Canoe Races At Gunflint Lodge

     Every year Gunflint Lodge hosts the Canoe Races to raise money for the volunteer fire department. Vendors from all over the Northwoods area donate money and things to help fund it. We had two breweries donate free beer the whole time and raffles to win a ridiculous amount of free stuff. Anyone can sign up and the events get pretty hilarious.

     This was my first year attending this event. It was a beautiful day and there was a crazy amount of people for this lake. I trained for about 15 minutes before the races start and jumped into the Gunnel Pumping Race. Gunnel pumping is a ridiculous event where you stand on the back of the canoe on the gunnels, or ridges, of the canoes above the seat and jump to make the canoe move, instead of paddling. It is completely impossible to steer from there, and you don't get far each jump. It was so funny though. This event is a great one for goofing off and laughing at yourself, and if you are good at board sports, it is easy to balance. I attached a video of the event for your enjoyment.

     If you ever are in  the Northwoods in July, I would recommend these races for a good laugh and fun.

Kakabeka Falls, Onterio

      Living in the middle of nowhere is nice for many reasons. Nature is right outside my front door, I don't see people on their phones everywhere I go, and I don't spend my money on stuff I don't need. On the other hand, sometimes you need to get things, and you just can't. We live equal distance between Duluth, Minnesota and Thunder Bay, Ontario. As a result, when I need to go shopping, I go to Canada. Thunder Bay is a nice town, full of polite people. I do wish Americans had such a good stereotype. The thing I like most about Thunder Bay is not the shopping or the people though, it's that it is completely surrounded by the most beautiful nature.

      Just a 15 minute drive or so from the city center is Kakabeka Falls. The drive reminded me of the years I spent driving through southern Montana. I half expected to see a sign saying I was close to Hamilton. The pines are tall and bushy, and in the distance I can see sharp cliffs all around.

     Upon entering the park, you have to pay $3 (CAD) for parking for the hour, but it is well worth it for this view. Not only is the roaring waterfall astonishing, but the glass-like water running over the perfectly cut granite rock is unreal. The view looking down the canyon looked like a painting as the mist from the waterfall creates fog that rolls through the area. Next time I take a trip to Canada, I would love to spend a lot more time to explore this area. There are camping spots right by the falls and the whole area looks fantastic for hiking and swimming. I could not emphasize enough how much I recommend this area.

Devils Kettle

         It was described to me as a giant pit in the ground with water flowing into it. I had such high hopes, only to have them crushed. Devil's Kettle is the name of some waterfalls outside Hovland, Minnesota. It is only 50 feet tall, opposed to what they say is giant, but the pool it goes into is unknown how deep. It is a 2.25 mile round trip to see it, and it is a very easy hike. The narrowness of the trail is made up for by the dozens of turn offs so others can get by.

       I tried to find where it is and had a hard time, so I decided to give you directions to this waterfall so you won't have the same problem. Driving from Grand Marais to Hovland, you will turn on the street right after Gauthier Road with a sign (it's small so keep your eyes out) labeled Judge C.R. Magney State Park on the left side of the road. The entrance is only a few dollars for parking and that's it. It wasn't the most wild thing I have ever seen, but it was a nice view. I'd highly recommend bringing a tube to float the river if you choose to visit this site.

Flores, Guatemala

 Flores is a beautiful little town nestled in Lago Petén Itzá, Guatemala. It is just across the bridge from Santa Elana (the local town) and small enough that you can walk the whole place in about an hour. When you cross that bridge you return to non-tourist Guatemala. The prices drop, the English (what little there was) goes away, and the market is alive and bustling with people. If you want to go anywhere for cheap (on a chicken bus), ask for a taxi (a tuk-tuk) to the market in Santa Elana. It is madness in there and you can buy just about anything for 5 to 10 quetzales, without even leaving the bus. If you hop on a bus from there, you only need to give the bus driver 10 quetzales per person, and make sure each person hands him their own fare. If you don't, you will pay more and they are pretty impossible to argue with, even if you speak Spanish.

 There is only one ATM (cajero automatico) in Flores, so bring plenty of GTQ on the island. Originally, I stayed at the Hotel Villa De Lago, but later moved to an airbnb in El Remate for a fantastic deal. The Hotel Villa De Lago was amazing. They were super nice and helpful and had AC in the rooms and bats to watch (and hear) at night. Overall, I'm glad I stayed there, because that's how I got my awesome trip to TIKAL booked and it gave me an opportunity to see the city.

        Prices can vary from Q35- Q135 per meal, so if you are on a budget, you may have to shop around, but over all, Flores was worth it. As much as I loved El Remate, don't count on getting much sleep if you are off the main road, the roosters like to crow early as 4am and may never stop.... every 7-15 seconds.... but that is the norm if you want to live like the locals for a bit.

      Now I did something I never did before.... I skipped a whole country. I traveled through Belize without taking one picture and stayed and had a great time. If you want to know the best way to get from Mexico to Guatemala, you can follow this link and then take the first bus at the ferry station in Belize City to Flores. At least that's what I did. Now you may wonder... why skip over such a big section of travel? To be honest... sometimes, we all need to stay in the moment and have a memory that is just that.. a memory. You should try it sometime.... it just may be what you need to keep yourself living in the now.