Camping trip

We finally got out on a camping trip this past weekend. We went back to Myre -  Big Island State Park in Southern Minnesota. The photo above I snapped while we were walking the paved trail through the woods into the prairie area.

The park is really nice and the campsite was great, (we were in site 89) but I pulled soooooo many ticks off my dog Emma and several off myself and my hubby had a couple too. Three days later and I am still itching and checking to make sure that the slight wiggle feeling I had was a hair and not a tick. Ish. Ticks are gross.

We ended up leaving a day early as the rains came back and it was already so wet and muddy to tromp around in that we decided to just head home instead of dealing with it. It was a nice 24 hour respite though and I am happy to have gotten some hiking and campfire time.

Camping Season!

With how warm out it's been the last week or two we thought we would take advantage of the weather and do an overnight at a park here in Minnesota. We stayed at Whitewater State Park in Altura, MN. Very nice park! Because it was so early in the season there were not many people staying at the park yet so we had out pick of campsites. We ended up at a site right on the river so you could hear the water rushing by all the time. Very relaxing!

 Of course we had to go for a nice hike. We set up camp and head out almost immediately. The trail we found had us crossing the river on big cement pylons and then going up a little stair and then climbing a rough trail up the mountain hillside. Wow was that a long trek! Our Puppy Emma was not the only one with her tongue hanging out by the time we got to the top of the hill.

Once we got up there the views were pretty awesome. Because it's so early in the Spring the foliage hasn't filled in yet and you can really see a long way.

We found little rocky spots were we could stop and admire the view all over the place. Quite pretty and a little surreal to be up on the cliffs. The next day when we were checking out we could see people up on the cliffs and I thought  "Whoa! We were really up there!"

This is a view up the cliff as we were heading down. It was a lot cooler in the moment - my camera didn't capture how amazing this was.

 

Emma and I on the hilltop. We were warm and tired but we had a really good time.

 Here is a view of the river. We actually got to the end of the path we walked and ended up turning around and hiking the whole thing back - so we got to cross the river twice. Shortly after this picture Tom picked up Emma and carried her across most of the stones. She originally jumped over about half on the way in but then she slipped and got scared. On the way back we encouraged her and she was having none of that thank you very much! So Tom carried her across all but the last three and then set her down to do the last couple on her own so she would feel empowered.

Here is a view up the river.

We had a bonfire not long after we got back and we all sat and watched the stars come out as the fire burned down. It was a really relaxing night and a great first camping trip of the season.

Camping Trip!

As part of my "Yay I am turning 40! Let's take the week off Vacation Extravaganza" we decided to go on a final camping trip. We have an old camper that we fixed up and that we haul around the state for our adventuring. This is the latest we have ever gone camping and it was a truly unique trip.

We stayed at Jay Cooke State Park which is just south of Duluth, Minnesota and about two and a half hours North of where we live in the Twin Cities. We headed up there on Monday afternoon and when we arrived found the park was pretty close to empty. The water for the park was shut off which translated into Vault Toilets and no showers. I am trying to embrace my rugged outdoor girl more and more. I have to fake it sometimes, but I am working on it. (Truth be told, vault toilets and wood ticks freak me the heck out!) So we picked the spot we wanted and then set up our camper. Then we had to run to town for supplies. This ended up being a run to Duluth since the nearest town to the park is Carlton, MN and the population is around 850 people. They had a grocery store but it was closed by the time we got there. So off to Duluth for some groceries and supplies. Then back to the camper where we had our dinner (Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and goldfish crackers) and then to sleep.

The next day was cold and wet. It ended up raining on us off and on the entire trip. But we were determined to get some hiking in - so off we went!

The trails we followed surrounded the St. Louis River. The leaves were past season, and it was raining off and on, but it was still a really amazing hike. It is also the hardest hike I have ever been on and I am still soar as I write this two days later. I have never been on a hike where I actually paid attention (and had gratitude toward) the trail blazers before. Spotting a hot pink piece of plastic tape tied to a branch on this hike was reassuring.

The rock formations were really interesting here. The trails were littered with rock and all through the town and the camp grounds there were interesting protrusions of rock. Fun to look at.

 In the background you can see the swinging suspension bridge that we had to cross to get over the river. The dog was less than thrilled at the noises the bridge made as we crossed it, but once we got to the other side Emma was all "YAY! Let's go!" and was practically pulling us along the trails for the first leg of our hike.

Tom and Emma climb some big rock formations on the river. These get slippery when it rains. I am just saying. Pretty though.

Emma had a hard time holding still on the hike. I am pretty sure she is telling us to get a move on! in this shot. She was one tired puppy when this was over and slept really well for the next couple days. It was great to get her out on a long hike. You can see the rock and tree roots that were the norm on the trail in this shot. The rock was slippery when it rained and we had to navigate some spots that were pretty much bogs they were so muddy.

There were a lot of tree roots that looked like this as we made out way through the woods. Images of Frodo danced through my head as I admired the lovely hobbit holes the roots made. We talked a little about how I could incorporate this kind of image into my knitting. That was when we had the energy to talk. Did I mention this hike was three hours long? Yeah. We were TIRED when we got back to the camper that afternoon. Just exhausted.

Tom stopped and took my camera and snapped this shot of me as we were heading down another hill. The trail wound up and down and up and down the side of the river. I am wearing Tom's gloves as I forgot to bring any mittens or gloves with! DOH! Emma is still raring to go at this point - and I am starting to get tired.

So the hike lasted about three hours and we took a trail marked "Difficult" on the map. It was challenging, that's for sure! I had to scoot down some rock formations on my butt once or twice. And wow - is a hike in nature a different work out then tread mill and Zumba! I am really glad we did it and I will not forget this camping trip anytime soon. A fitting end to my 39th year and to our 2011 camping season.

Three Day Weekends are awesome!

I have to keep reminding myself that it is Monday. Three day weekends ROCK!

Stick it & Stuck it.

So I finished my Snappy Hat of Doom this weekend. It was really hard to knit! I knit it in Bernat Roving and the yarn was very dense and knit tight. The cable row was a nightmare and I dreaded it every time. This was definitely a much funner knit in the chunky alpaca! Not a surprise there though. Alpaca feels like heaven on the hands and I love the feel of the yarn floating around. **Sigh** I heart me some Alpaca.


I tried to knit a second diagonal scarf out of Mini Mochi - but I kept loosing myself in the pattern and finding I was too short on stitches. So I ripped it out and cast on for a simple cowl in the Mini Mochi - ignoring my own rule about letting a yarn rest after you have to frog it - because I am trying to knit up stray balls that are rolling around in the open and that was definitely a stray! This will be my third attempt with these two balls. I think I have a winner this time. I am knitting up the Aspen Neck Cowl and it is so very simple. I followed another raveler's advice and I am knitting the purl rows and purling the knit rows - since this pattern calls for mostly purling. The end is curling a lot - and I don't see myself having enough yarn to get through most of the pattern - but I think it will still work out well. I am almost through the first ball of mochi and the cowl is close to 4 inches - so I am guessing it will be an 8 or 9 inch cowl when I am done.


I also finished another dishcloth over the weekend. I knit it out of Knit One Crochet Too Cotonade which is really fun to knit with. I really love the rich colors this yarn comes in. I get tired of knitting in the happy soft shades of cotton I find at JoAnn's and WalMart... so it's really fun to see some wash clothes that POP. We will see how they launder - how the dye holds in them and how they work in the sink on my dishes. But they were fun to knit. I could see making an afghan out of this yarn with no problem.

How's the Weather up there?

It is crazy warm here this weekend!!! We went camping up by Superior Wisconsin this weekend and it was significantly colder up there - but here near the Twin Cities it has been hitting the 80 degree mark. That is shockingly warm for October and I am loving it! I am so not ready for winter even though it will give me a better chance at showing off my knit wear. :) So having a weekend like this when normally we would be doing yard clean-up and winterizing - well it's straight up a gift!



Camping was really only an overnight - but it's the first chance we have had to get away in months so it was really nice. We took Emma hiking on the trails - which is a bit of a challenge in Wisconsin as they do not allow pets on most of the trails. This really pisses me off. We love camping and want to bring our dog with. Our dog is welcome to come with - but they frown on us leaving her in the camper alone. And we really don't WANT to leave her in the camper. We want to take her out with us and exercise her and have experiences with her. She is such a fearful dog - the more we can exercise her and get her outside the better. So it's really frustrating when we go to a park and try to take out dog out for a walk and are met with sign after sign that states No Dog. Argh! Not cool. Makes me want to stay in Minnesota where dogs are welcome on the trails.


ANYWAY - despite that we had a really nice time and we really enjoyed out get away. I am hoping we can still get one or two more getaway's in this year. With the camper having a furnace in it that is a definite possibility.

Pod People
I just finished listening to the last episode of SassyPants Knitter and MAN did I enjoy listening to those podcasts. I would recommend her podcast to anyone who knits or crochets. She is a HOOT! I hope she keeps podcasting.

My latest listen is BarknKnit. I am only on my third or fourth episode so far - and one episode didn't load on my pod well - so I haven't listened to much yet. But so far I am really enjoying it. I listened to a full episode while on my Treadmill today and listened to her talk about her dog's allergies. I can't imagine a dog with a cotton allergy! I would freak if Emma had that. Cotton is all over the place! So it will be interesting to listen to her figure that out.