After driving and seeing a lot the previous day we had a pretty laid back day planned for the next one.

By we, I mean me.

Nick basically just goes where I say on trips. Ha

We headed up North again but not as far.

We basically stopped at all the tourist shops and went on one hike at Cascade River State Park.

I was pretty much done with steps after that.

There are so many amazing waterfalls along the north shore but that means a LOT of stairs…

So after several days of stairs I decided to take it easy on my back and to avoid anymore stairs which meant no more waterfalls.

The town of Grand Marais is such a cute little town right on the water.

We stopped at the Lake Superior Trading Post there and then headed back south with no idea what we were going to do next.

We stopped at rest area on our way back south and ended up at a great beach to look for rocks.

Cut Face Creek Wayside Rest  The kids went crazy looking for rocks and we ended up picking up a book on agates to learn more.

Because you know I can’t pass up on a good educational opportunity…

Only our oldest had really shown an interest in rocks before that so I thought he would be the only one really excited but all the kids liked it. We also ended up stopping at Beaver Bay Agate Shop and I highly recommend it if you have a rock collector and are in the area.

They had some of the most beautiful rocks and even had a little museum!

Someone in a state park visitor center told us about it and I am so glad we went!

Sometimes my girls propensity to strike up conversations with complete strangers pays off!

This was our last day on the north shore, we headed back south west to Nick’s parents the next day!

I know the winters are brutal up there but every time we go I struggle with leaving.

Such a beautiful area!