#Travel // Alone Together in Canada // October 2013

As we passed the border from Northern Minnesota in to Canada, our first day was spent exploring the unknown and having it all to ourselves. Let me tell you, the other 8 billion inhabitants of this earth have no idea what they're missing when it comes to the north shore of Lake Superior in the midst of autumn!

There's a smattering of small towns along the way (one boasting to being the home of a 1998 female curling champion!), but as far as I'm concerned, the only served as a place to take a break, refuel and continue on to the wilderness. Our first major attraction was the Ouiment Canyon, and like any canyon, no photos could possibly do it justice! 

There is an expanse of really awesome trails along Lake Superior, and as alluring as they all were, we stuck to the smaller, easier ones, unsure how long our new road trip route would take to lead us back to Chicago before Torsten's departure flight. 

The rest of the day we mostly just made stops are really stunning rest stops on the side of the highway. Every five minutes there was a new, amazing few that made us want to stop the car and just soak it all in. It's probably the only reason it took us so long to cover this chunk of the coast! At least we were able to see a bobcat lurking on the side of the road, no photos as it didn't dawn on me until after we'd passed it that it had to be a bobcat! There is still something so exhilarating about even getting a glimpse of an animal in the wild that you'd never expect to see!

There was no way we were going to find anything open 24 hours by the end of the day, so we decided to stray off the highway and find somewhere low-profile that we could get away with parking the van for the night. I couldn't tell you where we parked, because I have no idea the road that led us off the highway to this secluded bay. We crawled around rocks as one of the most magnificent and surreal sunsets painted the sky. It was changing every 30 seconds into something more and more beautiful.

Eventually it got really chilly, where Torsten and I ended up having a couple beers as darkness overcame our beautiful bay. After a day of fresh air, we had one of our best, most relaxing sleeps of the trip, alone together in our makeshift, Canadian wilderness, camping spot. Pure bliss.

#LastHurrah

 [ To add to the nostalgia factor of this post,  play "Good Riddance" or "Friends Forever". Don't be shy, I know you all have them in your iTunes. ]

My days of checking in gleeful tourists for their "full-day sea caves adventure" and nights of drinking local microbrews to Lake Superior's stunning sunsets has officially come to an end. 

The last week was spent having our last hurrahs, packing-up and saying our goodbyes. It was a bittersweet moment as we definitely made the most of our experience, but by the end a lot of us, mostly the guides, were getting worn out with working so much and dealing with our less than ideal living quarters. Don't let my balcony photo fool you, while outside was gorgeous, there is a reason why you've never seen photos from the inside. I think there'd be a unanimous vote that it was probably breaking soooo many codes.

Nonetheless, getting to experience Lake Superior and the Apostle Islands made it all worth it. 

Here's to the trips made, skills learned, goodies consumed, the people watching, wildlife spotting, meteor showers, birthday celebrating, dinners shared, street fights witnessed, spontaneous dips in the lake, games in the park, gin and tonics, weather watching, lightning storms, jamming on the deck, girl talks, live music, surviving captian dave's, star gazing and best of all

....

 getting to know all these cool cats. 

It was a summer of some great and interesting experiences that I will always remember. 

Cheers!

#LongIsland #FullMoon #Cruise

  

...

There are nights you remember the summer by.

They typically revolve around the most gorgeous sunsets you'd swear you've ever seen, with some of the most amazing humans you know and a fire so large you can focus your eyes on anything else other than it's glow while shenanigans are happening in the distance.

...

The week stated out with a sign on the kitchen screen door advertising a full-moon cruise to one of the islands with eats and spirits-a-plenty. 

More than enough to reason to go.

The day arrived and a larger than expect crowd gathered outside the corner of the Bayfield Inn while we waited anxiously for “our captain” to arrive. After waiting for awhile, about three full drinks worth (not that I was counting), numbers started to slowly dwindle. The rest of us just gathered on the rooftop bar overlooking superior for drinks and a dip into the snacks, basically preparing for the worst and making ourselves comfortable.

Eventually we were given word that everything was ready at the pier to load ourselves and our belongings, which consisted mostly of beer, food and musical instruments. On arrival to the pier, all of our illusions of the cruise were shattered as we thought there'd be this big huge yacht like thing waiting for us outside.

Instead we were given three little fishing boats.

The numbers dwindled yet again.

The rest of us, already buzzing, were still stoked to be going on a boat so we loaded and set off for long island*. The sun was starting to set over the lake, the islands with Bayfield disappearing in the distance. While loading, it may have seemed sketchy at first, but I think we all knew we were making the right decision. Or at least there are worse ways to go down than with boats filled with beer and good company. 

As our boat approached the shore of Long Island we watched as the others arrived, unloading and starting a ferocious fire in what seemed like a snap of a finger. We rolled up our pants and waded to shore. It didn't take long before everyone had a beer in hand and music started being played.

We had landed just in time to watch the most spectacular sunset, where the full moon was already shinning bright, rising over the horizon. During the last rays of sunlight, a group of us followed the beach towards the bright glow of the moon. We went as far as the beach went, sitting next to the breakwater. Contemplating life, or whatever, I'm sure. 

We hung out in our quiet corner for a while. As we headed back we joined the others and all sat around the fire. It didn't seem like long before we were staring to gather everything up to head back to Bayfield. 

As we approached the bright lights of Bayfield, the party didn't end. With the most prime location in town, and a balcony overlooking the bay, our place was the natural choice to continue the night's festivities. 

 I'm not totally sure what time we started winding down, but whatever few hours of sleep I was able to log I still woke up with the sun at 6 AM, escaping a hangover and with enough energy to last at least half of the day at work. 

*Long island is not technically an island anymore since it has connected the mainland 30 years ago, now making it a peninsula. 

#BerryFine

Gooseberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, strawberries

and only the most helpful signs to help you along the way.

That's Bayfield. 

I set out this morning, after catching up on Game of Thrones and Roller Coaster Tycoon naturally, to take advantage of living in the berry capital of Wisconsin. Being the most anticipated, my first stop was to pick cherries. I think I was one of the first that morning because I hit a jackpot and picked a good five pounds of cherries off a single tree. That tree and I shared a moment.

 A very delicious moment.

I figured those cherries, all five pounds of them, would be lonely in my fridge. 

I heard they enjoyed the company of raspberries and blueberries so I set out to Blue Vista Farm. They were busier and more picked over, but the view over the rolling hills in the mist with their old, renovated barn along blooming gardens was good enough for me. 

 My last stop was to expand my taste palate in the way of berries. 

Good Earth Farms offers the lesser heard of gooseberries, currants and juneberries. While juneberries were definitely the tastiest, their time was nearly up this summer season so I had my pick of currants and gooseberries. Neither of which are really that great, but I was already there and picking 99 cents worth of gooseberries seemed to satisfy my desires. 

I figured they'd be good for something, like baking or whatnot. I dunno.

Turns out not even the internet has much idea of what to do with those damn berries. 

I should have taken it as a sign when I only saw two bushes to pick from.

oh well

I'll just have to get creative as I'm making myself five pounds heavier with cherries.

Now, if you don't mind, I have some fresh-picked berries to attend to.

Cheers!

(the strawberries in this post were actually picked nearly a month ago. I just though they seemed fitting.)

#Fallplans

Oh hey there July, can you ever not be a jerk and go by so quickly? 

How is there only a few days left of of this month? 

Honestly though, right now I'm finding it hard to really care all that much with some highly anticipated autumn plans coming up. Don't get me wrong, my summer in Bayfield is easily one of the best decisions I've made and a super amazing experience I never imagined having.

bbbuuuuuuuuttt...

knowing there is this guy on the way it's hard to focus on anything else. Towards the end of September I get to drive to Chicago O'Hare Airport, spend way too much on coffee and probably pace manically in front of the arrivals board as I wait to greet him into the U.S.

I have been planning a pretty epic road-trip route complete with the best of the Midwest & Rocky Mountains. I think I'd be lost without roadtrippers.com and my Lonely Planet Guide. It will be his first time ever coming to the States so of course I'm planning hardcore to make it awesome, but nothing too crazy.

So far I'm thinking fireworks, shooting ranges and meals consisting of hot dogs and s'mores. 

Yup.
That should do.
Only 2 more months!

Cheers! 

#BayfieldLately

 

This first week of July has finally brought a slew of sunshine, tourists and heat. We went from wearing wool hats and coats in June to being hot, sweat messes this week with temps climbing easily into the 90's (35c), which is unbearable for the average Wisconsinite. I'm lucky to have years spent in Australia adapting to smoldering heat to the point where I actually enjoy a nice, sweat-induced nap in the sun. It's even more enjoyable now that I have a cold-as-ice, freshwater lake at my disposal. 

This nice weather came at a very convient time with the 4th of July and the prime, tourist weekend here. Work has been super busy with all available trips filling up and luckily we haven't had the weather drama like we had in June. Working in the office of a kayak outfitter is making me incredibly good at reading radars. 

The job also has connections to really cool peeps who have brilliant ideas and traditions such as paddling out into the lake, rafting our kayaks together and watching the fireworks light up directly in front of us. In the distance we could also clearly see the Madeline Island, Ashland and Red Cliff shows going off. It was easily the best 4th of July festivities I have taken part in so far. 

This week the annual Raceweek in Bayfield was held. What I believe to be, hundreds of sailboats added to the already gorgeous backdrop of Lake Superior and it's 21 islands. There have also been nightly concerts in the park and on the rooftop bar across the street from us, providing some good entertainment and people watching opportunities. 

The residents are also giving a big hallelujah as the main street construction in town has finally finished enabling myself and the rest of the town to sleep in past 7AM. I can now walk to my favorite shops without tripping over all the mounds of dirt and rope. Always a plus. 

So basically that's what I've been up to so far this month. 

I'd say it's been pretty neat. 

Cheers! 

#PaddlingOut

The summer season at the new job is now officially rounding into full swing! These past couple weeks at Living Adventure have been some of the most exciting yet with a plethora of training, trip shadowing and groovy staff hang-outs.

Admittingly, the Bayfield/Apostle Island area is easily one of the most amazing hidden gems (I think Wisconsin, as a whole, is but this especially). I honestly had no idea the Apostle Islands and caves existed until a couple months ago... pretty sad considering I grew up only 5 hours away!

That being said, I've been keeping pretty busy exploring the area, mingling with the locals and learning more about kayaking than I ever could have imagined. I'm working with some seriously cool folks that have some crazy skills and experiences that I am incredibly envious of!

But hey, at least I get to spend the summer soaking-up all their knowledge and testing it out on one the greatest lakes there is! Keep reading/skimming/glancing to check out some of the trips I've been on thus far...

Mainland Sea Caves

They're baaasically the pride and joy of the area and for good reason. 

Paddling out and about these caves is pretty effin' cool. If you're lucky enough to go on a perfectly calm

 day you'll be able to duck in, out, around and through some some pretty stunning sea caves you never 

thought a giant, tandem, sea kayak would fit through. Along with the caves, I can almost guarantee you 

that you'll most likely have some bald eagle spottings. I have a hard time believing they were once 

endangered with how many I have already seen around the area. 

Bark Bay

There's no better way to paddle and experience this level of local wildlife & plant diversity.
This trip is only reserved for taking out folks when the conditions at the sea caves are too rough'n'tough for the newbs that generally make up those trips. It's a pity though since it is still gorgeous, especially if you take a liking to water fowl watching. While I was there, my group was able to paddle past two loons floating on the lake while bald eagles were soaring in the distance and a couple of cranes were chilling on the shore. It was one of those moments you could have stopped and stared for an eternity. 

 Staff Overnight

Getting out to explore the islands is definitely in the stars for me this summer. 

I was lucky enough to be able to tag along the first night of the staff overnight where we camped out on Oak Island and experienced the most incredible sunset. The next day a chunk of us left the others, who continued island hopping, and we checked out a bit of Basswood Island as well. The islands use to be a happening place once upon a time, but now most are in the transition of being kept away from human inhabitation (other than camping). Enough time has passed where getting to see nature take over the left-over relics is both nostalgic and stunning. 

That concludes my trips so far!

As per usual, my instagram is constanly being updated with photos from my trips, days on the Living Adventure base and life in Bayfield. So you should definitely check that our for more frequent activity on my summer happenings! 

Cheers! 

#WelcomeToBayfield

I conquered the five-hour drive from Green Bay to Bayfield five days ago now and since then I've been kept pretty busy with office training, meeting the crew, bonding with my fellow boarding housemates and admiring Lake Superior on land and kayak. 

Spring has really just begun here, so it's been chilly with storms floating through everyday. With that, I haven't gone out to check out the local hubs too much, not that there's much to cover, but it is definitely a photogenic little town. I may have forgotten to bring a few things, but I'm glad my collection of cameras was not one of them. 

Now that the sun is finally shining I am going get out of this overpriced coffeeshop (one of the only places  in town with reliable internet) to bask myself in all its glory!

Cheers!