Saturday, August 06, 2016 I woke up and used the Mountain House Granola for breakfast - no hot boiling needed, just cold water. The granola mixed with raisins, blueberries, and milk tasted so good! While I was eating, I listened to the weather forecast. This day's forecast was for a great sunny day with north winds of 10 mph, and the forecast for the next day was not so great. I was feeling pretty good, and made a decision to paddle out and all the way back to Latourell's. I would skip the tow and get a great workout. The winds were not in my favor, but 10 mph wasn't too much. I cleaned my kitchen and clothes line first, then worked on taking down the tarp. Back to my tent to pack all my clothes inside. Eventually everything but my fishing gear made it's way into my dry bags. I then took my tent down and was ready to load my canoe. By 10:30 am I was ready to push off and paddle. The winds were very light, and I got over to the Splash portage by 11 am. there were 2 groups ahead of me, so I rested a bit. When it was my turn I emptied my canoe except for fishing rods, extra paddle, and tarp pole. I had them all tied on with bungee-dealy-bobs. I picked up my canoe and carried it the 35 rods to the other end. When I got there, a very nice family from Minneapolis was waiting for a tow. They were an hour early, and they offered to help me with my gear, so they walked back with me and helped me carry bags and load up my canoe. I pushed off at ~11:30 am for a nice long paddle. The next 3 hours were pretty difficult with the wind gusting against me a little bit, but I made it through Sucker, Newfound, and Moose Lakes to Latourell's by ~2:30 pm. Got my car from parking, packed my gear, showered and then thanked Bob Latourell for his hospitality, which is always just super. He was very good about refunding me a tow fee and a day's canoe rental because I came out a day early. I used some of that refund to buy a nice T-shirt and hat. Byes were said and I shoved off at ~3:30 pm to begin the long drive. This days drive would be as far as I could without getting sleepy tired. I stopped at Two Harbors to get 4 six packs of "Let It Ride" and "Let It Roll" for George, and my beer quest was complete. Since the beer was not pasteurized, I got a cheap foam cooler and a bag of ice to keep it cold on my long drive. My next stop was to take a few pictures of Lake Superior. I then stopped a few hours later at McDonald's for a dinner salad. My chosen rest area was 30 miles south of Rockford, IL. Once again I was very tired and it wasn't too difficult to sleep 4-5 hours. Tylenol PM helps also.