Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior

Thanks to a generous musher, we were able to have a girls weekend camping at the most beautiful area in the U.P. (imo) Tara, Linda, Blaine (NOT a girl...but he knows the trails, and is fun to be around anyway) and I headed up on Friday a.m. in the rain and wind. Once we got to the campsite, we dropped the dogs, unloaded the ATV's and went for a ride to see the trails while it was still light. WOW. The trails are just gorgeous...stunning scenery and little critters to keep the dogs interested, Lake Superior along side the trail in most parts, and deep beach sand for the dogs to swim through on parts of it too. Friday night, we didn't even try to make a fire...it was so windy and wet. The wind roared through the tree tops all night, and a couple of times tried to lift the tent. The waves were huge, and crashing along the shoreline. SO much power in them! So loud! Surprisingly, the dogs didn't seem nervous at all. We hooked up our teams on Saturday morning for the first run, and it was a blast! They were tired when we got back, as well as wet (we all were!) That deep sand really gave them a good workout,
After a few hours of rest for the dogs, we went out again for a shorter run. Linda and Blaine had gotten a nice fire going that afternoon, so we had our "hobo" dinners and sat around the fire in the rain. At least the wind died down. Sunday we woke up to a lovely autumn day...even got some sunshine...though just to remind us where we were, a light sprinkle of rain would pass over. On this day, we all went out separately, confident that we knew the trail well enough and wouldn't end up in Canada. I was the first team out, and we made it to the shore with one small wrong turn....Fiona wanted to go the right way, but I asked her to turn the wrong way. (Pilot error!) Once we got to the Lake, we proceeded along the shore. The dogs kept looking at the lake, but the waves were only about 1-2 feet. I gave the "gee" command and they eagerly entered the water and drank their fill, cooling off their feet too. Standing there, with my best buddies, surrounded by the wild beauty, the sun overhead sparkling on the water...it was really hard to imagine having to leave and go back.

Of course, as all good things must end way too soon, we were packed up and heading back by 3 p.m. The best weekend is a weekend with the dogs...and this was one I will always remember and cherish having had the chance to do it. Thanks to all who made it possible!!