Stay tuned for changes coming to PPM June 6!
Tomorrow morning we will be heading out to Wisconsin for the weekend to photograph Lisa and Steve’s wedding. We will be able to check our email while we are gone, but likely won’t be able to reply to many if any. We will be back to check emails and phone messages Sunday evening, but then we are off again Monday for northern MN for an engagement session. Tuesday we will finally be back in the office and replying to all our missed messages.
Have a fabulous weekend!
We survived! Our romantic weekend backpacking trip on the north shore turned into a bit more of an intensive adventure than it was meant to be. Since it was my first backpacking trip we had planned out a leisurely 16 mile hike over 3 days and figured we could take some time to do extra hiking if we had time. I believe Alan’s sum-up on facebook says it all: 3.5hour car ride, 1 beautiful trail, 16 miles, 25 hours, 45lbs, 1 broken filter, 1 cold and comforting lake, 3.5hour car ride, 2 aching legs, 9 dead aquarium fish, 2 hours cleaning, 1 lovely dinner, 1 big adventure shared with 1 lovely wife of 5 great years!
On our way out of town we stopped by REI for some last minuet purchases…a small tripod for the g9 camera we borrowed and a pair of liner socks that were recommended by a friend. Then we were off. During our 3.5 hour car ride up north we took the opportunity to play with the new camera and the tripod.
We found a Famous Dave’s to stop at for dinner to fill our bellies with oh so much delicious food.
Thursday evening we stayed at Split rock State Park and our campsite was right on Lake Superior. The evening was chilly and perfect!
Friday morning (our actual anniversary) we set out on the trail. We parked our car in Beaver Bay, were picked up by a shuttle and dropped off near Tettegouche State Park. The plan was to hike the 16 miles back to our car over 3 days with 2 nights camping. By 9:30am we were out on the trail and were immediately met with some significant elevation changes over a short distance. I was impressed with the amount of up and down we found on the trail…especially since this is Minnesota, and we were not actually hiking in mountains. Our first stop for a little snack and break was Baptism River, next to the falls.
As we continued on we had to cross Baptism River on the most rickety bridge. I think the sign says 5 people, but the sign seemed a little sketchy.
So naturally, I made Alan go first! (note the yellow caution tape all over the bridge!)
This lovely view from the tops of the hills overlooking Lake Superior would eventually come to taunt us as our desire for cold fresh potable water grew.
Somewhere between 12 and 1 we had finished the water we initially brought with us so we stoped at a small, barely flowing creek to fill up our bottles. It is so fun to be able to draw water from a rust-colored murky puddle and come away with crystal clear water in your bottle. It is not so fun to realize that your water is not coming out crystal clear…commence panic. This is when the plans began to change.The name of the new game was, “get back to the car asap!”
There was one camping site along our path that was on a lake but there was only one tent pad and we had heard that it was the most popular site. Our chances of getting to tent there for the night were slim, but we at least needed to get to the lake for some fresh water. We had enough fuel to boil our water, but not many bottles to carry water. We made it to Bear Lake about 4pm and the camp site was already claimed. We hadn’t had any potable water for the last 3 or so hours so we sat down, drew water from the lake and boiled some for the next leg of our hike. We filled all the bottles we had (only 4) with water from the lake to take with us to camp for the night. The water we drew from Bear Lake had to last us through dinner, breakfast and our final 6.5 mile hike to the car.
We were so happy to get to a camp site that had room for us. We boiled our water…
Made some dinner…and tied our food up in a tree. I don’t think anyone else in the camp site tied thier food in a tree, which made me nervous, because I really didn’t want to end my day by meeting a bear in the middle of the night! After hiking nearly 10 miles with all our gear and little water, we were in bed by about 8pm.
We were up the next morning by 5:15. We grabbed breakfast, packed up, taped up the blisters I ripped open the day before, and were on the trail again by 6:45am. We had one bottle of water between the two of us to get us the 6.5 miles back to our car. Fortunately the morning was cool and breezy.
I don’t know if I have ever pushed myself through that much physical pain. The reward?…getting back to our car by 10:30am and driving to the nearest gas station to purchase crisp, clear, cold, potable water!
After enjoying some drinking water we drove back into Duluth and stopped by a park off Lake Superior to soak our aching limbs in the chilly waters of Superior. By the time we got out of the car we could hardly walk…our calves, thighs, knees, ankles, and feet were protesting loudly. It was about then that I began to notice that my big toes were turning black and blue and purple…and the place where I ran my knee into the rock had a 1/4 in goose egg welt nicely developing. The numbing waters of Lake Superior were heavenly!
We decided to head home and on the way made plans for a nice relaxing dinner at home with a bottle of wine. Once we got home we found our fish tank filled with dead diseased fish. We had 10 fish, now we have 1 and hopefully he won’t die. It took nearly 2 hours to get the fish tank cleaned and begin treating the water. At that point we decided to scrap the at home dinner plans and let someone else make food for us! We showered (much needed!) got dressed up and went out for a lovely dinner and some much needed sitting.
I think our next backpacking trip will have to be in the BWCA so we have full access to water all the time!
This afternoon we will pack up our car and drive up to the noth shore area for a weekend backpacking trip! This weekend we celebrate our 5th anniversary…I can’t believe how fast the time has gone! We have had an amazing 5 years together and I am so happy as we lookforward to new adventures together.
We will be out of town until late Sunday night and we will not have access to our technological devices. So if you call or email, we won’t be able to chat. We’ll catch up with our phone calls and email beginnign on Monday! Have a great weekend!
Nearly two weeks ago the weather was so beautiful I though that Spring was just maybe here for the season…turns out no. Today it’s 28 degrease and snowing. During our little warm weather teaser I began thinking about the garden and how this year I was going to plant seeds inside and let them sprout before transferring them out to the garden, ya know, get a little head start on the veggies this year. I figured 1-2 weeks to germinate, then another 2-4 weeks to root and get established and by then it would be time to plant them outside. Nearly 2 weeks later and I have an out-of-control, indoor garden! Who knew that beans germinate in 2-3 days! I have never been terrific with plants so this was all a little bit of a surprise!
Turns out my little greenhouse box couldn’t handle the beans and peas. This week I had to transplant them to another container, and now our new dinning room is being taken over with vegetables!
The out-of-control beans
The really little guys on the left are mint, in front of them is some rosemary. On the right is a little jalapeno…can’t wait for jalapeno poppers!
Cucumber
Tomatos
Zucchini
Another bean plant…
I know I promised more photos from the class Alan and I are taking, I’ m so sorry these are really late… like a week and a half late. I think I landed myself in a time warp for the last week and a half. Anyway, here are the other 9 from my top 10 set. I’ll have to post Alan’s top 10 later. 
I loved the look of this vintage veil and the texture it gives!
