Third time's a charm

 I FINALLY got to go out paddling on a lake this summer. We tried a couple months ago while up north. We reserved kayaks, then switched days and rented a canoe, up in Voyageur's National Park, but the day we went was too windy and the outfitter recommended not going out on the lake. I was bummed. Instead we went to Franz Jevne and Big Bog state parks, which were very lovely and wonderful, but I still missed paddling around on water.

Then a couple weeks ago, we drove downtown to rent a canoe on Bde Maka Ska but were told the same thing--too windy and they wouldn't rent a canoe. Instead we walked to the beach area, put our feet in the water, then walked back to the car and ordered pizza.

Today, we went downtown again, and this time, in spite of the windiness (we thought it was windier than a couple weeks ago), we were able to rent a canoe. It was choppy on the lake, but we didn't tip over.

It was a glorious day to be afloat. There were clouds and it looked like it might rain at one point, but then it all blew away, and the windiness followed the clouds. After that, the lake was calm and we had sunny skies.

The leaves were colorful

We parked the canoe for a bit for a potty break at the south end of Bde Maka Ska.

The rest of the pictures are from Jim's phone. Mine ran out of juice halfway through our excursion.

Downtown looks a little small

We had originally planned on staying on Bde Maka Ska, but discovered that the "Chain of Lakes" is really a chain and you can canoe between three (actually four, but we only went to three) lakes. Bde Maka Sake, then Lake of the Isles, then Cedar Lake. Had we known, we might not have spent so much time on the first one. But the delight of discovery was enough and we got to see areas we had no idea existed. 

Look closely and you can see ducks. They were all over.

This is the causeway between Lake of the Isles and Cedar Lake

Traffic jam on the causeway. Apparently everyone ELSE knows about the chain of lakes causeways and uses them.

The sun hit the fall colors perfectly

Kind of looks like an in focus Monet painting

Back to Bde Maka Ska from Lake of the Isles

It was so relaxing and at the same time exhausting to spend three hours on the lake taking in new-to-us scenery. Our shoulders will be sore tomorrow. I think we should do this again next year.