As Tom and I headed south from the Apostle Islands, we stopped at the Namekagon District of the St Croix National Scenic Riverway.  We visited St Croix National Scenic Riverway last year when we were in Minnesota.  I got my Passport stamp at that point.

This year we stopped at the Namekagon District in order to meet up with our friends Adam and Laurie Woods.  If you have been following the blog since the beginning, you know that we met Adam and Laurie when they were serving in Death Valley.  They led the worship services as part of Christian Ministry in the National Parks.  Since then, they have both graduated from seminary and serve churches in northern Wisconsin.  They were attending a pastors’ retreat near Namekagon and suggested we meet there for a hike.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be out walking.  It had been cold and overcast earlier in the day, but the sun parted the clouds and helped it warm up.  Tom and I arrived at the Namekagon Visitor Center early, but it was already closed for the season.  Even during the season, it is only open on the weekends.  We had lunch in the RV while we waited for Adam and Laurie.

When Adam and Laurie arrived, we hiked the Trego Nature Trail together.  It is an easy, three-mile hike beside the Namekagon River.  It was good to walk and talk and hear about how their ministries are going.  As you can tell by the picture below, they were expecting their first baby at the end of October.  Laurie did great hiking but got a little out of breath occasionally.  When Laurie finishes her three month of maternity leave, Adam will change to half-time at his parish in order to take care of the baby.  The two of them were excited about the baby’s arrival and eager to experience this next phase of life.

The Namekagon River is a 100-mile-long tributary of the St Croix Riverway.  Most of the area around it is undeveloped wilderness.  Although the water level was down in the fall, it looked like a wonderful place to kayak and tube during the summer.

We enjoyed our hike with Laurie and Adam very much.  It was a beautiful place to hike and we loved catching up with two good friends.  We recently got a couple of pictures from them that included their beautiful son.  We are praying that all continues to go well with their family and their ministries.