Lake of the Isles plus The Lowry Restaurant

Another OMG! I looked at the date of the last post to this blog and discovered it was 10 months ago - April 2013. We've been hiking; just not posting photos et al to this blog.

Regardless, 5 brave hearts ventured around a blustery Lake of the Isles at 7°F. So nippy that 4 of us without long coats felt the cold even on our bundled up legs. We did not discuss the temperature in the places where our fellow hikers were hanging out. At 10 am, the trail was clear, but by 11 the snow began falling, and by 1pm a couple inches of snow covered the ground.

Karen and Deb H. missed a great breakfast at The Lowry restaurant on Hennepin Avenue which apparently is the "go to" place for urban professionals. There was a 30 minute wait for a table - just the right amount of time for Julie, Julie, and me to thaw out! There's something about being able to talk as a threesome - just sayin'. Sometimes our group is so big that it's hard to have a lengthy conversation.

And just to make the missing hikers jealous, I'm adding photos of the great Spinach Frittata, and a Yogurt and Fruit with Scones and Maple Syrup Breakfast. Bon Apetit!

We chatted about future travel plans, what we're watching on TV, best places to swim in St. Paul, a Turkish TV series, Julie's trip with Mike to Chicago, Julie's trip to Chattanooga in December, plus tips on good toaster-ovens! We discovered we're all Netflix bingers - The Bridge, 'Treme, The Wire, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Wallender, and have been known to watch This Old House, Worldview GCH (foreign stuff) and Martha Stewart Bakes!

And by the time we finished eating about 1pm, the snow had blanketed the streets and cars.

April 2013 The Mississippi River

Mid April and there is still snow on the ground, but Saturday brought a truly lovely day with warmish weather and blue sky, which we have not seen much of this month.
Saturday's hike was along the Mississippi River below downtown St. Paul starting under the High Bridge and then up to see the newly renovated Union Depot, and a stop for lunch and a bit of shopping in town, before returning to our cars.

I loved the architecture and the contrast of white snow and blue sky.  It was fun to see farmers at the farmer's market - even though there were no plants or vegetables in sight.

The steps to the river from the Science Museum were closed for the winter but Bea led us through the parking garage and safely back on our route to our cars at the river below.

Lake Calhoun Spring Walk

Saturday March 17th, brought us an - only in Minnesota - kind of walk.  An unseasonably warm day - one of several - brought us out in our spring, and in one case, summer clothes.  We started out on the north side of the lake and at 10AM, the morning breeze blowing across the ice had us shivering in our shoes.

By the time we made it to the south side of the lake, the breeze was gone and the sun was very warm.

Wise Acre Eatery

For lunch we tried Wise Acres on Nicollet.  It's a trendy, lovely restaurant specializing in slow cooked meals featuring meats and produce from the farm of the Tangletown Nursery just across the street.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a slow service restaurant as well.  Not really their fault.  They were still staffed for a typical winter crowd, but the beautiful summer weather brought out just about everyone in South Minneapolis to try out their patio for lunch.  We found a table, but waited more than 1/2 an hour for someone to take our order.  Luckily, we had, as always, lots to talk about and will undoubtedly try it again on a less crowded day.

December Hike At Como Park

I'm very tardy with these photos.  My apologies.
We had a lovely hike on December 17th with fair weather and clear trails for our meander around Como Park.  Luckily we had some good guides and I saw a part of the park I'd never visited before even though I live quite close by!  We also braved the heat of the Conservatory and enjoyed the December poinsetta show.
This was our annual holiday brunch hike, so we all gathered at Karen's afterword for some wonderful food and companionship.

Thanks Jean for the photos.  Hmm, I see that most of these photos were taken inside.  Maybe we braved the heat a little more than we braved the cold!

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…