Camp Hibbs and The Apostle Islands

We headed up to WI to visit Camp Hibbs (at least that is what my Dad used to call it when I went to WI to visit my cousins, Aunt Sandy, and Uncle Dan Hibbs). This time around Camp Hibbs had expanded a little. We spend the first night at Tom and Leigh's house. Leigh is my cousin and Jonathan and I had only met her husband Tom briefly at a couple family functions so when he asked us: "Do you like to fly?" we weren't quite sure what he was getting at at first.

We quickly learned that he liked to fly and had every intention of taking us up in his ultralight if we were "up" for it, and of course we were!

Jonathan went first. Tom was a little worried that he would not be able to take off with a big guy like Jonathan in the passenger seat, but they made it up just fine. Jonathan was nervous at first, but loved every minute of it.

I went second and had a blast. It really is the closest thing to flying like a bird with the wind in your face and feet tangling in the air. I reminded me of sky diving only a little more secure and relaxing, not to mention a much softer landing.

The next day we drove north to Bayfield and Lake Superior to meet up with my Uncle Dan and Aunt Sandy (Sandy is my Dad's sister).

We walked on the beach in Apostle Island State Park.

L to R: Tom and Xander, Aunt Sandy, Uncle Dan, and me.

Xander (Tom and Leigh's son) really wanted to go kayaking with us and he would have if the weather had been better, but it was a little too windy and choppy for his first trip out to the Sea Caves, so he stayed back with his grandma (Aunt Sandy).

We paddled for about an hour and made it out to Sand Island (one of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior) where some of the caves are located in the park. We even got to kayak into the caves. It was so neat!

Uncle Dan being his typical adventurous self decided to get out of his kayak and walk around on some of the ledges inside the caves. I'm sure he got some neat photos.

Uncle Dan back in his kayak. He gets the "tough guy" award for paddling with no skirt (the water was cold splashing into the kayaks), and no rudder (also an extra challenge in the wind and chop that day). What a guy!

Leigh and Tom in their tandem kayak. They had the advantage of a "double engine" which helped them brave the waves with more paddling power.

Once we beached our kayaks on Sand Island we went for a mile hike to the lighthouse. This is a nice pic of me and my cuz out on the trail. Something invisible must be chasing Uncle Dan. He is moving pretty fast.

Playing in waves of Lake Superior.

The kayaking crew before heading back for camp. Little did we know that the wind had picked up and we would have to battle even harder to make it back to shore. Good thing Xander decided to stay back and play with Grandma!

I'm sure there are more pictures from the weekend out there. If any more surface I will post them here. Thanks Leigh for sharing some of your pics!

The next day was too rough, even for us, to kayak so we went for a nice long hike out to some other caves. Then we met up with my cousin Jahn (Leigh's sister) and her family for lunch. Then it was on to Dan and Sandy's to ride the four wheeler, eat venison steaks, and rest up for the night before heading back to IL. It was another great time spent at Camp Hibbs!

Horsing Around

We headed to Iowa to the Gray Farm for our own mini horse camp. In the end riding horses was just one of the fun things we did. We also went for a ride in canoes in the river, and had a bonfire/cookout up in "Deer Park" near the horse pasture. You can find more photos of our fun by clicking the link to Susie and Jon's blogspot.

The four musketeers L to R: Jon Dyke, Me, Jonathan, and Susie Gray Dyke all riding Jon and Susie's beautiful paints. These four horses are all geldings, brothers, and colts out of Susie's mare Vanna that she rode back in our 4-H days.

Jon riding Rio and Susie riding Ranger leading the way through the farm fields and timber all over the Gray Farm. We rode for about 2 hrs. and covered a lot of ground.

We ended down near the river that was outside it banks from all the recent rain. It was a hot day and it felt good to ride through knee deep water. This is Jonathan riding Chief and I was on Machio. What fun to ride again. I'm sure we will be back for more horsing around soon!

Jet Ski Camping and Kayak Guiding

For our birthdays in May Jonathan decided that his and hers jet skis would be a good surprise....and it was quite a surprise!

This is Jonathan jet skiing on the Rock River near Taft a couple days after his birthday.

We decided that we should try out the old Miss via jet ski and had heard from some ski patrol friends that you could camp on the islands in the middle of the Mississippi River. So we packed up all the camping gear into dry bags, strapped them to the jet skis, and headed out to claim an island for the weekend.

We stopped at the base of Chestnut Mountain Resort for this shot shown above. It looks a little different with no snow on the ski runs.

We found an island with nice sandy beaches to set up camp. With all the sand and water it hardly felt like we were in the Midwest that weekend. It was a great escape and one that we hope to enjoy often this summer.

The bugs weren't too bad, but we set up the tent inside the screen room just in case. It was a nice extra shelter in the rain that night (once I got the guy lines staked out tight at the corners). We were able to find firewood and had a nice fire going as well.

Don't worry, even though it is fun to go fast (60 mph) on the jet skis, we still enjoy the peaceful glide of a kayak. During the month of June we have guided several kayak trips and worked in the shop on the weekends for Fever River Outfitters in Galena, IL. Check out the website for more info:

http://www.feverriveroutfitters.com/

We were guiding a group of about 12 people on a birding tour in the back waters of the Mississippi River in this pic. We saw lots of birds as well as a few turtles, and a brown water snake.

Kayak buddies from the beginning!