August 2, 2020

Echo Trail

Silver Rapids Lodge Ely, Minnesota

Today was a moving day.  We had a short distance to travel north to the town of Ely, Minnesota.  We stopped in Virginia, Minnesota for groceries.  It was early on a Sunday morning and the store was not crowded.  Everyone was wearing masks.  It was a really nice store and we were able to get all of our supplies for the coming week.

We are camped at Silver Rapids Lodge.  Our site is right on the lake.  We were able to book a site through next weekend.  There is a lot to see here and it will be nice to stay in one place for a little while.

After lunch, we packed the Jeep and headed north on the Echo Trail.  This was a really pretty ride on a gravel road through the northern portion of Superior National Forest.  This section abuts the East Boundary Waters.  We traveled down logging roads and public water access roads to see as much of the area as we could.

We stopped by the river for a break.

Tim actually fell asleep.

While Tim rested, I sat on a rock and did some yoga, stretching, and meditation. As we were getting ready to leave, Tim found a snake skin at the base of the rock I had been sitting on.

This mama grouse was trying to keep us from getting too close to her chicks. The babies scuttled off into the grass. Mama strutted across the road in an effort to draw attention away from her little ones. She was comical in her attempt to intimidate us.

We found a lovely spot for our picnic dinner.

This is the second quilted heart I have found. I guess I am supposed to go online and report it found!?!