Here Are Some Shots from Up North in Minnesota

We rolled in on July 25th (Christmas in July) and stayed at Erica's Uncle Rod and Aunt Lee's resort for a week.  We quickly found ourselves enjoying the familiar surroundings of mostly Erica's childhood, but also a place I had the honor of staying with Erica for a week's vacation in 1991, pre-ninth grade. That trip was a bittersweet memory but one I remember vividly due to it happening the summer I left Erica to move to a new town in Wisconsin.  It is a tranquil place where you follow a dirt road for miles to finally reach your nesting spot. Time stands still here and you don't miss the amenties that have never showed up. There have never been TV's, the cabins are cozy and furnished and our RV spot was a sandy patch on the shore of the deepest lake in Minnesota. We enjoyed laying in bed at night listening to the waves crash against the rocks behind our heads. 

Lake Vermilllion is a Lake on the boundary waters near the Canadian Border in the Superior National Forest and the Life Of Riley Resort is a place that you can't explain you can only experience. Families have been coming here for fifty years and generations have spent their summers playing family games and fishing all kinds of huge fish from northerns and bass to walleye and muskie.  Boyd and Blythe caught hundreds of fish (perch, crappie, bluegill, bass and sunnies) off the dock and became self-sufficient by weeks end to do everything from worming the hook to releasing the fish from the hook.  All fish were returned to the water after having learned a valuable life lesson.  Both kids earned the title of dockstalker for their day long pilgrimages to camp at the end of the docks with their poles in hand and lines in the water.  We were thankful for family hospitality shown us and relished spending time with relatives we continue to get to know better.  We also received a gift from Erica's parents as they made the two day trek from Southern Illinois to spend the week with us!  All this happened at the last minute (literally a days notice) and we are so grateful for their flexibility and spontaneity.

One highlight is the baby deer named Feline that the Gillsons rescued from the lake in June.  She was staying in Caleb's yard and he was having to feed her via bottle five to six times a day to keep her hydrated. She was sweet and sociable with all of us.  She roams free yet stays close to Caleb, her parent, and comes whenever he calls for her.  She played the reindeer roll when Santa and Mrs. Clause rolled up on the fire truck at Christmas.