Hello Fall and hello busy busy me! It has been such a fun filled past month and I can’t wait to share it all with you. As some of you may know, I am a photographer and the fall season is one of my busiest times of the year for photographs. Not only am I busy with that but I also just love this season as well. Living in Minnesota has its perks when it comes to fall. It is by far my favorite season! Seeing the colors of the leaves change is absolutely breath taking. I love the crisp morning air, cooler weather and getting to finally bring out the layers. This season also has so many fun activities to offer, I love making a bucket list of all the things I would like to do. One of the biggest plans I had on my bucket list this year was to take a trip up the north shore for a weekend getaway so I made it happen. A couple weeks ago I had the amazing opportunity to travel up to Lutsen, MN and stay at the Caribou Highlands Resort. To say it was a amazing experience is an under statement. It was indescribably incredible and by far one of my favorite weekends.
If you have never been to Grand Marais, add it to your bucket list. Grand Marais is one of my favorite towns. This small town is just on the heart of the north shore over looking lake superior. It is a beautiful town filled with the nicest and most welcoming people you will ever meet. Every little detail in this town is something to remember. After checking into our cabin Friday night and enjoying a nice relaxing evening by the fire and with a bowl of homemade chilli, we woke up super early Saturday to drive a little further up the shore to Grand Marais. First stop, coffee. After sipping on my morning brew from Java Moose Cafe overlooking the lake, we headed on over to the one and only World’s Best Donut Shop. The sugar highs were worth it, I can never pass up a good donut, especially the world’s best.
One of the biggest tourist attractions in this town next to the ones mentioned just previously is the lighthouse. This quaint little light house sits at the end of a very long break wall where you can walk along and see the edge of the shore. It is a gorgeous view to say the least. The waves were crashing pretty high that day and we needed to hop quickly to avoid getting struck by a wave of water on our feet. The views of the hillside along the shore were amazing. All the colors were looking so beautiful, only the beginning of peak season.
After exploring some small shops and checking out the local farmers market where we scored some jalapeno jelly, we headed over to The Angry Traut Cafe for some lunch. I love this restaurant for two, actually three big reasons. One, you get to eat outside on a gorgeous patio. Two, it isn’t just any patio, it is right on the water! Three, you get to eat amazing fresh caught fish straight from lake superior. This place is one to remember; the food is delicious and the service is amazing! I also extremely love that your tip doesn’t just go to your server but the entire staff including the cooks! What a great group of people and a wonderful place to enjoy a meal, not to mention with a great view.
The day had only just begun, we headed back to Lutsen where we decided to take a ride on the gondola’s up the mountain to see the amazing view from up above. The ride was breathtaking, so many beautiful colors and scenery. The view at the top was jaw dropping. The day was perfect. We explored all the trails and soaked up every little piece that we could before heading back down. Once we arrived back at the bottom we took another ride up a different side of the mountain to go down the alpine slides! These were so fun and we had a great time racing each other to the bottom.
For the remainder of the evening we enjoyed playing a few yard games and relaxing by the fire roasting some marshmallows to make s’mores. Then we decided to have another little treat and make some mini caramel apples. I put together all sorts of fun toppings to dip in and they were absolutely delicious.
Sunday morning we took off early to head to Carlton’s peak where we hiked all the way to the top for yet again another amazing view of the leaves. We adventured all around the peak and also some other state parks along our way back.
This weekend was one for the books and one I will never forget. There was so many fun memories and fun times shared. I can’t wait to do something like this again someday. Until next time north shore, we already miss you.
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