Lutsen Mountains Gondola: July 13th, 2014

Joe injured his back, so hiking on the weekend of July 12th-13th was out of the question.  We still have a bucket list of things to do before I leave the North Shore...so we headed to Lutsen Mountains Ski Area to check out the gondola.

The gondola (or "Mountain Tram") was constructed to take skiiers from one mountaintop to the other.  It also runs in the summer, so that summer visitors can check out the great views from the tram and from the Chalet on Moose Mountain.  Joe and I are not downhill skiiers, so it's safe to say that this is a summer thing for us.  Of course, the fall color season would also be a great time to take a ride.

I'm excited to go for a ride!

I was all about going for a ride in the gondola.  Joe, however, was not.  He has never flown in an airplane and gondola travel must be in the same category as airplane travel.  But, in the interest of trying new things, he agreed to give it a try.

The Eyes of Fear

The gondolas can hold up to four people and all of their ski gear, so we were able to stretch out a bit.  Making the car sway was NOT a good idea - Joe nearly had a heart attack as we jerked out of the first chalet and onto our journey.  He calmed down quickly and was able to get out his camera and take some good pictures.

People in the oncoming gondola, waving at us

These are the views you were looking for: the Poplar River

Everything was going smoothly until we got to the last part of the ride, right next to Moose Mountain.  The gondola took us right to a sheer cliff face, and then we went almost vertically up to the chalet on top.  Around this time, the wind picked up and it started to rain.  Joe got the Eyes of Fear again and we were happy to get out at the end of the line.

The Cliffs of Insanity

The Summit Chalet at the top of Moose Mountain was quite nice.  There was a ballroom/restaurant space that is supposedly great for weddings.  Joe and I joked around about how our relatives would react if they had to ride the gondola to our wedding (nobody would come).  We drank some VERY overpriced pop and stood out on the deck, gazing out over the North Shore landscape.  There were some other folks enjoying the view, including a border collie.  Apparently he had no problems with the gondola...but I imagine that Thunderdog would lose her doggie mind the second we lifted off.

Another chalet and the mountain meadow

One thing that you can do in the summer is take the gondola up to the top of Moose Mountain and then follow the Superior Hiking Trail 4.2 miles on back down.  Joe's bum back prevented us from doing this, but we did hike about 25 feet to a scenic overlook.  The spur trails that connect the gondola to the main trail have been closed for construction the last few years, so I haven't had a chance to hike them myself.  I guess it will be something I do as a tourist someday.

White blazes: spur trail

 After we'd relaxed for a bit, we got back onto the gondola and headed back to the base resort.  Going back was much more enjoyable for Joe.  "Oh wow!" he said.  "Look at that cliff!"  He pointed at the sheer cliff we passed on the way out.  He must have blocked it out as a traumatic experience.  I'm glad that he was able to enjoy it on the way back!  He also played with his camera a bit, trying to capture our movement over the valley below.

zooooooom

 All in all, a delightful trip.  I would hesitate to recommend it to people who get super motion-sick, but if that's not an issue for you, go for it!  Of course, it would be best in the fall when the leaves are in full color - and it would be 100% perfect if you were able to ride up to the top and hike back down.  One of these days!

Still waiting on spring

As I type this, the North Shore is preparing for a late-season ice storm.  Ore boats and other Lakers are stacked sixty deep at the Soo Locks, waiting for the ice to recede on Lake Superior.  It's still eight feet thick in places, requiring ships to caravan across the big lake with an icebreaker leading the way.  We got 8 inches of snow last weekend.  It's still cold.

But, there is good news on the horizon.  It will be May in a few days, and this simply CANNOT continue into the Lusty Month of May.  It's light out well into the evening now, even if it's still cold.  The snow tends to melt within a few days of falling.  It'll get better soon.

Don't worry, folks.  We have plans a plenty...just waiting for Mother Nature to cooperate.

Still Buried Under the Snow

It's been a long winter up here on the North Shore.

It has been the coldest winter in over 30 years.  Lake Superior nearly froze over.  It was also the snowiest winter in recent memory.  Today is April 1st and we still have several feet of snow on the ground, with word of more snow this weekend.

Remember two years ago, when we were out hiking without coats in mid-March?  yeah.

Of course, last year we received almost two feet of snow in mid-April.  Perhaps I should hold off on calling this the "longest winter ever"??

Thankfully, it has not been as hard on me as last year's winter was.  Joe and I are planning to hit the trails as soon as they dry out, so stay tuned!  We've got dozens of State Parks to hike and explore, many trails to bike, and lots of fun to be had.  No worries about us!

See you outside soon!

New Boots

There was no hiking this weekend (I can't hike ALL the time, I do have other interests you know...), but there was a hiking-related purchase that justified its own blog post.  Behold!  A new pair of hiking boots.

Before I get too far, I want to make clear that this is NOT a knock on Keen boots at all.  On the contrary, I love my Keens so much that I didn't even try on another brand.  They're good, solid boots and my old pair served me well for three years.  The thing is, I probably should have replaced them about a year ago.

I am a supinator.  My gait has me just about always walking on the outside of my foot.  Nowhere is this more clear than when looking at how much-worn shoes wear down.  Take a look at my old boots and new boots below.  They're the exact same style, but after 3 years the outer edges of the old boots are not only worn down, they've completely worn away.

New boots on the outside, old boots on the inside.  It's like something took a bite out of them!

They're worn down on the inside too (but I won't subject you to a picture of the inside of my old boots).  The impetus to get a new pair actually happened last week: my fall into Split Rock River soaked my feet, but I noticed that it wasn't just because my feet got dunked.  I had actually worn holes through my boots both from the sole AND from the inside, like tunnel-builders digging from opposite sides of a mountain and meeting in the middle.

Old on the bottom, new on the top.  Remember, exact same style of boot.  The outer heel has completely worn away!!

Not only were my feet exposed to the elements (and mud, and water) from below, I was also suffering from the effects of having completely unbalanced shoes.  My shins hurt and my Trick Big Toe also hurt more than it usually does - even when rain wasn't in the forecast.  I owed it to myself to get a new pair...so I did!

So, thank you Old Keens!  I will remember you fondly as you head to the big shoe store in the sky.

Start of Hiking Season and Wednesday Wanders

I declare the Hiking Season officially OPEN.  Sure, there's still snow on the ground (and it's still coming down in some parts of Minnesota) but I am ready for it.

What does this mean?  This means that the Mileage and Tick count will run from May 1st-October 31st.  Thunderdog has a tick collar this year, I'm interested in seeing how well it works!  I wish I could get two tick anklets for myself!  Joe and I want to earn our 75 mile Minnesota State Parks Hiking Club patches this year, as well as do a good deal of biking.  I plan on dragging out the camping gear, exploring more of the Superior Hiking Trail, and doing some volunteer projects.

After much considering, I've decided to keep the list of 2012's State Parks Visited and Superior Hiking Trail Sections and Spurs lists up in the footer of this blog.  (Never seen them?  Scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page...each entry is a link to the post about it.  Yeah, I hiked a LOT in 2012!)  I will be starting new lists for 2013 but the 2012 ones will remain there.  If it gets really clunky, I'll archive them.

I noticed the first pussywillows a week or so ago.  A sure sign of spring in the northwoods!

Another new thing for 2013: I'll be starting a new feature here on Tales of the Witch of November.  With a little bit of finagling I was able to carve out mid-week-mini-weekends for myself.  I am done with work at 4pm on Tuesdays, have Wednesdays off, and return to work at noon on Thursday.  This mid-week-mini-weekend is perfect for day hikes, volunteering, short camping trips, or whatever may come.  I've got plans, oh just you wait!  The first Wednesday Wander was yesterday, so stay tuned for the recap.


Total miles hiked today: 0
Total miles hiked in 2013: 0
Total Superior Hiking Trail miles hiked in 2013: 0
Total ticks today: 0
Total ticks in 2013: 0

Snow snow snow

So, if you're a Minnesotan too, you probably feel the same way I do right now:  WHERE IS SPRING, PLANET EARTH??  It is Earth Day, the day in which I have planted many trees, taken long walks in the warm sunlight, and celebrated the best planet in the universe.  Planet Earth, I do not feel like celebrating today.

It has been a very snowy March and April.  We got 22 inches of snow last week.  We have another Winter Storm Warning for tonight - 4-8 inches of new snow by morning.  This isn't fun snow.  It's dense, wet, heart-attack snow.  It's not good to snowshoe or walk in (too wet, my shoes were soaked through in minutes) and it does not bode well for spring flooding.  On the plus side, it's pretty much ended the drought and it's kind of pretty.

There's so much that I want to do - bike, hike, camp, volunteer - that is just stuck in a holding pattern for now.  I've taken to knitting and watching old episodes of the X-Files instead of just staring out the window and pouting.  Rumor is that we will get an "instant spring" this year.  Sunny and 70 with snow still on the ground, perhaps?

All I can guarantee is that I will enjoy the heck out of summer, whenever it arrives. I will spend every possible moment outdoors and soak up every ray of sun.  I feel as though I'm at the starting block, waiting for the horn, every muscle in my body ready to fly forward.  Planet Earth, don't let me down.  Readers of Tales of the Witch of November, I will not let you down either.  There is so much to do and so much to say.

Longest Winter Ever...

It was just starting to look good: rain in the forecast, snow melting into giant piles of dirt, Thunderdog becoming so used to having her paws wiped off upon entering the house that she gets huffy if I forget.  Spring looked imminent.  And then...

Hello ore boat my old friend

...nine inches of snow has fallen in the last 24 hours.  Nine very heavy, wet inches of snow.  This is heart attack snow, folks. This is the sort of snow that older people and people with health issues should just sit back and let it melt instead of trying to shovel it.  Just walking through it was bad enough!

There is so much that I have planned for this spring/summer/fall.  I just want to get going on it!!  I thought about getting my snowshoes out today, but my heart isn't in it any more.  *sigh*  Oh well, it'll all melt in a few days anyway.

Predator vs. Prey

Joe went out for a snowshoe hike at Riverside Park in St. Cloud this week, and took a couple of great pictures.  He gave me permission to post them here - thanks, Joe!

Bird vs critter

Here we have the circle of life, imprinted upon the snow.  Joe found a line of footprints that abruptly and violently ended with the imprint of a bird of prey.  Look at the wingtips in the snow!

Good picture of the bird's body and wingtips - as well as the last footprints of the unfortunate critter on the ground

And now, a more serene picture to end the day.  I hope that we'll get to do a bit more snowshoeing this year before the snow melts.  But, if the snow should all melt tomorrow and spring comes early, I will not complain.

Sunset over the Beaver Islands

Artificial Environments: January 19th, 2013

Ah, January in Minnesota.  It's getting lighter outside, but it's still frakking cold out there.  We had one wicked cold snap in which the nighttime mercury dropped to about -30F for several days in a row.  I felt no shame when I wore snow pants to walk the dog in the morning.  I considered wearing them to work.

So, on January 19th, Joe and I investigated three different artificial environments here in cold, wintry Minnesota.  The first environment was that which exists inside his car.  We took a nice little drive down the Great River Road, from St. Cloud to Minneapolis.  We'd taken other parts of the Great River Road in the past - most notably when we drove to Missouri to take in some baseball in 2011.  We had yet to do the stretch between his house and my hometown...no time like a freezing cold day!  We enjoyed the ride, and chatted about how much we miss driving around and listening to the Twins on the radio.  (Thirteen days until Pitchers and Catchers report!!)

We did not see any paddleboats :(

We took a short detour off the Great River Road to check out the second artificial environment of the day.  There is a section of the Mississippi in Monticello that does not freeze over in the winter...due to the warm water coming down from the nuclear power plant upstream.  In the mid-80's, a few Trumpeter Swans decided to stay on the shores of the river instead of completing their journey to warmer climates for the winter.  A riverside homeowner named Sheila Lawrence began to feed the swans.  The DNR encouraged her to do this because the swans were a threatened species...so long as they didn't become tame.  The swans returned to "winter" in Monticello the next year, and the next, and the next...each time bringing more friends with them.  They would disperse in the spring and return in the fall.  Her husband continues to feed the flock of Swans and their friends the Canada Geese and Mallards.  It's a pretty sweet deal for the birds, but quite a labor of love for the Lawrences.

Swan man with the swans.  Good grief, they're huge!!

There's a part of me that kind of wrinkles my nose at the thought of the swans being diverted from their natural migration by the warm waters of a nuclear power plant, and being dependent upon humans for food.  However, the Trumpeter Swan population IS growing and they have yet to become tame.  And people seem to love them.  I do wonder how the neighbors feel about the sound though...take a listen:

After being deafened by the birds, we continued on the Great River Road to the Cities.  We headed on over to St. Paul, where we visited one of my favorite places: the Como Conservatory.  Joe took a few pictures, but we discovered (sadly) that the lens on his phone is broken so the pictures didn't turn out.  However, we went last year...so we will treat you to pictures from out trip to Como a year ago.

There are ponds full of fish for everyone to watch.

When I was in grad school, I would bring my homework to the Conservatory on cold days.  I'd set myself up on a bench and get some reading done.  It was great to be amongst the flowers and plants and green and the lucky birds that winter in the rafters.

There are little interpretive signs by some of the plants.

The Conservatory is always packed in the winter.  I would love to just sit and watch people walk in the front doors: once the warm and humid air hits them, their shoulders drop a few inches and deep breaths are taken.   Coats are removed, smiles return to the weather-hardened faces of those who have been dealing with snow and ice for months, and people remember what it is like to be warm and surrounded by green.

AND THERE IS A SLOTH!!!  Her name is Chloe and I wish I could take her home.

Sloth!!!  I think she was in the same branch this year as she was last year.  

So, it was a good day full of artificial environments.  Coming up: natural environments!  Stay tuned.

Up a creek

Cough cough hack hack

Gentle Readers,

I have been stricken by the most unfair of maladies: a nasty cold.  The skies are blue, the temps are in the mid-70's, there's a sweet breeze off of the water...and I slept for about 16 hours yesterday and still feel like my head is encased in gauze.  SO unfair.

Needless to say, I have gone on no hikes this week.  I hope to be back on my feet and exploring again soon.  Please send your ethereal Vitamin C tablets to me via good vibes, and I'll promise to rest up and drink lots of fluids.

Best Regards,
Elly Vortex

Hermann the German: June 23, 2012

Saturday was a three-fer!  Joe and I took a Day Trip to New Ulm and Mankato, for three purposes:

1.  Seeing Hermann the German
2.  Going to Flandreau State Park
3.  Going to Minneopa State Park
4.  Eating Lunch at Veigel Kaiserhoff (an added perk, we didn't go to New Ulm just to eat there)

I will talk about Hermann and Veigel Kaiserhoff here, and do the State Parks in another post (maybe two).

Hermann the German!  Who was Hermann the German?

Well, he was a Germanic Chieftain (real name Arminius, but that doesn't have the same rhyming ring) that smacked down the Roman Legions in 9 a.d. and caused Caesar Augustus to shout, "Quintili Vare, legiones redde!" or, "Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!"  Alas, Augustus could not have his legions back.  16,000 Romans died at Hermann's Hands.  The Germans beat Rome, and Hermann became quite the folk hero...especially in a city like New Ulm, MN which is quite proud of it's German Protestant heritage.  Take that, Rome!  Like many proud conquerors, they put up a statue.

The third tallest bronze statue in the USA
stands proudly atop this monument.

When Joe told me that New Ulm had a ten-story tall monument with a bronze statue of Hermann the German on it, I thought that the statue itself was ten stories tall.  I was a bit relieved to see that it was less intimidating than I thought it would be.  I had lots of questions, though: how tall was it?  When was it built?  What was it made of?  Luckily, the fine people of New Ulm provided Monument Data in the form of a sidewalk paver...which was surrounded by smaller pavers from donors with very German names.

Oh.  Well, thanks for the info, New Ulm. Seriously, it's nice to have all of the pertinent info right here.

Brave souls can climb the monument for $2 a head.  There's a nice little museum in the building at the base of the monument, then it's up their circular staircase to the lookout deck.  Then, if you're REALLY brave, you can climb a ladder and squeeze through a small hatch and come out on the little roof deck.

Joe is not a big fan of heights.

Once we got onto the little deck, we had a very nice view of New Ulm. New Ulm is very hilly: when we asked the lady at the gas station for directions to Hermann, she said "down the hill and up the hill." When we asked for directions to Flandreau, she said "down the hill and up the hill." There WERE a lot of hills in town. We suspected that "down the hill and up the hill" was a common directive to many locations in New Ulm.

I was glad to have seen Hermann the German. I was a very poor student of Classical Civilization, I didn't remember him at all. Joe is reading a book about Rome right now, so this fit in nicely with his current scholarship. Plus, it was fun for Joe to see such a Bavarian Little Town, being a Son of Germany himself.

Upskirt Paparazzi Shot!  Scandal in New Ulm! 

I will skip over the part in which we went to Flandreau State Park, and write about that later. Instead, we're going to talk about our trip to Veigel's Kaiserhoff, a German restaurant in town. The food wasn't much to speak of, so I won't. I WILL talk about the atmosphere. Small dining rooms, dark wood, sassy waitress full of ideas about what we should order (the ribs...not a fan) and jukeboxes at every table.

Joe examines our music options

It was free to play music, and it was quiet enough so that we didn't feel like we were intruding on the other tables.  We played some Neil Diamond, some Johnny Cash, and we even found one of our favorite songs...or so we thought...

"The Gembler"

I was curious about "The Gembler"...I wondered if it was some cheap-o knockoff of "The Gambler".  Perhaps sung by Kennie Rogers, or Kenny A. Rogers, about a young man meeting a grizzled old Gembler on a train and being given life advice.  Fortunately, (?) it was the real thing and just a funny typo.  Then we somehow broke the jukebox and it started playing very, very loudly.  Embarrassed that we were now broadcasting our musical choices to the entire restaurant, we paid for our food and headed on out with our heads ducked.

Farewell Lonesome George, last of the Pinta Island Tortoises

Said better than I could say, by Rosemary Mosco of bird and moon.

Ten Inches of Rain

It's been an interesting 24 hours here on the North Shore.  It started raining yesterday afternoon, and it didn't stop until mid-morning.  When it was all over, 9.96 inches of rain had fallen on my little town.  A similar amount fell in Duluth, where everything just got all messed up.

Duluth is essentially built on two geological features: a big steep hill, and a river valley and delta.  Ten inches of rain is too much at once for the rainwater drainage system, so when it overflowed the drains it just used the streets as riverbeds.  The rain fell on the steep hill, raced down the hill like a snowball gathering steam, and took all sorts of stuff with it in the process.  Cars, asphalt, trees.  Animals at the zoo.  Houses, topsoil.

All of that water either ran into the lake or into the rivers.  The rivers filled up and raced out to the lake.  When the rivers filled, they got wider and wider and higher and higher.  They flooded over their banks and flooded everything around them.  Parks, houses, schools.  Jay Cooke State Park, the entire town of Thomson.

Basically, Duluth is a big huge mess right now and there's not much else I can say.  I'm still a bit shocked about the whole thing.  The amount of damage done to the infrastructure and personal property will be costly, and it will wear on everyone's spirits.  Amazingly, no injuries to humans were reported - other than bumps and bruises, minor cuts and headaches.  Unfortunately, the zoo was by the floodwaters and an unknown number of animals perished.

One of the zoo's seals was washed out of her enclosure and wound up on Grand Avenue.  Someone driving by snapped a picture of her, and it has been all over the internet.

Ellie Burcar took this picture, posted it everywhere

I got up at 6am yesterday morning and was annoyed to find out that my phone lacked reception.  Not just the internet, but any reception.  My computer didn't hook up to the internet, either.  I don't have a TV, so I turned on the radio and listened to the description on NPR.  Disbelieving (and curious), I put Thunderdog in the car and we headed off towards Knife River.  I'd seen the river running full earlier in the year, and we were just there for the marathon.  I wanted to see for myself what was going on.

Obviously, the river is not supposed to be that large, that choppy, or that red.

Items of personal sadness:

Rest in peace, Swinging Bridge from Jay Cooke State Park.  You will never torture my dog again.  I wish that Thunderdog could have gotten used to you.

Duluth News Tribune, Bobby Wright

This pic is of the Tourist Railroad on the south side of Duluth (not the one that goes up the North Shore).

Could not find original source - please let me know if you know who took this pic

The placid little river that Thunderdog and I walked by on our "bad walk" after her vet visit is placid no more. 

Lester River, Clint Austin. Duluth News Tribune

Most of these people don't look like Grandmas...

Joe and I got up very early on the morning of Saturday, June 16th.  We threw Thunderdog in the car, drove to a small town off of Highway 61, and stood by the side of the road for an hour and a half.  Why would we do such a strange thing?  Well, we were cheering on the runners and wheelers of the 36th annual Grandma's Marathon.

Grandma's Marathon goes from just south of Two Harbors all the way down to Duluth's Canal Park.  It follows the beautiful scenic highway most of the way - it's perfect, actually.  There are two roads from Duluth to Two Harbors: Scenic 61, and the Expressway (a four-lane highway further up from the lake).  I am sad to say that 99% of the time I take the Expressway, but there are times I choose to follow the winding road along the lake.  For the marathon, the racers get Scenic 61 and traffic is diverted to the Expressway.

my sign...I don't have a picture of me holding it

Joe and his sign, and unhappy Thunderdog

Thunderdog was NOT happy with the early morning field trip.  Her ears were permanently smooshed back against her head in their "angry dog" position, she whined constantly, and would not relax.  I think it was the sheer number of people along the side of the road, the clapping and shouting, bells and whistles.  Note to self: next time I attend a marathon, I will leave the dog at home.

The first of the racers that we saw were the wheelchair racers.  Man, were they ever speeding along!  

Check out the dude on the left's arms!

Then there was a lull.  I looked around at the crowd that was lining the road: people in lawn chairs; people that were holding up signs for particular racers; people holding signs that said things like "Go Random Person Go!" and "You're Awesome!".  There was a band playing Celtic music (the jigging and dancing variety) and a church had set up a tent and was selling baked goods.  There were a LOT of other dogs out with their humans.  Thunderdog was clearly the whiniest of them all.  *sigh*

The first runners came over the hill in a big clump.  Grandma's Marathon is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon, and it draws elite runners from around the world.  We also saw some kids running - you must be 12 to run - and people that looked like they could actually be Grandmas and Grandpas.  There is also a half marathon and other shorter races.  Overall, over 7,500 people participate in the race, and many hundreds more volunteer.  As the first runners zipped by, I wondered if I would be seeing any of them in the upcoming Olympics.  Thousands of runners ran by.  It was so inspiring.  It made me want to start running again.

Runners running by: look at how many are coming over the hill!

It's a foggy day...

Oh, so this is why I was woken up at 4:30 this morning:

Ore Dock in the fog

I have become accustomed to the softly clanging bells and whistles of the Ore Docks; the rain-like whoosssshh that the trains make as they empty their cargo into the giant bins; and the sounds of the engines maneuvering 1,000 foot long ships into harbor.  But I will never get used to the occasional earth-shaking foghorn BWWWAAHHHHHHHHH that the ships sound when the fog rolls in.

I couldn't even see the red navigation beacon at the end of the breakwater...
or the breakwater itself, for that matter. 

But it's probably a good thing that they make that sound on mornings like this.

Minnesota Master Naturalist Training

A strange thing: I have been working on something big, and I have not mentioned it on this blog.  It's the sort of thing that fits perfectly with the goals of this blog - to write about my outdoor adventures in the Northwoods - but I have made nary a peep about it. I am not sure why that is...perhaps I was enjoying the process so much that I didn't want to take the time to log it?  It's time for me to get you all caught up with the activities of the last two months.

I am now an official Minnesota Master Naturalist.  Why did I do it...and what is it, anyway?  I'll start at the beginning.

Ever since I was a kid, I loved birds.

When I was a cute little kid, I loved nature.  I loved animals and plants.  I loved learning about them, and I loved being outside.  I didn't get many opportunities for really digging into the outdoors (growing up in the middle of Minneapolis with a family who considered the Motel 6 "roughing it"), but I did my best.  I read my Little Golden Books (mammals, trees, and birds) until they fell apart.  I loved the Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield, and I thought that the cool, earthy women who worked there were just the awesomest people ever.

"What's your job?"  I remember asking one of them.

"I'm a naturalist," she said.

Excellent!  Now I had a name for what I wanted to be.  Along with a singer, an author, a librarian, a Radio City Music Hall Rockette, an astronaut, and the Minnesota Twins play-by-play announcer.  Becoming a Naturalist fell to the back burner over the years due to less-than-stellar experiences in Junior High and High School Biology classes, finding my bliss in Art and History, and the getting a Real Job and not having time for plants and animals.   Well, when I moved up to the North Shore I realized that I finally had the time, energy, and opportunity to take this Master Naturalist training I'd heard about.  Childhood dream come true!

The Minnesota Master Naturalist Program is run through the U of MN Extension service.  The course is 40-hours worth of classroom/field trip/outdoors instruction.  There are three different course options, one for each biome in Minnesota.  I took the Northwoods, Great Lakes courses at the Boulder Lake Environmental Learning Center, north of Duluth.

At the risk of going on and on, I'm just going to post some pictures from our classes and give examples of what we learned.  I did not take many pictures because I was too busy learning...plus, I didn't have express permission from my classmates to post pictures of them online.  :-)

The name Minnesota is based upon the Sioux words for "sky tinted water". 

• Minnesota is an ecologically unique place.  There are four distinct biomes - coniferous northwoods, prairie grasslands, deciduous hardwood forests, and aspen grasslands.
• We learned about how the glaciers contributed to the geology of Minnesota.  Eskers, drumlins, kettles, kames, moraines.  It made me think of all of the state parks I've been to and hikes I've been on so far this year: the Laurentian forests of the Superior National Forest, the Driftless Zone of Nerstrand-Big Woods, the prairies of Sibley. 

 

Looking at critters: probably a caterpillar or a spider

• Before taking this class, I knew the difference between a clover and a dandelion.  Now, I can recognize about 10 different spring wildflower with confidence, and make educated guesses at many more.  I like starflowers the best.
• There are seven kinds of frogs that can be found in Minnesota.  The ones that make so much noise in the spring are Chorus Frogs...tiny critters with big voices. We found lots of frog eggs and some tiny tadpoles while wading in a pond in the cold rain.  Sounds fun?  It was!

Stomping through the mud and reeds, looking for frog eggs and waterbugs

• I can now tell the difference between Red, White, and Jack Pines.  
• I can now tell the difference between Balsam and Spruce with just a quick look.
• I have discovered that, above all else, I love pine trees.  If there is nothing else I take with me from this class, it is the desire to learn more about conifers and devote some of my future volunteering to their care.
• This spring has been amazing for butterflies in Minnesota.  Monarchs, Red Emperors, Swallowtails, the below-pictured Cecropia Moths...it's a wonderful time to be into butterflies.

An amazing find: mating Cecropia Moths. The male is on the right, female on the left.
The Cecropia Moth is the largest moth found in Minnesota.

• I, with the rest of my class, participated in the Boulder Birding Big Day.  (Not Big Bird day...I did that as a kid, in the picture at the top of this post!)  We split into groups and spread out over the 18,000 acres of Boulder Lake to see how many kinds of birds we could find in 4 hours. 
• My group identified 30 birds.  I can now identify about 30 birds either by their call or by sight.  Before this class, I could probably identify 10.  Not only do I have three times as many birds in my mental catalog, I now know HOW to look at a bird/listen to a bird to help make the identification.

Camping out the night before the Boulder Birding Big Day: a beautiful sunset, a warm early spring breeze, loons calling. 

So, now that I've taken my 40 hours of classwork and have graduated the Master Naturalist program...what do I do next?  Well, taking this course opened up a number of doors for me as a volunteer.  I plan on giving back to the environment of this state that I love, I plan to keep learning, and I plan to teach others.  Graduating isn't the end, it's the beginning of the next set of adventures.

Onward and upward!  I loved every minute of class, and I can't wait to hone the skills that I have learned, focus on topics of particular interest, and give back through volunteering.  Of course, I'll be writing about all of it.  :-)

Trail Safety

So, in my last post I talked about my smugness (naivete?) and trail safety.  I am going to do some more research on what sorts of precautions I should take in Bear Country...but I already take ONE safety precaution that I thought I'd tell you all about.

Signs signs everywhere are signs

When I go out on my own (or with just Thunderdog), I always write a note and stick it on my car's dashboard at the trailhead.  It always says something like this:

Hiking portage --> Otto Lake, around lake, and back 4 miles

4:30pm 5/21/2012

So, if I fall into a well or get attacked by a bear, I know that eventually someone will come looking for me.  SOMEONE checks out the trailheads on a regular basis (whether it's the police, a ranger, a trail volunteer, or even a curious hiker).  If they see that I went on the hike at 4:30 on 5/21 and it's now 8am on 5/22, they'll know that something's wrong.  Of course, I also tell someone where I'm going, and when.  On the Otto Lake day I texted Joe to tell him I was going for a hike.

My study into Proper Trail Safety will begin when I return from a Memorial Day Weekend vacation to the Keweenaw Peninsula in the UP!  Another Big Trip, Big Fun coming up!

Ely's Peak and Train Tunnel: May 5, 2012

Cinco de Mayo dawned cold and rainy.  Two days previously I had enjoyed endured a personal training session, resulting in Legs of Jelly and Lead.  It did not seem like a good day to go out for a hike.

Joe, however, was undeterred.  He had heard about an abandoned railroad tunnel south of Duluth - and it just happened to be next to one of the premier day hikes on the Duluth Sections of the Superior Hiking Trail, Ely's Peak.  A train tunnel?  Hiking?  A scenic overlook?  I packed up my creaky bones and exploring we went.

Choo choo!

In order to get to Ely's Peak, we had to walk for a short while on the paved Munger Trail.  It's a bike trail that goes all the way to Hinckley - it's built on an abandoned Northern Pacific line.  Joe is thinking about biking up from St. Cloud to see me this summer, and if he does, he'll be following this trail.  The Munger Trail has a nice little bridge that crosses over some Canadian National tracks (formerly the local DM&IR).  We were lucky enough to see several trains chugging by.  The one in the picture above is actually heading towards us, even though there's a locomotive at the far end.  It's a Helper Locomotive that is pushing the train from the back.  The tall cars are stacked three-high with automobiles: must be heavy.

Once we got over the bridge, it was just a short walk to get back on the "hiking" part of the Superior Hiking Trail.

Superior Hiking Trail: head straight up

Immediately we were scrambling up a very steep, very rocky hill.  In the past, I've mentioned that a steep hill is a good thing: that means there's something good at the top.  We plugged along with that in mind, knowing that there would be a great view at the top.

What in blue blazes...

An interlude:

The Superior Hiking Trail, like many other trails, helps to keep the hikers on track by putting blazes on the trail.  The Appalachian Trail has its plain white blazes, some countries have elaborate blazes, and the Superior Hiking Trail has aqua blue blazes.  The spur trails have white blazes.  Some backpackers and hikers don't like them - they interfere with the natural feel of the trail, people should be using maps and compasses instead of relying on blazes, blah blah.  I like them because I don't like getting lost.  I even appreciate blazes on straightforward trails because they remind me that I'm on the right track.

Anyhow, most Superior Hiking Trail blazes are painted rectangles onto trailside trees.  When there are no trees (like in the above picture), the blazes are painted onto the rocks.

Joe and the climbers

We reached the top and enjoyed a fantastic view of the surrounding area.  It's really starting to green up out there.  We were not alone on the trail: we passed two other groups of people, and (you may have to squint your eyes at the picture above) we also saw some rock climbers.  Being a total chicken, I felt squeamish watching them and had to walk where I couldn't see them.

Ah, no climbers here.

We then headed back down the mountain (hill?) and attempted to find our way to the train tunnel.  Joe got out his handy smartphone and did a little searching.  He found these folks' blog about it:  Ely's Peak and Tunnel, and their description of how to get there lead us easily to the tunnel.  Thanks, Eric and Noelle, you random people who have a blog so similar to mine.  I hope that Joe and I (and Thunderdog, who stayed home today) have just as many fascinating adventures as you.

It's a big tunnel!

The tunnel is from an old Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific line that was abandoned in the mid 1980's.  The tunnel was built in about 1912.  We entered the tunnel and the wind picked up.  I felt as though we were standing in the midst of ghosts of steam engines.  It was very eerie, very cool.  There were rocks that had fallen from the sides and roof of the tunnel over the last 30 years, and condensation dripped down onto us.  There was no point in which we could not see the light from either end of the tunnel, but that was fine with me.  We just had Joe's phone flashlight to see where we were going.

Joe at the mouth of the tunnel

What a sweet hike.  We got to see lots of trains, a neat old train tunnel, scramble up a very rocky section of the Superior Hiking Trail, and see great views from the top.  This creaky old lady had a great time.  And there was nary a tick to be found.  Can't complain about that.

Many, many thanks to Joe for contributing to this blog post.  His knowledge of trains is staggering as well as completely charming.

Total miles hiked today:  3

Total miles hiked (in 2012): 32

Total ticks today:  Joe - 0; Thunderdog - n/a; Elly - 0

Total ticks (in 2012): 13