Category: Uncategorized

Echo Trail

We’re north of Ely, MN this cloudy morning, and just entering the BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area) on this old dirt road called the Echo Trail. It winds through the boreal forest for 50 miles or so, a trail cut out between massive jutting rocks and endless little lakes. Our destination is Voyageurs National Park on the Canadian Border.

Apparently, a lot of hikers pass through here. There are people biking it, and a few cars (with their obligatory canoes) suddenly popping up on the roller-coaster corners, but mostly it’s just pristine wilderness of rocks, trees, and lakes. I hope the sky clears soon.

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I can’t believe that there are people (not many) who actually live out here. I wouldn’t stop for gas at this place– there’s probably some weird kid up there playing Dueling Banjos on the porch. We’re about to come to the end of the trail, and the sky is clearing.

Finally, we made it. The clouds and forest are behind us, and there’s nothing but blue waters under blue skies here. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. I’ve visited a number of national parks, but this is the first that has its roadside sign on a rock at the edge of a lake. We should’ve brought a canoe!

–photos by me

daydreaming

cotton candy clouds

float into my daydream,

as soft as goose down

and as sweet as the sugar

from which they were spun;

my weary mind is caressed

by their feathery fingers

of soothing pastel pinks

and hues of denim blues.

i feel like a fluffy kitten

in a cashmere sweater;

everything in my world

is just as it should be–

i love to daydream!

–photo by me