It intrigues me, every time I find a painted rock when I’m hiking, or at a picnic area…or in any unexpected place.
Three of my unfinished rocks among the “teacher’s bunny rock” she painted while she supervised our work.
I mentioned this to a friend and she said she paints rocks and asked if I would like to come over sometime and paint rocks with her. Yes, I said enthusiastically. And she invited three others.
The table was all set for our creative endeavors.
She had all the paint, and brushes, and ideas, for us to be successful in our first-time rock-painting “class”, plus a delightful time was had by all.
We were attentive to our projects and having fun!
I learned some good tips. I will find time to paint more rocks, with fun designs and encouraging words, and place them on trails, or in my fairy garden, or who knows where???
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.
Bison and baby bison (calves).
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.
Rudbeckia…or Black-eyed Susan.
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.
Up 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.
A bison calf.
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.
I didn’t identify this flower.
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
So fun to see…The bison were all gathered in this one corner of the paddock, near the trailhead.
These photos were taken a couple weeks ago, while riding on the Sakatah Singing Hills State trail. It was a cool, fall evening, and surprisingly we had the trail to ourselves.
The trail was canopied with trees that had not dropped all of their colorful leaves, and yet… the asphalt was covered with crispy, autumn leaves, and it was beautiful.
Gary and I rode along this portion of the enchanting path, with the sound of “crunch” underneath us. It was a fun ride!
These past few days have been glorious. Bright sunshine and low humidity and comfortable temperatures. Great days for bike rides.
The new mile markers on the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail.
We were bicycling on the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail on one of these fine weather days. The trail is in good condition. We rode out several miles, stopped for lunch and then turned around and rode back. It’s a delightful, easy ride.
Once again, this time of year, we were surrounded by yellow daisy-type flowers and goldenrod and yellow cone flowers. It is pretty, especially with blue skies.
This field of yellow flowers were full of bees. I couldn’t capture them on camera, but there were hundreds of them.
We stopped for a water break and noticed one field of flowers bursting with busy bees. It seemed as though there was a little bee on every flower, collecting nectar and pollen. It was a good sight to see.
I appreciate these colorful, autumn bike rides, especially during the week when there are few riders on the trail. We saw more bees than people!
Yesterday I took a morning bicycle ride on the Dundas Trail. Even though it was cloudy, it seemed like the sun was shining…
because bright sun flowers were blooming profusely on both sides of the trail.
Golden rod was already blooming yellow in a few places too, adding to the vibrant yellow color all around.
Golden Rod, a sure sign that fall is coming.
To top it off, three yellow (gold) finches flew across the trail in front of me. I didn’t capture any photos, but they are always a delight to see, and added much cheer to the already lovely, yellow scenery.
I don’t know the name of this variety of sunflower.
Also, I’m grateful for the garden club who tends to the flowers in these bicycle sculpture baskets that are on the Dundas Trail.
We started our annual bike trip by getting lost. While finding the house we rented through AirB&B, we had transposed the numbers into the GPS…whoops. Eventually, we found the house.
The house facing the river.
Once settled in, we ate lunch and then took off for a bike ride. It was a beautiful day. We rode on the South Riverside Trail. It went along the Cedar River into Cedar Falls where there happened to be an ice cream shop. Perfect. We enjoyed some tasty ice cream and met a local man who had also biked to the shop for ice cream. We visited together while we ate.
We said good-bye without getting his name, and started back the way we came…but somehow missed a turn and we lost our way back to the rented house. With some backtracking we finally found a different trail back.
The next morning it was rainy so we went to the John Deere Tractor Museum and then went into a couple shops on main street in Cedar Falls, where the guys ran into the same man again. They stopped and chatted. Once again, we did not get his name, so as a group we decided to call him Waldo.
Our group, lost in downtown Waterloo.
That afternoon the weather cleared; it was sunny and nice outside. We hopped on our bikes and rode out in a different direction, towards Waterloo. According to the map, there was a designated trail around the town…but we didn’t find it. It started out well marked, but soon we couldn’t find the trail. We ended up using our GPS system to get back to the house. It took about 1 1/2 hours to go four miles.
The Cedar River, our house on the right, seen through the trees.
Once back to the house, we decided to ride the same trail as the day before. We followed it and found ourselves back at the ice cream shop. Hooray!
And…there was Waldo! It was quite comical. We visited and ate our ice cream with him (but still didn’t get his name). He retired from John Deere Engineering.
Fortunately, we paid attention to our turns this time, so finding our way back to the house was no problem. We did not get lost.
Sitting on the deck, watching the river flow.
The house we rented was lovely… lots of windows and a large deck overlooking the Cedar River. It was nice sitting there, watching the river flow, after being lost three times…and finding Waldo three times.
Twenty-six geese, all in a row, swimming up river, against the current.
Warm, autumn days in southern Minnesota have lingered longer than normal it seems, and we continue to enjoy the sunny days outside. We are grateful for them!
Part of the Spring Lake Park to Hastings trail.
Over the weekend Gary and I biked on another “new-to-us” trail…we went over the Mississippi River and through the woods, along the river to Prescott, Wisconsin.
The bridge over the river, includes a pedestrian/bike lane.
It is a paved trail. We started in Spring Lake Park in Hastings, Minnesota, a lovely park on a bluff, with a great overlooks of the mighty Mississippi River.
Overlook from on top of Schaar’s Bluff.
We rode from Schaar’s Bluff, down, down, down into Hastings. We have riden our bikes on this part of the trail before. It’s a fun ride. Next we rode across the beautiful bridge over the Mississippi River in Hastings.
From the middle of the bridge, looking south to the railroad bridge.
We crossed the bridge using the pedestrian/bike lane on the east side of the busy traffic lanes. It was exciting to be on our bikes looking over the railing to the wide river. Once across the bridge we continued riding into Prescott, Wisconsin, on an established bike/walking trail that follows the river, and goes through the woods.
The Mississippi River near Prescott WI.
It was a awesome, autumn day…blue sky and cool crisp air. When we arrived near Prescott, we rested along the river and watched the river traffic.
Three swans.
A while later we turned around, rode back to Hastings and then went up, up, up to Schaar’s Bluff. We saw a great blue heron, an eagle, three white swans, many ducks and geese…and lots of people. Many folks were out enjoying the last few days of this unusually, warm weather in Minnesota.
A copse of trees off Highway 56.
There were some beautiful fall colors in different places. I was reminded of a saying I read on a sign I saw in Pennsylvania this month…
We enjoyed another bike ride on a rail to trail system…the Root River Trail, formerly the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. We started our ride at the trailhead in Lanesboro.
It’s an easy-going trail that winds along the Root River and offers a lot of shade and a lot of views of the Root River. The river was flowing swiftly because of recent rains in the area – a welcome sight after seeing many signs of drought lately.
We rode the most popular section of the trail (and beyond) on Saturday morning. It was busy but not crowded. However, when we arrived at the town of Whalen, known for its wonderful pie shop, there were lots of people congregated along the trail. Of course we stopped too, for pie, even though we had eaten a fabulous, and substantial, breakfast at the B&B we were staying at in Lanesboro. The pie was yummy!
A portion of the Root River Trail.
It was humid, but we felt the cool breeze from biking. On our way back it did start to rain, but just lightly, and we were ok with that since most of our state needs rain. It didn’t “dampen” our spirits.
I was intrigued to see this placard along the trail featuring part of a poem, “The Ghost Tree Speaks” by Richard J. Dorer. It “spoke to me”. I like trees, nature, words.
Back home I looked online for the poem and found it is also a book title, so I believe the placard is an excerpt from the poem. I also found this quote by the author Richard J. Doer:
“The charred body of a burned tree, a ghost tree, stands in a blackened swath in Minnesota’s wilderness forest. Through the years the tree watched seasons pass, and with them generations of animals and men–Indians, voyageurs, pioneers, timber-cruisers. Finally, a moment of man’s carelessness with a match denied the tree the fulfilling destiny of being a ship’s mast, a sheltering house, or a sturdy floor. Eventually he will fall and Mother Earth will take him back in her embrace.”
It was another great trail ride, with an interesting twist.
We like to getaway and ride different bike trails. There are so many to choose from. This year we went to Pequot Lakes in northern Minnesota. Our first stop was in Crosby, Minnesota to ride our bicycles on the Cuyuna Trail System. These trails are well-known for mountain biking, but there is a nice paved trail to ride also.
Huntington Mine Lake is along one of the Cuyuna Trails.
The trail goes past old iron ore mine pits, which are now beautiful lakes, with no development on them. The mountain bike trails go through the woods, and a bicycle with special tires is needed. The mountain bike paths are red dirt, from the iron in the soil.
A photo of our group at Huntington Mine Lake.
After our trail ride we continued to drive north to Pequot Lakes, our destination. We planned to ride our bikes the next day on the Paul Bunyan trail, one of the longest bike trails in the state. The Paul Bunyan Trail used to be the Burlington-Northern railway tracks.
At the Paul Bunyan trailhead in Pequot Lakes.
We rode a small portion of the trail. The weather was hot and humid, but the portion of the trail we rode was shaded and scenic, with surrounding lakes. We’re grateful for the many wonderful trails that have been created on old railway lines.
Above the tree line on the fire tower in Pequot Lakes. I’m in the red shirt.
The third morning we decided to hike in Paul M. Theide Fire Tower Park. The DNR recently acquired this land to create this park to protect the historic fire tower there. The small park is lovely with a nice picnic pavilion and a few trails that lead to the fire tower. The tower, built in 1935, is accessible to climb if one is so inclined. I learned this is the second tower to be built on this site. The first was a wooden structure built in 1927. The current tower is in excellent shape (no carvings in the wooden steps). I climbed up four flights (of eight) and was already above the tree line and could see for miles. Unfortunately, I left my camera down at the bottom.
Climbing up the historic fire tower.
Climbing the tower brought back memories of vacationing with my parents and friends in cabins on Rainy Lake in the 1960’s. There was a fire tower within walking distance of the resort where we stayed. We would climb the tower every year, several times during the week. I do remember some of us kids carving our names in the wooden steps. Whoops.
Several years later we went up to see the resort at the end of the road, Highway 11 East out of International Falls, and the fire tower was fenced in and locked up. I learned it’s called the Black Bay Fire Tower, or Rainy Lake Fire Tower, and it was built in 1939. I couldn’t find much more information online about this tower.
The historic fire tower in Paul M. Thiede park.
There is another accessible fire tower in Itasca State Park which we have climbed a few times; once with our two sons when they were younger, and a few times over the years when we’ve camped in the state park.
A few dozen fire towers remain in Minnesota. At one time there were 120-150 in the early to mid 1900’s. At that time there were about 5,000 fire towers throughout the United States. A majority of the “second generation” fire towers were built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in the 1930’s. These towers were built of galvanized steel and included steps. Earlier towers were made of wood and used ladders to access the cab. As airplanes and modern technology took over the task of spotting wildfires, many towers were taken out of service.
I’m grateful for organizations that have insight and resources to re-purpose railway lines and preserve fire towers.
Going on bike rides has been a great way for Gary and I to get away during this pandemic. Gary bikes frequently with his bike club, but we have gone on rides together too. It’s an activity we both enjoy. And Minnesota has an abundance of bike trails to explore.
One day we went up to Stillwater to ride the “Loop Trail.” This trail goes along the river walk through town, then up the hill to the new, expansive bridge crossing the St. Croix River over into Wisconsin and back to Stillwater, creating a five-mile loop.
The new bridge crossing the St. Croix River in Stillwater.
Another view of the new, expansive Stillwater bridge.This photo was taken in May 2018, showing the newly opened bridge from a distance.
The paved bike trail on the Wisconsin side guides one to a steep, downhill road leading to the historic Stillwater lift bridge, now repurposed as a pedestrian/bicycle bridge. Until recently the old lift bridge was the only bridge, in Stillwater, for vehicles to cross the St. Croix River.
Approaching the steep hill going down towards the old Stillwater bridge.
The old lift bridge made into a new bicycle/pedestrian bridge. The bridge still lifts for tall boat traffic on the St. Croix River.
The old bridge became too congested and a new bridge was built. In comparison, looking at the old lift bridge and the new superhighway bridge, is comical because of the major size difference. It does make for a fun five-mile bicycle ride.
The old lift bridge up close.
After the loop trail we rode past the old, Zephyr train depot, now the Zephyr Theater, on a trail along Brown’s Creek. Another lovely ride, in the shade, slightly uphill for six miles and connects to the Gateway Trail. After we turned around at the intersection of Brown’s Creek and Gateway it felt like we glided down into Stillwater. It was fun.
A view of the old lift bridge in the background…photo taken from the new high bridge in Stillwater, MN.
We were in Stillwater on a weekday and it was bustling. The weather was sunny and hot, a great day to be by water…we ate our lunch on the deck of a restaurant near the river, and after lunch we laid out blankets on the shore and watched the people and boats go by.
A gondola on the St. Croix River.
A view of the St. Croix River and the old lift bridge, lifted up.
