The Superior Shore

On the fourth of July we packed most of our belongings into our car and took off for the North Shore. We were just heading out for a long weekend of camping and I was already fully exhausted. Over the previous weekend I had co-directed the 2nd annual Croixathlon- a triathlon fundraiser for YMCA Camp St. Croix. It was a thrilling success with 240 people participating and an end result of $15,ooo for Camp. But I don't sleep well in the days coming up to the event because I am petrified that someone will drown on the swim or crash on the bike. I'm happy to report that no one died, but it takes it out of me nonetheless. So anyway, here we were, 4 days later, headed out on a 'vacation' with me already stressed and weary.
But the North Shore worked its magic on me once again. The trip was full of highlights, including:

• Brilliant fireworks over the lake out of the teeny town of Tofte. I was mentally preparing to be disappointed and declared every blast as the 'grand finale'. I'm happy to report that there were approximately 39 finales.



• Fabulous swims in the cool Temperence River (as compared to the frigid lake).
  


• Hours of watching our kids play freely and happily in the woods and fields with their friends Siena and Paloma.
  


• Showing Jackie, our Peruvian houseguest, many of the wonderful waterfalls that the North Shore has to offer.
  

Going to Fort William outside of Thunder Bay, Cananda, and watching Siena realize that this is where her future lies- she is thrilled to imagine a 'job' of dressing up in frontier clothes and giving people tours, sharing loads of historical information.

• Cooking over the fire with the kids as active members of the food producition process.


• And yes, even sleeping crammed into our tent with my lovely family. I will note that this part was much more enjoyable this trip than in the past now that I have my fantastic queenly thermarest that is 1009 times better than the old backpacking thinsy crappy one I've used since my younger, more adventurous years. Jon still uses one of those. Sucks to be him.
  

We arrived back in the cities at 9pm to a humid, swampy house, with a car load of dirty, damp camping equipment and two filthy kids. There were far too few usable hours until I had to be at work in the morning and once again I felt physically exhausted. But then I realized that there was a difference. I was indeed tired of body, but my soul felt rested.