Note: This is a pseudo cycling blog. This post is not about cycling; it is about my recent trip to the U.P. with my family. It’s a long account written—as per usual—more for me than anyone else. The trip will be broken into four parts. The time betweenst each of these posts will be filled with my usual tales of crap rides, short hikes, “needs work” photos and bad writing.
Click HERE for Part I of the series and HERE for Part II.
Thanks,
Management
After two days of hiking in the wet woods battling bloodthirsty mosquitos, we promised B that he could sleep in and chill on Monday morning while Wifey and I went for a 4-mile hike on some trails right outside of town.
The woods were wet yet again from a morning rain, and yet again we were spraying ourselves down with multiple layers of DEET to combat the hoards of ever-present mosquitos.
It was nice for me and Wifey to hike and not have to worry if B was going to go home with malaria or West Nile virus from the constant bites our state bird was littering him with. Of course, I did miss him, and the ongoing dialogue that he kept us (mostly him) amused with where he pretended to be a know-it-all Pittsburgh dad mansplaining to his family about what moose like to eat, what bird we just heard sing, and what sort of trees we were walking through. I don’t think he was making fun of me… Was he making fun of me? Probably. Sigh.
The hike was void of any real wildlife sightings other than a super tiny toad that we played with, and a pile of blueberry laced scat that may or may not have belonged to a local black bear (Ursus americanus). But what do I know? I guess I needed my mansplaining ginger haired Mini Me there to confirm.
We once again returned from a hike with wet shoes, wet clothes (from both water and sweat), and smiles on our faces from enjoying the dense woods of the U.P. The only downside to the hike was the multiple crossings of sandy snowmobile trails that we did. I couldn’t help but long to have the Fatterson with me to go on a two-wheeled adventure. I’m already thinking about an early fall return for a day or two, this time with my fatty, a map, and a plan to ride deep into the north woods!
After our hike, we returned to the cabin, woke B and ate some lunch (or breakfast if you’re B). Then I spent some time chillin’ on the patio near the lake drinking coffee. I drank so much coffee over our four days away, I can’t believe I ever slept!
Later that afternoon, we did some touristy stuff around the area and on the way back to the cabin Wifey and B allowed me to stop here and there to get some pics of things I found interesting. You know the sort of crap I take photos of while I’m riding, except this time I was driving! LOOK, AN OLD FIRETRUCK!! LOOK, A BEAT UP SNOW PLOW!!
Before dinner I drove solo back towards the beach we were at night before while the rest of the unit napped and goofed off at the cabin. This time I wanted to do a quick walk around the woods and ponds looking for some wildlife, especially some moose!
While I didn’t see any moose (probably for the best), I did see some ducks, a woodpecker couple pecking together, a couple bohemian waxwings (see below), and some signs of beaver. Just to be alone in the quiet of the woods for a bit was super fun.
Once I made it home, we had a nice dinner and chilled at the cabin for a bit before driving back down to the Bark Dock beach. There we hung out on the beach, I took some photos, Wifey and B saw a bald eagle while I was off doing a crap long exposure shot of the waves, and we hiked a bit of the North Country Trail that paralleled the beach. What a fantastic experience it was to walk wooded singletrack and hear the waves crashing against the shoreline. Just one of the many things that make the U.P. such a great place.
We were all in bed pretty early that night and enjoyed another good night’s sleep in The World’s Smallest Two Bedroom Cabin™.
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Next up: Our last day in Paradise: Even more, hiking, another round of amazing subs, and a final trip to our favorite beach.
Later.