MN Trip ~Day 8 Wolves & Wilderness at Tamarac

On day 7 we hung out with family and crashed.

It is amazing how much your feet hurt when you lay around vs. when you are using them constantly for a hiking.

I was trying to not laugh at all the aches and pains that were showing up from our hike.

As soon as I  put shoes on and got moving they faded away.

Although I did take pictures that day I decided they did not need to be shared on here so I am skipping to our last day.

tamaracfall

On our last day in Minnesota we decided to go to Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge again so we could go to their Fall Festival called “Wolves & Wilderness”.

table

They have educational stations set up about different aspects of the park and wolves.

rice

Wild Rice grows in the park so they had a demonstration of how they process it.

stages

ricemaker

The volunteers were very nice and full of information.

cabin2

It was held near these old cabins which were cool to look into.

touch

At the trapper tent they told my youngest he could touch the wolf trap they had.

He wanted to know if it was set to go off first.

Yes, they set it and are trying to trap the little children that come to the tent…

I guess that is a valid question if you have never really seen one before and therefore do not know if it is armed.

Of course his next question was if they would set it.

oldthreelegs

The event was centered around a wolf named “Old Three Legs” that terrorized the area in the early 1900’s.

Since Nick and I saw a wolf limping on our trip north, my youngest told everyone and said maybe it was three legs.

I don’t think you would have made it Maddie…

measure

Poor Maddie being compared to Old Three Legs.

wolves

You got a stamp in a book at each station and if you filled it you got a prize.

skull

What I like most at events like this is the spark it puts into my boys.

Even if they do not remember any of the information they hear, they are more likely to try to find out about that subject because they are interested now.

It would not surprise me at all if my youngest picked up a book on wolves at the library sometime.

closer

They had a storyteller tell the story of Old Three Legs.

He was a teacher and it showed.

close

blackandwhite

Nick’s mom and some of the boys cousins came as well.

different2

I really enjoyed listening to him.

game

It was really cold and we had a long drive back to Oklahoma ahead of us so we tried to hurry through the last activities.

I am sorry if I seemed rushed to any of the volunteers, I felt like we had a ticking clock following us.

cabin3

cabin

Does it get any better than a cabin in the woods?

Dream house.

Maybe one a little less drafty though.

book

I am glad that we started our drive a little late so we could attend this event!

They did a great job and the boys had a lot of fun!

posters

The boys earned their prize!

They got a wolf poster and some apples.

Those apples were really good!

silo

We ended up with a beautiful sunset on the way home.

I always enjoy my time in Minnesota so much.

It is a beautiful place.

What is your favorite state to visit?

Any fall festivals going on in your area?

MN Trip ~Day 6 The SHT

campsite

After a wet cold night, I was ready to get moving!

We were heading all the way back to Silver Bay so this would be our longest hike of our trip.

breakfast

My homemade instant oatmeal worked out really well!

breakfastdone

Something hot to start out a cold morning really helps.

cooking

Everything we need for a hot meal.

eating

waterfall

We went ahead and went to the waterfall overlook before getting on the Superior Hiking Trail.

falls

There was apparently a really nice view down below and on the other side but we did not want to add more miles and a ton of steps to our hike.

river

Maybe next time.

silverbay

Silver Bay this way!

tough

You start out your hike with “the drainpipe”, interesting name.

It is almost like rock climbing.

I was having a lot of trouble getting going so Nick carried the camera for most of this third day.

fallcolorsfog

Mount Trudee without rain!

I had missed the photo opportunity the day before due to the rain so I was glad it was dry on the way back.

colorfulleaves

Well, it did not rain at least.

The path was a muddy mess.

The walking poles helped with the slipping around everywhere.

I still wiped out once though.

us

This was one of our steepest climbs for the day so I was glad we got it done.

him

I am glad we packed our light tripod for the trip.

I like it when both of us can be in a shot.

waterleaves

dangerous

See his grin?

That is the grin of a man that is on the edge.

Literally.

I did not realize it until I had set the timer and went to him.

He tried to pull me close to him and I about freaked!

In this picture I am actually trying to pull away, closer to the nice safe rocks…

As opposed to open air and a steep fall.

me

Still enjoying the beautiful colors!

finished

We did it!

We ended up with just over 11 miles that day.

happy

We also just missed the rain.

It started just minutes after we started driving.

lakesuperior

Despite the rain, I had to stop and take some pics of Lake Superior!

lakesuperior2

What a great trip!

Have you ever been to Lake Superior?

What is your favorite spot?

MN Trip ~Day 5 The SHT

othercampsite

There are very few pictures from our second day on the Superior Hiking Trail because it rained!

It was supposed to rain for most of the time so one day of rain was not too bad.

Of course when it started sprinkling I did not want to put my rain jacket on.

I was hot so I thought I would wait.

Later I had to try to dry out my wet things and I realized I was not planning far enough ahead.

boardwalk

The trail was pretty muddy in spots so the fact they had bridges and boardwalks in places was really nice!

This is a really well travelled trail and they seem to take good care of it.

Since we were headed to Tetteguche State Park campground that day we headed up Mount Trudee which would had some really awesome views.

Since it was raining I thought I would take pictures the next day when we headed back that way instead of trying to get my camera out of my pack, where I put it to keep it dry.

dry

I found out really quickly that one of my shirt choices was really bad.

The grey one you see hanging in our tent is a really cheap Danskin from Walmart and it is amazing.

It dries quickly and is a great base layer.

I wore a black t-shirt from target on top and it soaked up the water like a sponge.

That guy is not coming hiking with me again…

eating

Even though the park let us call them to check into our campsite we still decided to make the 2.5mile trek to the visitor center to check it out after we set up camp.

Even though it poured on the way there, I am so glad we did it!

They had a fireplace!

We stayed there for a couple hours to dry out and then headed back into the rain…

It was a cold wet night but that is what happens sometimes when you camp.

I should have brought a base layer for my legs instead of just the pants I wore.

Live and learn.

What is your favorite thing to bring with you camping?

I was dreaming of long johns all night…