Gone Heiken: August 2019

Inaugural Van Trip!

August 22-27, 2019: we head East in Dusty, our campervan, for mountain biking, exploring and to celebrate lil Elsie's 2nd birthday.

Back up a bit... in March we + friends bought a Ram Promaster van to convert into our mobile cabin (#vanlife). My blog post on the build is a work-in-progress...

Here's a sneak peak from this first adVANture!

Thursday 8/22

We drive to US-2 East to Copper Peak, in the upper peninsula of Michigan, to ride our mtn bikes and camp near the mouth of Black River into Lake Superior. Stopped at Potawatomi Falls in Ottawa Nat'l Forest. Lovely campsite and perfect night for a fire.

This little vanimal, Canyon, loves life on the road!

Dusty parked in the woods at sunset.

Friday 8/23

Great breakfast followed by quick hikes to waterfalls along the Black River National Scenic Byway. Then, we headed NE for a drive through the "Porkies" (Porcupine Mtns). Lunch at JW's BBQ in Marenisco, MI as we made our way back S/SW toward WinMan trails in Winchester, WI. After a great ride on the trails, we made it to Spencer's cabin near Minoqua, WI. Here we met the whole fam, a great dinner and an exciting surprise to share for my mom's belated birthday...

Great trails!

Saturday 8/24 - Happy 2nd Birthday, Elsie Rose!

Fiesta time!

We had an amazing, summer day on the lake and celebrating at Spencer's cabin. Tacos, pinatas, water dogs, fishing, hammock time and mustache-making contests.

Adorable birthday girl!

Tired Canyon.

Awesome summer escape for all the family!

Sunday 8/25

On our way up N/NE, we stopped in at Bill and Mary Nell's cottage near Manitowish Waters. Nice afternoon tour of their lake and a great time chatting! We were then Copper Harbor, MI-bound with a quick rendezvous in Houghton. Ice cream for the baby on the way up the Keweenaw peninsula.

Monday 8/26

An excellent day of mountain biking in Copper Harbor! Then, made a very rainy drive back toward Wisconsin for a last night on the road.

Brockway Mtn overlook

Tuesday 8/27

Last stretch back to Duluth. Great brunch at Manypenny Bistro in Bayfield, WI. Too wet to ride the trails at Ashwabay, so we finished our road trip on the south shores of Lake Superior.

This pup loves the lake!

It was a great first trip to get on the road with Dusty and Canyon.

LOVED hanging with family at Spencer's cabin.

So much FUN on the mountain bikes.

Can't wait for more adVANtures to come :)

Save the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW)

August 2 - 5, 2019: Weekend Trip to the BWCAW with the Goplins!

Sam, Megan, Adam and I picked a perfect summer weekend to enjoy the quiet and scenic BWCAW.

Here's a snapshot of the amazing trip!

Day 1 - put in near Ely, MN

We had three portages to our remote, island destination to claim our campsite for the first two nights. We rocked the Zupans' heavy-duty Duluth Packs for the weekend - they were super legit!

Day 2 - fishing, exploring our island and a downpour!

Adam, our camp chef, had the perfect setup for cooking our delicious meals. Here he is sizzlin' some bacon for our first breakfast of the trip!

Our first fishing excursion - was a decent success!

After our initial fishing adventure, we headed back to our island for lunch - and, luckily, we beat the downpour by minutes!

Dry underneath the tarp to watch the rain and eat our lunch.

Our hammock game is strong!

Fish fry dinner!

Beautiful sunsets and mosquito-filled nights :)

Day 3 - more fishing, few more portages to our 2nd campsite

Another awesome breakfast - pancakes!

Fishing from a hammock at our 2nd campsite for the weekend.

After our final fish fry dinner, we watch storms gather in every direction surrounding us. Ended up with a little sprinkle for us and a lovely, last evening in the Wilderness.