>> A good family adventure
requires a few key ingredients.
The first is opportunity,
and the Bond family wasn't about
to miss their chance to see the
Apostle Islands Ice Caves.
>> There's some water in there.
>> Is there anything else you
guys want in there?
>> I told my husband, I said,
that this is something I really
would like to see.
So, the kids didn't have school
on Friday.
>> But like all good adventures
there is some adversity,
which becomes apparent when
they climb down the steps
to the snow covered beach.
A blizzard dropped 18 inches
of snow in the last day.
Temperatures are in the single
digits and a 20 mile an hour
wind is blowing off
Lake Superior.
>> We thought it was supposed to
be over by now.
>> It's a one-mile hike
to the first cave.
>> It may be more work
than I thought.
>> Fellow adventurers make
a single file line, cutting a
track through the drifts.
The first frozen sculptures
provide a spectacle
and block the wind.
>> Tam--
>> It's pretty cool.
It would be nice if we could
stay out of the wind like this.
>> My toes are cold
but other than that,
I'm starting to sweat.
It's amazing.
It's cool.
>> If you don't see it in
person, you know, you just can't
pick up the entirety of it.
>> You've got to see it.
>> It's pretty impressive.
>> Now comes the exploration,
and the ice caves provide
an endless amount of nooks
and crannies to slide
through and under.
>> Is that a hole.
Is that a cave?
>> Tammy and Joe Jr.
are content to let Joe the Third
and Lucas probe the ice.
>> They have been doing this
since they could move.
These boys climb,
crawl into stuff.
>> An adventure is always
more exciting if there's
a sense of danger.
>> Where's Joe?
>> Way back in the cave.
>> Does it come out
right here or not?
>> No.
>> He can come out right there,
I think.
>> We've got to do this
in the summer.
This is all water.
>> So this is--
There's water right here.
>> Yup.
>> The ice caves are formed
when water, seeping through the
sandstone cliffs, freezes,
and very often meets
the frozen water splashing up
from Lake Superior.
In recent years the lake ice
hasn't been safe enough
to walk on, meaning the
last time the caves
were open to the public
was 2009.
[kids shouting]
>> Something to see.
How often does this happen?
>> But who knows when you
got the opportunity to
actually have the three day
weekend, and be able to take off
and just spend some time
with our kids, and let them
see something that doesn't
happen all of the time.
>> You can't stand up in there,
can you?
>> Oh, you can, yeah.
>> Once you get through here.
>> No, there's a kid coming out.
>> Of course, the final element
of the family adventure
is the memories.
After all, that's often
the only part
you keep with you.
>> These are memories we want
our kids to remember.
Remember when Mom and Dad
took us up there.
It was freezing cold out.
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