Highlights from the Gunflint Trail

Close Enough To Pet the Chipmunk
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

One of the highlights for the girls was being able to feed and see a chipmunk up close. The girls wanted to stop at Bearskin Lodge where we stayed a few years ago during the winter. They wanted to see what it looked like during the early-autumn.

After going into the lodge, my dad and I headed down the stairs. A chipmunk came out from behind the steps. We stopped and it seemed absolutely unafraid of us. In fact, it even came close to my dad's shoe.

The girls grabbed some Pik-Nik sticks (fried potato sticks) and slowly walked closer to the chipmunk. They made a trail of potatoes, and, sure enough, the chipmunk gathered them in his mouth. With bulging cheeks, he came within a foot of the girls.

Needless to say, this was one of the highlights of the day.

We continued onto the Chik-Wauk Museum at the end of the Gunflint Trail.

Having a picnic outside the museum.

After having a picnic in front of the museum and next to one of the bays of Lake Saganaga, we toured the museum where my dad was able to recall places he had canoed and fished decades ago.  He pointed to different portages that he crossed, and shared other memories of the trips he took in the 1960s and 1970s.

Olivia, Sophia, and my Dad on an overlook by a bay on Lake Saganaga

The girls, my Dad, and I went on one of the hiking trails around a bay.  On the walk, we saw a ruffed grouse - a bird none of us had seen before.  This is homeschooling at its best - when the girls can see something rather than look at a picture of it in a book.  Between nature/science, history, and physical education - three subjects had been covered so far.  Communication and math (money) skills were practiced when the girls each bought a little momento from the gift shop to remember their time at Lake Saganaga.