Forestville/ Mystery Cave State Park

Forestville / Mystery Cave State Park

Our second stop of the day was Forestville / Mystery Cave – this park has it all, and we want to go back and see it again.  What does it have you ask?

• A CAVE!—and who doesn't love a good cave tour, right?  They actually have several options and the one we like takes a few hours, so it was not in the cards for today.
• A cute historic city that is run by the Minnesota Historical Society.  I love reenactment stuff, but once again not enough time today.
• A super cute scenic stream that a lot of people were fishing on.
• Lots of hiking.  Might seem like a given, but not all the state parks are so cool.

Since this was our second stop of the day and we knew we had three more scheduled, we had to continue to move quickly through the park.  We went through Preston, MN and finally got to the park by 1 p.m.  Coming in from the east we quickly found out that the bridge 3 miles ahead of us was out and we had to circumvent the park and come in from the opposite side (I think the same thing happened to us a few years ago trying to go to this state park).

It turns out that the bridge is the historic Forestville Bridge.  It is closed to all vehicle traffic but is still open to foot traffic.  We did not drive to see it, unfortunately.  It is near the historic reenactment town of Forestville that is open every summer.  If we had more time, we totally would have done this.

Also, we had to skip out on Mystery Cave (the longest cave in Minnesota that you can tour!) which was just to the west of the main part of the state park.  At some point we are going to have to come back with Marcus and do the Mystery Cave tour again!

Once we drove into the park from the other side, we figured it was a nice time and location for a picnic.  We decided that it would be smart to get near the first geocache location, so we drove in and found it.  Also, we found a great spot for our "Pic-a-nic"...

Our drive through the park.

It didn't take long for us to eat, and then we were off on our adventure to find the cache.

Marcus invited one of his new animal friends... this one did not actually belong to him it turns out.

Near the picnic tables was a large shelter that would be really neat to spend time at during the winter and get to use the fireplace.

Ye olde sawmill near the small river by the picnic grounds. 

A fine example of a fine wood-engraved signpost with the next set of GPS coordinates.

The shelter again.

We were pretty close to the first spot and found it very quickly!  I have to say that these were the NICEST signs we have seen at any of the parks.  They were engraved in wood and fairly large... super-impressed.

 Check out the cool wooden sign they used.

It was another 0.5 miles to next location, so we made up our minds to drive and park by the trail.  One of the lessons we have learned is to grab a map every time when we enter the park at the Info Station – that way we can make sure to try and make smart decisions on where to go and when to hike, when to park, etc.

 We found the second location really quickly, but we took a bit of extra time to look at the river water.  It was high and fast, and Marcus LOVED it.

There was concrete going across the river here.  Marcus is checking out the water near the edge.

Speaking of getting the park map, Luke clearly has it this time in the picture.  Amazingly, Marcus has not removed his hat yet before this picture was taken. 

A lot of rain from the last weekend washed all sorts of logs and stuff into the river.

We got back on task then and went in search of the third location.

I'm not sure what this is or why it is here.  I think it's Luke carrying Marcus.  He really preferred being carried.  So that's what this probably was.  Or it's sasquatch.  You decide.

It was actually a fairly long hike, but it was a beautiful day.  Marcus decided that he wanted to "hike" with us rather than be pushed... but somehow that always includes a lot carrying by Mommy and Daddy.

We kept hiking and quickly came up to Location #3 and #4.  This was a first for us: the longest multi-cache we have seen in our first 20-odd state parks comprised only four locations.  This was FIVE.  Look at the awesome signs.  (We were very impressed by the effort they went through on this geocache adventure at Forestville/Mystery Cave.)

Very nice signs indeed!

After leaving the fourth location we went down some stairs – good thing we didn't have the stroller because it never would have made it.

Lots and lots of stairs.

Right when we got to the bottom of the stairs we found it!

 Marcus: "Let's see what we have here..."

Marcus as usual was very excited to find his "Bock Bock" (a.k.a. bird) card.

(It seems that when describing bird sizes there are two points of reference: bigger/smaller than a sparrow and bigger/smaller than a crow.)

It was a long hike back to the car, so Marcus decided he would rather ride back.  Just a few notes on this park if you decide to complete the geocache:

1. This is the longest hike we have done so far – if you hiked the entire thing, it would be close to 3 miles round trip.

2.  This hike is not stroller- or wheelchair-friendly.

3, It is totally worth it!  One of the most scenic, forested state parks we have done so far (and at the perfect time of year in early June, too!).

"Faster, Mommy, Faster!"

When we got back to the car we were greeted by some beautiful butterflies.

It was a very bright day out. 

 Here are some bonus pics!  What a great park!  I can see why the trails here are so popular with bikers in the summertime!

 The South Branch of the Root River.  Very pretty river.  Tall rock walls, gravel beaches, cattails.  It has it all.

 Found some shade here!

Root River State Trail

After almost a two-week break from geocaching, we jumped back on the horse with a really big day.  One of my favorite parts of the state is the southeast – this is the home of the Driftless Area, lots of Amish people, and is the route to Luther College – so overall I know it quite well.

We set off by 9 am in order to maximize the day and headed down Highway 52 to Highway 16 after Preston, MN; by noon we were at our first stop: the Root River State Trail.  This is actually the only trail that is included in the Avian Geocaches series – overall there are 24 state trails in Minnesota.  They are really awesome and great for rollerblading, biking, walking, and all kinds of winter activities as well.  Here is the description from the website:

"This paved, 42-mile state trail begins in Fountain and runs through the quaint and picturesque rural communities of Lanesboro, Whalan, Peterson, Rushford and Houston. Constructed on an abandoned railroad, the trail is generally level and wheelchair accessible." Here is a sign we came across along the trails in the State Park showing the Root River in the southeastern "Driftless Area" of Minnesota.  The Driftless Area was not covered by glaciers during the last ice age (the Wisconsin glaciation), and so it has much more topography (hills/valleys) than most other ("flatlander") parts of the state. Here is a map of the Root River in Minnesota (courtesy of Wikipedia).  It shows most of the major rivers in Minnesota. Our initial coordinates brought us to the Isinours area of the trail – pretty much in the middle of nowhere.  They made the first stop pretty easy to find. See the big white sheet on the right side of the sign. We entered in the next set of coordinates, and they were pretty far, so we decided that we would drive to see if we could get a bit closer.  This was also right about the time that the Marcus-saurus woke up from his nap (that is never the best time of the day!). Since it was a Sunday the trails were actually pretty busy, so we saw a lot of bikers.  The path was really nice and in really good condition. It was the perfect for "strolling" along. Here is a map of the trail system It was about a 0.4 mile hike to the second location – there was even a clue on this one: it said "go to where the trails meet."  The good news is that the GPS brought us right there.  We looked over the signs, and there were no more directions, so we guessed that we will looking for the final cache right there. Marcus looking for the cache. We all spent some time looking in the woods, and finally I spotted it.  It was at the bottom of a small hill full of weeds and branches, and the boys nominated me to go in after it! I have to admit that my legs got a bit scratched up on this! Marcus waiting for Mommy to get to the top with his "bock bock" card. We got our card and got back on the path to head off to the next location.  I can't wait until Marcus is old enough to bike on these trails. "Gobble.  Gobble." And off to the next spot we go!

A Trip to Arizona – Friends, Family and Love

Arizona Fun

My bestest friend in the whole wide world is Heather.  I was lucky enough to grow up next door to her and spend many hours and days of my childhood in her home and with her family.  I think of her mom as my second "Mom" and so on.....   Almost all of my favorite memories include her and my childhood was so much better because she was a part of it.

We have grown up now and now we are over 1.600 miles apart.  We live in Minnetonka MN and they are in Sierra Vista AZ.  This is a lot of distance but like many great friendships time and distance do not matter because they are stronger than both.

It is not just Heather who lives in AZ but her parents are there as well.  My mom dearly misses Heather's mom Bev so I thought it would be great for the three of us to take a trip down before Marcus turns 2 (when I have to start paying for flights for him).

Mom and Marcus on the plane on the way down.

We got to Tuscan around 1 pm in the afternoon and made our way to down Heather's house in Sierra Vista.  It was a super cute house and we were so excited to see her family-  They have a 7 month old little girl that we couldn't wait to meet.  

After we got settled we all went out to eat a yummy Mexican dinner. Marcus LOVED the green salsa.  Mommy, Grandma, and Heather all had a yummy margarita- gotta love the south!

Sunday Morning Geocaching and Pool Time

On Sunday Morning we just spent some time lounging around the hotel.  We actually had a geocache 350 ft from our hotel room so Marcus and I headed out and found it.

Marcus with the cache

Can you see the geocache on the bottom of the sign

Grandma and Marcus in the pool having fun!

A trip to Tombstone

On Sunday afternoon we headed over to Bisbee Arizona- which is also the famed Tombstone from the old west.  They still have the original main street so we got a chance to see some of the old west.

Marcus really didn't like wearing his hat.

Mom and Bev pushing the strollers down the boardwalk.

Marcus and his new friend Heather!  During dinner he wanted nothing to do with me and was happier with her.

This was the whole crew- Mom, Terry, Marcus, Me, Bev, Bethany, Heather, Tim, and Gabby

It was a fun place to visit.  Mom, Marcus, and I even went to the Old West show to see the story of Doc Holiday and company-  Just have to say that the acting was pretty bad but we enjoyed it anyway.

And than an ER trip

Marcus went to sleep pretty easy on Sunday night and right about midnight Marcus started screaming-  It was not a good night.  He did not sound good and had a very worried Mommy and Grandma.  So at 5am PT I called his Dr's office in MPLS to find out what to do.  The nurse advised that we head into the ER so off we went!

We got the ER around 6 AM PT and waited and waited.... for a little over an hour before we saw an MD and Marcus was pretty unhappy.  This is a picture after we finally got checked in.  You can see my unhappy boy here.

The Doctor finally came in an very quickly gave a diagnosis- double ear infections!  YUCK!  No wonder the poor baby was so upset.  We had to wait for the DR to right up the orders and in the meanwhile Marcus passed out on the hospital cot.

A bit of hiking...

We got back to the hotel and I put Marcus and Grandma to sleep and ran off to do a bit of hiking and maybe some goecaching.  Heather's husband Tim had given me a bit of advice and I found the park he was looking at.  It was really pretty.

Picture of me out hiking

I checked a few things out and decided that it was time to head back and pick up Marcus and Mom so we could check continue our adventure.

Mom is not always much of a hiker but I thought it would be fun to bring her along and see if she wanted to try it out.  Both here and Marcus were rockstars and made the entire hike- Although Marcus did get carried for park of it.

Ramsey Canyon Preserve Information

We did the big park of this hike and it was AWESOME.  We saw lots of birds, and deer and really cool trees.   Marcus had to stop and look at and feel a lot of the rocks along the way, 

And we made it to the top

Mom completed Nature Bingo and won Marcus a bouncing ball!

The start of a new friendship: Marcus and Gabby

For our last night in AZ, we went over to the Mill's house (who just by luck was less than two blocks from our hotel) and hung out.  Tim, was the grill master, and cooked up some yummy food.  Bev made great sides- Marcus really loved the salads (odd little boy).  The best part of this trip has been the visiting also getting to see Marcus and Gabby together.  She is a doll!

I hope this is the start of a long and amazing friendship-  just like that of their Mom's and their Grandmom's!!!

This was a great trip-  Thanks for letting us visit!

One last stop on the way home

Monday night was not perfect but much better than Sunday night.  Marcus slept most of it and only on Mommy's head for the about 1/3 of it!  Since we had a little time we decided to drive up to the Bioshere and see if we could get a tour (The sign said it was only 20 miles north of Tuscan (I think they fibbed a bit here).  The drive out was beautiful and we had a blast.  We got there to late to do a tour but it is now on the list of places I would like to see!

Overall this was an awesome trip and I can't wait to see this family again in August when they visit Minnesota!