Man. We sure had some fun adventures last weekend!
And the thing that blew my mind the most had to do with Disney's The Lion King movie.
I guess there's a lion living up at... no, no, no. Just kidding. No actual lions were involved. Just reenactments.
On Saturday, Esa and I woke up and thought, "What should we do today?" I love how our day went from no plan to awesome plan. I looked at the weather, and saw that the wind was so calm. So was the lake. There was a cool place I wanted to show him.
Pride Rock.
"Let's kayak to the east, beach it at my friend's place (thank you, friends!) and hike to this sweet spot I used to go to." I told Esa.
He didn't need any convincing. After our burrito bowls from Mornin' Sunshine and some caffeination, we were loading up for an adventure. We didn't even have to drive anywhere! I absolutely love that about living here. Carless adventures. And we get so far.
The harbor was so calm and perfect with a thin cloud cover over the sun.
"Let's go to the bell buoy!" I announced. So we did.
Once we got out of the arms of the harbor, the lake changed. It is such an amazing feeling to paddle on Lake Superior when she is calm. Relatively calm, at least. We had less than one foot swells. They were so rhythmic that we adapted quickly. It was predictable and lulling, yet invigorating.
So we got up close and personal with the bell buoy.
Here is a video to go with that moment!
This buoy was replaced a few years ago. It sounds more like a nickel in a tin can instead of the glorious church bell ring of the old buoy. It's difficult to hear it at all sometimes. But, that's what we got. It still looks similar, at least.
The sky was heavenly. Here, the lighthouse is in the background.
I mean, just glorious, as Brady would say.
Past the lighthouse, we pulled ashore, so I could look for the chrysocolla vein, but... I couldn't find it! I've never tried to find it by water, and it's been a few years. I'll have to try again.
After a bit more paddling, we pulled ashore again. It was time for our hike!
Again, I had never arrived in the area by water, but I was determined to find one of my old trails. We definitely found the right forest, but came out on the road too soon. I wandered around, bewildered (but not surprised because there really are no trails).
I kept telling Esa about this rock that I liked so much. It was so rich and mossy, like the woods we were in, and it reminded me of Pride Rock from The Lion King. I always felt so magical and royal when I went there.
We got back into the woods and found the swampy area. But not too far in, Esa asked, "Is that your rock?"
I looked up, and there it was! Ooooeee! How amazing!
I carefully walked up and felt all the feelings I used to feel there (minus the inner turmoil) and reenacted raising Simba -- the new king. Esa captured the moment. You can't tell it's a rock from this angle, but it sure is!
And how about that ray of light, hey? We didn't plan that!
We had a great time exploring the beach after that. I mean, it was so wonderful. Every adventure is amazing with that man.
But that concludes the first Pride Rock story.
Here's the next.
On Sunday, Brady P came home from his dad's house. That morning, again, I wondered, "what adventure should we have today?"
Remembering that we haven't been to the Estivant Pines yet this year (it was under construction for part of the summer), I asked everyone what they thought. Soon it was the plan!
I love our sporadic adventure plans!
It rained the night before, but the new trail reroutes drained really well, so we only had one somewhat muddy spot.
This time, after much convincing and some snacking for little man, we took the Memorial loop to the left. I haven't been on that one in years. It's definitely steep, rooty and slippery. But well worth it.
Such a ham. He ran up to every giant tree... until he got tired. And we took turns carrying him... through the slipperiest, most tumultuous descents. But hey, at least the climbing was over by then!
While Esa carried him, I took a bunch of pictures of mushrooms. I am not a mushroom expert in the least, but I find them fascinating to look at no matter what their properties are. This list of pictures is probably only 8% of all the fungus we saw. Here are a few!
There must have been at least 30 different species of fungus out there. And it was so wet, so they were in their prime!
We stopped for a break as Esa found an awesome rock cropping. He set Brady onto it, and Brady said, "Oh! Like The Lion King!"
And then he sang his version of the intro song.
We laughed so hard at him. He is such a hoot!
And, what the heck, two Pride Rocks in two days? What are the odds of that? I just figure it means we are on the right path.
It certainly feels like it.
Oh! If you haven't already, make sure you check out the sunrise blog from Friday. What a treat! I hope to do that more.
Thanks for coming with us!