Savanna Portage adventure!

This summer was our 9th annual adventure with the Clarks!  Tiffany booked us a camper cabin at Savanna Portage State Park, which was about a 3-hour drive for us.  The first thing we noticed when we parked by the office was the swarms of bugs outside of our car.  By the picnic area at Loon Lake, they didn't seem too bad as we ate lunch and the kids played a bit.  We hiked around Loon Lake, which was a quick 1-mile loop.  

After our hike, we rented a canoe and a kayak and had fun paddling around the lake before a storm rolled in.  

Luckily, when it was just starting to rain, it was time to check in to our camper cabin.  We waited out the rain a bit, then decided to hike to the bog boardwalk.  This turned into more of a jog, as we were trying to escape the swarms of mosquitoes...they were so terrible!  We ended up heading to eat after this short hike, and had a blast at Zorbaz.  The weather was perfect, there were no bugs, and we enjoyed the beach volleyball area while waiting for our food and after eating.  In hindsight, Tiffany and I wished we had ordered a half-size of the Macho Nachoz that were half-price on Monday nights.  They were delicious, but way too much!  Somehow, though, everyone still had room for ice cream after a yummy meal.

Back at the camper cabin, we were proud to start our first-ever fire together.  It did help a little bit with keeping some of the mosquitoes away!

After a good night's sleep, we had breakfast and packed up in the morning.  We always have some sort of memorable adventure on our trips together, and this year, we will definitely remember the BUGS!  It was a beautiful park, though, and always a fun time when we adventure with the Clarks.

Fishing

This year's fishing trip to Frazee was extra-special, because Tracy was back in the US.  It was her first time getting to stay at Rose Ridge with us.  The weather was perfect during the week--a little warmer at the beginning of the week, so the girls were able to swim a few times, but otherwise pretty nice for fishing other than a little windy one day.  We took Tracy to our favorite toy/game/puzzle/candy/popcorn/ice cream store, Goose Gang, and made sure to visit the thrift shop in Frazee and get some ice cream in town another day.  When we visited Mary and George, Mary told us about a little zoo near our cabin, so Abby and I checked that out on our last afternoon.  Abby loved the opportunity to hold a baby wolf and we had the place to ourselves--lots of interesting animals!  We'll definitely have to add this to our list of things to do when we aren't fishing.  It was a fun week!

We even got Sadie on the boat for a ride on our last morning

Sadie made sure we didn't leave her behind

Abby was excited to hold a baby wolf

I had never seen a zedonk in person before!

Making breakfast with Tracy and Grandma

Sadie loved being able to swim each morning!

Fishing wears you out!  This is before breakfast...

Norah was in charge of pancakes and French toast prep

It wasn't super warm for swimming at Rose Ridge, but the girls had fun making "Starbucks" for Tracy at the beach

Norah's tiniest fish she caught

Norah was very into fishing this year!

The girls were able to swim at Fischer Lake two days--the second day, Dave, Tracy, and I joined in because it was hot!

Learning how to clean fish with Grandpa