Tick Tick Tick BOOM!
NP Roadtrip – Isle Royale and Voyageurs National Park – Days 132 - 136
We took our sweet time leaving Munising National Park. It was the day of the Comey hearings, so we had that playing in the background while packing up camp. The drive to Copper Harbor from Munising feels longer than it really is, probably because we left the campground later than usual at around 11:30 am. We broke up the drive by eating lunch and checking out a brewery in Marquette. We had a fantastic meal at Lagniappe Cajun Creole Eatery! Our server, who also happened to be the owner of the popular basement restaurant, encouraged us to order the soft-shell crab and we were not disappointed! After lunch, we headed over to Ore Dock Brewing Co. to have a taste. We didn’t stay long due to some rainy weather that was rolling in, and they had a ridiculous pet policy that kept the dogs outside the “rope” which, if you have a dog, you know is nearly impossible to prevent passage!
We stayed at Fort Wilkins State Park in Copper Harbor. It’s a relatively small town, but it was bustling with mountain bikers, hikers, and campers! It’s one of the gateways to Isle Royale National Park, but not everyone was in town to check the park out. Right next to our campsite was a group of guys on a mountain biking trip. They let us know that Copper Harbor is one of the top 10 mountain biking destinations in the country. I did not check this claim, so if you know differently - don’t yell at me and thank you kindly in advance! Our campsite, though not as impressive as the Munising campsite, was 30 yards from a gorgeous lake that was completely still and serene. We took so many pictures it was hard to choose a favorite. After an easy camp pizza dinner, we called it an early night in anticipation of our big park day.
We woke up early the next day, made breakfast burritos, and headed to the ferry terminal. The only way you can access Isle Royale is by private boat or ferry from 3 spots, but the shortest trip is from Copper Harbor…and it’s STILL a 3-hour boat ride – one way! We would have loved to do an overnight trip, but weren’t able to do so with the dogs. Dogs are not allowed on Isle Royale at all, so we would have been forced to try to find a boarding facility in tiny Copper Harbor, which we didn’t think would be an easy feat. Perhaps next time we can do something more than just a day trip. There is a lodge right where the ferry drops you as well as many back-country campsites. Honestly, we loved Isle Royale so much that we would come back just to do an overnight there. They only get 20,000 annual visitors, and when compared with Yellowstone’s 5 million annual visitors, it’s an appealing number for sure!
The boat was fairly full. We got settled in nicely at a booth and broke out the Yahtzee right away. It’s a great way to pass the time and we haven’t been able to play too much on this adventure. There is just not enough sedentary time to sit and play a game. The lengthy boat trip was the perfect excuse to play! We disembarked and grabbed a bite at the restaurant. If I had to do this over again, this is where I would change course. I had brought ramen and zip locks for a quick trail lunch, but we just weren’t sure where to get hot water and felt bad asking for it at the restaurant (and then leaving without purchasing anything), so we just ended up sitting down to eat. This takes time, and when you only have a limited amount of time on the island, a sit-down lunch unnecessarily cuts into your trail time. And, to add insult to injury, the food wasn’t that good. Onward and upward!
We opted to go on the 3.5 mile Scoville Trail that ventures east of the lodge offering scenic lake views, craggy rocks, and lots of wildflowers and unique plant life. The ranger let us know the Calypso orchids were in bloom, and that we would find them on this trail, so we kept our lids peeled. Diligence, patience, and luck rewarded us with two perfect Calypso orchid specimens. While G was playing a treacherous game of Twister trying to capture the first one on film, a few steps down the path revealed an easier shot that I ended up being able to get.
We barely made it back in time to grab our passport stamp and grab two beers for the ferry ride back from the well-stocked general store. When he was checking out, G recognized a familiar face behind the counter in Barbara, the gal who checked us in at Big Bend Resorts in Terlingua. She definitely recognized G, and we had a quick chat updating her on our progress! It truly is a small world after all.
The ferry ride back felt quicker than the morning’s journey, with multiple Yahtzee games and lots of overnight campers returning to the mainland to chat with and observe. We were greeted back into Copper Harbor with a dance by the Harbor House servers, a tradition that goes back many years. There were lots of folks waiving from the shore at various hotels. It was such a warm welcome, and one that was completely unexpected. We stopped briefly to check out the one brewery in town, Brickstone Brewery. The beers were delicious, the servers knowledgeable and quick witted, and the atmosphere full of energy. We could have easily hung out there all night, but duty called and we had to get back to our doggies. They were such good babies and were so dang happy to see us. No damage, no accidents, and no missing loaves of bread. I think we may have finally stumbled on the secret to happy trailer pets!
The following day was a veritable holiday in Camp Buy Me Love land, G’s 39th birthday. G is 7 months younger than me, and he NEVER lets me forget it. So when we are both the same age at the same time, that’s a good day for both of us! We celebrated by eating a lunch out on the road at South Shore Brewery in Wisconsin. Our meal was fantastic, though the wind was so bad we thought we might blow away while exiting the restaurant!
We stopped in Ashland to go to a nice large grocery store, and comedy ensued for both G and I while we were in there. By myself, I turned a corner into the baking aisle and immediately got called a horrible name by a 4 year old. The mom shushed him so he said it quieter the next time, which went uncorrected by his mother. Not sure what that was all about, but perhaps he was learning his “B” words. Then G, in the men’s restroom, overhears a conversation where one man on his cell phone is talking to a friend. Restroom man is clearly lying to his friend about the fact that he is physically in the supermarket so he doesn’t have to buy a potluck item on behalf of his friend to take to a BBQ thrown by a mutual friend. Needless to say, we hightailed it out of Ashland (which I’m sure is a fine town), and made our way to Lake Kabetogama, Minnesota.
For 3 nights, we stayed at The Pines at Lake Kabetogama at one of their premium sites. It was still a Camp Buy Me Love holiday, after all, so we had to “do it up”. These sites are located up a steep hill, and come with their own golf cart. We’re so fancy!!
Every year for almost 11 years, I have made a carrot cake for G’s birthday. Even though we were camping, I still wanted to make the effort to make a carrot cake. My recipe is too complicated for camping, so I (GASP!) bought a boxed cake. It was an epic fail. I decided to use the toaster oven so G didn’t have to set up the camp oven. The pans I used didn’t hold all the batter AND I overfilled them, so when the cakes rose, they started growing like The Blob and got all over the toaster oven, not to mention they were hitting the roof of the oven and burning! When we brought out the camp oven to finish them off, we ran out of propane and didn’t realize it. It was a mess, but G was a good sport. We ate what we could salvage, but eventually tossed nearly all of it in the trash. Ugh. What a mess! Next time, I’ll buy a bakery cake and stick to just baking cookies in the trailer.
After the low-key birthday celebration clean-up, I sat down on a log that overlooks the marina an lake below. We were casually chatting with our neighbor when G spotted something on my eyelid. He flicked it off and we didn’t really think anything of it, until the next morning when I woke up with a swollen eye. What we thought was a non-descript bug, we now think was a tick. And BOOM, just like that, ticks would now immediately and fiercely haunt this section of our trip.
We rented a pontoon boat from the resort as Voyageurs National Park is only accessible by watercraft. We packed a lunch, hopped on the boat with the dogs and dutifully nodded affirmatively to all the questions from the resort manager. What we didn’t tell her is that G had read “Boating for Dummies” the previous night as bedtime reading. When we tentatively, but bravely, pulled out of the marina we felt akin to 2 teenagers stealing their parent’s car for a joyride. The lake is huge though, and any fears that we could mess up were immediately alleviated. We navigated easily to the visitor center and tied up to the dock. My true confession is that even though my parents had a sailboat for years when I was a kid, I still don’t know how to tie knots. A 6-year-old boy completely schooled me as he expertly tied up his dad’s boat to the dock. Note to self: buy “Knots for Dummies”.
We took the boat over to Ellsworth Rock Gardens, which in my humble opinion, is a must stop! A gentleman in the 1940s constructed 62 terraced lily beds and then accented the beds with abstract rock sculptures. The rock sculptures are very unique, and the garden provides a nice serene spot to grill up your catch and have a picnic, as we saw a bunch of people do that day. Our visit was cut short, however, with the sound of barking doggies coming from the direction of the dock. Hmmm. I wonder why our dogs are nicknamed The Yappy Campers. All the people picnicking at Ellsworth Rock Gardens no longer need to wonder, because they heard it first-hand! We rounded out our afternoon by pulling into a calm cove and drifted for an hour or so while we ate a packed lunch and enjoyed the sun.
I had a vision for our time in Minnesota, and that vision included me with a fishing pole. The other parts of the vision won’t make sense to you, but for those who know me, they might. I am wearing fluffy socks, have my jammies and a flannel on, I have a hot chocolate and I’m simultaneously roasting smores on a campfire while fishing off a dock. My vision. My world. Welcome to it. We couldn’t find fishing poles to rent, and the ones for sale were in the 3-figure range. I decided it was ok to drop “the vision” and we opted for just the campfire instead. Tonight’s dinner was Chicken Taco Salad with Salsa Ranch. It’s an easy and quick meal, made a little nicer with homemade dressing and marinated chicken. Funny story, when I looked up a recipe for Salsa Ranch, the first one I found was someone who writes a blog of recipes. She starts out the post by noting she has “stumbled on this great recipe for Salsa Ranch and has now been using it all the time”. She goes on to say that her family loves it and they use it on everything. I’m going to blow your mind when I give you this recipe. For real.
Salsa Ranch
Ingredients:
Ranch Dressing
Salsa
Instructions:
Mix thoroughly.
Yeah, that’s right. Mix. Thoroughly. I’ll spare you that sad, sad recipe and give you one I’ve been using for Chicken Taco Salad night HERE. It’s super easy and I’ll bet you have all the ingredients already in your fridge.
The following day, we planned on a longer boat ride to Kettle Falls. This was a navigational test for G’s newly acquired skills courtesy of “Boating for Dummies”. It’s an hour boat ride, and you have to navigate tiny islands, rock outcroppings, shallow rocks, the Canadian border. No big deal, right?! I’m nearly 100% positive we crossed into Canada at least once or twice, but we made it. And at first, it was awesome. I hopped off the dock and walked to the Kettle Falls Hotel, a 1913 hotel only accessible by air or boat,, to make sure dogs were allowed. They said no problem, as long as they are on a leash. I walked back through the woods to the dock and G and I walked back together, along with the dogs, to the hotel. I realized that I left my passport book in the boat, and there was a stamp at Kettle Falls, so G walked with the dogs back to the boat to grab my book. He noticed some black dots on both dogs, and immediately recognized them as ticks. Nineteen ticks, to be exact. He removed all of them, then left the dogs on the boat and walked back to the hotel. We had a fantastic meal, but couldn’t quite enjoy it as we were worried about the dogs. Everyone at the hotel was so nice, and they all seem to pitch in where help is needed. The bar didn’t seem like it was open, but it’s infamous for it’s sloped floor. If the room were larger, it would be pretty good exercise to get from one of the booths to the bar. Even a game of pool requires some strenuous uphill hiking!
We took our time navigating back to the resort. Having the option of renting a boat was awesome, but not being able to use it after 6 pm, meant that we couldn’t come back to camp to eat dinner and then go out again for a sunset cruise. Despite no sunset cruises, I still think we got our fun out of it, though. It was the only way to see the park, and that’s what was most important. When we got back to the campsite after turning in the boat, we found two more ticks on the dogs and two ticks on G. That. Was. It. We were done. We pulled all the laundry and washed everything. We cleaned every inch inside the trailer, just in case. Unfortunately for us, The Pines at Lake Kabetogama has THE MOST expensive laundry facilities of our entire trip. Considering Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes and has an abundance of water, $3.75 to wash a load and $3.75 to dry a load seems excessive. We celebrated clean laundry and being tick free, by slapping smiles on our faces and having a nice pork chop dinner and roasting smores over the campfire. Though I must admit, it’s a little hard to enjoy a nice dinner with the scent of deet in the air!
Both Isle Royale and Voyageurs National Parks provide a level of seclusion that you don’t get with other parks, each in their own way. If you have your own boat, tent camping on the lake at Voyageurs is the way to go, or better yet, a houseboat. But just be aware of the rampant tick problem and diligently check yourself every single day. If visiting Isle Royale, I would not recommend doing just the day trip like we did. There is too much to see and you don’t have nearly enough time on the island. If you don’t like to tent camp, save your pennies and stay in the lodge. With nature comes its beauty and its wrath, and these two parks will show you both ends of the spectrum and everything in between. No matter what you do, have fun while doing it.
