Adventures in Minnesota: All Because a Little Boy Wanted to Swim
As told in the Dr. Seuss style of a favorite picture book, Because a Little Bug Went Ka-choo.
You may not believe it, but here’s how it happened. One fine summer evening in Crane Lake, Minnesota, a little boy wanted to swim.
Because he wanted to swim, we asked our RV park hosts where to go. Because we asked, they pointed to a small beach beside a restaurant.
And the little boy swam.
First dip in chilly Crane Lake
While he was swimming, a man walked our way. We thought the man was going to tell us to leave, but nope! He asked if Nick could help him move a washing machine onto his pontoon boat. The washing machine at their cabin on Bear Island had broken, and he and his wife couldn’t lift the replacement machine on their own.
Because the man asked for help, Nick said, “Of course!” Because Nick helped, the kids and I followed our curiosity to watch Dad load a washing machine onto a pontoon boat in Minnesota.
Backstory: During our last week in high school, my parents asked me to invite someone over to help move furniture before extended family came in for graduation. I invited Nick over to help. We started dating after that. Which is why I took this picture... our origin story of Nick moving furniture :)
Because we followed to watch, we ran into a woman in the parking lot. We explained that today was our first day in Minnesota, and she gave us all sorts of great tips for enjoying the area. As we wrapped up our conversation (or so we thought), Nick and the man came our way. This is where we learned that the woman, Marge, was the wife of the man, Jim—and that Jim had already swapped numbers with Nick and invited our family on a pontoon ride the next day (!).
Because Jim invited us on a pontoon ride to have coffee at their cabin, we said “Yes, of course!” The next morning, we met at the dock where Jim and Marge were waiting for us.
A good morning on Crane Lake
Because they took us on a boat ride, we got a waterside tour of the area. At their beautiful cabin on the island, we enjoyed coffee and croissants while hearing Jim and Marge’s local knowledge about unique, fun things to do on Crane Lake, a popular lake that connects to Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters of Canada.
View from their cabin on the island. Nate is in the screened in tent reading :)
While sharing their local knowledge, they mentioned a Secret Lake in Canada referred to as Jeff’s World, a renowned climbing area developed by professional rock climber Jeff Engel.
Because they mentioned the Secret Lake, Sadie asked a lot of questions. They told us about a documentary on YouTube about Jeff’s World. They put a pin in my maps app in David Lake where we could find the trailhead. We finished our coffee, rode back to shore, and said goodbye to our new boat friends, Jim and Marge.
Thank you for everything, Jim and Marge!
Because they told us about the film, we watched it that evening. The next day, we rented a pontoon boat and ventured out on the lake. After a short boat ride, we hiked to the beautiful Vermillion Gorge.
Then we took our pontoon to… Canada!
Sadie and Nate’s first time leaving the USA
The moment we crossed the border, per Google Maps
Because we were in Canada, we continued on to David Lake.
Nate: “I want to swim to that big rock.”
Because we went to David Lake, we found the cairn marking the trailhead to the Secret Lake.
Cairn (stack of rocks) marking the trailhead to Jeff’s World
Because we spotted the trailhead, we hiked through the forest.
Twenty minutes later, we found the Secret Lake. Waiting for us was an aluminum canoe and a single paddle. So, naturally, we went for a canoe ride across the Secret Lake at Jeff’s World in Canada. We looked up at the granite cliffs and laughed at our silly luck to have found our way to this moment.
Hello from a borrowed canoe in Secret Lake in Canada
All because a little boy wanted to swim.
All smiles on our epic boat day
Minnesota Nice
You can imagine our astonishment when, for the second stop in a row, we found ourselves in a brand new-to-us state being welcomed by locals onto their boat. As it happens, we ran into Jim and Marge at a pivotal time in their lives, too. They had just (that week) learned of a most unfortunate diagnosis, which was urgent enough to prompt Jim’s immediate retirement.
But Jim and Marge didn’t spend their first day at their cabin wallowing. They spent it welcoming newcomers, pouring coffee into the cups of strangers from Virginia, telling stories about the area and setting us up to have an epic boat day on Crane Lake.
On a whim, I posted on Threads about the unexpected pontoon invitation, and a couple hundred very nice Minnesotans chimed in to say they weren’t surprised, confirming Minnesota Nice is absolutely a thing.
One travel tidbit to note: We came to this area because it is the southernmost entryway to Voyageurs National Park, a national park that is explorable only by water. In June 2025, just one month prior to our visit, the National Park Service opened a brand new visitor center right here at Crane Lake. Our RV park was walking distance, and the kids picked up two more Junior Ranger badges (Voyageurs and Night Explorers).
As we packed up and hitched up to leave Crane Lake, one more unexpected adventure was waiting for us: Nick’s truck wouldn’t start. Thankfully, this time, the problem seemed isolated to the batteries.
Not our preferred adventure
A kind Minnesota tourist delayed fishing to come help. One Subaru and a set of jumper cables later, we were on our way to cross the land of 10,000 lakes fully read-in to the exceptional hospitality of Minnesota Nice.
Roberts on the Road
Adventures underway
For those just finding us, hello! Inspired by the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25, our family is on a yearlong RV road trip in 2025-2026 to celebrate my husband’s retirement after 20 years in Naval Special Warfare, as well as our 24 years together during the ups and downs of it all. With our 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son in tow, this trip to explore America’s national parks and beautiful places is intended to help our family reflect and reset as civilian life begins.
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