As we drove up the Lake Superior shoreline, I kept fighting the urge to sleep. The day before, my family and I had driven six hours to get up to Duluth, Minnesota, and also did the sightseeing and shopping that always occurs. I was tired from the busy day but I wanted to stay awake to watch the world outside my window pass by. I enjoy traveling up there, especially because of the fact that I loose wifi and phone service. After having a busy school year and summer, I was ready for some distance from the world. Today, our adventure involved travelling to somewhere new by taking the shoreline drive. Every so often the blue waters of Lake Superior could be seen poking between the green trees. Eventually, I gave up the fight and fell asleep.
When I awoke, we were at Gooseberry Falls. Luckily, we found a parking spot in the swarm of cars, trucks, and trailers. We got out and began our walk on a shaded cement path towards the Falls. When we arrived we saw that there was more than one level to explore. Getting to the level where the Falls began required walking across some shakey, dark rocks that poked out of the rippling water. When I reached the top, which was hidden away amongst the trees in the forest and rock formations, I was up high enough to see the lake. I carefully worked my way out to the edge of the waterfall where I was able to look down and see the water rush into a pond. I felt so free in that moment that I had the urge to jump because I felt I could fly. After I worked my way down from the top, I explored the other levels of the waterfall. Quite a bit of land was exposed where there was normally water but there were still spots that proved to be a fun challenge to cross without falling in.
At the end of the Falls, I began a hike down a narrow dirt trail that went through the forest to a beach on the Lake. There was a train of people on the path, which was much longer than expected. However, the sounds of nature around me without any city noise made the walk peaceful. Sometimes I could see the brown water from Gooseberry River as it wound its way towards the lake, taking a journey just as I was. We finally reached the beach, which instead of sand was little rocks that varied in shades of reds and browns. The sky was spotted by a few puffy clouds, which allowed the sunlight to dance on top of the wavy, deep blue waters. The water went almost to the horizon, stopped only by a little bump which was Wisconsin. Me and my sisters looked around the beach for small agates and other interesting stones. I started reaching my hands into the clear water to grab rocks but water so cold I could only keep my hands in for a few seconds before it felt like I was being poked by thousands of needles. My hands would come out ice cold but the warm day soon made them feel better. After we had spent enough time there, we made the trek back through the woods and to our van. There was more road to cover in the day and more adventure to be had later in the week.