Back from the Big Bog

Last night, we safely returned from our weekend camping trip to Big Bog State Recreational Area. We spent a total of 12 hours traveling to and from the park. Last Thursday, if you asked me if I was excited about making the trip to Big Bog, I would have groaned and complained. Having finished the trip, I have to say it was really nice. Despite the cloudy weather, coolish temperatures and millions of mosquitoes, it was nice to get away from civilization (and trust me, we were far away from it) for a few days and spend some time with my parents. Our cell phones were muted the entire trip, and we had no access to television, radio, or internet. It was nice. Really, it was.

A few pictures from our trip:

The main campground was actually separated from the beach area (just across the road) and the Bog Walk (9 miles north). We were 29 miles from Canada, unfortunately only one person had his passport so we couldn't justify the drive to the border. Who had his passport, you might be wondering? My husband, who still hasn't removed it from his messenger bag after using it to confirm his information when he started his job over three years ago.


The Bog Walk. One mile out, one mile back. This was, believe it or not, the most mosquito-free part of the entire park. We thought the bog would be swarming with them (since every other part of the park was), but I don't think we saw more than just a few during the entire walk.


The park's beach area on Upper Red Lake was really nice. Too bad it was never warm enough to enjoy the water!


My dad and I managed to find a frilly purple orchid. . .


. . . and a wild iris. Pretty!


We found some carnivorous plants on the bog walk. This is called a pitcher plant.

And we ate. Boy, did we eat. My dad and brother spent a lot of time fishing for walleye on Upper Red Lake and made dinner for everyone on Saturday night. I'm not a fish fan, but my husband reports this was the best fried fish he had eaten in a long time.