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Kayaking, backpacking, lighthouses, 17th century fur trading forts, bears, waterfalls, not to mention the crystal clear waters of Lake Superior are just a few of the activities we able to try as guests of the Northern Pines Girl Scout Counsel.
Our first day was spent on the road but on our second day we met Colleen from Raven Moon Adventures. She recommended by the counsel and gave the girls a great kayaking lesson. They loved sailing the kayaks through the bay just outside of Duluth. We were guests at a beautiful log cabin troop house just outside of Duluth.
The next morning was busy. We packed our backpacks for our trip to Stockton Island in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. We caught a ferry in Bayfield Wisconsin to Stockton Island. When we arrived a park ranger met us and reviewed Leave no trace skills as well as safety in bear country.
It was one of the most beautiful campsites we've been. The girls loved picking blueberries, swimming and watching the bears.
After hiking out and riding the ferry, we drove back to Duluth and up the west coast of Lake Superior to Thunder bay Canada. We stopped at Old Fort William, a reconstructed fur trading fort from the late 1700. The original fort had been built in Grand Portage, Minnesota but after the American Revolutionary War the North American Fur trading company moved its fort to Canada to avoid American taxes. The fort is reconstructed and the staff dresses the parts of the employees of this 17th century. They did a wonderful job and brought history to life.
On our last day we stopped at Gooseberry Falls State Park, Splitrock Lighthouse and the Mall of America in Minneapolis. The falls were beautiful and we loved crawling around on the rocks. At the lighthouse, we got a wonderful view and learned about the storms of November. That afternoon it was on to the Mall of America which as a real treat for some of the girls. We road the indoor roller coaster and shopped until we dropped.
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