Day 5: Moving inland

It was a pretty sunrise

No one around but us

We were sad our voyage was over

But it was time to say good-bye to Leach Bay

And Voyageurs National Park

Don our gear

And set out for the next phase of our adventure

(Yes, this is Chris driving.

In her words, terrible things must have happened if she is the only one left

To drive the boat…or it’s her last chance to drive ;) )

We traversed the Narrows and the Pinch

And made it back safe and sound.

It was a rainy day

So we changed our plans from a hike

To some sightseeing.

We hadn’t been to a Ranger’s Station

And a cloudy, cool morning seemed like the perfect time.

We stopped by a brewery,

Did some team grocery shopping

(Chris kept us organized),

And headed for our house

Check it out!

Lakefront on Long Lake

While the parents were inside settling in to our cute AirBnB,

Us kids grabbed the poles.

I was the first to catch a fish here!

Then it was ON!

It was so fun.

I caught another

And decided I should learn to take them off

EVERYONE was catching fish

Even Mom!

She said it was the first fish she caught in over 15 years

Dad helped her take it off the hook…

And then promptly stuffed it down her shirt.

We rounded off the evening with some paddling,

A few games,

And introducing the Keim’s to one of our favorite shows,

The Grand Tour

Another glorious night

And guess what?

It’s after midnight—

Jack captured the first minutes of their 21st wedding anniversary.

 

Day 4: Headed for the Cliffs

The morning was gorgeous,

Just right for coffee on the deck,

A HIIT workout for the girls

And a whole lot of sliding

By the boys

Wheeee!

We really didn’t want to leave our island,

But more adventure awaits!

I got to drive today

(Under the tutelage of Dad)

We made bracelets to pass the time

But our FAVORITE part?

Stopping over the really deep parts

(Over 150 feet!)

And jumping in from the top deck

Then it was back to the hot tub

And bracelet making

We eventually made it to The Cliffs

Back in Grassy Bay

Worth a group picture

We found a nice spot in Leach Bay

(Although we were a little leery of the name…)

There was some rain rolling through the area

So we took advantage of every minute

Eventually, 

The lightning and thunder chased us indoors

And then the rain came.

It was kind of exciting listening to the radio—

Usually it’s just people calling out to Blackhawk, the boat delivery guy,

Sending in their orders.

But when the storm came up,

It became a lot of distress calls.

We learned there were some VERY inexperienced boat drivers out there.

One person asked if they would be safer in the dingy than the houseboat.

Another asked if they should stay in the middle of the water or go to shore.

Some couldn’t decipher the map well enough to figure out where a parking spot was.

Others couldn’t figure out how to tie up their boats in the rain.

It was eye opening!

We waited until the storm started to pass

(“Lightening up” according to Mom)

And then headed out with our rods—

Fish love rain, right?

We’ve got some fish to catch!

And before long

We started to bring them in!

Everyone started to reel them in!

And the turtles seemed to follow!

The rain finally moved out

And Mom and Jack decided to see the Cliffs

Up close and personal

They were impressive!

We all took turns in pairs

Paddling out to check them out.

The acoustics were crazy!

You could hear things at the boat

100 yards away as if the person was right next to you!

The rain couldn’t stop our fun!

This place is has such good vibes

Tonight was a big night.

It was boat trivia—

A trivia competition between all the houseboats

Over the radio.

Since there was no cell service in the park,

It was truly whatever you know.

Team Kreed was IN!

We did really well,

Making it to the semi-finals round,

Before we got out on the question

“How fast does the Earth spin?”

Weston VERY definitively said it was 17,000 mph…

Or 1000mph.

He wasn’t positive. 

But pretty sure it was 17,000mph.

Well…it was 1000mph.

We were out.

But it was pretty darn fun!

Once the generator was off for the night,

We really got going.

We decided to play Spoons,

All 11 of us.

It got HEATED

Weston won a LOT of games.

We were all pretty psyched when Kylie finally beat him

It was finally time to turn in

For one last sleep on our boat.

There was often a lot of yelling and laughing

Before we all settled in for the night.

Tonight was no different.

Weston did most of the yelling

(Dad thought there might be something wrong with his voice

Because he kept losing it on this trip)

And it was usually call out the “Teams” as we settled in.

Here they are:

Hallway

Attic

Table

And Bunk

No one had to go “To the DINGY!” but it was threatened a lot

The mosquitos were too aggressive to sit outside for long,

But Mom and Chip snuck out for a quick picture of the moon and the clouds

It was a memorable last night on the boat