By Cole Ehresman-
“I got chased by a bear, my brother fell off a cliff, and we all lived through it,” said 16-year-old, Jacob Lueth of his family trip to Itasca. Jacob lives in the Wolfe addition in Mount Vernon with his parents and two younger brothers named Ryan and Alex. He has lived there for about five years now, and has lived in Mount Vernon all his life. Jacob enjoys weight lifting, football, sleeping, and hanging out with friends during his free time.
The Lueth family has been going back to Itasca, Minnesota, for over 16 years and has made it a family tradition. This past summer, on July 2, Jacob and his family took off for Itasca, where they planned to stay for a while, and visit their mother’s side of the family. Their vacation consisted of camping, canoeing, bike riding, sightseeing, and many other fun things that captured their interests. “The weather was perfect- said Jacob, and it was in the 70’s all week.” Good weather makes all the difference.
This was a very eventful trip, full of excitement and many surprises as well. Getting chased by a bear and having his brother fall off a cliff and come out okay, had to be a pretty eventful vacation. Jacob and his brothers were walking in the woods and they spotted some young bear cubs in the tree above them. They stopped for a while and watched the bears when all of the sudden they could hear the sow running through the brush beside them. When she showed herself, and the boys saw her, they began to run away as the bear began to chase them off. She chased them for several yards then stopped, leaving Jacob and his two brothers relieved, but very tired. That moment was a moment that the three brothers will never forget. Although there were some moments where things were a little unexpected, Jacob said, “this vacation was very eventful and exciting and I will always remember it.”
Jacob said, “Being out in the woods, away from the city, can make your vacation seem like you were back in time.” There are many things about this trip that made it worthwhile. Jacob said that if someone were to ever take a trip there, he would definitely recommend the headwaters of the Mississippi, the fire tower in the middle of the park where you could watch for forest fires, and the wilderness drives all around the park. He says that this vacation has to be one of the most memorable vacations of his life.
Jacob’s brother Ryan, 14, was also involved in the bear chase. He said, “It was one of the most surprising moments of my life, and I hope something like this doesn’t happen again.” Getting chased by the bear didn’t change what he did on vacation. He still loved to walk around the woods, but it just gave him an experience that he will always remember and hope to never experience again. Ryan enjoyed vacation with his family had a great time in the park with his family biking and doing all kinds of other things. “Itasca has been a great experience for me and I plan to keep going there for a long time,” said Ryan.
Ryan’s younger brother, Alex, 12, also had quite an experience. He fell off a cliff. Alex said, “I was coming around a corner to fast on my bike, so I hit the brakes and started to fishtail and lost control flying off the 10 foot cliff.” Luckily, he only had a few bumps and bruises after the accident.
Almost everybody experienced an unexpected moment on their trip, and now they have a story to tell about their vacation in Itasca. The Lueth’s family vacation was full of fun, surprises, and excitement, and they plan to keep going back to Itasca for some more great experiences in the outdoors and to visit the bears.
