Back to the Apostles

Paul was going to arrive in just a couple of days and I was pretty excited, as were the kids. The weather was unseasonably warm and I figured, rather than just sit around and count the hours until I had to go to the airport and pick my brother up, we could take a family trip up to Chequamenon Bay and the Apostle Islands. I'd just been there the weekend before and it was really nice so I thought it would be great to explore the Apostle Islands a little more than for just a couple of hours like we did in August. It had been a long drive back to Plainview the evening before as I'd been out scouting rivers in eastern Wisconsin for king salmon runs so we didn't get all the camping stuff loaded and on the road until almost 10am Saturday. The kids were excited and although I was still a little tired the constant chatter and banter of happy kids in the back kept my head clear.

However, after a couple of hours in the car the happy banter changed to niggle and squabbling and Jessica informed me they were hungry so we stopped in a small town in Wisconsin called Ridgeland at a nice park with a big play area. The kids were thrilled and ran around playing for ages. The sun was out and it was quite warm.

The Park in Ridgeland

After a picnic lunch we loaded up again and soon the kids were napping and we continued on our way. We arrived at the campground in Washburn mid afternoon to blue skies and light breezes and a campground that was moderately full. We set up camp before I slipped the boat into the lake and loaded up the kids for a bit of a motor around. They did have fun but it was short lived as the combination of cooler air, a big playset at the campground waiting to be explored and grandma's pending arrival all meant they would rather be back at the campground. So I dumped them back with their mum and took some time to play around looking for the monstrous bass that the bay is famous for. I knew if I let myself go chasing salmon or trout I'd get obsessed and lose track of the fact that this was a trip about the kids. But it was always right there tempting me.

The campsite dockLooking back to the campground shorelineFrom dock towards campground

When I got back to the campsite grandma had arrived and it was dark. Everyone had eaten dinner and were helping grandma set up her tent. The kids were excited but easily distracted and showing all the signs of being over tired. When they did get into their sleeping bags they crashed, so I'm told, as I was out like a light within moments of my head hitting the pillow.

I was up pretty early and headed out for a fishing session as the sun came up and grandma was down with the kids at the playground when I made it back to the boat ramp. We quickly broke camp, convinced the kids to leave the playground, then headed to Bayfield. We stopped at "the egg bake" for a hearty brunch then made our way to the National Lakeshore marina so we could put the boat in and explore a new section of the Apostle Islands. The air was brisk, clear and inviting. The trees were past peak and the roads were covered in lakes of golden leaves that flittered as I drove along them. There were very few people about in no time we were loaded up and the boat was headed towards the lighthouse on Rasberry Island. This is probably the most visited of those in the islands and is certainly pretty. In recent times I've become quite partial to lighthouses and my mind fills with pleasant thoughts when I see them.

Rasberry Island LighthousePierce and GrandmaA closer lookSeveral of the Apostle Islands viewed from Rasberry Island

The next attraction that caught our attention was the sea caves along the shoreline of Sand Island. Lara, Jessica and I had seen some sea caves on another Island earlier in the year but these ones were more extensive and deeper. In fact there was one that was large enough for us to enter into with the boat and then motor along and come out of a different cave entrance. It was really cool. I'd already mentioned to the kids to keep their eyes peeled for bears on Sand Island so Pierce got quite scared he worked out we were going into a cave (where bears live) on an island where bears live. Luckily after the first time through he was fine and grandma helped him through it.

Inside a sea cave

Deep inside a sea cave

A little further along the shore of Sand Island was another lighthouse. This one didn't have a good boat landing. Like many spots on these islands it would be easy to explore with a kayak though. By this time it was getting quite late and we still had a big drive ahead of us so we had to head back to the marina and hit the road.

Sand Island LighthouseFamily fun on the boatPierce and Grandma bonding under the blankets

The drive home was pretty uneventful except I saw a dead bear off the side of the road. It was only a young bear but I had to check it out. It didn't seem to have any sign of trauma and it looked as though it had come from in the brush, not from the road. The teeth and gums were still moist and the eyes weren't glossed over yet, but underneath looked like a shotgun blast and this wound already had it's share of flies hanging about. It couldn't just let all that bear hair waste away (it costs too much at fly shops) so I chopped off a fair amount. I cut out a few bear claws. I felt a bit weird but I figured he didn't need them anymore. It's only the first time I've seen a bear as road kill and I've done a fair bit of driving around the place in the last ten years or so.

The little bear