Today we drove west. Which is weird, and not the only time we will do this. Our destination was Voyageurs National Park. We stopped once along the way at a park so Deon could work, but made it in the park at a reasonable time. The kids swam in the lake (74 degrees!) and had time still for a cookout over a campfire. Although it seems like we are camping, we really aren’t. This is our first campfire on the…
Today’s goal was just to take our time and make our way up to Grand Portage. We never actually made it that far, but had a great day. Minnesota has given itself the nickname of Land of 10,000 Lakes, but it could just have easily been 10,000 waterfalls. We did a number of short hikes to see them, and finally stopped at Cascade River beach. Again with the swimming. We headed up the road…
Today we left our beloved city, Minneapolis, and headed for Lake Superior. Every time we leave a place, whether we have been there for an hour or three days, my kids are sad to leave. It’s a little annoying, especially since they say negative things about the next destination, but I’m trying to look at the positive side. They are engaged and excited about where we are and what we are doing. I don’t think we have come across anything…
Today is Sunday. We started off the day with church. For the first time we didn’t stay in the parking lot, and we were *very* late. Lesson learned. It was uneventful. Aunica really connected with the other girls, and was sad to not have the opportunity to see them again. Minnesota loves its lakes, and the downtown area is full of waterways. Today we chose to do a walk by the mighty Mississippi. We took our time, about three hours….
Sometimes we do things that are must-see things to do. Except I don’t really like them. So is this really necessary? Will I kick myself later if I just skip them? That may be an experiment I have to try, but apparently not today. Instead, today we went to the Mall of America, the biggest mall in the US. Now, we aren’t really shoppers, and, with a family of 8, we don’t have the finances to just drop wads of…
Some days are just for travelling. Today we drove from De Smet, SD to Minneapolis, MN. It wasn’t a terribly long drive, but I didn’t try to pack sightseeing in along with it. We did stop at a park for a few hours for Deon to work and the kids to play. When we arrived in Minneapolis, I was excited to see the city, so we drove in to Lake Harriet. They happened to be showing a movie at the…
Like that alliteration? We spent last night in a very nice city park with rv hookups and a wonderful playground for my kids this morning. Then we headed over to the Laura ingalls wilder homestead. My girls have been looking forward to this the whole trip. It was well worth the wait. There were kittens to hold and calves to pet, horses to ride and carriages and wagons to drive. They washed laundry by hand, twisted rope and made corncob…
Well, but first donuts. Cause my husband has a serious sweet tooth. So we stopped at a famous North Dakota institution: Bearscat donuts. The kids were less than thrilled, until they figured out: sugar. Dimitri went for the Bearscat, as you can see, which turned out to be the tastiest. The donuts were good, if surprisingly chewy. Then we headed for Fort Abraham Lincoln. This is the fort where Custer was stationed before his fateful ride to the…
We headed east today, but wanted to hit the enchanted highway on the way (sort of). The enchanted highway is 60 miles of large-scale metal sculptures. It was quirky, and we had to do something in North Dakota…;) Then we hit Bismarck. Which I never knew was spelled with a “ck.” Go figure. We did some necessary shopping, then hit up a park while Deon worked.
Today was all about good old Theodore Roosevelt. He said “I have always said I would not have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota.” Since I have a future president on the trip (any guesses?), I thought this is a must-visit. Theodore Roosevelt national park is badlands, but dramatically different from those in South Dakota. They are more green and grassy. More colorful. We enjoyed seeing Roosevelts cabin and learning some history about him….