We decided while we were up on the North shore we should go ahead and cross the border into Canada!
It would be a first for everyone in my family.
First stop was the Grand Portage National Monument!
It is right near the border and we had gone several years ago.
It ended up being a great stop because we got the early history of the Northwest Trading Company here and then at our next stop we got the what happened when they moved to Canada.
I have been reading several historical novels about fur trading around the time of the French and Indian War and early fur trading in America so I found all of these stops fascinating.
The boys looked the part!
Such a beautiful area!
Next we crossed into Canada and went to Fort William!
It is a giant fort and the tour is pretty amazing.
It was a little long for some of my kids but Nick just took them to walk around some.
The man giving the tour acts the part the whole time and was very interesting!
He even had the boys act the part!
The twins favorite part was the barnyard.
They let you help with chores!
Chicken lovers.
While at Fort William one of the workers told us about a giant waterfall that we really should go see so we looked it up and went, not really knowing what to expect.
The Kakabeka Falls was breathtaking!
It was a total surprise and was the biggest waterfall I had ever seen!
We did not really have any other plans other than make it back over the border and hopefully stop at High Falls on Pigeon River which is at Grand Portage State Park.
What I did not realize was how close to the border it was!
I was a bit flustered from the border patrol questions and totally missed the park so we had to turn around!
It ended up being totally worth it though!
It was a beautiful stop and was another part of the history we were learning.
This is the reason for Grand Portage, this giant waterfall.
Best field trip ever.
We were getting there at the end of a holiday weekend so we thought we might be able to find a spot without reserving but I called on our way just to be sure.
All of the kids wanted to see a cave down below so Nick held onto them just to be safe.
Nick is great at the technical shots like water blur on this waterfall!
After a very rough first night, Nick suggested that I go to the lighthouse alone since there is an entrance fee.
The kids saw a scuba diver and decided to try out the freezing cold water…
We were gearing up for a big day the next day and hoping we would get more sleep for it!
That night there was a possible Aurora Borealis so I went out and watched for it.
His parents and some of the kids came out for a bit also.
Nick’s dad went also with all his brothers kids and we accidently went to opposite sides of the event.
Thankfully we finally figured it out!
I can’t really blame them, everything is better with cousins.
There are so many things to see and do there!
The twins have some pretty bad allergies so one of them figured out right away being anywhere near the threshing was a bad idea!
We ended the event by swapping some kids and then when we got to our opposite sides remembering that our oldest had our keys…