Winona Redux

Ed and Steve Paddling, originally uploaded by Edgee.

While Michelle is in San Diego, I have a new paddling partner. Steve and I went paddling on the backwaters of the Mississippi River. After venturing through lilly pads and weeds in the backwaters we raced across the main channel to avoid the boat traffic. We visited Steve's friend, Aaron, and tried a faster mode of water travel, when we finally got it working.

Tree lined driveway to my old house

Tree lined driveway, originally uploaded by Edgee.

I dropped off Michelle in Chicago so she could fly to San Diego to visit her parents. I stayed at Illinois Beach State Park for the night and then got soaked in the morning by the rain. On my way to Madison, Wisconsin, I stopped by my old house on Stateline road in Illinois. The trees in the driveway are much taller, but it is pretty much how I remembered it. I only have fuzzy memories of the property because I was only three years old when I moved. Later I bought some fresh peaches at the orchard across the street from the house.

Swan on the Kalamazoo River

Swan, originally uploaded by Edgee.

We went paddling on the Kalamazoo river on Tuesday afternoon. We went up river a liitle bit which was mostly shallow wetlands then down river into Kalamazoo Lake were it is more developed and has all the boat traffic. We saw three swans on the lake plus many other birds.

Surfs Up

Paddling to the beach, originally uploaded by Edgee.

It was very windy and the waves were choppy, but I just had to go paddle in them. The beach was nice, but we had to navigate through many deadwood trees to get to the water. We had great weather, there was only a tiny drizzle on one day.

Little Pic River

Up the Little Pic River, originally uploaded by Edgee.

After Rossport, we drove east along the north shore of Lake Superior to Neys Provincial Park. Our campsite was a short walk to a sandy beach on the lake. The crash of the waves on the shore was very much like the ocean. Because the surf was choppy, the best place to paddle in this area was up the Little Pic River. It was wide and deep for about 2 miles, but then it became increasingly shallow and harder to paddle. The campground was large and we were able to use our bikes to get around on land.

Sunset on Lake Superior

flower at sunset, originally uploaded by Edgee.

We were treated to many beautiful sunsets on Lake Superior. This picture is of a flowering plant growing out of the rocks on the shore.

Underwater in Lake Superior

Ed and Michelle Underwater, originally uploaded by Edgee.

Oh the joys of an underwater camera. Lake Superior at Rossport campground in Ontario felt cold at first, but we got used to swimming in the lake. It was actually quite refreshing. The water was pretty choppy during the day, but it smoothed out in the evenings.

Ninemile Lake

paddling 9mile lake, originally uploaded by Edgee.

No, it is not nine miles long. Nor is it nine miles from anywhere in particular. The closest town is Finland, which is about 16 miles away. Finland has a great co-op with just about anything one would need. The lake was actually pretty small, but there were islands to explore and we had great weather.

The Journey Continues

lake grass, originally uploaded by Edgee.

After spending several days in Winona, we drove to northern Minnesota. We heard that there are around 10,000 lakes in this state, probably more, so we set out to find one or two of them. This picture is from our paddling adventures on Birch Lake in Superior National Forest, which is on the southern edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. This area is popular with paddlers. There are many connecting lakes all the way up to the Canadian border.