Chirstmas Break

I took over a week off from work for Christmas break and it was exactly what I needed to get out of my city life funk. Living in Chicago is great, but I have come to realize that a lot of my happiness is dependent on being in the wilderness, away from the cityNOISE. So hanging out in Milwaukee was a welcome treat.





But Milwaukee is a fairly big city, in its own right, so the real cherry on top was traveling up to northern Michigan with Hannah and my brother to my brother's friend Anders' cabin on Lake Superior. And when I say on Lake Superior, I mean RIGHT next to it. It was amazing. Bonfires, naked saunaing, amazing food, great people, board games, pines, snow, polar bearing... a real wild rumpus. Here are a few photos. But I have to say, most of the time my camera was tucked away. Sometimes it's necessary for me to take a break from constantly shooting and just enjoy the view.

SNOW!




We wrote down what we wanted to leave behind as we prepared to enter 2012 on a small piece of paper, folded it up, put it in a small paper basket, attached the basket to a homemade parachute, lit the basket on fire, and sent it floating into the sky. The parachute started on fire after it got about 20 feet into the air and it fell to the ground. Nonetheless, it was still pretty cool to see. The next three photos document the parachute: initial setup, lift off, and descent.














Here is the wood burning sauna: