getaway

We're back from the North Shore. It always takes a day or two...ok maybe another six months...to come down from the high. Mom and Dad spent the vacation shadowing little G-girl, but next year we should be able to hand her the car keys and a lunch bag and let her off on her own. As always, it was a fun, activity packed week. Our kids braved the frigid waters of Lake Superior, and kept going back for more. They talked a few of us adults in too.

We also have a not-so-secret-anymore swimming hole that we always go to. It is where we go cliff jumping. The best part is seeing our kids do what we've loved for so many years. I was amazed at their braveness to go off the cliffs.

Our big event was hiking the Kadunce River. For those of you who've never experience this wonderful gem, tucked north of Grand Marais, you must stop and hike if you ever go by. It is probably the most beautiful river hike in the state. It starts out fairly unassuming, like many of the rivers you will cross on Hwy 61. Not long into the hike it will start to become another being. It is dotted with five waterfalls and 75' high cliffs that close in to a width of about 5' on either side of you. Many have commented that with the ferns and assorted other plant life clinging to the sides of the cliffs, that it very much resembles a place in South America. You will often have the river hike to yourself and view a unique beauty that few will ever see. Being that the water levels were low, we were able to climb all the waterfalls and hike a mile and a half of the river. The kids loved it and the dads had a great system of teamwork to get everyone up the waterfalls. I will always have the image of little-G being handed up a waterfall like a little fairy in the air. She was unfazed by it all.

A few of our other favorite things? I asked the family. S said his favorite part was playing with his friends and being with his family. E's favorite part was eating the chocolate sticks, aka s'mores. Dad's favorite parts was seeing the kids go up the waterfalls on the Kadunce and getting to the top alive. G's favorite thing was everything, because she did everything. She particularly enjoyed rock collecting. One of my favorite adventures was rock climbing. I have a healthy fear of heights, so I enthusiastically (ok I was shaking in my shoes) top-roped off a 200 foot cliff aided by the crashing waters of Lake Superior below. My goal was to just get off the side of the sheer drop and make it about 20' below. And I now can say I did it.

Finally my comments wouldn't be complete with the quote of the week. Actually, it is uttered every year by my dear husband.

"Pam, you know, I could just live up here."