Finding a Toad

Evie and I went for a walk a couple of weeks ago nearby the Harriet Alexander Nature Center.

It was a short walk through some woods and alongside a marsh.

We came across a memorial wildflower garden. It hadn't been taken care of in some years and the benches in the garden were quite deteriorated. It was a little sad to see.

On our way back, we encountered a little toad hopping down the trail in front of us. He wasn't too shy, and I easily caught him for Evie to get a closer look.

The toad sat on Evie's hand for a minute, long enough for me to snap a few photos, then he hopped off and back onto the trail. I encouraged him to hop off into the some leaves at the side of the trail, where he was less likely to be seen by a hawk or squashed by a shoe.

Along the North Shore

On our way home from Thunder Bay, we took our time driving along the North Shore. We made a stop at Grand Portage National Monument, knocking another National Park unit off of our list.

The park sits only a few miles from the U.S. and Canadian border on Lake Superior.

The site was one of the fur trading posts for the Northwest Company, similar to Fort William, but smaller.

The views of the lake from this spot were beautiful.

After Grand Portage, we continued on to Cascade River State Park. 

A short walk through the woods takes visitors to spots along the river where they can view the cascading waterfalls.

Our last stop on the way home was at Gooseberry Falls State Park. That was probably the most fun spot to stop because of all of the places to play in water.

You can also easily wade over to the rocks right next to the falls. Evie loved getting close to the running water.

And, of course, Evie soaked her clothes playing in the water. Thankfully, I had my fleece jacket with me, so we changed her out of her wet clothes and into my jacket for the walk back to the car.

Before leaving the park, we walked over to a rocky and beachy area by Lake Superior.

 

Lastly, we took a more scenic route through Duluth. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to stay a few nights in Duluth and explore it more sometime soon. It looks like a beautiful city.

On a Hike

Our last day in Thunder Bay was windy and chilly. Still, we took a drive for another view of Lake Superior and a short hike.

Although we've taken many walks in the woods with Evie, this was her first time walking along a more rugged hiking path...

...one with a steep ravine we had to climb.

Evie enjoyed the hike, and she protested when we had to turn around. I'm hoping in another year or so that she and I can start hiking together regularly.

Despite the gloomy, late-fall-like weather, the forest was pretty.

On our way back to the car, we stopped to pick wild blueberries. Evie harvested many handfuls, probably eating about half of what she picked and sharing the rest. She was pretty much in heaven.

It was a lot of fun watching Evie navigate the pathway and hike along like she was one of the big kids.