Lake Maria

Last weekend we went camping. Just an hour away to "run through the steps" before we go too far up here. Well, when I called to get the info, she said all her spots were "hike in". I thought that would be ok; we have a wagon we can load up and pull. Oh my, we were in for a surprise!

We got on the wrong trail, the horse trail. It was horrible ~ bumpy ~ tree roots sticking up all over the place ~ our wagon overturned 3 times before we found the right trail. We got everything packed back on and found the wide, smooth trail.

Did you see the trail in the above pictures? Yeah, we didn't really either. But when we found the path we were supposed to take, we were grateful. It was a mile hike in from the parking lot. Read it again, ONE MILE with the dogs, aired up mattress (since I didn't buy a pump), and wagon.

It was really beautiful out here, unlike any campsite I've ever seen. The sites are secluded, 1/8 to 1/4 mile between each site. These pictures were taken as we walked the trail to our campsite.

 

The food was delicious, since we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies with our make shift wagon we figured we brought better food than anyone else there. Not sure if it was worth it.

Chokeberry Honey Pies

Burgers and beans

Potato Pouches

 

 I did figure out something that never truly made sense. "The stars at night, are big and bright..." I believe the reason Texans can proudly claim this is because Minnesota has so many trees, when you look up to the sky you can't see the stars.

This is some kind of fungus that grew on this tree. It was on the interpretive trail and someone had cut it open to expose the inside of the growth.

Turtles were everywhere!

Our campsite was plenty big with gorgeous views!

This is a food box. They are evidently standard up here. You lock up all of your food, toothpaste, etc. ~ anything that has smell ~ every night to keep the animals away. 

The Super Poopers finally got used to the wilderness sounds and relaxed enough to nap.

~ On the ground ~

~ On me ~

After two nights of owls, wild turkeys, turtles, white tail does, coyotes, loudly singing frogs and crickets, we packed up the wagon and headed back to the truck.

It was much easier to get out than coming in.

We did stop to rest on a log.

But it was so much fun, we're ready to go again! 

(With a few modifications, of course!)

A walk in the park

We took a walk through the park down the street. Spring is trying to get here, it's still pretty cold so there aren't a lot of colors yet. They have cut down a huge chunk of trees that were standing tall last Fall. Lots of burned piles.

The Mississippi is up and running fast with all the melting. Very serene.

We came around a corner in the path when Scott saw something move. We thought it was a house cat at first because it was white and on the ground. But then it climbed a tree. See it?

Look closer...

It's an albino squirrel. Pretty neat, huh!?!

Stillwater BBQ

We went to Stillwater (again) last weekend to eat Smalley's Caribbean BarBQ, featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. We were not impressed. Actually sent the ribs back because I thought I was going to pull a tooth trying to bite through them. Our waitress explained that short back ribs are a lot tougher than baby back ribs. Uh, yeah, right. Anyway, the decor was fun...

This was the ceiling upstairs. The building was very old and well maintained. Here's a closeup of those skeletons.

I do love Stillwater, it sits on the St. Croix River and is a quiet town with beautiful houses. This is the bridge I've taken photos of before.

And this is the river that was frozen. Same one Brandi walked on and that's on my FB page.

It was flooded from all the ice melting off. Not quite sure if people up North really understand "Pray for Rain".

This is a really high staircase that connects a neighborhood and ball fields with the downtown area.

Nope, we didn't climb them.

The New Andover Home

My brother, Mark and his wife, Sarah, are building a new house for their family. It's up in Andover, about a mile away from their old house. 

These are pictures from April 19th.

 

Above is them looking out onto their backyard.

 The kids are excited! They've already met the new neighbors.

 

 

After we checked out the house, we went back to their apartment. Scott asked Mark if they ever hear their neighbors. Mark said "No, but they probably hear us all the time!"

Not sure where Luke was? Maybe playing in his bedroom.

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

I made this post several days ago and for whatever reason, it just didn't load. It disappeared; I was sad. So let's try this again...

We went to the Sculpture Garden in downtown Minneapolis. The first thing we saw was a chipmunk there to greet us. He was quite the cutie.

Scott posed with the Lady with the Golden Thighs

And Zach did too...

This sculpture was very different. It looks like a window screen on top of glass but when you look through it, it looks like everyone is standing next to each other. I was standing next to Brandi on one side and the guys were on the other side.

Brandi found a great hide-n-seek place.

All of this was suspended from cables except for the three supporting beams.

I found a neat horse.

Do you wanna build a snowman?

 

I found two runny babbits.

And the famous Spoonbridge and Cherry...

Zach chased the geese before we headed back to the car.

 The goose won, Zach didn't feel like swimming.

After the Sculpture Garden, we headed over to Matt's Bar and ate Jucy Lucy's. 

Sooooo delicious!!!