On The Eighth Day Of Advent We Attempted to take Our Christmas Card Photo

I made my famous breakfast for everyone the next morning.

Now she's famous for her hash!

Yup. Hash has replaced oatmeal.

Meadows all over any food that is pale in complexion.

We weren't in a rush to get home so Blake suggested we hike Ely's Peak. I was thinking it was farther north somewhere, but it was right in Duluth. He explained we would be climbing that giant hill in the background.

I was like, "Is that safe with a baby."

We started by walking along the Willard Munger State trail. We may have to come back in the summer to bike this.

I think we'll have to attempt that bike ride all the way from Hinckley.

Blake asked if we wanted to see an old train tunnel first. After circling the woods for a half hour he realized he didn't remember where it was.

I quickly realized I'm in the worst shape in years.

We also made Blake carry Meadow. Which in hindsight was probably good idea considering how many times Scott and I fell.

Every time we'd hit a new outlook I'd take a picture. Blake would drag us along further.

We kept going higher and higher.

Are we there yet?

It was nice that the trail evened out in between the climbs.

There was some semi-serious hiking in here.

Getting closer now.

And then we made it.

I guess it was worth it despite my whining.

We thought this would be a good Christmas card photo spot.

We later decided against this one even though it's a nice photo.

Good view all around.

Right around here I nearly fell, but grabbed a stick and it pulled out of the ground. Now I had a walking stick which made it much easier for this klutz.

It was a lot easier going down.

Back at Blake's he got a package in the mail from Sinterklaas. So much candy.

We decided to order VIP Pizza for lunch before heading home.

This is some of the best midwest pizza around.

Comments

Star Island Canoe Camping on Minnesota's Cass Lake

Scott had a job in Moorhead. You know what that means, road trip! I had to get a photo of Theo being sweet holding his Baby. We stayed the night at a Best Western. I've been photographing a lot of these and they're all pretty dang nice. We spent the night swimming in their small waterpark. I looked up the best playground in Fargo and found Maplewood Park. Meanwhile I shot the Minnesota State - Moorhead campus. What was even better was that it had a ninja warrior course too. Mexico City has adult "playgrounds" next to all the kids playgrounds and I wish we had more of that here. We had small ones all along the Oak Leaf Trail in Milwaukee County. Not sure what Minneapolis' deal is. This was harder to do than it looked. The kids were much better at it than me. I've really gotten out of shape over the years. She says this, but she still looks great.

New Ulm, August Schell's and Waseca County Free Fair Weekend

It's fair season which means a new to us county fair. I was driving back via the scenic route from Albert Lea earlier in the week when I saw that Waseca County was throwing their "Free Fair" this weekend. Since we were already going to nearby New Ulm, why not make a day of it? You know our first food stop is the lemonade stand, especially on this really hot day. The tanker size was a must. We now are collecting these giant lemonade contraptions, I guess. It was hot and humid. The lemonade wouldn't last too long. Then it was lunch time. Of course Meadow just picked sweets.

Backcountry Camping with Kids in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Day 1 Back in May I stumbled upon Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I had no idea there was a National Park in North Dakota and that it was the northern end of the Badlands. Usually our summer vacations coincide with Scott's work trips. Since he didn't have any this summer I thought we should take advantage of actually taking a vacation. What, my workcations are always classics? I suppose a second real vacation this year wouldn't hurt. We definitely have more time than normal. As long as we took Covid-19 precautions and avoided people. We finally settled on a time to go. Blake joined us so we borrowed our dad's van so we could ride together. Scott had just driven from Michigan the day before. Blake had met my parents in Wisconsin to get the van and then drove from Duluth to pick us up. I offered to drive since I literally only drive twice a month. I was still pretty tired from a long drive home. Since we were near Fergus Falls we had to stop by the abandoned state ho

Search This Blog