Keweenaw Scenery

Inlet at Horseshoe Bay 

Looking east towards Horseshoe Bay

Horseshoe Bay

Laney posing on the rocks

Rocks near Hunters Point

Brockway Mountain looking east over Copper Harbor

Brockway Mountain looking west

Stinky Pete

Earlier this month, Ben was running his usual Sunday route and he sadly discovered that a mama opossum was killed on the road. To add to his sorrow, several of her babies were also hit as well. All of her babies had already died except for one little guy that clung to his dead mama's back. Ben knew at once that he had to save the lone survivor and ran the last mile home with the little guy in his hand. I decided to give him the name Pete, which later turned into Stinky Pete, because opossums are quite odorous!  

Here he is right after Ben brought him home.  It had rained earlier in the morning so Pete was very wet and pretty sad looking.

 After a bath and some food, Pete was feeling better and looking cuter.  

 We took the opportunity to train Laney to sit still by placing Pete on her back.

After a week of feeding him, we decided he was ready to be on his own.  Laney was very interested in his release.

I wanted to hold him one last time before we let him go.  It's not every day you can hold a baby opossum.

Freedom!

Laney saying goodbye. 

Pete hiding in our brush pile.  We hope he stays around, but we haven't seen him since we let him go.

 Goodbye Pete!  It was fun having you for a short visit.

Canoeing the Santa Fe River

On Friday, Ben and I took advantage of the beautiful day and went on a 7 mile canoe trip on the Santa Fe River.  We saw a lot of turtles, some birds, and even some squirrels for Laney, but nothing else unusual.  It was a nice trip and it was fun to be out on the water.  

The three of us in the canoe.

A pretty view of the river.

A turtle sun bathing.

Some cypress trees on the water.

Ben had to get in to feel the 70 degrees spring water.

Our sporting dog keeping an eye out for squirrels.

Miscellaneous Laney Pics

Laney enjoying the bed at the hotel.

Taking a leisurely dip.

 Relaxing in the tent with Ben.

Thinking about swimming again.

Taking a nap in the car.

 Puppy paw prints on the plank.

Relaxing by Lake Superior.

 She loves soft pillows.

Glad to be in a hotel again.

Minnesota Point

On our way up to the north shore of Lake Superior, we took a quick break in Duluth to walk along the beach at Minnesota Point. We were all happy to get out of the car and stretch our legs. We both thought it was funny that Laney responded the same way to bunny ears that everyone does.

Our New House Guest

A friend of Ben's needed someone to watch his pet rat for the summer, so we volunteered.  Meet V.  She is about 3 - 3 1/2 years old (which is pretty old for a rat).  She is slowly warming up to us and loves walking on her wheel.  None of our previous rats enjoyed walking on a wheel, so it is fun to watch her exercise.  She is a sweetie.  

 V on her wheel.

Exploring the table.

Laney loves watching V!

Laney at the Red River Gorge

Laney and I went camping at the Red River Gorge this past weekend. I enjoy having her with me, and she is doing a good job adapting to new situations.

The weather on Friday night was wonderful. I set up my hammock along a ridge top. I made sure to put my hammock as low down as I could without being on the ground, and put her pillow next to me. She curled up beside me and slept well. The moon was bright and the whippoorwills were singing all night.

Laney and I went for a morning run before breakfast, to see Chimney Top and Princess Arch at dawn. Andrew and Chase joined us.

After breakfast, the whole group headed out. Laney enjoyed being in the lead. I even dropped the leash occasionally to try to accustom her to listening to me even when she is free. Overall, she was very good, but I kept her on the leash most of the hike.

Laney doesn't have much interest in scrambling over rocks. We came to a large, deep, dark rockshelter below Angel Windows. She decided that watching the woods while waiting was more interesting. She would just sit where the other non-explorers were and wait for me.

Heading off down the trail. The day was sunny, and it got pretty warm down in the valleys.

She was eager to see around every turn and over every hill. We would use the sniff breaks as a chance for the kids to catch up.

I needed to have my camera ready before we came to an overlook. Laney would look out over each overlook, but only for a second or two. I assume she was just scanning for squirrels...

Laney (and most everyone else) was getting hot in the afternoon, when we came to a beautiful access to Swift Camp Creek. The sun was shining, the water was inviting.

Laney jumped right in and swam around for a while. She loved the water, and got very playful. I hadn't seen her really enjoy water before like that. She ran circles around everyone on the bank to express her joy.

Laney convinced a group of us into joining her in the water. It was cold at first, but not bitter cold. Cold, but not heart-stopping, quick-breath inducing cold. It actually felt really good once you were down in it. The bottom was smooth and sandy.

The trail followed Swift Camp Creek upstream towards Rock Bridge, passing through a steep gorge.

We got to Rock Bridge late in the afternoon. The kids all scrambled up on top. I let Laney off so that she could get down in the creek and cool down. She jumped into the water and then came right back.

Here is Laney passed out on the side of the trail while the kids were on Rock Bridge. She slept well when we got back.