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MN Trip – July 2010 – Day 7 – Duluth and road food

mel320photo — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:19:00 +0000

Our day started out with a trip to the shopping district at Canal Park, near the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth. Amazing display of architecture. The driving surface of the bridge lifts up to allow floating passage underneath, not your average every day type of bridge. It was originally built in 1905 as an aerial ferry, but updated in 1930 to include the lift for the transport of cars. The bridge spans about 390 feet, and rises and lowers up to 30 times a day during the busy shipping season. The lift is just right above the top of the buildings in the photo below.

After spending the morning shopping we had one last road trip, with a lunch stop on the way.

And low and behold, a name familiar to just about anyone who has seen the pop culture film (as raunchy as it is).

Nothing says adventure like a stop along a random highway for road food. Pretty good burger, great onion rings.

MN trip – July 2010 – day 2 Up North

mel320photo — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:31:57 +0000

Day 2 brings a road trip. The route – a whirlwind of northern Minnesota – almost as far north as you can go. We headed up to International Falls, the goal/intent to get a stamp in our National Parks Passport Book at Voyageurs National Park. Lots of trees, lots of green…which to us desert dwellers is very strange – we are used to seeing dust, rock, and the occasional tumbleweed. International Falls is the second busiest international rail port in the United States. It is known as the “Icebox of the Nation”, and if you watch TV during the coldest days of winter, International Falls weather is usually referenced on national level news for the chilly temperatures.

Before we headed into the park, we stopped to eat lunch at a restaurant on the edge of International Falls called the Chocolate Moose (how could we not stop with a name like that?). Food was excellent and abundant…and we couldn’t leave without having chocolate. The signature dessert is the Milky Way Mousse Cake. It is chocolate cake topped with chocolate mousse and chocolate and carmel drizzled on top. This is not going to be a very healthy vacation, but it sure is going to taste good.

After lunch we make our way to the park. It is really a beautiful drive to the Rainy Lakes Visitor Center. Voyageurs National Park is the only National Park in Minnesota and is mostly made up of lakes and provides year round activities for the outdoorsman. Most of the park is only accessible by water and there are many resorts, camping areas and residences in the area. According to the NPS.gov website – “Although the first proposal to designate the area as a national park occurred in 1891, it wasn’t until 1975 that Voyageurs National Park was established after a lengthy legislative battle that began in 1962. Many people were involved in the movement to establish Voyageurs National Park, including Ernest Oberholtzer, one of the founding members of the Wilderness Society in 1935. ” Much more info about the park can be found on the NPS website http://www.nps.gov/voya/index.htm

We went on a quick walk on one of the hikes and I was pretty much in a close up photo mood most of this trip….

After the walk we headed back south to stay the night in Orr, MN on Pelican Lake. The highlight of this day was our evening activity, a trip to the Vince Shute Bear Sanctuary. The sanctuary includes over 500 acres of wooded area for the bears to roam free and exist without human disturbance, but they do have a viewing area inside the sanctuary in which they feed the black bears that live in the sanctuary. The visiting public is allowed to walk on a deck that is roughly 20 feet up in the air, close enough to see and learn about the bears – but far enough away that they are not disturbed. We saw 20+ bears while we were visiting. Not too far from the viewing platform, three cubs were napping in a tree (amazing how they sleep in those positions).

The Vince Shute Bear Sanctuary is worth the visit, I would recommend it to everyone. More info at http://www.americanbear.org/

MN trip – July 2010 – day 1 – Lakes

mel320photo — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:04:23 +0000

Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes…the name Minnesota actually comes from the Dakota word for “sky tinted water”. It is very fitting. The childhood story about the lakes tells us that Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox footprints are the origins of all the lakes. Actually all of the lakes (actually over 11,000 lakes) were formed when four glaciers melted and filled in the depressions in the land.

We landed in Duluth and stopped at a nearby mall for some quick shopping and lunch before heading to our ultimate destination for the day. We ate at a local hamburger place and I had one of the most sinful patty melts I think I have ever had. On pumpernickel bread, it was topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions, cheddar cheese, blue cheese crumbles and french dressing. Evil food at its best.

After lunch we started our trek on remote, tree lined highways to begin our adventure; spending several days in the Iron Range, the areas surrounding the towns of Virgina, Hibbing and Chisholm. We spent our first day in the Virginia area, Hoyt Lakes to be specific. Hoyt Lakes is a small town that was created mostly to support the Iron Ore industry, which was booming several years ago. Hoyt Lakes now describes itself as a family oriented resort destination. The town is bordered by two lakes and has a popular campground at Fisherman’s Point. This location is not only a pleasant area for camping, but it offers several walking trails as well. Listening to the water come ashore, the sea gulls discussing the latest catch and the families enjoying water sports is a great way to end the day.

MN trip – July 2010 – food growing up

mel320photo — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:03:12 +0000

If you know me or have read past posts, you know that I grew up in Minnesota. Minnesota is beautiful this time of year. Grass and trees are green, flowers are blooming (only downside really is humidity, which for a now desert dweller is hard to take). We just returned from flying up to visit my mother who lives in northern Minnesota now. It was a nice change of pace for us, slowing down to explore is one of the things we do best as humans. Exploring is something I really enjoy doing and really would like to make that an actual occupation…..guess I should have been a scientist or something.

When returning to the area where I grew up I usually find something that reminds me of childhood. Since I grew up in the Twin Cities area, I wasn’t sure what would bring me a reminiscent feeling this time – since we were flying in and out of Duluth (quite a bit north of the cities). When I have traveled to the cities with my husband in the past I could take him to where I went to high school, or the nature center where we would go walk every week and I could even guide my husband to just about every Dairy Queen that exists…he actually finds this pretty funny and it is a subject of loving teasing on occasion. I had visited Duluth when I was young, but I didn’t really remember much of it – besides the aerial lift bridge (which will be a subject of a future post). Needless to say, I didn’t expect that AHA moment at all, something that would get my history juices flowing….until…..

We went to the grocery store. There we found two sweet items that brought back a ton of memories. Cinnamon crisps and Snack Toast. The image above is a Cinnamon Crisp – it is a flat pastry that is crispy (falls apart when you bite into it crispy) covered in cinnamon and sugar. It is crispy on top and sticky on the bottom and is oh, so yummy. Not a strong taste by any stretch, but one I certainly remember always wanting my mom to buy them when we went grocery shopping. Not even close to nutritious or healthy, its all about the sugar. Yum.

Also incredibly unhealthy, Snack Toast. Snack Toast is hard, crispy and full of cinnamon and sugar. Again with the sugar. If you dip a Snack Toast in coffee or milk it soaks it all up and becomes mushy goodness. My mom always would say “put butter on it, its better that way”, but for me, plain and dipped in wet is the best. I have not seen anything remotely close to this since living in the desert, so having some of these treats was really amazing to me on this trip.

More about our adventures in the north to come.

Near Las Vegas – Clark County Fair

mel320photo — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:30:42 +0000

Being from Minnesota, I miss the grand scale extravaganza known as the Minnesota State Fair. Up until last year I was not aware that there is an annual county fair in Logandale, which is roughly a hour north of Las Vegas. The scale isn’t terribly grand, but the concept is the same. There are juried competitions for growing food and flowers, knitting and quilting, science projects and art and photography. I entered four images to the photography contest (one in this post) – I received two blue ribbons and two red. Besides the competitions, there are; exhibits and shows, a midway with games and rides, small animals and livestock and PLENTY of food. The Clark County Fair also has a rodeo, which someday we hope to make it long enough to be able to stay and attend.

The shows this year included pig racing, dogs and frisbees and a lumberjack show. I didn’t lug around a lot of equipment with me this time around – next year….likely to be a different story. My focus of the day was spending time with family and having a good time. The biggest mistake was not bringing sunscreen (yes, I live in the desert and totally forgot this one important item).

The first image here is one of the ones I got a blue ribbon for. I had it printed on metallic paper, so it had a really cool shine.

In the food competition area were these prize winning beets, I couldn’t resist the bright color.

The ‘dog catchin frisbee’ show was really fun. It was really bright out there and really windy, the dogs and trainer had quite a workout. I have never seen dogs jump so high so fast….. But the one that really catches everyone’s eye is a dog that acts like a cat (kinda looks like one too). She slinks up, low to the ground as if she is hunting like a leopard. I was in the right spot at the right time to capture how focused she is.

The lumberjack show was new this year and was certainly entertaining. The two lumberjacks are well versed in the lumberjack competition world. The one on the left is a Junior champion from Oregon. The one on the right has been world champion three times and currently resides in China – where lumberjacks shows are all the rage right now.

By the end of the afternoon animals and humans can have something in common…..

Sweet dreams.

Happy National Cheese Pizza Day

mel320photo — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:50:48 +0000

Celebrate with some ooey-gooey cheese….

National Eat Outside Day

mel320photo — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:07:33 +0000

Hey everyone, it is National Eat Outside Day…..unless you live in the desert. (I suppose we could eat outside if we wanted to, but for it to be comfortable outside we need it to be late at night – or we need to be visiting Mt. Charleston, which is kinda hard on a Monday – with work and school, etc.)

So, go outside if you like and enjoy the day!

This shot was taken on our road trip in 2008, somewhere in Nebraska.

Big lunch

mel320photo — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:27:59 +0000

Okay, so this one is not specific to Las Vegas, but this has to be the biggest sandwich I have ever seen, at least in person. This is the Motherlode sandwich from Claim Jumper. Claim Jumper is very much the ‘order based on what you want as leftovers’ kind of place. Same goes for desserts – I order one with the intent of taking four to five days to eat it.

Been really busy so have not been updating blog as much as I would like, but will get back in the swing shortly.

National Waffle Day

mel320photo — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:24:53 +0000

Today is National Waffle Day, celebrate with your choice of toppings….

National Waffle Day

National Lasagna Day

mel320photo — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:16:37 +0000

Happy happy day! It is National Lasagna Day. Enjoy one of the best Italian dishes ever! (in my opinion anyway – and easy to make yourself…really….and healthier to make it yourself…give it a try).

Happy Lasagna Day