Nerstrand, as we affectionately call the Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park, is one of my favorite local state parks and I think it’s because I go there often. It’s only 20 minutes from our house where we currently live, and we used to drive down to the park from Burnsville where we lived years ago.
Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park, Spring 2018
There is no date for this memorable hike because I do not remember the year. We have gone on numerous hikes in Nerstrand-Big Woods over the years – too many to count or keep track of: wild flower hikes in the spring, long hikes in the summer, fall leaf hikes in the fall, cross-country skiing in the winter.
But the hike I’m writing about for my Memorable Hike series is when our two boys were young. We drove down to the park from Burnsville for the day. Gary had picked up a couple candy bars (which was, and still is, an infrequent treat) to put in his pocket for our hike. While hiking on one of the longer trails at Nerstrand Gary got the idea to go on ahead and place the candy bars near a tree. He wasn’t that far ahead of us to notice he was missing, and he did it quickly. Then when we were all together again, he mentioned to the boys that he thought there was a candy stand somewhere up ahead. The boys were young enough to get excited about that. We continued hiking and, lo and behold, there were candy bars on the ground under a tree. The boys were thrilled. It was silly but was quite fun, and to this day we talk about finding that candy at Nerstrand.
A change in plans for family members opened up an opportunity for Gary & I to go camping over the weekend at Whitewater State Park, in one of their camper cabins.
This is Rainbow Trout, the name of the camper cabin we stayed in.
The camper cabins are cute…there isn’t a better word…just like baby animals…baby cabins are cute! The one we stayed in was only a year old. The cabins are like children’s playhouses. Inside are two bunk beds, a small picnic table with two benches, large, screened windows, electric lights and a ceiling fan and extra outlets. Each cabin has a small screen porch attached. Everything is built with knotty pine. The cabins are simple but functional and are a lot of fun to stay in.
Inside the camper cabin, from the porch.
Growing up in a kid-friendly neighborhood we had a shack in our backyard. It was a great place to play with the neighborhood gang. This camper cabin, which of course, is larger and much nicer than our backyard shack, brought back some fun memories of playing in, and on top of, the shack.
It doesn’t take long to get settled in to a camper cabin. Soon we were enjoying the great Minnesota outdoors. Whitewater State Park is in southeastern Minnesota, in a valley. The Whitewater River runs through the park, and beautiful, rocky bluffs surround the river and park.
One morning our hike took us up the bluffs with vistas at the top overlooking the valley. As we ascended so did our body temperatures, and at the same time the outside temperatures were climbing… into the 90’s, very unusual for our spring season.
Gary hiking on the trail. An interesting cavity in the tree.Chimney Rock.
Needless to say, we were very hot at the end of our hike so we quickly changed into our bathing suits and jumped into the spring-fed swimming hole in the river. It felt wonderful. This is something I rarely do anymore, but our bodies needed to cool down. I believe there is something very healing having your body surrounded completely by cool water. We could almost feel our body temperatures lowering to normal as we lingered in the water. Of course, many others in the park were also enjoying the swimming hole, but surprisingly it wasn’t crowded. It seems people stayed in the water just long enough to cool their bodies down.
Looking down on the park from our hike up the bluff. The swimming hole is the opening in the river with a sandy beach.
After we got out of the water we took showers in the shower house and then went out for an ice cream treat.
We found some fun ways to beat this unseasonable heat.
Our planned route for our road trip to the East coast took us close to Delaware. I have never been to Delaware so I thought it would be a good idea to drive through the state and add it to my list of states I’ve been in. When I mentioned this idea to our host the morning we were leaving Washington D.C. heading to Pennsylvania, he suggested we go to the Hagley Museum in Wilmington, Delaware. So we did.
The Visitor’s Center.
The Hagley Museum is along the banks of the Brandywine River and is the site of the gunpowder works founded by E.I. du Pont in 1802. The du Pont company became the largest American manufacturer of black powder.
A side view of the Visitor’s Center and museum.
The Visitor’s Center and museum, in a beautiful brick building, includes three floors of exhibits.
More beautiful and interesting brick building walls.
Outside the museum, there are 235 acres with historic buildings to explore, and tour different parts of the gun powder operation, including the the Powder Yard with live demonstrations.
One of many buildings along the Brandywine River used to manufacture gun powder.
A demonstration of gun powder being ignited.
You can walk up to Worker’s Hill where the worker’s lived on site, and tour Eleutherian Mills, which was the first du Pont family home.
The du Pont’s first family home. – both ends have been added on since the original was built.
I especially like touring older homes…like the Rockefeller’s in Williamsburg, and now the du Pont home in Wilmington. This was du Pont’s first home in America (they immigrated to America from France)…a few miles away is Winterthur, another du Pont home where the family lived, with 175 rooms. It is now open to the public but we didn’t have time to go see it. (Maybe another trip to Delaware – who knew there were such interesting places to visit in Delaware?)
I liked this wrought iron bench painted turquoise, and the yellow pansies and the lamppost at the entrance to the house.
The du Pont company went on to become the country’s largest chemical firm. The exhibits in the museum showed many examples of their inventions: nylon (including nylon stockings), Teflon, Kevlar to name a (very) few but there are so many more.
We enjoyed this museum a lot and I said to Gary, “It’s interesting that this morning we never even heard of this place and now, here we are this afternoon, touring it and enjoying it.”
Gary and I flew to Nova Scotia in 2013 and rented a car to tour the provinces of Nova Scotia (including the Bay of Fundy) and Prince Edward Island.
We were hiking around the Bay of Fundy during low tide. It was amazing to hike far out from shore on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, knowing in a couple hours water would rise to cover the entire area once again. And it would be deep waters. The record tide recorded is 53’…it was 43’ the day we were hiking around the sea floor in the Bay of Fundy.
According to Wikipedia: “The Bay of Fundy is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the state of Maine. It has the highest tidal range in the world.”
I don’t really understand how tides work – I do know they’re connected to the moon’s cycle. I remember when we took a trip to Maine in the 80’s I learned there were two tide cycles each day: two high and two low. I was so surprised. Growing up in the Midwest and not living near the ocean I didn’t know such things. I guess I wasn’t listening in school either. HA
I remember while hiking in the Bay of Fundy, I once again was in awe of God’s amazing creation. When the massive tides recede, the endless mudflats are home to many sea creatures and people love to search for them when the tide is out.
And then some 700 more carpenters, including a few Amish men, rebuilt a replica of the ark in 2017.
A front view of the Ark.
On our way back to Minnesota from the East Coast we decided we were close enough to detour a few miles south to northern Kentucky and check out the Ark Encounter.
We asked a stranger to take our picture by the door of the ark. The door is too large to capture in the photo.
A Christian Foundation had the vision to build a replica of Noah’s Ark (without taxpayers money) to show people in this day and age what the ark might have looked liked.
The Ark.
The structure itself is massive… 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high, an impressive sight to see for sure. These measurements were carefully calculated from information they studied about cubits, a term of measurement used in the Bible.
A look down the long deck.
They researched the Bible and other resources to get an accurate design. Inside the ark there are three levels, with several exhibits on each deck.
They’ve recreated what the cages might look like, a possible watering system for distributing water to all the animals, and there was even an explanation to a plausible way Noah could have discarded animal waste, and so much more.
An idea for providing for reptiles and amphibians.Different size cages for different sized animals.A possible technique to feed the animals.A possible technique for distributing water to the animals.Clay water jugs.Burlap food storage.A possible technique for air ventilation.Life-like images of Noah and his family were placed throughout the ark.Life-size image in the “kitchen” area of the ark.A work area among the living quarters for Noah and family.
It was well thought out and very interesting.
We decided it was worth the detour to get a new perspective on an old, old story.
This is a partial wall in a room filled with children’s books telling Noah’s ark story.
After a beautiful Easter morning service that included the singing of Christ the Lord is Risen Today and hearing the Hallelujah Chorus at a church we were visiting in the D.C. area, we decided to take the train to the National Mall and walk around.
The metro system in Washington D.C. is user friendly and we hopped on the train, along with our host for the weekend, and “people watched” for thirty minutes while we enjoyed the train ride to the National Mall.
The Washington Monument.
As soon as we stepped out of the metro station we saw the Washington monument standing tall. There were lots of people everywhere…and this was April…I can’t imagine the crowds during summer. We turned and looked behind us, to the East, and saw the U.S. Capitol from a distance, and then started our hike walking west toward the Washington Monument.
It was wonderful to see the cherry trees in bloom.
The day was cool but the cherry trees were in bloom and it was beautiful. We walked from memorial to memorial, beginning at the Washington Monument (built in 1848). I have been up in the Washington Monument on a prior visit, but it is currently closed for renovation until 2019. We glanced at the White House to the north as we passed it, then walked through the WW II Memorial (dedicated in 2004) on our way to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (dedicated in 1982), and a Vietnam Women’s Memorial, a sculpture dedicated in 1993 for the women who served in the Vietnam war.
Next we stopped at the Lincoln Memorial (dedicated in 1922) which is a favorite of mine, and for many I believe.
A classic view of the Lincoln Memorial from one end of the Reflecting Pool.The statue of President Lincoln.
Next we walked to the Korean War Veterans Memorial (dedicated in 1995) and then to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is a fairly new memorial dedicated in 2011, and this was the first time I saw it and it immediately became a favorite for me. The Stone of Hope is a granite sculpture out of which the carving of Dr. King emerges. The memorial covers four acres and is located on the Tidal Basin. The walls surrounding the statue are etched with several different quotes from Dr. King Jr. such as:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
The statue of Martin Luther King Jr.
At this point we were on a trajectory to see the Jefferson Memorial (dedicated in 1943) which took us past the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (dedicated in 1997), also new to me.
A view of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin.
The King, Roosevelt and Jefferson memorials are all on the Tidal Basin, off the Potomac River, surrounded by blooming cherry trees.
The cherry trees along the Tidal Basin were given as a gift of friendship to the People of the United States from the People of Japan in 1912.
When we started out we had no idea we would hike a total of six miles that afternoon, but it was fun to see these truly amazing memorials. There are interesting stories behind each one.
They are continually adding new memorials and museums in this area. For instance, they are planning a Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, under construction at this time, and we visited the newly opened Museum of the Bible which was very interesting.
Washington D.C. is a very unique place to visit and a fun place to hike around, and I am grateful we had the opportunity to do so in the cherry tree blooming season.
Click here to view a good map of the National Mall.
The Oberg Trail, near Lutsen, Minnesota ascends about a quarter mile and then levels out to a 1.8 mile loop around the top of this “Minnesota mountain”. The trail has eight scenic overlooks in all directions…several looking out onto the big lake, Lake Superior, and a few overlooks facing the inland forest and a beautiful small inland lake called Oberg Lake. We’ve hiked this trail many, many times over the years…it’s an easy trail and a nice length, close to our rented cabin and a wonderful way to see spectacular vistas of Lake Superior. Some years we get to see the trees in their beautiful autumn array of color. In 2017 we saw an ample start on the fall colors. When the sky is blue it makes the colors more vibrant. This year the fall colors were emerging but the sky was clouded over. It’s still a wonderful sight and a place I love to be!
From Oberg Trail, September 2017.
Last fall our trek up Oberg Mountain we hiked the trail with our son and his wife and our five-month-old granddaughter. It was her first hike on the north shore. She wore a darling moose outfit in honor of the occasion. We didn’t see any moose but she drew attention from the hikers we passed along the trail. It’s funny how babies and dogs often provoke comments from strangers.
We traveled over 3,200 miles during our three-week road trip to the East Coast.
A fun photo taken in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.
I’m so thankful we have a comfortable car to drive and ride in, instead of a horse and buggy which we saw trotting all over Lancaster County when we visited my husband’s family in Amish country. Can you imagine?
Our trip took us to Colonial Williamsburg, Washington D.C., and Lancaster County Pennsylvania (with a stop in Indiana, Delaware and Kentucky.) There were many highlights: visiting friends and family and attending a family wedding in a restored barn, going to see Jesus at the Sight and Sound Theater, attending an Easter service in a welcoming church, participating in a Seder meal with our Jewish host and hostess, walking six miles from monument to monument in DC, touring the new Museum of the Bible in DC, seeing the cherry trees in bloom in DC, touring the Hagley Museum where gunpowder was made in Delaware, attending a glass instrument concert, walking throughout authentic Williamsburg, seeing Jamestown and Yorktown, hiking to find the wild ponies, enjoying spring flowers blooming, taking a detour on our way home to see the replica of Noah’s Ark in Kentucky.
Cherry trees in bloom in Washington D.C.
While waiting in the theater to see the awesome production of Jesus I thought to myself how blessed I am to be able to experience so many wonderful things. Our travels have been enriching times! I’ll be writing more details surrounding different events.
Easter at Trinity Lutheran Church in Rockville, Maryland. The pastor did his undergraduate studies at St. Olaf College, in our hometown.
We are grateful for our safe travels, and for the variety of experiences we enjoyed.
While in the Williamsburg area with our friends, we decided to take a day trip to the Eastern Shore of Virginia. To get there we had do drive through underwater tunnels and over bridges with the Chesapeake Bay on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other side.
At the southern tip of the peninsula we stopped at the visitor’s center and learned in the northern part is where the ‘famous’ wild ponies roam. (The difference between horses and ponies is the height. Any horse that stands less than 14 hands is considered a pony and the average height of a Chincoteague Pony is between 12 and 13 hands.)
I asked how likely it would be to see the wild ponies if we drove over an hour to get to the Wildlife Refuge…the assistant said it was likely. So we took off for Chincoteague.
The Chincoteague ponies started roaming the Chincotegue Island around 1750. Evidence seems to indicate the ponies survived a Spanish galleon shipwreck in 1749. The ponies have been there ever since. The refuge retains a permit to let 150 ponies graze on the refuge so they have to decrease the herd once a year. Annually, in late July, thousands of people gather to watch the ponies swim cross the Assateaque Channel and then the ponies are auctioned off.
After we arrived at the refuge, we were directed to a paved trail. Along the trail we stopped and talked with an older gentleman who told us he came to the park twice a day, with his binoculars, to look for the ponies. He described two bands (small groups of ponies) in this area. Riptide, was a brown male with a blonde mane and his band was near-by. Maverick, the lead male of a different band, was farther away at this time.
We continued walking but didn’t see any ponies. We came to an “unofficial trail” heading into the woods towards the ocean so we decided to follow it. Once we came to the ocean we talked with a couple who had just seen ponies and they told us which direction to try. We walked along the beach. It was low tide, so there was a wide swath to walk on (with a few obstacles to climb over.)
This turned out to be quite an adventure but we persisted and continued walking until finally we saw movement in the trees, inland along the shore. We spotted one pony, and then another, and another until there were about fifteen. And we identified Riptide grazing in the grass. The ponies were beautiful.
After taking several pictures and watching the wild and wonderful creatures, we started hiking back. On our return trip the tide was rising but our beach swath was still passable. We darted into the woods where we thought we had exited a couple hours ago and finally found the original paved trail and walked back to our car.
It was a exciting and adventurous hike, searching and finding the Chincoteague ponies in the wild.
Our family camping trip out west took us to several national parks in 1992. Each park is unique and so much fun to visit and explore. We are so grateful for those who went before us to preserve such wonderful lands.
NPS Photo
At Mesa Verde National Park we took a hike to see the cliff dwellings, for which the park is known. Mesa Verde is unique because the park preserves the ancient cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloans. When we were there in 1992 the park called the people Anasazi Indians, but when recently looking up information on the park I discovered they no longer use that term, and the correct name is Ancestral Puebloans.
NPS Photo
The website reads the park “offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from AD 600 to 1300. Today the park protects nearly 5,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States.”
NPS Photo
The website also gives permission to copy photos from their site as long credit is given to the NPS. “They (the photos) may be used for private, public, or press use. Please credit “NPS Photo.”
We went on a ranger led hike through the cliff dwellings. I remember the ranger’s warning that one had to be able to climb ladder steps and fit through small spaces in order to participate in the hike. It was fun to see the cliff dwellings up close and learn about the fascinating life style of the people who had lived there years ago.
