A go-to place for us to walk outside in the winter is the Carleton College campus. Their sidewalks are always scraped clean – down to the cement – with no traces of ice. It feels very safe to walk there without worries of falling down. We are grateful for the team that keeps the walks so clear of snow and ice. And grateful for Carelton College to open their campus to the community.
We were on campus on Saturday for a winter walk. It was cold, but not windy, which we all know makes a difference, plus the sun was shining and that always brightens the spirits! I took a few photos on this picturesque campus.
The following day however, was not so cold. It was 46* and it felt balmy! We decided to go to a park we know that maintains a clear trail in the winter… Whitetail Woods, in Rosemount, MN.
When we drove into the parking area it was full! It seems everyone wanted to take advantage of this unusually warm day in February. This park has a nice 2-mile paved trail, along with multiple trails throughout the woods for more hiking and cross-country skiing.
There were a lot of people and dogs, walking on this trail, free of ice (except two small spots), getting a dose of fresh air before the snow and cold make its way back to Minnesota in the coming week.
And another winter-type walk… Once in a while, I’ll go to Menard’s (a big box home improvement store) to walk indoors, on especially cold and/or icy days. Last week I had a little shopping to do there, and I thought I’d add a couple circles around the perimeter of the store to get in an indoor walk, on a very cold day. After shopping and some walking, I checked the pedometer on my phone and was surprised it hadn’t calculated many steps. I thought maybe it needed to recalculate so I continued around the store a few more times and checked in again and the number of steps still hadn’t changed. I decided something was not working, so I put my phone back in my purse which was in the cart. I left Menard’s after an hour and went home. Later it dawned on me that the step counter on my phone didn’t count my steps because it was merrily rolling along in the cart!!!
Now I know. HA
I was planning to comment first about the beauty of you walking choices, but I am busy chuckling about the step counter riding in your purse!!! How funny! Anyway, I loved your photos of Carleton Campus and Whitetail Woods, especially the gnarly trees. Trees are so wonderful. We, too, went for a walk at the Faribault Nature Center yesterday. It was wonderful to be out and not feel totally frozen after a few minutes. It felt so good to be out enjoying the fresh air and nature. And my son’s dog we are dogsitting was happy, too!
We saw lot of dogs out yesterday. I’m glad you had a nice place to walk your “grand-dog.”
The nature center is a wonderful place to walk in Faribault, winter or summer!
Nature and fresh air are nourishing for our souls.
Thanks for that tip on Whitetail Woods. We, too, were planning a walk on Saturday at Rice Lake State Park since it was free state park entrance day. I was looking forward to this given they also had a scavenger hunt of sorts. Unfortunately, upon arriving at the park, we discovered ice-coated trails unsuitable for walking. I didn’t feel at all safe on that ice. What a disappointment.
On Sunday we did Northfield’s Riverwalk and walked along Division Street. What a lovely walk and day. Next time we will have to walk at Carleton.
I’m sorry to hear about the icy trails at Rice Park, but I’m not surprised. We were at Nerstrand last week and we had to stay on the roads because the trails were icy.
I’m glad you enjoyed Northfield’s river walk. It was good to be outdoors just about anywhere yesterday. 😉
You would enjoy Carleton’s campus.
I have done the same mistake with putting my phone inside Didrik’s stroller while taking him out for a walk😅 No extra steps then😢😂😂
I look forward to meeting Didrik this summer!