Monsoon Season

The weather along the northern shore has been anything but hospitable. Cold, windy and wet are three words that come to mind when trying to describe the experience. Rain has been a typical everyday occurrence so much so that you might as well call it monsoon season on Lake Superior. Fortunately the awe inspiring scenery keeps our spirits lifted and encourages us to push forward to see what new wonders lie beyond the next headland. Another delight along this coastline is a section popularly known as "The Sauna Tour". Several islands in the region contain saunas that are available for boaters and paddlers to use. Our warmed bodies really appreciated the effort it took in establishing these havens along the coast. Now, as we paddle towards the summer solstice, we are hoping for warmer weather.

Golden Pastries at Silver Islet

Once one of the richest silver mines in Canada, the town of Silver Islet is now home to a pastry-lovers gold mine. Located on the remote northern shore of Lake Superior, we knew that this would be our last bit of civilization for sometime. We pulled our canoe up on the government beach and entered the town's general store. The smell of freshly baked pastries called to us from the tea room at the back of the building. The owners and operators of the store, the Saxburg family, welcomed us with a hot pot of tea and freshly baked cinnamon buns. They helped us with our equipment dilemma and charged our camera batteries since our solar panel charging unit wasn't receiving power from continually overcast skies. While we passed the time, we noticed a sign in the tea room which read "Come in as strangers, leave as family." No other saying could have depicted our visit any better. It wasn't a problem for us to wait all afternoon for the batteries to charge - "Another piece of apple pie please?!"