Tag Archives: state parks

Camping, Hiking, My Family

No more steps…

10/04/2019 Danielle Huddleston Leave a comment

After driving and seeing a lot the previous day we had a pretty laid back day planned for the next one.

By we, I mean me.

Nick basically just goes where I say on trips. Ha

We headed up North again but not as far.

We basically stopped at all the tourist shops and went on one hike at Cascade River State Park.

I was pretty much done with steps after that.

There are so many amazing waterfalls along the north shore but that means a LOT of stairs…

So after several days of stairs I decided to take it easy on my back and to avoid anymore stairs which meant no more waterfalls.

The town of Grand Marais is such a cute little town right on the water.

We stopped at the Lake Superior Trading Post there and then headed back south with no idea what we were going to do next.

We stopped at rest area on our way back south and ended up at a great beach to look for rocks.

Cut Face Creek Wayside Rest The kids went crazy looking for rocks and we ended up picking up a book on agates to learn more.

Because you know I can’t pass up on a good educational opportunity…

Only our oldest had really shown an interest in rocks before that so I thought he would be the only one really excited but all the kids liked it. We also ended up stopping at Beaver Bay Agate Shop and I highly recommend it if you have a rock collector and are in the area.

They had some of the most beautiful rocks and even had a little museum!

Someone in a state park visitor center told us about it and I am so glad we went!

Sometimes my girls propensity to strike up conversations with complete strangers pays off!

This was our last day on the north shore, we headed back south west to Nick’s parents the next day!

I know the winters are brutal up there but every time we go I struggle with leaving.

Such a beautiful area!

Animals, Hiking, My Family

Staying in a Pine Forest, Surrounded by Mountains

05/21/2019 Danielle Huddleston 1 Comment

After leaving the wildlife refuge, we went just an hour or so west to Cimarron Canyon State Park.

This was a stop I was not sure about, I thought we would stay at Eagle Nest State Park which was 15 mins or so away but after seeing the spots decided to stay at Cimarron instead.

The Maverick Campground at Cimarron Canyon smelled amazing from all the pine trees and and was nestled in the mountains.

Because of how early in the year it was there was no water at the campground and the bathrooms were closed.

They did have porta potties set up though.

There was also no electric.

We did need to find a store for water pretty quick though since we were running low.

I loved the area but after driving around I found a spot I would have loved to stay at.

Next time I want to stay at Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument!

The campgrounds are beautiful!

And the views are breathtaking.

I am so glad that we got a National Park Pass for the trip!

We got into all the National Monuments we visited on it, got half off one of our campsites(Army Corps Site), and into a National Wildlife Refuge including camping at no extra cost.

I could have stayed in this area for weeks if not months but we needed to start heading south so we only stayed for two days.

We had also planned on driving up into the Wheeler Peak while there but the road was still snowed in we were told.

Still it was a breaktaking, beautiful area.

So glad we got to stay in this amazing area!

I want to go back and stay longer next time!

Hiking, Outdoors, Parks, Wildlife Preserve/Reserve

Black Mesa State Park & Nature Preserve ~Kenton, OK

05/16/2019 Danielle Huddleston 2 Comments

This is my second time visiting the Black Mesa State Park. I went during the middle of the day the last time and had a hard time seeing the beauty of the place so I wanted to spend a couple of nights there this time.

I have found that most places are beautiful at sunset and sunrise and thought this park might shine the brightest at those times. I was right, I fell in love the with the open spaces and desert landscape.