The trip would actually start on Thursday evening around 7pm when I picked up my brother at his home in the Milwaukee area. We planned to drive all night and stop somewhere near Grand Marias and sleep until sunrise. We ended up parking the car about 3am at a pull out near Cascade River State Park just west of Grand Marias. When we awoke we were greeted by a fantastic sunrise over Lake Superior.

After taking in the views and getting stretched out after sleeping in the car, we drove into town and stopped at Buck's Hardware so my brother could grab his fishing license and gas up the car. Next, we were headed up the Gunflint Trail to grab some breakfast prior to meeting Debbie and Dave at Seagull Outfitters to take a look at the canoe. It was a bit strange seeing the place "put to bed" for the year. The only canoe remaining outside was the Northwind and after bit of discussion and poking around the deal was made!

The original plan was to use the Larch Creek entry point and paddle into Larch or Clove Lake, but because the water levels were so low and we didn't feel like dealing with a muddy start, we opted to paddle on Seagull Lake instead. It ended up being a great choice as the weather was fantastic and the waters were glassy calm. After about an hour of paddling we made it to the campsite just behind the Palisades and claimed it as our home for the weekend.

The views from the camp were great. After setting up camp and having a quick lunch (salami, cheese and crackers) we headed out to fish for the afternoon. The only fish we caught was a Lake Trout by accident. The lake had obviously turned over as the water temperatures were very cold making the fishing a challenge. Nonetheless, who could complain given the great weather!

Dinner was beef stroganoff, hash browns and corn. The rest of the evening was spent attempting to fish from shore, enjoying a warm camp fire and watching the stars come out. Darkness hit around 7pm. Lauren was fascinated finding the constellations, the satellites and even a couple shooting stars!