Camp du Nord

Our Group at Camp Du Nord minus Jeanne

Same group with Jeanne (minus me)

Fall Colors on Burntside Lake

Inside Our Cabin

It was our annual fall long weekend of hiking.  This year we tried out Camp du Nord, on the North Arm of Burntside Lake.  I want to go again!
The weather was beautiful, the fall colors were gorgeous and our cabin was roomy and cozy at the same time.
We hiked Friday and Saturday and the trails were beautiful - let's see, that's twice for that word, but it is just the way it was.

Good food, too, of course and I will be happy if Bea shares her recipe for salad dressing and that apple topping for the ice cream.  I know I have to travel to North Carolina to get the ingredients for the sweet potato pancakes, so maybe I can just request that Deb bring them next year too.

Jean was our guide, with a 33 year history of family camping at Camp du Nord.  I definitely want to bring my grandsons here next summer if I can get a good draw from the lottery system.

The Saturday night sauna was a highlight.  There is just something so very special and unforgetable about cooling off in a cold lake in the lantern lit dark after the hot sauna with the stars shining brightly above and a huge crescent of orange harvest moon sitting on the horizon.

View from the Sauna

Nature Woman

More photos here:   Camp du Nord

Carpenter Nature Center

Beautiful day for a hike today.  We headed down to the St. Croix River and walked pretty much all of the trails at the Carpenter Nature Center.  What a lovely place.  The parking area is surrounded by perennial gardens.  The old farm house, tall and straight and everlasting in stone is there as well as a nature center complete with many varieties of turtles and raptors.  The trails cover savanna, woods and even slightly overgrown railroad bed along the river.  We finished our walk at a beautiful overlook of the the river from high on a hill where we rightfully enjoyed a rest.  The butterflies were active today.

Lunch was at Muddy Waters in Prescott - on the deck - with a nice view of the river.

Thanks Deb for most of these photos.

All six of us, thanks to a little help from Photoshop

The old farmhouse across a field of prairie flowers and grasses

View of the St. Croix from the trail

The little beach

Resting at the Viewpoint

Visiting along the trail

Arboretum - June 2011

Went to the Arboretum last Saturday and the rain held off until we were paying our checks at an outdoor restaurant on Minnetonka…

February - Stone Arch Bridge

Pretty nice weather for February in Minnesota.  Six of us managed to get out for a walk.  I had suggested the Stone Arch Bridge since I don't get there often and think it's so cool!  Then when we got there I found out that two of our small group work only a few blocks away so this location was nothing unusual for them.  Still, we had a nice, brisk walk during which the breeze picked up. Our noses were cold and we were ready for the inside when we made it to the Red Stag for lunch.

Hikers on the Stone Arch Bridge

Michelle Graciously Posing Before the Beer Sign