Associate Director of Admissions Anne Marso and her family, along with her best friend and her family, take a summer trip up to the Boundary Waters every year.

The nine of them spend a couple of days canoeing through the lakes, making a large base camp a few portages and lakes in, and continue exploring on day trips. They never run out of surrounding lakes and islands to experience and visit.

One of Marso’s favorite places her family ever visited was a portage off of Brule Lake that led to a waterfall. She doesn’t remember the exact location, which adds to the magic of this experience; it is special and entirely theirs. The family sat down in the water and rested there for a while. Just sitting and being one with nature as this waterfall flowed over their heads and into the infinite river that glides on and on through different lakes.

Marso described the boundary waters as a remarkable experience: a blend of hard work and idyllic escape.

“There’s something that’s really special about just being in nature and hearing loons and seeing birds and starting your own fires and just being completely responsible for yourself,” she said. “That is quite amazing.”

Marso believes that exploring the boundary waters is something everyone should try at least once in their lives.