Those Johnston Kids were up at the crack of 9 on the 9th, although Baby Girl had to be hauled from her sleeping bag by main force. Her teen years will be a trial for everybody, I fear. All in a rush, we made use of the Kult Of America’s very clean shower facilities, scarfed down breakfast, and packed up the trailer. What was the rush? Mini-golf!<\/p>\n
We hadn’t actually finished the 18 holes the night before, so the kids wanted another swing at the tee. Or Mulligan, or whatever it is golfers say. I am not a golfer. I have sworn not to take up the game until i an too numb to feel it, apologies to my father-in-law. Even in broad daylight, the course was challenging. Several of the holes were impossibly uphill. If the shot wasn’t a hole in 1, the ball would pleasantly roll right back down to stop at your feet or further back. It was maddening, but we finished. We determined that Short Pants was the winner because he had the highest score.<\/p>\n
Well, after that it was just a road trip. The home-hungry kids, following significant lobbying by Baby Girl, decided that another longish drive would be best. We skipped a planned campsite on the Lake Superior north shore to go right on to the next camp in the itinerary. The day was overcast and quite cool, down to 12 degrees fire a while. The mix of air temperatures led to a real pea soup fog from Schreiber to Marathon. I thought it was neat, but there were many cautious drivers poking along the highway.<\/p>\n
I saw another bear, shortly after we passed into Lake Superior Provincial Park. I saw it well in advance and called out to the kids. Baby Girl saw it and fumbled for a camera, but I don’t think Short Pants caught a glimpse. That’s one of the limitations of sitting in the back seat. There is lots of room, but visibility sucks.<\/p>\n
We thought we might get as far as Sault, but as eager as I am for the comforts of home too, I am also reluctant to leave the wood and stone that is so familiar to me. I made an executive decision that we would stay in Lake Superior Park and enjoy it. This time through the Park, we found the Agawa Bay campground we had missed on our way west, and secured a site. Coincidentally, the gate officer lives a block away from us in Scarborough. He said it was rare to see anybody from home all the way up here, and there had even been\u00a0one other reservation earlier in the summer from someone on our street, but they hadn’t checked in. Yeah, that is weird, I agreed.<\/p>\n
The campground was great. It’s on a long, narrow strip between the highway and the gravely shore of Lake Superior. There are many big trees dividing up the campsites so it didn’t feel cramped. Naturally, as soon as we were set up, the kids ran for the beach, hang the clouds and spotty rain. We picked cool stones for a while and then one thing led to another and pretty soon bathing suits were involved. I warned them that Superior never warms up, but they’ve swum in glacial ponds in the Rockies and were unperturbed. I sat on the beach and watched in amazement as they rolled and sprayed in the surf. I could practically see my breath, but they just cackled at each other and ran in and out of the water. I don’t know where they get it. My people come from a desert country.<\/p>\n
We had our first campfire in weeks! We cooked hot dogs to add to our dinner, and then sat\u00a0around the fire\u00a0afterwards, just enjoying the smell. There were a few biting insects, but the smoke from the fire kept them completely at bay. The day only demanded roasted marshmallows to be declared complete, which we took care of in short order.<\/p>\n
Those Johnston Kids must have been tired because there wasn’t a word of complaint when I suggested we brush our teeth and tuck in. Traffic on the nearby highway was sparse and we were all lulled to sleep by the waves breaking on the shore just metres away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Those Johnston Kids were up at the crack of 9 on the 9th, although Baby Girl had to be hauled from her sleeping bag by main force. Her teen years will be a trial for everybody, I fear. All in a rush, we made use of the Kult Of America’s very clean shower facilities, scarfed … Continue reading A Superior View<\/span>