Annual Fourth Of July Family Vacation In Minnesota

Every summer, my family makes the 1300+ mile drive up to northern Minnesota.  We normally stop overnight in St. Louis, grab a few gooey butter cakes and bottles of my favorite barbecue sauce and then head out early the next morning.  This time, we stopped just outside of the Twin Cities for a dinner with friends before continuing our journey another three hundred miles north.  The farther north we drove, the shorter the corn stalks were and the lighter it stayed.  By 11pm, the last wisps of light were gone and it was a full-on hail storm of insects for the next hour.  Our car was pretty gross the next day.
The kids couldn’t wait to get on the boat and in the water.  My girl child was anxious to get back on the water skis.  She got up without a problem and stayed up like a champ.  Until the motor unexpectedly died and she took a hard face plant to the water.  Then she was done skiing for awhile and switched to tubing for a bit.

My husband and son picked up some smoke bombs, sparklers and a few ground fireworks as a surprise.  This was the first year either of the kids got to participate in the pyrotechnics lighting responsibilities and they were excited.  We made it through with all appendages intact.

I loved the cloud of smoke that the wind whipped away from the smoke bombs.  The yellow and blue ones were the best.

A fire was started and s’mores were made.  My girl found square marshmallows just for s’mores and bought them with her own money to share.  She was quite pleased with herself.

My father-in-law wants a sunset lake photograph for his screened in porch, so I walked down to the docks to see what I could get.  My honeys went with me and then had patience only so long before needing to move.  I liked watching him walk down the dock towards his dad’s boat.  And then to the far left to see if a couple of resident fishes were still hanging out at the bottom.

As it got darker, we lit sparklers for the kids and they ran around.  Reminded me of many Fourth of July celebrations at my grandparents’ home in St. Louis where we lit sparklers and ran around their front yard before walking to the city park several blocks away to watch fireworks.

This is the first year I walked to a different spot in the camp area to watch the fireworks and make photographs.  I didn’t get the reflections I hoped for in the pond, but I liked the little windmill against the skyline.

We were walking back to get the kids rounded up and then the fireworks started up again and I had to stop to make more photographs.  I liked that I got my honeys standing and watching.  He’s so patient with me.  I tell him I’m done and then I change my mind and need to stop and make more photographs when I see something a little differently.  I do that to him.  A lot.  Yet he doesn’t complain and keeps me.  I love that about him.

We had a fabulous Fourth of July in Minnesota.  I hope you did, too!