The halfway mark of Willie’s bucket list brought him just about as far north as a pup can get without crossing the border into Canada. Situated along the Canadian border, Voyageurs National Park spans 218,000 acres of allllll the nature. A MN hot spot for Northern Lights sightings, Voyageurs National Park is appropriately named after the French-Canadian voyageurs who once navigated the countless lakes making up the park (4 large and 26 small to be exact). Willie, Matt, and I rented a rustic cabin on one of the four major lakes, Lake Kabetogama. We spent countless hours on the pontoon, where we caught breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, picnicked on a few of the many islands, and tried our hand at catching some fish.
In addition to the time spent enjoying the beautiful lake, we checked out a few local establishments during our time up north. Rocky Ledge seemed to be a hot spot for both locals and those in the area visiting. We sipped a beverage while listening to the advice of two older gentlemen who had been traveling from the twin cities to fish Kabetogama for years. We caught a prime-time Vikings game at Arrowhead Resort where there appeared to be a group of men on a guys’ weekend living their best lives. They were so funny I remember thinking they should replace the folks announcing the game on TV. The cool September nights made for perfect bonfires near our cabin at Sandy Point Resort. We ate our last meal up north at the resort restaurant where we had THE best homemade pizza. I’d consider driving back to the border just for a slice. Despite setting a 2:00AM alarm, we did not catch the Northern Lights in our four days in Voyageurs National Park. As fate would have it, Willie would see them at our home for the first time ever just two days later.
