Once again, up with the sun and headed downtown to grab donuts. I’m not a huge donut eater, but would happily gorge myself on these! Our original plan for the day was to go hiking in a couple of the nearby state forests, but the weather forecast was for clouds and afternoon rain. We started off our morning with a walk out along the harbor and ran into some locals who provided some welcome suggestions on things to do in the area. Picked up a few treats for the office and our petsitter before an early lunch at My Sisters Place.

The clouds had lifted by then, so we decided to go check out Judge CR Magney State Park and hike to Devil’s Kettle Falls. Made it back to the car before a brief set of rain showers and opted to wait those out at Voyagers Brewing. Once the rain let up, we made a short stop at Cascade River State Park before heading back down to Duluth.

Friday morning dawned sunny and we headed out to Split Rock Lighthouse. Ended up spending a lot more time there than we originally anticipated and took a long stroll along the coast. Grabbed lunch at Betty’s Pies (including one to go that safely made it home through TSA) and then enjoyed some time at Castle Danger. Finished up our evening with a stroll along the coast in Twin Harbors. One of the recommendations we’d gotten in Grand Marais was to check out Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. This was one of the best suggestions we’ve gotten while traveling. We ended up spending most of the day watching the migration. Although it was still early in the season and not ideal wind conditions, it was still an amazing experience. We finished up our time on the North Shore with a quick sampling of the Duluth craft cider scene before heading back down to Minneapolis. Priceline scored us the Microtel Inn this evening. Since we had an early flight out, it was close to the airport and perfectly fine for just one night. One last repack and it was back to the real world.

In all, we had a fantastic first trip to BWCA. The weather mostly cooperated, especially on our travel days. Although we didn’t get to everything we had planned, that was probably a good thing. The forced relaxation was needed and quiet time in nature is good for the soul. Rockwood was a delight to work with and I can understand why they come so highly recommended.

I did totally overpack on food. We probably had enough to last us another 3-4 days. However, if it would have been cooler/rainier, we probably would gone through more of it. And next time, don’t forget the hot chocolate!

I like to dabble in photography and did take along my DSLR and a couple lenses. Unfortunately, I had an issue with the memory card in that camera and nothing was actually recorded. Thankfully, I’d also packed a waterproof point and shoot for travel days. Since the DSLR was acting funny, I took photos on both cameras so I didn’t lose everything. There are times when you really miss the 300mm lens though!

I’ve already started to plot potential itineraries for a return. However, it’s a big world out there and only so much vacation time. We’ll see when we’re able to swing a return. Until then, I have frolicking otters, sleekly gliding loons, and golden sunrises on mirror lakes etched in my mind.