Kenyon Wanamingo goes to Kawishiwi Lake, October 1, 2013

All of our eager participants helped pitch tents, tarps and tee pee.  Our next task was to gather firewood.  We walked down the road with my pick up following and the kids went into the woods and drug out many branches and logs.  We loaded them up in the truck box and drove back to camp.  We were now set for the week as far as campfires were concerned.  Next we hiked the shoreline and through the woods to a campsite on the Eastern edge of the lake.  It was good to be out in the woods again.  The kids enjoyed it greatly.  Back in camp, we started to prepare Hobo dinners.  All the vegetables were cut and meat prepared and all of this was wrapped in tin foil.  While we were doing this some of the kids used their free time to fish or hike.  Alex caught several Northerns and because they were small he threw them back in the lake.   The fire baked Hobo dinners were devoured by everyone.  Following clean up, with the help of several students, Rich told many stories around the campfire.  He told us about Timothy Treadwell, Glacier National Park, Alaska and the bears of Knife Lake.  We all listened with great interest.  The students went to bed early and the chaperones were left to visit and wonder at the most fantastic Aurora Borealis (northern lights) I've seen in fifteen years.  It was a fitting end to a great day with a group  of great people.  The next morning was pancakes and bacon for breakfast.  Then we all prepared for a paddling day trip.  We started with canoeing lessons.  We worked our way across Kawishiwi Lake learning our paddling strokes. We stopped at several campsites and had lunch at a nice one on Square Lake.  The fall colors were in full bloom and we enjoyed taking many photos as we traveled.  On the return trip most everyone was displaying competent paddling.  It was a beautiful, comfortable day to be in the woods.  We had spaghetti for supper and Priscilla and Alex did the clean up.  Our third day was the Brandenberg photography lesson.  We covered what Brandenberg was motivated by when he put together his book called "Chased by the Light"   We also reviewed basic camera use and composition.  We then headed out in the canoes to see if we could capture some beauty.  We did.  It was a great day of wandering around and seeking the unusual and missed compositions. It was a satisfying experience for all the students.  We had hot dogs and macaroni for supper.  Then everyone went down to the lake to observe its cool, calm and reflective surface.