Our Canoe Adventure

I have officially come to the realization of how out of shape I am. While yes, a round trip canoe adventure of roughly 22 miles will do that to you, I am still more tired than I should be. Dave and I decided to be adventurous and go for a three day canoe trip. His family has done this before, so it was neat to go back and see where some of his traditions took place.

We set off on on our trip on a beautiful Monday afternoon (we got a late start). We were so excited about taking our first trip together! We had heard that people have made this trip in 4-5ish hours, so we were making goals of how we could beat their time.

Like I said, it was a GORGEOUS day! The water was placid, it wasn't too hot, and the breeze was light. Boy, were we ever blessed. That is....until we actually got to our desired campsite...

This "canoe carrier" was a life-saver. Without it we would have had to portage for about 1/4 mile by lugging that huge thing...and our dongxi (stuff).

And then there is the floating island that decided to drift its way into blocking all passageways. Let's just say we were glad that our feet didn't get stuck in that spongy stuff as we were trying to lug it over. I think Dave almost lost his shoe!

So after 3 1/2 hours, we arrived at the camp site that Dave was hoping for (we beat their time!). Yet our energy started depleting once we discovered that someone already took that camp site. And then the next one....and the next....and the next. It was now around 7:00 and our spirits were low, our arms were tired, and we needed a place to unpack before the night came. Luckily it was the 2nd longest day of the year so we were good on the light. We had to canoe for another 3 miles before we actually found an open campsite. What a relief!

The next day we were blessed with yet another gorgeous day! We decided to pack up our stuff and move to a campsite with a better view (after we had a little more positive energy to look some more). Most of the day was spent lounging in the sun, reading, swimming, hiking, and exploring. We were eatin' up every minute of it!

It just so happened that our campsite had a ton of dragonflies. While they were quite friendly and didn't bother us much, you would be laying there and then all of a sudden look at yourself to find about four just chillin' on your stomach!
For dinner we decided to make a bit of everything. Hobo stew, potatoes, baked beans, and then Ramen (to nibble on for those whose hungry stomachs couldn't wait any longer).
It was sad to hear the rain hitting the tent the next morning, but we couldn't help but be so grateful for the weather we did get to enjoy the previous days. And when the rains came, they didn't go away. We canoed with the winds and the rains for the next 4 1/2 hours. Good thing we came prepared with the rain gear, or that could have been one miserable trip home.

Well, now it's two days later and I am still sore. It's a good sore though. Maybe I can do something to maintain these new muscles I have acquired ;)