Canoeing the Mississippi

This morning I waved good-bye to 3 of our family, as they paddled down the Mississippi River.



Alec's been wanting to canoe a river ever since he did a bit of canoeing over Memorial weekend. That weekend he canoed with his cousin on a lake near Brainerd, MN. He really enjoyed it, but he really wanted to canoe a river where you see different scenery and not just go around on a lake. So today he's getting to do that.



We rented a canoe from a local outfitter. The guide was great, as they drove to the launch he told them about the current happenings along the river. They're going to keep their eyes open for baby otters and baby loons.

They, (Alec, Tim and Kyra), will go about 15 miles today and it should take about 6 hours. It's a beautiful day for it, it'll be in the mid 70's and mostly sunny. ahhhh....














Abbi didn't feel like being in a canoe that long so she opted out. She and I will spend an Abbi/Mom day together, possibly going over to the state park and biking or watching some Buffy, or walking the Bog Walk at Bemidji State Park. The bog walk is so cool. Right now we can look for Lady Slippers that are probably just starting to bloom now. Yes we have wild orchids up in Minnesota. It's our state flower and it's so pretty.







We also love looking for some of the insect eating plants that are there, no venus fly traps.. only pitcher plants, which are cool in themselves.

From a Minnesota Wetland Tour site:

" Pitcher plants, beautiful and carnivorous. To counter the low availability of nutrients in bogs, some plants have evolved a carnivorous habit to capture insects or other small organisms and "digest" them for nutrients."

Have a great Saturday everyone~~ we are!