August, 2023: After altogether driving 305 miles (491 km) from the Minneapolis area, we arrived at Kawishiwi River Campground in the Superior National Forest (south-east of Ely, MN) where my friend had reserved campsite #1 for two nights [47.81582°, -91.73029°]. The campsite—which was the only one available the week before—turned out to be quite nice and certainly looked better than the park-provided image. As a bonus, it was an electric campsite and my friend could use one of her many crazy devices, which names and purposes I was not even trying to fathom. And as a double bonus, we had to pay only half of the required fee (i.e., $15.50 per night) due to her Golden Lifetime Senior Pass. In the morning the camp manager, Dan, stopped by in his golf cart to say “hello” and collect the $8.00 for the wood we had grabbed from his campsite upon arrival. The next day we spent close to one hour talking to him and Ellen, the campground host from Florida. They were extremely helpful and congenial people, who enjoyed their jobs.
Once we drove to the bridge between the Birch River and Birch Lake, brought chairs and spent a few hours just enjoying the view. We met a very nice gentleman, who just arrived and was about to go fishing. While chatting with him, I noticed plenty of birds of prey hovering above—and then I realized (and he confirmed) they were Bald Eagles! Later we saw several of them flying and sitting on tree branches on the other side of the river. It was the first time in my life I saw so many eagles in such a short time!
One of the campsites featured a sizable rock and a huge tree stump. It turned out that just recently this visibly huge tree fell over a camper, while its occupants were there. It was a miracle nobody was killed or injured!
Since we were still looking for a nice campsite for the upcoming week, including the Labour Day long weekend, we approached Dan, who suggested that we check out Birch Lake Campground--we did and spent many days camping there.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience to stay on that campground!