Nice Shoes

When I was out and about today, I happened to notice this chick while waiting for a stoplight.  Nice dress shoes.  I'm betting you didn't wear those when you took your motorcycle road test.

Ode to the State Fair

I bummed around at the Minnesota State Fair yesterday and thought I'd share a few pics with you, complete with rhyming verse.  (I knew you'd appreciate that.)

Police near and far.

Dirt Devil car.

Lots of people there.

Funny colored hair.

Piglet and teat.

Horses feet.

Laughing Patrol.

Horses on a roll.

Tired cop.

Turkey talk.

Pheasants attack.

Prickly sack.

Big Fat Bacon.

Rubber ducky haven.

Ice cream to go.

Pig hanging low.

If you made it all the way to the end, I offer my humble thanks for humoring me. 

Root Beer Rapids

Ok, so maybe that isn't the name of this area, and this is really water falls instead of rapids, but I'm getting ahead of myself...

Continuing from my previous blog, I was on a mission to see Wolf Creek Falls, but I was suddenly confronted with the smell of corn chips on a deserted path.  Making my way quickly down the path,  I rounded a bend and suddenly pulled up short.  Not too far away was a bicycle.  Hmmmm.  The corn chip eater had a nice bicycle, that's something, I guess.  And there was only one bicycle, so not a group of unknown corn chip eaters.

According to the tiny dotted line on my handy dandy state park map, I should be to the falls any second.  I decided to go for it.  As I got closer, I noticed the bike was resting on a slab of sandstone that was right where my little dotted path should be.  Does the path curve?  No.  Arriving at the bike, there wasn't one slab, but many slabs of sandstone piled up.  I would have to go rock crawling if I wanted to continue on the path.  I also noticed what looked like a cave with a big pile of sandstone slabs in front of it.  I could also see a patch of white t-shirt in between the slabs and I could smell corn chips again.

Ok, my corn chip eating, t-shirt wearing, cave-dweller, it's time for this city girl to move on down the road!  Back the way I came, unfortunately.  If they wanted to make the state park map more accurate, they should have put a whole bunch of big squares on the little dotted path.  I was way too tired for rock crawling, and I would prefer to have a buddy with me in case I fell and broke my ankle or something.

I made my way back to Robinson Park.  Now what was I going to do?  No chance of getting to Wolf Creek Falls this time around.  Too pooped to hike anymore.  Too early to go home.  Blah blah blah.  I briefly wandered aimlessly around the park, trying to decide what I wanted to do.  I noticed a couple walking their dog.  The dog looked ecstatic to be outside running around.  They asked if I had gotten any good pictures.  Yeah, some.  The woman, named Brenda, asked if I had seen the islands.  Islands?  There were islands around here?  They told me there were islands and it was a very pretty area for pictures.  Any hiking involved?  Not much, according to Brenda.  There was a short drive though, and Brenda wanted to make sure I found it, so she and her husband, Jerry, led the way to the islands.  I followed behind and enjoyed the air-conditioned respite in my truck.  (The humidity never did let up outside.)

We parked and Brenda said it was a short hike to the islands.  (I decided to keep that a secret from my feet.)  Off we went, Jerry in the lead.  And boy, did he go!  Very spry for being a "mature adult."  We finally reached the Kettle River, which had an island in the middle; and where the river wrapped around the island, there was a set of small, cascading waterfalls.

This is another view of today's featured picture.  At the top of the rock cliff to the right is the top of the island.  There were several kids tubing down the falls, and the way I felt, I wanted to join them.  I had long ago run out of Gatorade and all that "root beer" rushing down the falls reminded me of that.  Brenda wanted to know what I planned to do next.  Probably something to drink, and then head back.  Oh, well she had stuff to drink and they only lived a couple blocks away.  Sounded good to me!  I went back to their place and we had a nice chat, cold juice, and some crisp, cool, air-conditioned air before I headed home.

All in all, a very nice day for my first time in Banning State Park.  There was definitely enough I missed to warrant a second trip.   And Brenda said it's pretty in the winter too.  I'll be back.

And a special thanks goes out to my island ambassadors, Jerry and Brenda.  Oh, and their dog, Howdy, but she wasn't about to sit still for a picture when there was so much exploring to do.

Precarious Path

At the southern end of Banning State Park (in the city of Sandstone, MN) is Robinson Park.  I was pooped after hiking around Banning, but I really wanted to see Wolf Creek Falls, which was closer to Robinson Park than the parking area at Banning.

This was going to be a piece of cake!  Quick walk to the falls, which was good because my dogs were howling pretty loud.  Motorcycle boots are sturdy, but definitely lack some comfort when hiking.

On the path to the falls, I came across a really, really, REALLY, tall railroad bridge spanning the Kettle River.

Near the bottom of this beautiful old trestle bridge, I saw a labyrinth of crisscrossing girders just waiting to be photographed--and today's featured image was born.  It is still a drop to the ground (or river, depending on where you're at) so I didn't venture out on the "path."

After I passed the bridge, I knew it wouldn't be long before reaching the falls.  It was very quiet and I hadn't seen anyone on this path.  Being a city girl, I was still on guard, even out in the "sticks." I was going to be happy to reach my destination.

But then, my freakishly sensitive sense of smell picked up a scent that was foreign to a forest.... corn chips.  Corn chips?  I looked all the way behind me and all the way in front of me.  Nothing and nobody.  Hmmm... the scent was fresh.  Well, that was disconcerting, to say the least.  City girl mode kicking in--walk faster and get to my destination asap!  About a "block" down the trail I confirmed my fears...

Conclusion next time...

Fuzzy Sandstone

Yes, we're still in the forest.  It was so damp that day.  Trickles of water were constantly dripping down the sandstone walls, feeding vast carpets of moss and leafy green plants. 

In this cliff you can see the drill holes from quarrying the sandstone.

Big blocks of sandstone were everywhere and covered in moss and lichen.

Talk about a rock garden!

More to come...

Forest Flora

 

With all the rain we had been getting lately, the forest was teaming with interesting plants, including the bright orange fungi above.  Those little guys were sprouting everywhere!

Here's another fungi infestation on a dead tree.

I have no idea what this is.  It was actually the first intriguing thing I saw on my hike.

More to come...

Burbling Brook

Blog number 2 from my hiking day trip.

Before I could take an image of this gurgling burbling brook,  I had to re-arm myself with another round of bug spray.  It's amazing the swarm of mosquitoes this one little trickle produced!  I think they were thicker here than anywhere else in the park.  I'm glad I brought the spray on the hike, and so were three poor souls who came along about that time.  It was either they borrow my bug spray or stop at the hospital for a blood transfusion on the way home.

More to come...

Rushing Waters

Yesterday my mission was to take pictures.  My first stop: Banning State Park in northern Minnesota.  This area is known for large amounts of sandstone and there is even an old abandoned quarry on the premises.

It was very quiet and peaceful there.  Not too many people out on a Friday morning.  My main goal at the park was to see Wolf Creek Falls.  The Quarry Loop Trail sounded interesting too, so the park employee showed me how to get from one trail to the other.

I started my hike with my photography equipment, bug spray (a must after all the rain we've been having), and 32 oz of Gatorade.  Onward and upward!

The image above is of the Kettle River making it's way through the park.  It was the dominant sound on parts of the trail, but yet, when the trail curved just slightly inland and through great piles of sandstone, you couldn't hear a peep out of the river.  The only sound then was water dripping down the sheer sandstone cliffs.  Oh, and the sound of buzzing mosquitoes.

More to come...