The Biggest Maple Tree in Minnesota

On the night before St Patricks Day, Meadow made a leprechaun trap.

Maybe next year Meadow.

Meadow was having a rough morning and needed a hug.

She wanted to play Zelda all day long. The rest of us wanted to go on a hike.

We spend so much time getting these kids to get outside and once they are outside they don't want to come back in.

Scott chose this weeks hike based off his current love of old growth forests.

Wolsfeld Woods SNA just west of the cities in Medina. It's home to the tallest sugar maple in the state.

I bet this place is beautiful in the fall.

Theo once again was a great hiking mate.

Besides the one map near the entrance you were basically left to go wherever you wanted.

We followed the trails, but the understory is wide open and you could just walk anywhere.

I think we need to come back here in the summer to let the kids play in the creek.

Suddenly hiking was fun.

I love hiking with my favorite goofs.

Here was the homestead the park is named after. I tried to find evidence of where the home was.

Just an old light post?

And an old tractor.

Meadow wanted to see the manmade eagles nest in the distance.

This park also has ski trails and judging by how unknown and not busy the park was we'll also have to come back in winter too.

I love some good moss and I guess Meadow does too.

Some of the unmarked trails would lead us to someone's house.

The lakes around the metro are still somewhat frozen, but I wouldn't go out on them.

Scott was not thrilled about having to cross the natural bridge.

I made Brooke carry my camera and lenses over the bridge. It wasn't bad once I got halfway across.

I love big old-growth trees anytime of the year.

Theo wanted to show me how he could climb over this downed tree.

After reading Our Living Ancestors, I'm really into all the signs of a healthy old growth forests. Tip-ups are a must as well as debris and duff (decaying leaves).

These guys love to play on the downed trees.

We ended up spending 2 hours here and didn't even touch one side of the park.

See you again Wolsfeld Woods.

Teaching them young.

Our car was in desperate need for a bath. We still had mud on our tire from when Scott drove in a ditch back in November.

Since we were in the area we stopped at Minnetonka Drive In for lunch.

I went here years ago with my dad. I didn't remember it being great, but I guess it's gotten better or my memory didn't serve me right.

We were going to stop at the neighboring Back Channel Brewing but it was packed. We also tried Steel Toe Brewing and they were also packed. Instead we went home and played video games while I worked on more photo books.

Comments

Eureka! It's Thanksgiving!

For the first time in 2 years we were able to head home for Thanksgiving. I am so thankful this year that Scott isn't working retail. Especially with how ridiculously early stores are opening. I'm thankful I'm working for myself . Luckily I had Wednesday off and Scott, well, he can have off whenever he wants. We made it out of the city with no traffic and came home in time for dinner. I made that cake like 5 years ago in school (don't worry just the outside is real). I'm surprised my parents have still kept it even though its changing colors and covered in dust. Everytime we go to my parents house Scott always has to poke fun of my senior pictures. He's just jealous he didn't get to sit on a swing. My mom had just gotten the upgraded version of Scott's phone. She had no idea how to use it, so Scott had to show her how. For the rest of the weekend I played the part of Geek Squad agent. Better than actually working at BBY. ...

A 39th Birthday Cottage Visit and Ice Skating "The Glide" in Boulder Junction

Back at the cottage for my (early) birthday weekend. Where else would I go for my birthday? I'm a simple man. Grandpa cleared a rink and a little loop for us. Theo just wanted dig in the snow. Meanwhile Meadow and I went cross country skiing on the Anvil Ski Trail. Meadow said she would only go with me if we did a trail with hills. We hiked this a few years ago and it was quite hilly. She was an old pro on the hills while I wiped out. We didn't make it too far as Meadow complained her boots were too tight. I made her check the fit a few weeks ago and she claimed they were fine... Was a beautiful trail in the Nicolet National Forest.

Brooke Turns 40, We Return to the Riverside Cabin at Voyageur Canoe Outfitters

This year is my 40th birthday. We originally thought we'd go to Mackinac Island and also played with the idea of going to Montreal. With a spring break trip coming up we settled on a cabin on the Gunflint Trail. The Gunflint Trail is one of our favorite spots in Minnesota. So, why not? We'd also decided to go on another campervan/RV relocation adventure at the end of the month. So don't act like I don't treat my honey. On our drive up we stopped at Tobie's to get cinnamon bread for french toast. Just like a few years back we stopped at Hungry Hippie Tacos in Duluth. I feel like we have to document whenever these kids get along as it's a rarity these days. We got the frybread tacos, but the kids stuck with the corn tortilla options. We brought along our projector and stopped at Blake's house to steal his internet to download videos. Once we got to Voyageur Canoe Outfitters and unloaded our stuff, we crossed the river to explore the trails briefly. Our feet ...

Search This Blog