie Althoff's apartment gave us Hansons an amazing glimpse into city life. We took the city bus wherever we wanted to go!
Chicago Tourists.
Obviously.
Hey teenagers and 10-year-old, I don't care if you think the ticket price was too high; Cash in exchange isn't an option.
Hamilton songs have been stuck in my head ever since and I love it. The kids have even admitted to loving it, although they would've rather had the cash.
Buckhouse camping trip. Cousins.
Camper cabins at Maplewood.
Since us Buckhouses had all 3 cabins on the hill, we also had our own private dock to kayak. Loads of Minnesota loons!
Halle's first take at kayaking.
Hansons/Evens 4th of July festivities continue!
These outfits were not planned. It's like the Structure days: They just dress the same.
The Evens came and experienced Hankinson. These ladies cleaned the boat so that we could head out to Lake Elsie.
Eva has been practicing driving this summer. This was Marie's first time riding with Eva. Marie says "This is sure taking a long time to get home. But at least I'm not dying."
And Marie tried and loved rollerblading; First Hanson kid to do so!
"No screens. Find something to do outside." So Luke and the neighbor sat outside and read books and ate popcorn.
Since my kids spent last summer constantly knocking on the doors of friends, I decided to bring the friends to us this summer. #nannymom
Making baseball cookies for the Rockies team.
Coach Erika brought most of the team with her.
Fargo Street Fair.
Take a neighborhood hiking in Fargo.
These kids participated in a study at NDSU and each were paid $10. The big boys were so jealous of their "job" that I went back later with the 10 year olds!
This was definitely not completed by me.
Thanks Eva.
Oh how I hate art projects. But look, I did one.
I'd do 100 lemonade stands over crafts.
Carson's dad got us Red Hawks tickets for a day game. These 10-year-olds thought they were pretty cool hangin' out on the their own.
Killin' time at the Red River Valley Fair.
I didn't lose anyone!
We started the summer with a visit from the Quams and Chris Hanson
sleeping outside with his brisket and the
Big Green Egg Memorial Day weekend.
Ginger and Erika and Marie and Kirby.
