Lake Wanahokalugee, MN

To escape the horrific heat wave that struck the Pacific Northwest last week, we decided to go camping at a beautiful mountain lake. It was perfect: remote location; clear, cold water; breath-taking surroundings; good friends. In attempts to keep throngs of people from flocking to this lake, we decided to give it an alias: Lake Wanahokalugee, located in Minnesota. If you've been there, you know what it's really called. If not, contact me personally and maybe I'll tell you the real name!

We arrived Wednesday afternoon and were very happy to see several camping spots still available. By the end of the day, the campground was full, and it filled up on the following three days as well, another reason why we created an alias. After setting up camp, we headed right for the lake. It felt so good to be in the cool water!

Ben was so excited that he made up this little dance: We couldn't keep the kids off this log boom, even though a sign warning "Danger, Keep Off" was posted. I admit, I swam out to it and enjoyed sitting on the log in the sun. We swam in the lake until dinner time, then came back for night swimming after dinner. The setting sun kept changing the lighting over the lake and every minute was more beautiful than the one before.

One of the features of the campground is a ginormous maple tree, the biggest I've ever seen. It's way cooler than the "whomping willow". The kids saw it and were instantly intent on climbing it.

Thursday we hiked out to "mermaid grotto" for some cliff diving. We were told it was a "short hike", and it would have been if we would have started from the right side of the trail. We ended up going the long way there, about three miles in. Later we learned that from the other side of the trail it's only one mile. The kids did surprisingly well, and only one fell asleep on the hike back after the long day of sun and swimming. I gave Brooke the "Matt Topham" award for buff-ness; she carried Adana three miles on her back all the way to the car! But I'm getting ahead of myself! Before hiking back, we enjoyed the whole day jumping off the bridge, about 10 feet above water, and the cliff, which had three different jumping spots. One was about 12 feet, one about 20 feet, and one about 50 feet above water. We only let the kids go up to the 20 foot ledge. Maybe when they're a little older they can try the highest one, like when they're 21!

Friday we decided to try the local hot-springs, but were disappointed when we got there that it was just like a swimming pool and not the natural type we were expecting. So we didn't stay long and opted to hike to a nearby waterfall instead. (I'm trying really hard not to divulge the names of these locations!) We were very pleased with our decision, and the kids had a great time playing in the river, except for all the biting flies.

Ben did a little fishing, and caught a fish in his shoe! He thought it was so funny that it swam right into his shoe. He wanted to take it back to the campsite and cook it for dinner. Here's our group of three moms and ten kids on the bridge above the falls: We all had a wonderful time, and vowed to make this an annual tradition. If you're ever in Minnesota, be sure to look up Lake Wanahokalugee, you won't regret it!