划進寂靜(三）

Voyaging the Boundary Waters — Part 3

Campsite №2 營地二號

@Birch Lake

For the last two nights, we camped at a 4-tent site at Birch Lake. The campsite is much lager than our previous campsite in size and has a lot more woods to shelter us from the rain storm coming our way. Although we were a bit down by the storm, we were rewarded with an amazing misty morning on our last day in the Boundary Waters. It felt whimsical, especially since the sun was just about to rise. I couldn’t help but dip in the water to swim a bit, until a loon swam by to investigate on me. :)

這個營地在一個小湖邊，對面就是加拿大。一開始並不覺得它特別，但慢慢發現有三隻潛鳥在這一帶活動。它們赫赫有名響徹雲霄的叫聲飽足了我們的好奇之外，看他們之間的互動，為風呼嘯整天的陰雨天增添不少樂趣。

Play and chill

我們到的那晚風雨交加，第二天雨雖然停了，但風還是呼呼吹不停。沒得玩水，我們還是耐不住出船釣魚，幫午餐添點菜。剩下的時間，就在下圍棋，玩紙牌遊戲，跟煮飯泡茶，吃吃喝喝間度過了。

This was a day to chill as the storm was whooping by. Very windy at times.

Eating just felt extra satisfying on the day when it’s windy and chilly. For breakfast, we ditched our usual oat meals and substituted them with scrambled eggs with spicy chipotle tuna. Yum! And not to mention we were so happy we caught a walleye for lunch!

Birch trees are everywhere in this area. And this little birch leaf landing on our canoe gently reminded me that autumn is around the corner.

Sunset this time 日落！

In contrary to the last campsite, we could view sunset here. The water felt calmer after the storm passed by. We sat here for a long long time, skipping stones and chatting, until the sky got dark.

上個營地沒看到的日落，在這個營地補齊了！最後兩晚，我們一家就在夕陽的陪伴下，哈拉到天黑。沒有手機分心，我們天南地北漫無目的聊。好久沒這樣了喔！

The grand finale 最後一場驚喜

Despite the storm, I somehow still woke up at around the time the sun rose. Anticipating the usual quiet lake in early morning, I was yet stunned by what’s in front of my eyes. The mist! At first it was so thick to see the Canada side of the lake. Then as the sun continued to rise, the lake slowly but surely revealed itself. Nonetheless, the mist was not shy at playing tricks to block the sunshine. The sky was bright for a moment and then got dark the next second. It felt whimsical.

清早的一潭清淨湖水，今早居然蒙上一層面紗！陽光要透透不過來，天空一下亮，一下黑。夢幻至極！

The one and only ripple made by K’s stone skipping.

突然間，一群鴨大聲嚷嚷像逛菜市場一樣，一個接一個跳進水裡游了起來。這下可啟發我效法。顧不得今天氣溫掉了十度，回營地換好泳裝，就跳進水裡伸展伸展！在夢幻湖光裡游啊游，已經很快樂似神仙了。結果潛鳥居然游過來探查我這隻大鳥。你看我我看你了好久，有趣極了。

They didn’t swim far but they were so loud!!

The loon and me moment. That felt special.

就在我們打包完畢之際，兩個園區管理員划船划到我們營地，告訴我們因為野火曼燒，他們不得不關閉園區。我們本來就要離開了，所以可以按照原訂計畫進行，慢慢划到接駁處，就等馬達船按原定約好的時間來接我們。如果是昨天或前天接獲通知，那就沒那麼好了，沒有手機訊號可以跟接駁船聯絡，我們不會有船來載我們，那就要自己多划很多個小時才能回到出發點還船。坐在船上，任湖風吹撒之際，想想這麼特別的地方，對我們真好。希望以後有機會再來認識她多一點！此時此刻，只願野火快快熄滅，還她美麗本色。