One of the perks of living on the lake are the Apostle Islands. We've not been to many, but one of Nick's colleagues recently retired after 47 years (you read that right, 47 years) of teaching geology at Northland. To celebrate his retirement, the science department went on an Apostle Islands Cruise, something I would really like to do. Nick snagged a few photos that evening, despite the rainy coldness. Once the girls are old enough, we'd like to kayak and camp on a few of the islands.
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| The lighthouse on Raspberry Island |
Nick paddles every Friday morning from when the ice leaves to when the ice comes back in. They've started calling themselves a float-tilla, there are upwards of 12 people who have joined them. By October/November they are down to about three crazy paddlers. They leave shore at 7 AM. Here's shots from where they leave (Bono Creek boat launch on the way to Washburn, WI).
Where they paddle are some really neat sea caves, which I haven't paddled through since having kids, but before kids were in the picture and I was able to paddle regularly, I too got to see them, and they are beautiful. The sloshing sound the waves make as they go through the caves is so cool. The water is so clear and shallow in this part, you can see the smooth sand and the beautiful rocks at the bottom. And, occasionally the giant sturgeon swimming along the bottom.
We get some pretty remarkable sunsets from where we live. Nick's dream is that we will have a house on the east part of town, on the lake, where we can have gorgeous unobstructed sunsets nearly every night. (I'm okay with this dream too).
One of the other great things about Ashland is the corridor. An asphalt/gravel path that goes through the middle of town and along the lake front. I have running on it this summer, mainly from our house down to the ore dock, along the waterfront for a short bit, then back uphill home. Some days after dropping the girls off at daycare, I park by the lake and just run along the lake (no hills). Here are some shots from my jogs (and one bike ride on the gravel section that leads all the way to Superior, WI). The other great part about the path is it provides a safe way for Lilly to practice riding her bike.
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| View from the ore dock |
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| New this summer, these adorable little free libraries at nearly all the parks. Each one is painted to match the main attraction of the park |
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| From the lake front into the woods - on the same path! |
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| I spooked a family of deer and missed the photo op |
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| There's a great store, Solstice Outdoors, where one can rent paddle boards, kayaks, and get all sorts of clothing and gear. They sponsor the 10k training group I join |
Finally, last night was a beautiful, calm night. Nick went out for a sunset paddle out to the lighthouse and back after the girls were in bed. He was confident enough in his abilities to stay on the board that he brought his phone with and took some of these shots.
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