On the water

In Minnesota, there are a lot of lakes. (Nearly 12,000!) Because of my running routes, I spend my fair share of time near some of the Twin Cities' prettiest lakes. But there's something especially wonderful about being on a lake up north, especially during the first few weeks of spring and summer. Over the weekend, I spent time with my family near two of the state's lakes: a small lake adjacent to the campground as well as nearby Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota's second largest lake.

A visit to the dock

On Saturday afternoon, a few of us took a stroll over to the smaller lake. The rainclouds had cleared out completely by the time we made our way over to the dock, and it was so peaceful in the warm sun that I think we all could have napped there. (I think my sister did, actually.)





In the evening

Later that night, my mom and sister and I circled back to the water. The water was more still and I loved the reflections.




In the morning

I don't often see lakes in the early morning light, so as soon as the sunlight woke me up on Sunday morning, I trotted back to the lake. I was so glad I did. The overnight low temperature had dipped down to 44 degrees, and there was steam coming off the water.





To the big lake

On Sunday morning, my dad took most of us over to Mille Lacs for a short boat ride (Josh and Wish stayed back). I haven't been on the big lake in many years, and it was a treat to be out on the lake with my dad, who fishes there often. There were only a few boaters nearby, though the boat launch picked up after we returned.





The weather (and water) was just cool enough to keep me from jumping into either lake, but I'm putting that goal in writing right now to make sure I do that sometime this season, too.