We were up fairly early on this day and packed another lunch. We were going to have a BWCA day trip on Seagull Lake. We filled out our day use permit, loaded into the car, and drove up the trail to Blankenburg Landing on another pleasant, sunny morning.

There is a nice rock to climb on at the landing there, too! :-)

It was a glorious day for a paddle.

Paddling on Seagull Lake, we had a headwind. Anna was singing Jerry Vandiver's song "Headwind" quietly to herself. The paddling was really quite enjoyable, and after awhile we looked for a likely spot to pull over for our lunch. Instead of finding a campsite, we settled upon a small rocky point that met our needs very well. The young rock-lover was happy with the setting.

After lunch was consumed, Anna decided to do a bit of exploring, camera in hand. As she was heading off in the direction of the new green forest area behind our little rocky point, I could see Spartan1 watching her, and I knew he was remembering how we had brought her up here to the Seagull region in August 2007 so that she could witness the devastation of the Ham Lake Fire (May, 2007) and see the very beginnings of new growth taking place on the forest floor. We wondered how much she was remembering.

After lunch we continued on our way, and we eventually stopped at a campsite for another break. Anna and Spartan1 went off in different directions exploring, and I stayed in the campsite area waiting for them to return.

Such beautiful clear water in Seagull Lake:

Spartan1 took some differing views from the campsite on Seagull:

As we were paddling back toward the landing, suddenly our "Eagle Eye" girl exclaimed in just above a stage whisper, "Eagle!" We looked off to the shore, and there was a bald eagle in a tree, posing very nicely for us! So Spartan1 was on his own again, paddling the canoe as two of us began, click, click, click, taking as many shots as we could--trying, of course, to get the perfect eagle shot to remember this beautiful moment!

Anna was the one who managed to get the shot when he took off in flight! What a great shot to capture from a bouncing canoe!

And it was time to go back to the cabin again. We stopped at Gunflint Lodge for dessert, and so that Anna could feed the ducks along the beach (another tradition.) We enjoyed one last float in Poplar Lake, and one last cookout with hot dogs and smores. And one final game of Five Crowns, which Anna won. And then it was time to pack up our bags and get ready to check out in the morning. How quickly a week flies by when you are enjoying so many memorable activities with the ones you love!