Adventure – Page 5 – Valerie's Voice

Sheep, Boots and Inns

We saw thousands of sheep on our recent trip to Great Britain.

Sheep, sheep…I took lots of photos of sheep!

Thousands.

Pastoral setting…sheep, and trees, and green pasture, and blue sky, and Hadrian’s Wall…

I’m thankful they were sheep and not goats. I like sheep – goats, not so much.

Not only were the sheep in fields along the highways and byways, but we walked right next to them in their pastures as we hiked along Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. The sheep didn’t seem to mind us hikers. They tolerated our presence and our antics towards them.

Docile sheep looking at my fellow travelers.

But the sheep also didn’t care about where they did their business as we had to carefully (and constantly) step around all the sheep droppings. They chewed their cuds as they watched us make our way through all their poo, maybe with smiles on their faces. I still think they’re cute.

The four of us at the beginning of our hiking adventure.

Our first steps on the first morning – walking on the road to get to the trail.

Sheep on one side, Wall on the other, expansive views of beautiful English landscapes surround us.

Only two times did we miscalculate our steps, and needed to stop and clean out poop from the cervices of our hiking boots.

There were also stone steps in a few places.

We were prepared for what is typical Scottish weather, cool and rainy, on our four-day trek along Hadrian’s Wall. Instead, we had unusually warm, humid and sunny weather. Although we were hot and sweaty as we hiked, it was preferred to the cold and rain.

The white acorn was the trail marker for Hadrian’s Wall.

The terrain was more rugged than we anticipated, but it also made for interesting scenery and amazing vistas. We walked a total of 34 miles in four days. We were hiking from inn to inn.

Hadrian’s Wall…following it up and down…

At the end of the day, we hiked off road to an inn where there were rooms reserved for us, and our luggage was waiting for us.

The Battlesteads B&B…located in an International DarkSky Place.

As we hiked, we only had to carry our backpacks with water, our lunch and a rain jacket (which we didn’t need).

All the inns provided for our needs of a place to sleep, dinner options, breakfast the next morning, and packed lunches for the trail.

Twice Brewed Inn, in the town of Once Brewed! Love the names!

Pastoral scenes, beautiful and expansive vistas, Hadrian’s wall, sheep, various cattle, personal and lively conversations, and occasional fellow pilgrims on the trail provided our entertainment.

Walking along the trail…sometimes we could see Hadrian’s Wall, sometimes not. It’s old. It was built in 122 AD, by the Romans in Britain, as a former defensive fortification, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

And we had a marvelous time!

We sometimes had to watch out for cow pies too!

This cow watched as we walked off trail, by a farm, on our way to an inn for the night.

I Jumped In

My love language is quality time. So as I looked around at our two sons, their wives, and our four adorable grandchildren, gathered together “up north” at a house on Leech Lake, my heart was full. It was a blessing for me and Gary to have all ten of us together in the same place for a few days!

A beautiful metal design of Leech Lake on the wall in the house. Leech Lake is one of the largest lakes in Minnesota.

It was fun seeing the four cousins together (ages 8, 7, 6, and 3). They immediately connected and had a blast playing with each other: running around, creating secret forts, playing games, digging in the dirt and, of course, time on the boat; swimming and fishing.

The pontoon boat is tied at the end of the dock.

We enjoyed fires, one in an indoor fireplace the first night, and others outside in a fire-pit.

The nice, permanent fire-pit with comfortable chairs for everyone.

We were able to take several pontoon boat rides; this was one of my favorite things to do. I love being on the water. The kids fished off the pontoon boat and Gary, the biggest kid, caught the biggest fish.

We anchored the boat in a spot for swimming. And I jumped into the lake! I’m not sure when the last time I jumped out of a boat and into water. Jumping into the lake was a pretty common activity for me during my growing up years…but not so much now.

But I did it so I could go swimming with the grandkids. They were a great incentive, and it was fun!

Gathering around a big table each night, and eating dinner, was very special. What a wonderful thing to do, to set apart time and all sit down and eat good food together.

The large dining room table in the center of the “cabin”.

I will cherish the memories we created up north. I am so grateful for this undivided time we had together.

Lake Superior Venture

We just returned from an amazing time on the north shore of Lake Superior. As I’ve written before, it is one of my all-time favorite places to be. When we arrive at the cabin we rent, I sigh a happy sigh when I walk through the door and see the lake through the floor to ceiling windows. It is a marvelous and breathtaking sight that I never grow tired of. I literally feel a calm come over me. I miss it when I’m not there.

During our time at the cabin, we did what we normally do…we enjoy God’s bountiful creation. We bike and hike, drink our morning coffee on the deck, watch the sunrise, have a bon fire on the rocks, relax, read good books, eat delicious food overlooking the lake, and just sit and look at the lake.

I had good intentions of cleaning up my computer files, or deleting photos off my phone, do a little writing, but none of that happened. The lake is alluring and mesmerizing, and we can just sit and do nothing but enjoy the vista for hours…and so we do, and we do not worry about getting anything accomplished. I believe we are being rejuvenated from the inside out.

We traditionally go up to the north shore in September but this year we had reservations in July. The weather was cooler than normal for July, the sunrise is earlier in July…5:20ish…and different kinds of flowers are blooming in July…like beautiful lupines, perky daisies and bright yellow bird’s-foot trefoil.

A photo exposition follows:

A view outside the cabin. I was pleased to see lupines on the property. We started seeing lupine along Scenic Drive as we were driving up. Lupines are not in bloom in September, when we are usually at the cabin.

One of our hikes…overlooking Oberg Lake in summer, 2023.

This is same overlook of Oberg Lake in autumn, 2019.

Streets lined with gold…Highway 61, back roads and bike trails were lined with bird’s-foot trefoill. It was impressive.

This is a bridge on the new section of the Gitchi-Gami bike trail, which we rode on from Cutface Wayside Park into Grand Marais.

Temperance River…a hike we always enjoy, along the gorges of this wild river.

We enjoy a bon fire on the rocks outside the cabin.

Clear water reveals the rocks underneath the waters of Lake Superior.

Our hike to Caribou Falls…down 156 steps to see this beautiful waterfalls, then back up 156 steps! It’s worth it. It’s gorgeous.

Our son Tim took a photo of lupines and a single daisy years ago…it was fun to recapture a similar posturing.

Lake Superior…some days it’s calm, other days it’s not…somedays it’s gray, other times it’s blue, sometimes it’s somber…sometimes it’s glistening… with everything in-between. And, sometimes it all happens in a day. (I told Gary these are the kind of glistening diamonds I like.)

I’m so grateful for our time on the shore of Lake Superior.

Spring Lake Park Reserve

The other day we rode a new-to-us bike trail, beginning at the west end of the Spring Lake Park Reserve, near Hastings.

A monarch butterfly on butterfly weed. How appropriate.

This beautiful trail meanders along with a prairie on one side (complete with bison), and the Mississippi River on the other. It was hilly, but fun… and is now one of my new favorite trails.

The prairie wild flowers were in full bloom, bountiful, and showing off. That was a perk, as was having the Mississippi River, on the other side of the trail.

But the biggest bonus, and surprise, was at the trailhead where we planned to eat our picnic lunch. There is a bison paddock there where eight bison were brought here to live in a very large, penned-in area.

Mother and babe…maybe…all adults together care for the young.

On this day, we were fortunate to see all eight of them, plus four calves, up close sitting right in front of us as we ate our lunch. Locals told us it was unusual to see them so close.

The Bison are being reintroduced to this area where they once lived. They seem to draw a lot of interest. We were told when the project started last fall, they acquired eight females, and four of them were pregnant. Several signs offered different interesting facts about bison.

Standing, lying down, walking around…the bison were active.

The bison were all lying down when we first saw them. And then they would get up and move around. They were fun to watch. A couple hours later when we got back from our bike ride, all twelve were gone, and nowhere to be seen.

The space where they are corralled is a vast prairie land where they can roam, and are often hidden from view. The beginning mile, or so, of the bike trail is along this paddock.

Cone flowers, black-eyed susans, fleabane…

Seeing the bison, and the river, and the wildflowers, created a great impression for our first ride on this trail. The temperatures had cooled off too, with low dew points. It was awesome.

Prairie Clover, with a beautiful butterfly I could not identify.

I took time on our way back to stop and take pictures of the gorgeous flowers. Often there were butterflies or bees on the flowers.

There were so many different species, and colors, shapes and sizes. I decided to take only a few pictures since I had to keep getting on and off my bike. 😉

A metal Bison sculpture seen along the bike trail. The yard was full of metal art. The artist was identified as Dale Lewis.

This trail is one we will ride again and again, I’m sure. It will be interesting to see how often we see the bison herd, and to see how the landscape changes throughout the seasons.

Other bison seen along the trail… Metal sculptures: Dale Lewis

The bison were all gathered in this one corner of the paddock, near the trailhead.

Ukraine

In 2004, 2005, and 2008 I was in the Ukraine on three separate mission trips. Each time we went to Cherkasy, a city south of the capital, Kiev. We conducted English Language Camps at the House of Gospel church.

My host family was a lovely couple that opened their home to my friend, Kay, and I. More host families from their church took in the other members on our team. But each year, Kay and I stayed together with this same family. Our home stays were about 7-8 days…enough time to build relationships.

Valerie, Maria, Kay, 2023, in Minnesota, USA.

This couple and their son, who was living at home at the time, were gracious and loving and took good care of us. The English Language Camps were held at their church. The camps were promoted for kids ages 15-20. We used Bible stories as our resource. There were eight group leaders. We each had interpreters with our small groups of 8-10 kids. The kids were excited to practice their English language skills on native speakers. Many kids attended (~90) and many kids had never been to church. It was rewarding.

The table decorations for the pot luck reception at Emmaus Church: Sunflowers, Ukraine’s national flower.

After our first trip in 2004, our church started supporting our host family’s daughter and her husband, who are missionaries in Odesa, a city in the southern part of the Ukraine. Every few years the missionaries, Caleb and Christina, come to our church to give an update and thank Emmaus for our support. This year they brought along Christina’s parents, our hosts from those trips many years ago.

It was such a privilege and joy to have them stay in our home. I never thought I’d see them in Minnesota! It was great to visit with them and get an update on the current situation in Ukraine, and to just bond with them and strengthen our relationship. We had a delightful time together.

Sometimes I’m amazed when I think about having friends and family that I know and love in other places in this world. For me, those places include Norway, Ukraine, Mozambique and Japan. What an honor and blessing.

Camden State Park

The radio on the end table looked authentic, but we soon learned it was a replica. It fit well into the décor of the historic Redwood Lodge, built in 1934 by the VCC, Veteran’s Conservation Corp, in what was to become Camden State Park.

(I had heard of the CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps, that Franklin D. Roosevelt established in 1933 as part of the New Deal Program to provide jobs and help lift the US out of the Great Depression. Similarly, the VCC hired veterans of WWI during the same time period for the same purpose.)

We stayed a couple of nights in the historic lodge. It was fun to learn the 1930’s look-alike radio on the end table had two buttons to push: one told the history of the park and lodge, the other button was a recording of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal Speech.

It was enjoyable sitting back and listening to this information without seeing anything on a screen. We could picture in our minds what it was like before television, when people sat around their radios and just listened.

The living area of the Redwood Lodge. Photo by ba.

During the Great Depression (August 1934 for this particular VCC group), war veterans came by train, were transferred to trucks and then driven to newly purchased state land in the Redwood River valley in southwestern Minnesota, to build a new state park.

An updated bridge in the park…designed to match park building’s stonework.

The men of “Company 2713”, as this group were named, worked through two winters to build picnic shelters, bath houses, restrooms, bridges, trails, and in this case, a custodian’s lodge (renovated in 2018 for rental), all within the new Camden State Park. We learned the “custodian” was the park manager.

Redwood River, runs through Camden State Park…as does an active railroad track.

The buildings are made of stone and logs. They are beautiful and well-built. Similar buildings are found throughout 27 of Minnesota’s state parks, built by the CCC or VCC.

View of the prairie from Camden State Park.

What a legacy these men left us to enjoy for so many years.

There are many fields of pink clover in the park and surrounding area.

A Photograph

I received a gift in the mail the other day. A 2024 Collector’s calendar: Norway, Visions and Verse of Vikingland…41^st edition.

Rosemaling is a significant feature on these calendars.

And the reason I was given this calendar is because one of the photos I took while visiting Norway last summer was chosen to be in the calendar.

My photo was used for the month of Juli.

It was fun looking through each month to see all the lovely pictures of this amazingly beautiful country, and finding one of my own, taken on the Island of Stord.

It was fun to see my name in the credits too.

The back of the calendar has a snapshot of all 12 photos in the calendar.

Who me? How fun.

Ordinary Days

Our trip to North Carolina fell over our grandchildren’s spring break, so they were off school the ten days we were there. It was a special time, especially celebrating Easter with them, but it was an ordinary time too.

The kids watching the rafters and paddle boarders at Whitewater Center.

We didn’t do anything spectacular, it was nice just hanging out. We did visit Whitewater Center, a national training center for whitewater rafting, paddle boarding, kayaking, rock climbing and mountain bike riding.

The first hurdle in the children’s challenging obstacle course.

Mastering the children’s obstacle course at the Whitewater Center.

Whitewater Center was very interesting place, and the kids had fun tackling an obstacle course geared towards children.

We always explore the nature preserve that is close to their home, and this time we used walkie talkies that we brought along from Minnesota. That was a hit.

Before we left home, we asked the kids if there was anything they wanted us to bring from Minnesota and Ezra immediately said, “a snowball.” Although he was thinking the real thing, we brought a dozen soft, cotton-ball style snowballs and had a surprise snowball fight one warm and sunny afternoon!

Our outdoor workspace, creating fun pictures.

Another time Zoey and I sat on the back veranda and made paper-cut-out pictures. It was fun to sit and create something out of nothing. We both enjoyed it, and I think I want to continue doing more of that.

Displaying “my” picture on our refrigerator. 😉

I just need to give myself permission to sit down and do it by myself…either use color crayons or colored pencils, cut out paper, or use markers, try drawing…just being creative. It was fun, relaxing and fed my soul, and I hope to do more of it.

An Unusal Gift

Thank you for all the wonderful happy birthday messages. 
I was delighted to read each one.

The sunrise over Lake Superior, the second day.

We had a very relaxing and refreshing birthday/wedding anniversary trip to the north shore of Lake Superior. Our cozy cabin had a wood-burning fireplace next to patio doors to the deck overlooking the lake.

Enjoying a fire while viewing the lake from the cabin.

We had fires In the morning and fires in the evening…and enjoyed watching the lake with its many moods. On Tuesday the lake was churning with huge waves crashing against the rocky shore. The other days it was much calmer.

Huge waves crashing and spraying high above the rocky shore.

Mesmerizing Lake.
All our attention goes there,
It’s restorative.

A calmer day…photo taken from the deck of the cabin.

However, we did bring along our cross-county skis, snowshoes, and Yaktrax to get out for fresh air and exercise.

We hiked at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.

This is the upper falls at Gooseberry Falls State Park, where we hiked.

A old Norwegian fish house on Stoney Point Drive…a nice walk from the cabin.

Our hikes kept us close to the lake, but cross- county skiing took us inland.

We usually ask locals for recommendations. Our resort owner told us about Korkki Nordic.

In the morning, the sun was shining and it was a decent temperature so off we went to ski this trail. Next to the warming house (a nice touch to this trailhead) was a guy standing near a snowmobile with trail grooming apparatus hitched on the back. We started a conversation and found out he is the regular trail groomer. Mark lives on the property and grooms four ski trails.

The ski season is, of course, winding down – it was the first day of spring after all- so he was not planning to groom many more times this year. During our conversation, we mentioned it was my birthday. He was a jovial sort and said, as a gift to me for my birthday, he would go ahead of us and groom the trail. It would make skiing much easier for us.

And so he did, and we followed about three minutes behind him, and the skiing was great.

That is one of the more unusual gifts I’ve received for my birthday. It was a random act of kindness and we were grateful.

Valley Grove in Winter

After several days of snow and clouds, the sun broke through and the bright, blue sky revealed itself and changed our already awesome winter scenes into breathtaking sights.

One of my new favorite photos of the Valley Grove churches in winter.

We grabbed our snowshoes and drove out to Valley Grove to tromp around the beautiful landscape. We enjoy Valley Grove in every season. We especially like to hike and picnic there in the summer and fall. I also enjoy seeing these two charming, and picturesque historic churches. This is the peaceful place where Gary and I have bought a cemetery plot.

The temperature this winter day was mild because the winds were calm. The landscape was pristine and untouched, except for one short path to a gravestone. I imagined that somebody may have lost their loved one close to this time of year to make the special effort to visit. The footprints in the snow sunk at least 20-24 inches, so it must have been a very difficult walk. Our snowshoes sunk about 6-8 inches, which is expected, and makes walking much easier.

A gnarly, oak tree in front – the prairie beyond.

We enjoyed snowshoeing the perimeter of the cemetery, making fresh tracks wherever we went. We made an effort not to disturb the smooth, undisturbed snow in the center of the churches and cemetery.

We continued to snowshoe on the prairie a bit too, to marvel at the vastness of white snow covering the ground, and every stubble of grass.

Every twig and blade of prairie grass was ladened with snow.

We missed the beloved Christmas eve service at the historic Valley Grove church this year because it was canceled due to subzero temperatures. But it’s warmed up, and it was fun to visit Valley Grove on this beautiful day in January.

This photo was taken in Nerstrand, on the way to Boots & Lu’s.

We stopped for a bowl of soup and a cup of hot chocolate at Boots & Lu’s, a coffee shop in Nerstrand, before heading home.