We spent the final week of July at Camp Du Nord family camp. This was our third trip, and we all agreed that it was our favorite one. The weather was fantastic, despite the wildfire smoke, and the kids were at good ages to maximize their fun. Oliver had no separation anxieties when he joined his age-group for morning activities, often scampering off to get there early before Sarah and I were ready.

Some highlights of the trip included:

• Polar bear plunge — we woke up every morning to run into the lake with a bunch of other howling campers. The kids were extremely excited about this.
• Seeing the kids being increasingly independent and excited about being outdoors.
• Inkle weaving and making friendship bracelets.
• Numerous hikes on the North Arm trails. This area is on a triple continental divide. Depending on where you hike, water may flow north to Hudson Bay, east to the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River, or south to the Mississippi.
• Canoeing in a 25-foot replica of a Voyageur canoe.
• Playing a spooky role-playing game adventure on our screen porch during a thunderstorm.
• Intense Yahtzee and Farkle games.
• Ice cream at the camp store.
• Seeing our friends, the Browns, as well as a number of Andrew’s former students (some of whom are Du Nord staff now).
• Watching Oliver scamper over the “Goat Trail” at high speed.
• Swimming in the cool lake after spending time in the sauna.
• Finding the fabled “Bonzo Block” on our last day. (It’s hidden somewhere in camp with a cryptic clue released every morning.)

The only bummer about the trip was the smoke in the air from the Canadian wildfires. It was pretty intense, often making the sun and moon appear orange or red.

We also had some insane red squirrels who would drop pine cones on our cabin every morning at around 6:00. They sounded like gunshots as they ricocheted off the steel roof!