Tradition

I know, I know....I'm horrible at keeping this updated!! I always say I'm going to get better...but then I never do so I'm not even going to say it this time! Warning....it's a long one!!


This year we continued our Memorial Weekend Tradition by camping at Bear Head Lake State Park. The park is only about 15 miles from Ely (which most of you know we love that town). We had such a great time and enjoyed every minute of it.


We stopped at the International Wolf Center in Ely the day that we got up there. Check-in time wasn't until 4 pm and we were up that by 12 pm. We had 4 hours to waste and David had never been to the Center. I must admit, this visit was by far the beats the last time I was there.

The last time there was only 3 wolves and it was raining so they were all curled up sleeping. This time there were 6 wolves and they were all active. It was a good way to waste time.



We saw many animals at this park. This deer was on wandering on the road between the office and our campsite. It was not shy at all. We also saw a fox on the way into the park one of the days. He had just killed a grouse....you could hear it squawking still. He was only about 20 feet from the car and just sat and watched us....you could say we were having a staring contest.

The lake was only about a 100 yards from our site. It was such a pretty lake. Close enough to the Boundary Waters for me! There were a few loons on the lake and also wood ducks. It was fun to watch and listen to them at night.

One of the best parts about camping.....the campfires!! I could sit around a campfire all day long. I love to listen to the crackling and the flames mesmerize you. All of our meals were done on the fire except for breakfast...which we may try to do next time.

At the park, they rent out row boats, canoes, kayaks, and trolling motors. We rented a row boat and trolling motor to do some fishing. We didn't have much luck fishing...well I should say we didn't catch anything big enough to keep. We caught several small sunfish, perch, and rock bass. We did catch a couple of crappies that we could have kept but 2 wouldn't be enough for a meal. I also caught a small northern. We did however catch a sunburn! *Note to self - you can still get burned when it is semi cloudy!! You would think I would learn my lesson...apparently not!

We had to cut our fishing trip short due to some rain that felt the need to rain on our parade...our campsite in our case. Luckily it only lasted about 45 minutes...just enough to get everything wet...including the fire wood. However we are pleased to announce that the tent does not leak!!!

After the rain, we decided to head over to Orr, MN and check out the Vince Shute Bear Sanctuary. I have had several people tell me how great of a place it is to visit. The sanctuary is a place for wild bears to come and get a good meal. The park members put out food for the bears since there are so many in the area and give the public a chance to learn more about them.

This was one bear that climbed way up in the tree. He was pretty cute to watch. I didn't realize just how far up a tree they could climb.

This bear was a little pig. They put the food on these big platforms and he literally went around to about 4 different platforms and had himself a feast!! It was crazy how many bears would just wander on in and then leave when they were full. I definitely recommend this place to anyone up in the area!

So that was our fun filled camping trip. We enjoyed it so much that neither one of us wanted to leave. We do know that we will be returning to Bear Head Lake in the near future! So if anyone wants to join us, feel free too! *Note - there are camper cabins available for those that don't have the equipment.