On our way home from Alexandria, we took a slight detour and drove into St. Cloud to see the Munsinger and Clemens Gardens. It had been many years since we had been there.
The Munsinger Gardens are located along the Mississippi River. A brief timeline includes: In 1915 the city of St. Cloud acquired the site of a former sawmill where in 1926 Campfire Girls planted Scotch and Norway pines that still shade the grounds today. In 1930 the gardens were developed using labor from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and thus was the beginning of Munsinger Gardens.
The tall pines planted by the Campfire Girls.
Today there are thousands of annuals and perennials and I believe every single one of them was in bloom the day we visited! It was an immense splash of color. Breathtaking.
A friendly little guy.
Sweet water droplets from the sprinkler system.
Fun plater ideas found all over the gardens.
An old cement horse trough.
The Clemens Gardens are up the hill from Munsinger Gardens where there are stunning, sun-loving plants.
Plenty of benches are scattered around the gardens.
An overview of the Clemens Garden.
From the brochure, Clemens Gardens was “developed as a gift of love from Bill Clemens to his wife, Virginia”. I had heard the love story before, so I looked on the internet to get more details.
Virginia Rose and William Clemens sculpture.
In 1988 Bill Clemens bought a vacant lot across from his home to protect their river view and prevent commercial building. They gave the property to the City of St. Cloud Parks department.
Virginia suffered from Multiple Sclerosis and had limited mobility. She loved roses.
In 1990 Bill funded the construction of the Virginia Clemens Rose Garden so she could look out and enjoy the thousands of roses from her window.
It is such a sweet story!
The rose garden.
And what a legacy for all of us to enjoy these spectacular gardens.
A white garden.
A yellow garden.
A big beautiful bouquet.
There were several fountains throughout both gardens.
I didn’t see him, and apparently, he didn’t see me.
He was crossing the bike trail, starting from under a bush right next to the trail, and I was riding along on that same side near the edge, since we were riding two by two. He darted out and I rode over him. The others I was with said it was a raccoon. He scurried off to the other side of the trail, into the field so I assume he survived. They said he was a big one!
I stopped my bike and took a deep breath. I knew I ran over something, but I didn’t know what. None of us could believe I did not lose my balance and fall over on my bike. I thanked God all was well, and we biked on.
A vintage threshing machine.
We were on the Central Lakes State Bike Trail, near Alexandria, Minnesota. We planned this bike trip long before we knew how hot and humid it was going to be. But once on the bikes, it wasn’t too bad.
I stopped to take a picture of this “bevy” of swans. It was unusual for me to see more than one or two swans together.
The morning I ran over the raccoon, we started our ride early, leaving our cars at a parking lot along the trail that had an interesting, old threshing machine. The trail was an old railway bed…straight and wide and paved and flat. We passed lakes with beautiful white swans and egrets, saw a few bunnies on the trail, ran over a raccoon, and on the way back stopped at Evansville shelter for a break.
Two beautiful swans side by side on another lake.
On a side note; the small town of Evansville (pop.603), began about 1858 and was named after Evan Evanson (for real!). He was the first mail carrier to carry mail through this area and he built a shanty there to rest, and it became a stop on a stagecoach line. It’s amazing what you can learn in the most unlikely places.
Free bike in Evansville.
Anyway, in Evansville, there is a nice shelter alongside the bike trail where we stopped to rest. And right there was a beautiful old bike with a sign saying “Free”. No gears, back-pedal brakes, fenders and all, in very good condition. We all wanted to take it home, but of course couldn’t. Hopefully someone claimed it for their own.
On this early morning ride, the straight and narrow bike trail offered us many diversions.
Naturally, we stopped for ice cream after our ride. 😉 This clever sign was in the shop.
“Santorini is famous for its dramatic volcanic caldera, iconic cliffside villages of whitewashed buildings and blue-domed churches, and breathtaking Aegean sunsets.” (Google) And we got to spend four nights on this romantic island.
Upon arrival at the airport in Santorini, our pre-arranged driver transferred us to our resort in the city of Oia (locally pronounced Ee-ah) in the north, away from the cruise ship docks in Fira. He dropped us at the parking lot which was several hundred yards from the resort’s office, so a strong, young employee from the resort met us with a dolly.
The hotel employee pulling our luggage on a dolly.
He loaded our heavy luggage (there were four of us) and pulled and pushed the dolly to the resort. It was impressive. These are narrow, uneven brick lanes, going both uphill and down…and down…and down. I’m not sure I could have carried my own luggage if I had to.
Our hotel – our room on left. photo by gb.
Our balcony.
We checked in to our lovely room…with a view, and a balcony… with a hot tub.
Look at the blue water out the window!
Very fun and interesting shapes.
As on the other islands, the resort and hotels, houses and most buildings on the island are painted white…some with blue trim. Churches have blue domes. The buildings are cubical and some cave-like, to imitate the original cave homes on the volcanic island. We were told that in order to confuse the pirates all the homes were painted white and the small lanes created a maze.
Another view from our balcony.
The volcano erupted about 1600 BC and created a caldera (a large, cauldron-shaped depression that forms from the explosion or collapse of the center of a volcano). The island of Santorini is one part of the edge of this caldera and therefore is a crescent shape. Thousands of years ago this caldera filled with water… the most exquisite crystal- clear blue water I’ve ever seen ~ the Aegean Sea which flows into the Mediterranean.
The buildings built on the hillside.
The resort we stayed at was built into a hillside and, as I mentioned, has a lot of steps. This is not a place for those who cannot handle steps or have balance issues.
The narrow, inlaid, bumpy rock sidewalks.
From the office of our hotel to our room there are about 75-80 steps (I lost count). We walked up them every time we left the resort. Our friend’s room was about 15 steps further down from our room. And the swimming pool and breakfast buffet and restaurant was down further still. The streets are a labyrinth… you needed to pay attention to where you were going. We used our phone’s GPS system often.
Along the sea. photo by gb.
Santorini is an amazing place. On this magnificent island we had four days to play. Besides enjoying our balconies and the pool and the restaurant, we left daily for different activities.
For our first day, the activity we planned was a 6 mile hike from the town of Fira to where we were staying in Oia, but it was misty (the only day it rained on our trip), so we just relaxed and delayed our hike until the next morning.
On our hike…this way to Oia. photo by dh.
The next day we decided to shorten the hike to 4 miles or so; we hired a driver to take us to our selected hiking starting point and hiked the trail along the edge of the Caldera. It was very picturesque.
Looking back at the shape of the caldera we were waling along.
Another beautiful seascape.
Several people were hiking this popular and spectacular trail. We learned about the hike from our son and his wife who walked the trail a few years ago.
There were stunning views of the sea, and many varieties of wildflowers along the way.
That afternoon we went horseback riding. It was a short ride down to the beach, but it was fun, and a new and different activity for us.
photo by tour guide.
My horse’s name was Georgia. photo by gb.
One day we sailed around the other islands in the caldera, on a 45’ catamaran.
The 45′ catamaran. photo by gb.
There was only one other couple for our four-hour time slot, so it felt like a personal tour. They crew served us a delicious grilled fish lunch. The boat stopped in two different areas where we were able to jump in and swim. The water was cold!!
Swimming in 64* water! Burr! photo by gb.
Island of lava chunks. Photo by gb.
We all enjoyed sitting in front of the catamaran to watch the world go by.
While on Santorini, we had a delicious meal at the restaurant in our hotel. It was a wonderful place, but what made it so special was first, the seating arrangement…always outside…facing west because Santorini is noted for their gorgeous sunsets.
The Aspa Restaurant, in our hotel. photo by waitress.
And second, we mentioned to our tour director on the cruise ship that we were staying at this resort in Santorini and he told us it is owned by one of his best friends, and he would give him a call. When we checked-in they told us we were gifted with a complimentary dinner at the restaurant. What a fun surprise.
Amoudi Bay. A popular fishing port, nestled below our hotel. I love colors of the night on this pier.
The hotel(s) lite up at night looked lovely too.
A sunset view from our balcony. photo by gb.
It was a splurge for us to stay on this magical island for four nights, but it was memorable, and we all felt it was worth it.
Santorini is a wonderful place to view sunsets.
“We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.” Katie Thurmes
We had a wonderful time in California visiting our son and his family. I understand why people love the weather there. We flew back to a “turtle-paced” spring in Minnesota, and it has been difficult to readjust to the cold.
The harbor at Santa Barbara.
During our flight to Santa Barbara, I was captivated by the cloud formations outside the plane windows. I wanted to jump out of the plane and fall into their puffy softness.
Fluffy clouds outside the window of the plane.
On our first day, there were some lingering, beautiful clouds at sunset, but they eventually blew away and we had sunshine and blue skies for the rest of our trip. So much for more cloud pictures.
Beautiful cloud art over the Pacific Ocean.
Our days were full of activity, and our evenings were relaxing. Some evenings we sat around the firepit gazing at the stars,
A lovely place to sit and relax.
and other evenings we walked along the ocean to watch the harbor light up. The reflections of the boat lights on the still, calm water were truly enchanting. I enjoyed taking pictures of the harbor.
Walking towards the Santa Barbara harbor at dusk.
Boats and lights reflecting on the calm water at dusk.
Calm and serene.
A lighted palm tree. It looks really awesome in person…not so much in the picture.
One day we went on a whale-watching excursion hoping to see, and take pictures of, migrating Gray and Humpback whales, but alas – we did not see any.
Much to our surprise, Condor Express gave us a “whale-check” coupon for a future excursion. We will plan to use it the next time we’re in Santa Barbara.
Out on the side deck.
Although we didn’t see any whales, we really enjoyed our three-hour cruise on the water.
Looking towards the coast from our boat.
We enjoyed seeing flowers blooming everywhere, but I didn’t focus on taking pictures of them. The fun, diving pelicans and iconic seagulls were everywhere too, but I only took these three bird pictures below:
A Sandpiper on the shore.
A Bird-of-Paradise. HAHA 😉
Cormorants with California sea lions.
The week flew by while we soaked up the sunshine and enjoyed quality time with family amidst the delightful charm of Santa Barbara.
On our trip to the north shore, once again we were blessed with beautiful sunrises…always a highlight when we are up at the cabin…looking out over the great expanse of water, Lake Superior. I never tire of seeing the orange ball.
7:12 am March 23, 2026
We did have unseasonably warm weather while up north. On our first day we drove into a park looking for cross-country skiing. The weather had been too warm, so there was none to be found. I asked the ranger if there were any clear paved paths to walk or hike on, and her customer chimed in that he had been looking all around the area and hadn’t found any. It is that in-between season in Minnesota, a lot of slushy-icy-melting snow cover.
The pier at Agate Bay.
It was a beautiful sunny day and since we couldn’t ski we drove into Two Harbors and parked at Agate Bay to walk out on the pier. The path was clear and it is always fun to walk out “on the water.” Along the pier we saw the gentleman I had talked to earlier at the park. He recognized me and said, “looks like we both found some clear pavement to walk on.” And we laughed.
The beacon at the end of the long pier. We saw its warning beam at night.
Soon we were almost to the beacon at the end of the pier. There was a fisherman along the side and he looked like he was struggling to hold onto his pole. Then, I heard him ask the guy (our new friend) who was walking in front of us if he would help him pull in a fish. Now that’s an unusual request.
A net helped to catch this Lake Trout.
The guy willingly hopped down on the ledge and grabbed the large net, ready to swoop in and capture the fish. It took a while…the fisherman kept reeling in the line, and then letting out a little slack to keep the line from snapping…and it took several minutes of alternating between the two. Gary and I stopped to watch the process and take some photos.
It took two people to catch this fish.
After several minutes we could see the fish on the line, in the water, near the surface and it was a big one! A really big one. The guy on the pier with the net went into action and caught the fish in the net. It was exciting. The fish measured 24-30″, from the fisherman’s mid-thigh to the ground.
One big Lake Trout.
I asked the fisherman what kind of fish it was…he said a “Lake Trout”. Nobody guessed the weight, but everyone (a few others had gathered to watch) realized it was unusually large. I took some pictures and the fisherman gave me his text number. I sent the photos on to him and thanked him for “the show.” And we merrily walked back towards shore.
We ended our day by sitting around a bon fire outside the cabin.
Fiery orange in the morning, fiery orange at night, and a serendipity in-between…how splendid.
Several years ago, a new beach opened up to the public near Silver Bay, Minnesota. It’s called Black Beach.
Black Beach on Lake Superior.
It’s along the shores of Lake Superior and it’s made up of small black pebbles…so it looks like a black sand beach, thus the name. This is unusual for this area of Lake Superior. We’re used to seeing rocky shores and colored rocks, so this is a fun addition.
The icy shoreline of Black Beach.
We’ve never spent a lot of time on Black Beach…we just stop by on our way up the north shore. There is parking lot with vault toilets, the path leading to the beach and some picnic tables set back from the water. It is pretty, so it’s a fun stop.
Ice boulders.
So, when we were staying up at a cabin near Two Harbors recently, we took a drive one morning, up Scenic Hwy. 61 and decided to stop at Black Beach to see if there was any white snow left on the black beach.
This shows perspective on the size of these ice drifts.
Wow! Were we surprised! There were humungous ice drifts settled on the beach.
A path through the ice formations.
As we walked out closer to the lake, we realized how large these ice drifts… ice chunks… ice boulders were.
Are we still in Minnesota? This is another view of the path through the ice formations
It was fun and amazing to walk up to the ice formations, and walk through a row of them. I can only imagine what it was like earlier this winter. This is March and they were melting in the 38* weather…icicles were forming on the bottoms of the masses, dripping water back into the lake.
The icicles forming as they drip back into the lake.
In a small way, it reminded me of the sea caves we walked to several years ago near Bayfield, Wisconsin, when the DNR created a path on the frozen Lake Superior so folks could walk out to see the sea caves, usually only seen by kayakers on the open water.
Gary walking towards the lake. The photo is deceiving. There is a big drop off to the beach at the edge of the ice, with ice packs below, lining the shore.
We are continually amazed at the variety of adventures we find on our trips to the north shore of Lake Superior…my happy place!
Tuesday, November 11, 2025 (Ford Street, Northfield)
It’s not often one gets to see the northern lights, especially in town, and in southern Minnesota, but the last two nights there were wonderful displays right outside our front door. A neighbor sent a photo in a text alerting me to check out the spectacular show on Tuesday evening.
Tuesday, November 11, 2025 (Ford Street, Northfield)
I have seen the northern lights a couple times in my life. Once with the naked eye from a parking lot at our church. That was many years ago – at that time I did not have an ever-ready camera (cell phone) to look at them through the lens that illuminates them. I remember faintly seeing green streaks in the northern sky.
May 2024, outside Northfield.
However, in May 2024, having heard on the news the northern lights may be visible, I drove a mile out-of-town to watch for them. There were several of us folks who had driven away from the city lights to look for them. There was excitement in the air as we did witness a spectacular light show.
May 2024, outside Northfield.
In May 2024 the colors were purple and green, with some yellow and red.
Tuesday, November 11, 2025 (Ford Street, Northfield)
Tuesday night the colors were dramatic reds and greens…(maybe because Christmas is coming? HA)
Wednesday, 11/12/25 Ford Street, Northfield.
We didn’t see as much activity on Wednesday night…at least the times when we checked, but we did catch on fabulous green streak with purple hues.
What an awesome, glorious, “free event”, put on by the Father of Lights.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17
The entrance to St. Olaf College, off Hwy. 19, usually has the best color in town. 10/17/25
And St. Olaf has the best potted plants…
And the best mum gardens too (at St. Olaf).
I love it when the trees have multi colors…
New to me this year…I saw this very large (probably 10 ft diameter), happy, inflatable pumpkin.
Heath Creek Trail., in Northfield. 10/17/25
Very few wildflowers in bloom…this hairy aster is a hold out.
Heath creek, Northfield. 10/17/25
Lime-green mossy log.
Another gorgeous tree. 10/17/25
A friendly ghost and large, inflatable black cat. Fun holiday decorations.
Bright red-oranges and yellows…down our street. 10/20/25
Evening glow over downtown Northfield. 10/20/25
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Psalm 96: 11-12
Rain was predicted for our time up on the north shore, but we ended up with stunning weather; clear, fall-blue skies and warmer-than-usual temperatures every single day. What a gift.
A gull enjoying a flight over the water near Gooseberry Falls.
We’ve been going up north once or twice a year for forty years. We are always refreshed and rejuvenated by the magnificent Lake Superior.
The lovely blue water of Lake Superior – photo taken off the deck of the cabin where we stayed.
A practice I started years ago was to check the time for sunrise. It is so precise! If it states the sun will rise at 6:56 you can count on seeing the orange ball pop up over the horizon at 6:56.
7:15 am sunrise on Tuesday, 10/7.
I make sure I’m up to witness this event, and will set my alarm if need be – that is determined by the time of year. It is awesome to see the sun rise over the big lake. I have hundreds of stunning pictures of a Lake Superior Sunrise.
I first saw the moon rising at 6:38 pm on Tuesday 10/7.
This year however, for the first time in forty years, we saw the moon rise over the lake. We have often seen a full moon shining on the lake (and a few times soon after it rose over the lake), but we’ve never seen it rising.
I knew we would be up north for October’s Harvest, or Hunter’s, supermoon, but I wasn’t expecting the event to happen until later in the evening.
Moon shimmering over the water, 7:36 pm Tuesday 10/7.
But I happened to walk out onto the deck and looked east and there, larger than I’ve ever seen it, was the moon already half way above the horizon. I continued to watch it (and videoed it). I was so giddy to see this stunning site. It was huge, and it was rising, and it only took about 30 seconds to come into full view.
It was another amazing gift.
This photo was taken the next day… as the sun is shimmers on the calm lake in almost the same place as the moon was at 7:40 the night before (10/7). This photo was taken at 9:40 am on 10/8.
Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights— His faithful love endures forever. the sun to rule the day, His faithful love endures forever. and the moon and stars to rule the night. His faithful love endures forever.
