In which I introduce Rich and Dozer to camping

The weekend before I broke my ankle (back in mid-August) I drove up to the North Shore with Rich and Dozer for a little camping trip before his son Liam was born.  We didn't really plan in advance (suprising, I know) so when we arrived at Gooseberry Falls State Park we found out that nearly every campsite on the entire shore was full...  The helpful ranger told us that Finland State Forest MIGHT have a couple, so we beat feet for the forest and snagged what was literally the last open spot.  As we were setting up the tents, several other cars pulled in looking for a site, so we only just made it.

Our campsite by moonlight (extra light provided by Canon)

Cooking dinner, while Dozer looks on wistfully

Rich had his own tent while I shared with Dozer, and we were up early the next day to get over to Eagle Mountain, the highest point in Minnesota at around 2200 feet.  It was a short but nice hike, with plenty of lakes for Dozer to swim in and a nice little plaque at the rather underwhelming summit.

At the highest point in MN!

Of course, having climbed the tallest point in MN we were plenty hungry, so we drove up to Grand Marais for some Sven and Ole's!  The pizza was excellent but it was even better later that evening, reheated over our campfire!

On our way back to camp we stopped to take some photos, and were suprised when someone leaped off the cliffs at Temperance River State Park right next to us, plummeting about 10 meters straight into the water below.  When they climbed out, we got the scoop on where and how to jump, and after a moments hesitation, we decided to give it a shot.  You only live once!

Richard taking the plunge

Turns out the fall is just long enough for you to think, "Oh shit, this is really damn tall" before you hit the water.  Even cooler, once you're down there it's possible to swim/climb behind the falls into a hidden grotto.  I definitely want to go back next year with a waterproof video camera to get some shots of the jumps and the hidden spot.

The next morning we got up early and drove back down to Taylors Falls to climb for a while.  On the way out we passed this spot, with the sun rising over some wetlands, and I slammed on the brakes so we could get some shots.  Absolutely stunning!