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Adventure at the Mall of America, Bloomington, MN

04 Dec Adventure at the Mall of America

Posted at 09:00h in Blog, Minnesota, United States, Urban Adventure

This isn’t your typical mall. The Mall of America, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, offers so much more than shopping. Think snorkeling in a giant aquarium, petting stingrays, riding roller coasters, flying across zip lines, mini golfing, bowling and more, and you will have an idea...

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Day Trip to Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

23 Nov Day Trip to Isle Royale National Park

Posted at 10:30h in Blog, Michigan, Minnesota, National Parks, Outdoor Adventure, United States

As we made our way north to Grand Portage, the sun started to peek over the horizon. We had to leave at dawn in order to make the 8:30 a.m. departure to Isle Royale National Park. Located in Lake Superior, the island has been dubbed a...

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Travail Kitchen and Amusements Tasting Dinner, Minnesota

27 Oct 19 Course Tasting Dinner at Travail Kitchen and Amusements

Posted at 10:00h in Blog, Minnesota, United States, Urban Adventure

A sausage and gravy biscuit is assembled on the back of your hand, pop rocks are served that induce a stream of smoke out your nose, and a field trip is taken through the kitchen for a plate of steak and potatoes created one ingredient...

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Hallway Hill Hike at Maplewood State Park in Pelican Rapids, MN

10 Oct Fall Hiking at Hallaway Hill

Posted at 13:00h in Blog, Minnesota, Outdoor Adventure, United States

Reds, yellows and oranges peek out around every turn—fall in Minnesota consists of splashes of color that create a beautiful leaf peeping scene. One of our favorite spots to see the fall colors is at Maplewood State Park near our hometown of Pelican Rapids. Maplewood State...

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Camping at Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

02 Oct Camping at Voyageurs National Park

Posted at 09:00h in Blog, Minnesota, National Parks, Outdoor Adventure, United States

The sun had started to set. We had just landed at our boat-up campsite for the night, and there wasn't a soul in sight. Water, trees and blue sky stretched as far as we could see and nothing was to be heard except the splash...

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Skiing at Andes Tower HIlls in Alexandria, Minnesota

11 Feb Hitting the Slopes: Relearning to Ski and Attempting to Snowboard

Posted at 09:19h in Blog, Minnesota, Outdoor Adventure, United States

So, I haven't been skiing since I was in 8th grade, and since I'm nearing my third decade of life, 8th grade was quite some time ago. I was 6 when I learned how to ski and we used to go a few times a...

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Ice_Fishing_Lake_Lida_Minnesota

06 Feb Ice Fishing on Lake Lida

Posted at 09:23h in Blog, Minnesota, Outdoor Adventure, United States

Growing up, I had very little desire to do anything outside in the winter. In elementary school, when recess was indoors because the temperature was too cold (and too cold by Minnesotan standards is colder -10F), I would silently cheer in my head. I would even...

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Grand Marais, MN

03 Feb Grand Marais Through the Seasons: From Summer to Winter

Posted at 09:06h in Blog, Minnesota, United States

Grand Marais is an adorable little town situated along the shores of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota. While there are only about 1,300 residents, the town booms in the summer and it is a peaceful retreat in the winter. But don’t get me wrong, peaceful...

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Christmas Market at the Minneapolis Holidazzle Village

23 Dec Christmas Market at the Holidazzle Village

Posted at 09:45h in Blog, Minnesota, United States, Urban Adventure

I've always wanted to visit a traditional European Christmas Market, but we have never been traveling in Europe at the right time of the year. So when I heard about the new holiday market in downtown Minneapolis this winter, I knew some investigation was necessary....

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Bentlyville Tour of Lights, Bayfront Park, Duluth, Minnesota

17 Dec Bentleyville Tour of Lights and Ice Skating at Bayfront Park

Posted at 09:40h in Blog, Minnesota, United States, Urban Adventure

We were up in northern Minnesota scouting out winter and holiday scenes for a video project when we came across the Bentleyville Tour of Lights at Bayfront Park in Duluth, aka the “America’s Largest Free Walk Through Lighting Display”. There is also an ice skating...

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Foshay Tower Museum and Observation Deck in Minneapolis, Minnesota

06 Nov Stepping Back in Time at the Foshay Tower Observation Deck

Posted at 09:00h in Blog, Minnesota, United States, Urban Adventure

One of my favorite things to do when visiting a city is soak up the view from above, either from the tallest building or a unique landmark. Even though we love exploring nature when we travel, the energy of a city always makes me feel...

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Wabasha Street Caves in Saint Paul, Minnesota

03 Nov Gangster History at the Wabasha Street Caves

Posted at 09:51h in Blog, Minnesota, United States, Urban Adventure

St Paul is riddled with fascinating history filled with gangsters, corrupt police officers and caves. One of the best spots to get a peek into this history is at the Wabasha Street Caves in downtown St. Paul. These caves were originally created when the area...

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Another hike that we went on during our time in De Another hike that we went on during our time in Death Valley National was the Golden Canyon Trail with the Red Cathedral extension! We really enjoyed the landscape throughout this hike—it was another one of our favorite trails in Death Valley. The trail is 1.5 miles each way (3 miles round trip), and the last 0.5 miles of the trail, aka the Red Cathedral Trail, requires some scrambling, ledges, and low overhangs.

The Golden Canyon/Red Cathedral trail was so fun and we loved weaving through, under, and over tight rock formations. Plus, the views at the end of the trail were beautiful. Apparently, some scenes from Star Wars were filmed in this area, and I can see why—it looked like we were walking through an entirely different world!
At first, Badwater Basin in Death Valley National At first, Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park doesn’t look like much, but when you learn more about this piece of land, it’s quite interesting. Badwater Basin is the lowest elevation point in North America, at 282 ft below sea level. The land here is made up of a salt flat that stretches nearly 200 square miles. If you look hard for the tiny white sign in the mountains in the 5th photo (straight up above the Cruise America RV) you can see where sea level is. Standing on the salt flat and looking up at the sea level sign really puts the low elevation into perspective! We couldn’t help but imagine standing at the bottom of the lake that once covered this area.

We walked about a mile out onto the flats and loved seeing all the salt polygons and unique formations all around us. The farther we walked the less people we saw, and it was quite peaceful during our sunset stroll. We ended up visiting Badwater Basin twice during our trip, and I already want to head back again. There’s just so much to see if you take the time to look!
When standing at the Zabriski Point Lookout in Dea When standing at the Zabriski Point Lookout in Death Valley National Park, you overlook stunning hills and canyons of the Badlands. And if you look close, you might see people hiking far out on the landscape. One of the trails that runs through this area is the Badlands Loop, and it is a fantastic option for a hike!  Wandering through the narrow canyons and up along the hills of the Badlands provides a beautiful vantage point of this colorful area. 

The Badlands Loop is a 2.7 mile trail that runs through the gulch and up along the top of the ridges. There isn’t much shade on this trial, especially if you hike it during the heat of the day, so try to avoid a midday hike here when the temperatures are high. There are several trails that intersect in this area; you can connect to both the Gower Gulch Trail and the Golden Canyon Trail to make it one longer 7.8 mile loop hike. We hiked Golden Canyon earlier on our trip, so this time around we just hiked the Badlands Loop. Photos 1-8 are from the Badlands Loop trail, and 9-10 are from the Zabriski Point overlook the day prior when the skies were much more cloudy!
We spent 2.5 days exploring Death Vally National P We spent 2.5 days exploring Death Vally National Park this past winter, and we sure packed a lot into our visit. Hiking the wide variety of trails was our favorite way to explore the park. All of the trails were fantastic, but the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes was one of our favorite stops. We visited the dunes several times during our three days in the park, and each visit was at a different time of day. We were there for sunset, at night to see the stars, and at sunrise. When we went for sunrise, we hiked our way out to the summit of the tallest dune. The summit is roughly 1 mile from the parking lot, although there is no formal trail to get there and back. 

Along the hike, we spotted someone painting the sunrise from the top of one of the dunes. We couldn’t help but stop and chat with her and Micah snapped a few photos—we absolutely loved her artwork! We also enjoyed finding lots of animal prints in the sand. Even though the distance was short, the hike was tough as the sand is very hard to walk on. It felt like every step forward equaled two steps back! But the feeling you get from conquering the tallest dune is well worth it. It’s a beautiful portion of the park to explore!
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