A closer look at flyover land

5 weeks, 5 parks, 5Ks

Hey! This is the fourth! Of five! Have you donated yet? C'mon. You know you want to.

I picked this week's park based strictly on its proximity to where my parents now live, so I could go visit them afterwards. So I had few expectations, other than that the park would have enough hiking trails to get my 5K done.

I wasn't prepared for how spectacularly gorgeous the park is, and my photos don't even begin to do it justice. Ladies and gents, welcome to Lake Maria (pronounced Ma-RYE-uh) State Park, near Monticello.

One of my first thoughts was how beautiful this place will be in September or October. There are a few pine trees, but the vast majority are leafy trees. Brilliantly green now, they should be quite vivid later.

This is Bjorkland Lake. The park has numerous lakes, marshes, ponds, wetlands--which led to my second major thought: why didn't I bring insect repellent?? Fortunately, a swarm of dragonflies met me at my arrival and kept me company nearly all the way. But for future visits, I'm definitely packing repellent.

There are several miles of trails, but I decided that it only made sense to hike to the lake the park is named for. Along the way, there's a wildlife observation area. I looked and looked, but didn't see anything, but the birds were fairly raucous that day, including a very determined woodpecker.

And here it is, Lake Maria, the largest of the lakes in the park. With canoes just waiting.

There's a boardwalk that goes out into the marshes. Again, thanks to the dragonflies, I was safe.

Look at this cool tree trunk!

This woman had the good life pretty much figured out.

I hiked along the lake, through the trees, then came to a grassy hill. I climbed it, and voila! I could see forever! That's Lake Maria on the right.

Green, green, green--again, just imagine how this will look in the fall.

A most excellent spot to stop and enjoy the view.

Moving on to another lake (don't know the name), and you can see the beavers have been busy here. There's another dam further back.

These little pink-purple wildflowers were everywhere.

Including a bed full near the visitor center. Where you can rest on a bench and admire the flowers.

Lake Maria State Park--well worth a return visit. (and, oh, hey? I'm getting close to my fundraising goal, won't you help?

Friday Food

This is more of a teaser post today. Two things for you to click to:

The Black Forest Inn in Minneapolis kicks off its annual Spargelfest this weekend, and I've written about it over here. Teaser:

Second, remember when I was bemoaning the impending closing of Caribe Bistro? At the time, the owners said they were contemplating doing a Kickstarter project to reopen in NE Minneapolis. And so they have--go and make a pledge, even a small one, to bring this unique and delicious restaurant back to life.

Good heavens

Apparently there's a wildfire raging close to the town of Ely. This is a lovely community, and the fire is awfully close--I hope it can be contained.

5 weeks, 5 parks, 5Ks

Grr. I wrote a long post about this, and Typepad ate it. Bad, bad Typepad. So here's the abbreviated version, but with all photos intact.

As part of the "5 Weeks, 5 Parks, 5Ks" fundraiser I'm doing for the Sajai Foundation, I've already visited Fort Snelling State Park and Crow Wing State Park. While up north last week, I had some unexpected down time and used it to visit another gorgeous park.

Lake Bemidji State Park. The weather that day was cool, a bit drizzly, but the precipitation was nice enough to stop for a bit while I was there.

There were pretty little wildflowers blooming everywhere.

I took a little detour from the trail to check out Sundew Pond. What a peaceful spot. You'd never guess it's fairly close to a state highway.

The park has both paved and unpaved trails, and some of the park overlaps with the Paul Bunyan State Trail.

I like the unpaved trails best, but that's just me.

I wonder who took the time to carefully place this stone and little bouquet on the back of this bench?

I imagine that with the arrival of warmer weather, this beach won't be deserted long.

Much of the park's terrain was created by glacial movement centuries ago, traces of which can be seen along the shoreline.

I saw so many of these--my little wildflower guidebook tells me they're "wild oats". Very springy and cheering.

How relaxing would it be to take in a performance at this amphitheatre in the pines?

This, however, I found to be a bit creepy, but that might just be me. And how tired I was at that point.

So--three parks down, two to go. Thanks to everyone who's contributed, and if you haven't, won't you consider doing so?

The Church Project

Crow Wing State Park. This is the site of the first Catholic mission in this part of the state, built in 1852. The original building is long gone, but this building was erected in its honor and in honor of Father Frances Xavier Pierz, who established the mission.

Friday sentimentality

I mentioned in my last post that I recently had a crazy trip up north, to help with the cleaning out and closing down of my parents' house, as it has now sold to someone else. Forgive me a little sentimental journey today, as I reflect a bit on that.

I do like symmetry, and the way this story begins and ends has some. Last year, two days after Father's Day, my mother, suffering from Alzheimer's, looked at my father one night and saw a complete stranger. Since she didn't think she should be in the same house with a total stranger, and a man at that, she left. This was on a dark, rainy night, in a rural area near woods and a lake. My father, then 88 and very frail, was in no condition to prevent her from going. He quickly called 911, she was found, and the EMTs took her to the emergency room, where she was hospitalized and the family doctor later decreed that it wasn't safe for her to return home.

That was two days after Father's Day. Today, two days *before* Mother's Day, the new owners signed all the papers and took possession of the house. It's been a wild ride between the Father's Day and Mother's Day; my mother's first memory care place did not work out, and she ended up being evaluated in a senior psych ward. But the next place she went was much better, and she's doing well--or as well as someone with Alzheimer's can be doing.

My poor father, who lived 250 miles north of my brother and me, enlisted the help of his younger (77!) brother to take care of the house and try and get it sold. A few weeks ago, they finally got an offer with a very fast close date. That was challenging enough, but three weeks ago, while visiting my brother to make assisted living arrangements, Dad got very sick and ended up in the hospital. We weren't at all sure he would make it. However, he is nothing if not feisty, and he recovered, but in a scene similar to last year around Mother's Day, the doctors said sorry, you're not going back to your house, even with help. So that put the pressure on my brother and I as far as getting things closed down and cleaned up and papers filed and signed and notarized.

We did it.

I wish I'd maybe had a little more time and hadn't felt quite so pressured saying goodbye to the old place. My parents lived there almost 52 years--longer than I've been alive, and more than half of each of their lifetimes. It's a nice little place outside of a wide-spot-in-the-road sized town called Tenstrike, north of Bemidji.

It's much bigger on the inside than it looks, with a huge living room. I would have taken pictures inside, except by the time I got there for the last trip, my uncle and some neighbors had already made quite a dent in the packing and pulling-apart.

When I was little, there was a swingset at the foot of the hill, and the hill also had a huge rock pile against it for reasons I don't know. I remember sitting on the swing, swinging slowly, and staring at the dozens of garter snakes that would slither about and sun on those rocks, warmed from the afternoon sun. Is it any wonder I'm not fond of snakes??

This is the yard I grew up with.

That long expanse from the hill to the lake was my father's vegetable garden for decades. On top of working full time for MNDOT and running a wedding photography business on weekends, he also grew and canned a ton of food every summer. I wasn't much help. I was going to be a poet, so, yeah, I spent most of my time staring dreamily at the lake and Thinking Deep Thoughts.

I did play in the woods, and pretended to be Laura Ingalls Wilder living in the Big Woods.

The lakeshore was never developed; Dad liked to fish, but he didn't own a boat, just went fishing with friends and family. The area by the lake was weedy and marshy; in the winter, sometimes there'd be enough water that a mini ice rink would freeze itself by the lake's edge, and I'd go skating, pretending to be Peggy Fleming. Yes, I'm that old.

It's the only house my parents ever owned, and they built it, so it's only had one owner. Now it has a second owner, with kids, so there'll be some new life breathed into it. It's a good place to grow up.

Thanks for indulging me on this little journey.

5 weeks, 5 parks, 5Ks

Did you think I forgot? Gave up? No! No, no. I am still on my quest to tackle 5 5K hikes in 5 different Minnesota State Parks in 5 weeks, all to raise money for the Sajai Foundation (please consider donating here).

After my first successful week, I hit a slight snag last week. I had to travel up north to clean out my parents' house as they've moved into senior housing here in the Cities, and the house has been sold. (I could go on about that for a very long time, but I'll spare you. For now.) I figured I'd get a 5K in while up north, but two days before leaving, the cold I'd been battling turned into a rip-roaring case of bronchitis and a sinus infection, bad enough to send me to the doctor. He in turn decreed it bad enough to warrant trying antibiotics. Thankfully, it worked--when I left two days later, I was at least functional, if not fully healed.

The next concern was weather. The day I was heading north was threatening rain and storms all the way. But when I got to Brainerd, a storm had just passed through, and the clouds lifted briefly, and I was finally able to really visit a park that's been on my wish list for some time: Crow Wing State Park.

There are a number of interesting things about this park, aside from its (bountiful) natural beauty. It's also full of history--it's part of the Red River Trail, which pioneers and explorers followed as they continued moving to uncharted territory. Within the park are remnants of Old Crow Village, which at one time (before the railroad interfered) was a bustling trade community.

There are also some heartbreakers in the form of a small, old cemetery.

Helen McArthur, age 21 at death, has perhaps the most elaborate grave.

The Bisson family lost infants, four years apart.

How heartbreaking is that? Just a date of birth, no date of death, no first name.

Some of the tombstones showed signs of homemade decorations.

Not all the history is sad. One of the things I loved about this particular park is that history is noted and remembered, but in its current state, no effort to do some plastic restoration. Take the District One School House, which taught 11 children in 1849.

Just a plaque noting the site. I like to try and imagine what it must have looked like, nestled in a stand of trees.

The river was beautiful and still. Or rivers, I should say, since this park is where the Crow Wing and Mississippi Rivers converge.

The other thing I loved about the history in this park is that whoever did the interpretive signs understood that the most interesting thing about history is the individuals who were involved in it.

"News", my fanny. This was the gossip hot spot, people. Here you have the early version of the water cooler.

And either you can say "Here's where the local hotel was", or you can say this:

Don't you want to know more about the wife? And how she managed to maintain a peerless reputation???

No, I'm not making fun of these signs. I really loved them.

And here's where the two rivers converge.

A beautiful park, with moderate hiking trails (perfect for someone whose lungs demanded she take it easy), enjoyable history. Also, woodticks. But that's a minor inconvenience.

So, that's the second of my 5 5Ks. I've done the third and will blog about it soon. Won't you consider a donation?

Friday Food

You know where's a good place to eat? Here:

Mill Valley Kitchen on Excelsior Blvd. It's a light, airy, sleek environment.

Interestingly, not only is the food delicious and presented beautifully, there's more than a passing attempt at healthiness: the menus have details of calories, fat, carbohydrates, and protein in each serving, and gluten-free and vegan options are also tagged.

For example: this Pacific Rim Ahi Tuna Salad clocks in at 455 calories.

I'd had trouble choosing between this and the Mediterranean Grain Bowl, but given that the latter has 610 calories, I chose wisely. Right? And deliciously. The tuna was so fresh.

I don't remember the nutrient details for this, as it was the soup of the day and not on the regular menu.

Carrot-ginger soup, nice and zingy, broth-based, with just a touch of creme fraiche.

The desserts can even come in tiny little portions.

Triple chocolate. Really, I don't have to say more, do I?

This was a daily special too--butterscotch with pralines.

The dessert menu, it should be noted, does not give the caloric details. But really, they're just a bite or two. That's perfectly fine. Right?

May festivals

As we move toward the prime festival months of summer, spring ushers in many festivals, including lots of outdoor activities. As usual, don’t forget to look through the myriad opportunities offered at the Minnesota Historical Society, which has plenty of its own events to offer.

Duluth
Duluth Homegrown Music Festival
Now through May 6
This is one serious music festival: over 100 bands, all over the city. Surely there’s something to satisfy every musical taste here.

St. Paul
Festival of Nations
May 3-6
Back for its 79th year, the Festival of Nations celebrates the diversity in Minnesota’s heritage, with 90 different ethnic groups providing music, dance, crafts, and food.

Red Wing to Winona (and into Wisconsin)
The 100-Mile Garage Sale
May 4-6
Bargain hunters and Antique Roadshow dreamers, take note—this annual event is a treasure-hunter’s joy.

Gunflint Trail
Gunflint Green-Up
May 4-6
Help keep the Gunflint Trail full of nature and wonder—and bring your loppers and nippers.

St. Paul
Cinco de Mayo
May 5
St. Paul’s District del Sol has plenty to entertain you with a couple of days earlier. A lowrider car show, fiesta parade, live music, salsa tasting contest, kids’ activities, and plenty of fabulous, authentic Mexican food.

Frontenac
Warbler Weekend
May 11-13
Join the St. Paul Audubon Society for a weekend full of informal bird watching and guided bird walks. This is a productive time for bird watchers—it’s not unusual to spot 130+ types of birds over this weekend.

Lake Elmo
Shepherd’s Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival
May 12-13
Sheep. Llamas. Angora bunnies. Woolen goodies, pre-made or ready to knit/crochet. Food, music, sheepherder dog demonstrations, knitting classes, and plenty of food.

Detroit Lakes
Festival of Birds
May 17-20
Serious birders, take note—this festival offers the possibility of seeing any of more than 250 species of birds that live in the Detroit Lakes area. There will be guided tours, educational events, and field trips.

Minneapolis
Art-a-Whirl
May 18-20
Prowl around NE Minneapolis and explore its growing arts community in this varied collection of local and national artists’ exhibitions.

Whalan
The Stand-Still Parade
May 19
Food, music, games—and a parade that doesn’t move.

Farmington
Minnesota Scottish Fair & Highland Games
May 19
Traditional Scottish games and competitions (both heavy and light), as well as music, dancing, and food.

Afton
Afton May Fair
May 19-20
Live music, art shows, hot air balloons, kids’ activities, and plenty of food.

Stillwater
Rivertown Art Festival
May 19-20
Stroll along the banks of the St. Croix River and enjoy artwork from local and national artists.

Hibbing
Dylan Days
May 24-27
Don’t go expecting Dylan himself to be there, but enjoy a Dylan bus tour, enter a creative writing or songwriting contest, literary showcases, and live music.

Poetry about Minnesota

April is National Poetry Month, and the Poetry Foundation is, of course, featuring poetry on its site all month. Including today's gem: Bemidji Blues by Sean Hill, a poet who lives in that fine northern Minnesota community.