BWCA / MEA

The skull was already there

Onward to Angleworm Lake

A little practice at camp

Pictograph is right above them

Scott cooked an awesome desert in the dutch oven Friday night

David feeding a "wild " bird from his hand

Well I don't even know what MEA stands for, the kids get the whole week off from school, but to me it means a vacation with my son and six others from our scout group. The BWCA I get, ( Boundary Waters Canoe Area ) you can also add  wilderness to the end of that. While we did get into the "wilderness" this was more of a base camp type of trip. We planned the trip about two months ago and figured with weather being the real factor in the great north woods of Minnesota we would just car camp and go out for various day trips. Joining in the fun was (Father/Son) Mike/Isaiah, Scott/Kaden, Adam/David, and Myself /"G" man.
       To start we decided a hike would be the first outing. We headed for the Angleworm Trailhead and would walk it until we reached Angleworm Lake. The boys did well with the hike, round trip was around four miles with a lunch/snack midway at Angleworm L. At the lake we were encountered by Gray Jays which were very comfortable around people, snatching whatever food scraps they could. Later we found they would grab food right from your hand if you held still long enough.
       The next day we went for our little canoe outing to see some pictographs on North Hegman Lake. We had no trouble finding it, as it was quite bold and very legible as a person and a couple of animals. We paddled on to the end of the lake and tried some fishing and ate our lunch. After the canoe ride we headed for a gravel pit to break out the weapons and unleash .177 caliber hell. The boys all had a BB gun to take aim at the leftover clay targets we found littering the area. I also brought along a high power pellet gun and a semi-auto 22, the adults also had fun!
        The third day we went to the Intl. Wolf Center to see what all the howling at night was all about. It turns out there are wolves living in Minnesota, who'd a thunk? The kids had a good time but seemed to think the best part was the wolf video game. A couple hours inside the building and we were on to our next adventure. We got some info from a local outfitter and were headed for Blackstone/Secret Lake Trail. This was another fourish mile hike, except we had several scenic views along the route. The beautiful landscape and the bright sun made for an excellent time.
      Day four and we were headed for home the long way, with a pit stop at Palisade Head and a short hike at Gooseberry Falls St.Park. It was an excellent trip with some great people and a lot of fun crammed into four days. Looking forward to MEA weekend in 2012.