Monday, July 20, 2009 Both of us were awake at 4:50 am and ready to be up for the day. I couldn’t sleep any longer. The sun was barely starting to rise, yet I could tell that the skies were clear. The temp was about 45* - that would explain why I was cold in the middle of the night! Seriously though, I think it’s a mental thing that camping = cold at night. Emily said that she stayed warm enough.

We walked up to the showers - it was so peaceful in the campground - everyone was still sleeping. We tried to lay back down but that was no use so we decided to pack up camp and head into town. We stopped at Holiday to fill up with gas, check the tires and wash the windshield. Emily got a breakfast sandwich and coffee, I just got water. We were the only women at the store besides the clerk. It was all guys- two Cook Co Sheriffs and a bunch of fishermen.

We went down by the harbor and took a few photos as we were waiting for the ranger station to open. Everything was so sleepy - giving off an impression of quaint, quiet, unhurried little town. Of course I know better than that. In summer, especially weekends it’s crawling with people and crowds. I know that’s what helps the economy but it isn’t for me.

About 6:45 we headed back to the Ranger station and got to watch a video and take a quiz. Okay, I understand getting the point of rules etc across to people, but, seriously, a quiz? Whatever, it was fine - we got our permit and were on our way once again. Of course Emily slept the whole way - typical teen.

Arrowhead trail was pretty much as I remembered it - long, winding and lonesome. I was taking my time enjoying the scenery and then I realized a vehicle was behind me - okay I better quite dilly-dallying - they weren’t passing. We went through the old growth red and white pine forest and I wanted to stop but didn’t have the heart to wake Em - she was sleeping so soundly.

I was taking in the beauty and majesty of our wonderful state and drove right past the turn for McFarland Lake. Duh. Turned around and found it - we’re the only ones camping here so far - there’s four vehicles parked at the boat landing though.

It didn’t take us long to get camp set up - I’m liking that tent. We were done with all by 9:00 am - got the van a little more organized after we were able to open the tail gate. We decided to take the canoe out and find our entry point so we’d know where it is in the morning when we go. It started out good, the water is almost crystal clear and the lake is shallow. We filled our Sawyer bottles and kept on paddling. There are several privately owned cabins/lake homes - many of which are fairly close together - too close in my opinion. I don’t know how far we got when the wind came up really strong so we decided to turn back. Besides that, Em said that I wouldn’t want to spoil it by seeing the EP ahead of time - okay. It was a HARD paddle back - I don’t do well with the wind I’m discovering. My fear of the canoe/water is still very real and very much there BUT I’ve been able to put mind over matter and deal with it. That is something I must do if we’re going to enjoy ourselves. Still in all, I hope that I didn’t make a mistake in choosing such a big lake for our first trip. Only time will tell.

The wind was still pretty gusty - which is nice for keeping the bugs away. My only hope is that it dies down by tomorrow morning when we’re ready to go in. We’re going to get up early and take advantage of morning calm - if there is one - waaaah!

Emily is asleep on the picnic table in her swimsuit. She was going to go swimming but the lake has a Spiny Water Flea sign so she decided against that. She doesn’t need bug bites from some weird water bug at the beginning of the trip.

It’s 11:25 am - what to do . . . . The sky is that gorgeous Minnesota summer blue with a light film of white in places and a few puffy white cotton clouds. The crows and ravens are calling and cawing. Their sound, next to the wind is most prominent. I did hear chickadees and cedar waxwings though I haven’t seen them. Our campsite is a big open oval in the trees. Not much for shade though it’s not very hot so it’s okay. There are aspens, maple, spruce & jack pines. There are a couple of very tall jack pines. The one cedar tree isn’t very large, but it’s covered with moss. There are raspberries galore yet none of them are ripe. It will be at least a week yet before they’re ready.

There’s one plant that grows in abundance yet I haven’t a clue what it is. Here again, the flower book would have been great to have on hand. The leaves are almost like a maple leaf, yet not as smooth. The edges are saw-toothed and it grows white flowers that almost look like a large strawberry blossom. Some of the leaves are huge - 2-3 times the size of my hand. They’re almost Jurassic Park looking and we’ve been calling them “tree stars” as they look like the tree stars from Land Before Time.

So far the bugs haven’t been bad though I feel that the wind has helped immensely with that. The Ranger said there was a chance for thunderstorms today - maybe that’s what the wind is blowing in - we’ll see. I love the sound of the wind in the tree; how it whooshes through the pine and rustles the aspens. This is such a peaceful difference compared to Cascade.

7:29 pm - What a Glorious day! The sun shone bright and beautiful all day though it was windy. There’s still a pretty good breeze coming off the lake which makes me nervous for tomorrow & Pine is such a big lake. It’s about 6 miles long yet narrow. We’re going to get up at 4:00 am so that we can be in the water by 5:00. Hopefully it will be nice and calm. We have a few different routes planned out so we’ll see how it goes. Hope to make it to Johnson Falls tomorrow as well.

We didn’t do much this afternoon - walked and snoozed. We did take a drive over to Chester Lake. Emily wanted to swim but it ended up being too breezy and chilly. We met an older couple while we were there and he said that if we get going early on Pine we should be fine.

After they left we sat on the “stairs” which was really a big terrace and had lunch. While we ate we had a little furry visitor - a chipmunk (he was so cute). He ate cashews right out of Em’s hand and the first time he did he actually nibbled on her finger. After lunch we headed back to camp for the rest of the day.

Am sleepy now - more tomorrow - it’s finally here!!