Day 5: Echo Trail, Angleworm Trail, Lake One, and Grand Marais

Rising early again today, this toad kept me company while I drank my coffee and ate breakfast, cleaned out and organized the car, and repacked our bags for the last leg of our vacation:



This toad stuck around for over an hour -- I kept checking back, and s/he was watching me, but enjoying basking in the sunshine at the same time!

After packing up the tent for the last time this trip, we continued down the Echo Trail.


More wildlife on the side of the road -- baby muskrats this time!



While shooing them back into the ditch, I noticed some Star Flower:

and prairie roses, I think: (they're not in my book)


We stopped at an entrance to the Angleworm Trail, and hiked to Lake Agassa:




Why so few pictures of this hike, you ask? BECAUSE I FILLED UP MY CAMERA CARD! I spent a long time deleting duds while sitting on the shore of Lake Agassa, and then thankfully, when we drove into Ely for lunch, Pamida saved me! I bought another camera card -- whew!

After I averted the camera crisis and we ate lunch, we drove to a family-run outfitters on Lake One in the BWCA and rented a canoe for a couple of hours. Lake One was a neat paddle:




More turtles!


And there were tons of these little, rocky, mini-islands throughout the lake:


After we returned the canoe, we drove southeast, and then north along highway 61, for the final destination of our trip -- Grand Marais! We were excited to see Lake Superior, eat some great food (at the Angry Trout Cafe and the Gunflint Tavern,) and stay in a HOTEL! After four nights in a tent, a hot shower, cable, and a comfy bed felt like the ultimate luxuries.