Our Family's Last Canoe Trip of 2020

You waste weekends in the summer accomplishing obligatory chores. You think to yourself, "It's summer, I can camp and paddle anytime." Then suddenly, night begins to come earlier. The leaves shine brilliant gold, orange, red, and then poof - they're gone. It sneaks up on you, the last canoe trip of the season. Now you wish you had spent more days on the water, in camp, off the grid.

Teen Finds Joy Paddling in the Sylvania Wilderness, September 2020

Our daughter Ams is a teenager now. Everything is boring. On canoe trips it's always a fight. She wants to sit in the middle seat and fiddle with her phone. Canoes, being a part of "everything", eyeroll, are sooooo booooooring. To offer her a bit of independence, not to mention exercise and fun, my husband decided to pick up a kayak and start bringing it on our canoe trips, at least the ones that require a smaller amount of portaging. Let me tell you how it went.

Camping with Family at Copper Falls State Park

Camping with extended family provides a chance to get closer to nature and closer to one another. Copper Falls State Park in Northern Wisconsin offers a great place for families to enjoy gorgeous scenery, mountain bike trails,  a swim in Loon Lake, or a short paddle. At the concession stand families can enjoy delicious, cool icecream or a hamburger after hiking, and on Sundays and Wednesdays the concession stand offers giant, fluffy pancakes with sausage for breakfast. Copper Falls State Park is located near Mellen in Ashland County, Wisconsin just off State Highway 169.