Summer Lake Fun With Friends

We were invited to spend the day at the lake with our friends, the Holjes. It was a beautiful day for being on the lake. The kids went water skiing, wake boarding, and tubing. Mom and Dad also went tubing and Mom was able to still go slalom skiing (with one ski). We ate a ton and the kids enjoyed the day on the water! Great day with friends!

U11 C1+ Soccer Ends on a High

Presley's team participated in the USA Soccer Cup, the largest youth soccer event in the world that just happens to take plan in MN every year. There were teams from all over the world including Columbia, Ecuador, Finland, Japan, etc. Presley's division had teams from Alaska and Kansas. It was a super cool week-long event with an amazing opening ceremony, pin trading, fun events like the Neon Dance party and colored hair extensions. Presley's team did great. They ended up taking 2nd out of about 20 teams in her division. Unfortunately, they lost to the #1 team in the state (after having already beaten them in pool play earlier in the week). Never the less it was a great way to end the season with a great team and a great coach!

Opening Ceremonies...




Neon Dance Party and Hair Extensions...




The 2nd Place Cup...

13AAA Baseball Ends on a High

Canyon's baseball team had lots of highs and lows this year. And Canyon had a slow start -- first with a broken thumb and then with pneumonia. However, his team had a nice end to the season ending second in the last tournament of the year. And Canyon was hot with the bat the entire last tournament. Nice way to end!

Heading Home - 5th of July

In our last day in Duluth, we enjoyed a couple of excursions before making the traffic filled trek home, including a short hike along a portion of the Superior Hiking Trail and a ride on the Spirit Mountain Coaster, a fun alternative to the Alpine Slide we enjoyed in Lutsen. A nice endcap to fun family get away weekend.

4th of July Road Trip - Day 3: Fourth of July

The morning of the 4th we said goodbye to our cute cabin and beach and headed north one last time to Grand Portage State Park, the northern most state park, literally on the border with Canada. This state park is a fairly new and is another great collaboration between the National Park Service and the local Indian tribe. The park features the highest waterfall in MN. After checking out the falls, we strolled down to the river before starting our southbound trek.




On route to Duluth, we decided to do the Pie Challenge. There are several places on the North Shore famous for their pies. We tried the Bumbleberry Pie at the Pie Place in Grand Marais and then decided to have an early dinner and the Triple Berry Pie at Scenic Cafe on the eastern side of Duluth. Both pies were amazing and the food at Scenic Cafe was out of this world. Yummy day for the Pergandes!





On route to Duluth, we stopped in Lutsen to ride the Alpine Slide down the "mountain". Super fun ride and excursion to break up the trip!




Once we arrived in Duluth, we enjoyed a nice afternoon/evening along the shoreline. We stopped by Brighton Beach, walked around Canal Park and the Aerial Lift Bridge. And then we ended our night with a great firework show.



This is Harry's Mausoleum off of Canal Park. When Canyon was here in December, there was a huge section of the Mausoleum. 3 months later, one huge section went missing. After about 100 years, it decided to sink or mysteriously disappear. Fun to get a picture with the section (December) and without the section (July).

4th of July Road Trip: Day 2 - Grand Portage

While in Grand Portage, we stayed in the cute cabin at Hollow Rock resort along the shoreline directly in front of "Hollow Rock". The kids schemed their way to get out and climb Hollow rock, a pretty impressive feat given the temperature of the water is only 40 degrees. We also enjoyed a nice beach side fire, Ron's guitar playing, more rock skipping, and some great late night games of Pond Hockeyopoly in the cabin.








While in town, we also visited the Grand Portage National Monument and Grand Portage Heritage Center. The center and monument have recreated and honored the important fur trade activity that occurred here as a collaboration between the French-Canadian voyagers and the local Ojibwe tribe. It's a super cool living exhibit that continues to be a collaborative effort between the local tribe and the national park service.

4th of July Road Trip - Day 2: Isle Royale National Park

On Day 2, we took a ferry out to Isle Royale National Park, which is an island within Lake Superior. The park is technically in Michigan but the shortest ferry ride comes from MN. We only had a day trip planned. Most visitors come for 3-4 days to explore this remote and beautiful island. We took a chilly ride aboard the Sea Hunter to and from the Island - an experience that is always remembered better in hindsight than in the moment.




On route to the island, we drove by the Witch Tree, a 300+ year old tree growing growing out of bare rock on the shoreline. It is a small, gnarled, conifer that is held sacred by the Ojibwe, who traditionally leave offerings to ensure a safe journey on Lake Superior. Due to its sacred nature and vandalism problems in the past, the tree is off limits to visitors unless accompanied by a tribe member.



Our time on the island was limited to about 3 hours. To make the most of our trip, we hiked to Grace Creek Overlook on the Feldtmann Lake Trail. It follows the harbor to the top of a ridge where we enjoyed our smoked fish and local cheese lunch. We then hiked back down and explored the moose "exclosure", a section of land that has been enclosed to study the impact of moose on the local vegetation. There are about 1,250 moose on the island. Unfortunately, we didn't see any on our trip.



On route back to Grand Portage, we drove past the Rock of Ages lighthouse, one of four lighthouses on the island. Despite the four light houses, there have been more than 25 shipwrecks near and around the island. The waters were rough on the way home. and all of us that were sitting on the back got quite wet. I love the rainbow of wet rain coats in this picture.

4th of July Road Trip - Day 1: The Trip

Pergandes love a road trip! For the 4th, we headed north to explore the famous Minnesota North Shore. The trip was full of adventure, great experiences, and lots of games! Our goal was Grand Portage near the Canadian border. The kids settled in for a long car ride and Mom made sure we explored any interesting stop along the way, including a stop in Cloquet, home of the a famous gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The station is still operational and still offers full service!




On route to Grand Portage, we stopped in the cute town of Grand Marais to grab dinner and our next day's lunch. We had amazing fresh caught fish and chips from the Angry Trout. We also picked up some great smoked fish and local cheese for our lunch the next day. And the kids began enjoying the north shore as they started the first of many rock skipping contests.