Franconia Sculpture Park in Shafer, Minnesota is a great spot for a COVID-friendly stroll if you, like me, desperately need to leave your home.
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Our Airbnb tiny house
A Driftless Halloween
Before election week, we took a little road trip down to Viroqua, Wisconsin. We stayed in a cozy tiny house, ate incredible food from The Driftless Cafe, watched almost all of The Queen’s Gambit, and hiked around the bluffs of the Mississippi.
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A Socially Distanced Camping Trip: Theodore Roosevelt National Park
After not really leaving our house for a couple of months, when the governor okayed “dispersed camping,” we packed our backpacks and spent a couple of days exploring Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. From bison to wild horses, badlands to prairies, we still left feeling socially distanced but with an itch to return.
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How the Swedes do Summer
You can’t visit Torekov, Sweden without plunging yourself into freezing seawater, riding a ferry called Nanny to an island to see lighthouses and orange slug and roaming sheep, and leave with the feeling that Swedes really know how to do summer right.
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Overlooking Jordan Pond from North Bubble
Maine // Penobscot Bay
In the fall of 2019, we took what felt like a very grown-up vacation to Maine. It was rainy, moody, and quiet. It was also so beautiful and filled with vivid pops of reds and golds, subtle pinks and faded blues, and deep, seaside greens.
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The view north from Palisade Head
The North Shore: Grand Marais + Cascade River State Park
As an evangelist for the southeastern, driftless region of Minnesota, along with the western prairies, I have a confession: I'd never been past Two Harbors. I've seen the plunging shoreline photos, had friends rave about Grand Marais, but just nodded politely, assuming THEY were the ones missing out. So, to back-up my claims that SE is where it's really at, I knew I had to give the other regions a fair shake. About a year in advance, we booked the best pack-in site at Cascade River State Park and spent a long weekend literally camped on the shore of Lake Superior and poking around Grand Marais.
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First Christian Church, designed by leading Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, built in 1942. Also pictured: Large Arch by sculptor Henry Moore.
Columbus, Indiana: A Tale of Architectural Philanthropy
When I say “Columbus” you say “Ohio?” And I say, “No, Columbus, Indiana!” Then I’ll tell you to watch Kogonada’s 2017 film, “Columbus,” set in Columbus, IN. You probably won’t, and it’s also not likely you’ll find yourself in the middle of Indiana anytime soon (unless you have the Exit 76 Antique Mall on your bucket list, in which case we’re kindred spirits and should be friends!), so let me tell you about it.
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Our camp-in site at Lac qui Parle State Park
Prairie Parks of Minnesota
Having grown up in the less-lovable but more farmable plains of southern Minnesota, openness and waving grasses and a clear idea of where I’m going for the next five miles all make me feel most at home. So, my secret confession: the prairie parks of western and southern Minnesota are the most beautiful.
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Our morning view in the driftless
Goldenrods
While I'm quite good at names of people - the ones I know, not famous ones - I'm so bad at the names of other things: plants, flowers, birds, streets, clouds. Which is fine. For our mini-moon, we escaped to the driftless region of southeast Wisconsin. For a long weekend, we were surrounded by a field of yellow.
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Independence Day in the Driftless
At 8:30 am, J and I arrived at the Lenora United Methodist Church. I had texted my friend that morning to see if there was an actual address, and she confirmed that "no, you'll just get there and see a sign and it'll be small enough to figure out." Sure enough, we saw the sign when we coasted into the township of Lenora. The stone church was nestled in a lush little grove and dewy lawn clouded with mosquitoes.
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