Settling In

I'm no stranger to the North Shore of Minnesota and the many types of activities it has to offer. However, having a place to stay has opened more opportunities that I have not yet scratched the surface of. Having an adventure TO-DO list is a good thing.  As we are settling in to our retreat (as revealed in the previous post ) we're feeling more at home with each night's stay. Over the past couple months the family and I have been doing our best to get after it. Labor Day weekend was our first long stay and we definitely played. Typically before the kids go back to school I take them on a summer vacation "last hurrah". Unlike the last two years, we didn't have to deal with the typical reservation nightmare, we just drove up, unlocked the door and were ready for action. The boys and I, as well as my dad, had two days before Lynn and my mom showed up for the full three day  weekend. During that time we hiked, hit our favorite swimming hole, did some mountain biking, and a little work around the house (new water heater). For the remainder of the weekend we took a drive up to Grand Marais , played in river, rode single track, rode gravel, took some four wheeler rides and did a little fishing. A week later I was back up on the shore with a bunch of folks for the gravel conspiracy. This was just an overnight pit stop but beat the hell out of staying in a tent after riding 100 miles of rugged gravel. Several weeks later the family was back up for one of the final weekends at Spirit Mountain's lift served downhill MTB runs in Duluth. The next day we spent the morning relaxing before doing a long hike and enjoying the fall colors before returning home.......