Mad Camping Pics

It was sort of an odd Independence Day for a lot of folks this year due to the holiday's falling on a Wednesday. We took the opportunity to head out for a camping trip a little farther away than we would normally go for a weekend--we headed to Madeline Island, which is one of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior near Bayfield, Wisconsin.

Have I mentioned that I love Lake Superior? I went to school near Superior, and my favorite camping trips have involved the lake. Hubby even popped the question at Lake Superior. I love the rocky cliffs, the sea caves, and the sandy beaches. I love the lighthouses and the stories of storms and shipwreck. I love Superior's vast expanse.

But enough about my love affair with the best great lake...you came for the pictures, right?

Our trip began at Boy Scout camp, where AKD was just finishing up a week being a boy, earning merit badges in Lifesaving and Climbing.

The next day we headed to the ferry in Bayfield, which delivered us to the town of La Pointe on Madeline Island.

 We set up camp...

 and then got busy swimming... 

 and burying each other in the sand. 

 True story: Lake Superior is much warmer on the south shore.  The next morning, Sawblock and AKD headed out for an early morning paddle...

 through the sea caves along the shoreline.

 But they're not the only ones who kayaked!

 One day most of the boys rode their bikes the 7 or so miles into town, and Bubby and I met them for a picnic lunch and swim at this beach.

 You already know about the cliff jumping.  We also swam through sea caves and underwater tunnels.

We took a hike along the shoreline, stopping at beaches along the way.  This one had lots of rock cairns, so of course we had to build our own.

And Bubby found this itty-bitty froggy.

At this beach, the boys made a "raft" out of driftwood.

 

And Bubby learned to skip rocks.

 And there was more swimming and more kayaking and more biking and more hiking.  And relaxing by the fire with some s'mores.

 At the end of our time on Madeline Island, we packed up our stuff (and AKD did a little truck surfing) and headed back toward home.

Oh, what a great time we had!  I hope you enjoyed your holiday celebrations, too :)