Bear Head State Park
Ely, MN
Our big trip for the year!
We were going to do a full week, with the second part spent at Lake Vermillion, but we decided to save that time for, yes, another trip!
Friday
We left later in the evening and very glad we did. Traffic on I94 in Maple Grove was bumper-to-bumper and going at a crawl, and that was at 2 PM!
We made it to our designated “rest stop” at the Grand Casino RV Park in Hinckley. Of course, as soon as camp was setup and the water connected, Tom was off to the casino. To bad he left his luck at home. He came back a couple of hours later, with $35 less in his wallet.
Saturday
After coffee, showers and breakfast we’re back on the road. We arrived at Bear Head State Park, just west of Ely, Minnesota, just after 3 PM. What a beautiful park! The campsites are spaced nicely with lots of woods between each site. While you can still hear your neighbors, it’s not like you look out your living room window into their kitchen window (like Hinckley). We spent the afternoon setting up camp, exploring the trails and the area, and just getting to know our way around.
Sunday
Slept in late, relaxed, and took it completely easy.
Monday
Today was the best day of the trip. We started out the day by kayaking Bear Head Lake. While on the lake we came across a family of loons, Mom, dad and baby. What a sight! Tom got some great pictures as they swam by him and then between us. It was just fantastic!
After kayaking we headed back to the camper for some lunch and then on to Ely to the wolf center. Lots of interesting exhibits and information on wolves. When we got to the viewing area one of the wolves was just coming down the hill and into it’s den. It all happened so fast that Mike didn’t get a chance to take a picture. We waiting for another 20 minutes or so but he didn’t come out, so we left.
From the wolf center we headed back into Ely to check out the town. Tom saw several shops that he wanted to stop at, including several outfitters stores. So we toured main street and checked out the outfitters and the gift shops. We found a small moose sign that we’re going to make into a key holder for the camper. We’ve been looking for one for a while and haven’t found anything we like so we’ll just add some hooks to this sign and we’ll have one.
On the way back from Ely we stopped at a bait store and picked up some night crawlers. We’ve got fishing to do!!
After dinner of burgers and potato salad we loaded up the kayaks and headed for the lake to do some fishing. The wind had died down and the lake was nice and calm. We headed out and got about an hours worth of fishing. Mike caught the first fish. A small sunny. But it counts!! Tom had some nibbles during all this but didn’t catch anything. Maybe tomorrow?
Tuesday
Wow just doesn’t do the day justice. Super double WOW might come close.
After walleye sandwiches at the local steakhouse we headed back to the camper to do some reading, download the pictures we’ve taken so far and work on the blog.
The super double WOW comes now. After cooking up a couple of steaks on the grill we loaded up the kayaks and headed out to do some fishing. What a perfect night. There was a slight breeze blowing in off the lake which made drifting perfect in the bay area just off the lake. Wow number one of the night was the loon family stopping by for a little visit. We were fishing about 40 yards away from each other when there was this splashing sound right between us. Turns out it was one of the loons landing on the lake like a big seaplane! Boy, do they skim a long way before they stop. We’re guessing that was dad because soon after he landed Mom and Junior arrived. They swam around us in the bay and fished, called out, cooed and clucked. It was just unbelievable. So, so beautiful.
As for the fishing, well, Mike caught the first fish of the night, a small sunny but Tom caught the first “real” fish (as he likes to say), a walleye. He’s just the walleye guy in the family. As long as we’ve been fishing, he’s almost always caught the first, and the biggest, walleye. So, combine the loons, being on the lake at sunset, in the kayaks, and fishing, and you get a Super Double WOW!
It was the best way to end our trip.
Back at camp we made a giant campfire and burned-up what we had left of the fire wood. Mike spotted a satellite crossing overhead amongst the stars, and saw a couple of shooting stars as well. More WOW factor. But the campfire began to burn out and the moon came up, blocking out a lot of the stars, so it was time to call it a night.
As sad as we were to call it a night, we both know that there are many, many more trips like this one still to come.
Campground Ratings
Our site: We were at site 47 and it looked like it was the second largest in the camp with electricity. When we go back, we’ll reserve site #46, across from our site. It looks deeper and has more open space.
Definitely need to bring the dive gear next trip. The water was very clear and there is a beach area that you can drive to that would make getting the gear to the shore easy.
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