How can I stay active in the cold?

 

     So I might have given this away by the photo. I can't stand feeling sedentary. I need to spend as much time outside as I can, yes, just like a kid. I have no problem with this, though, because physical activity keeps me fit. Now you might be wondering, is there even mountains in Minnesota? The answer is no. I don't need to snowboard a whole mountain. After hiking in the snow to the top of tall hills with a snowboard on your shoulders, you will be happy you made it that far and ready to ride either way. I don't need a mountain to enjoy the snow, because the dog sled and cross country ski trails in the area have fantastic hiking up and riding down. When we get more snow, I will be very excited to go back to Lutsen and skip the hiking part, but for now, I will enjoy the exercise.

Running in the Snow!

    Running keeps me sane. It's one of my favorite ways to exercise.  Unfortunately,  the recent snow around me has taken this away. Until today...

    Now I can thoroughly enjoy the views of Lonely lake again.  I recently purchased some Yaktrax.  I tried on a friend's pair before I purchased them, and they seemed pretty great. They did have an issue with coming out of place

 Both when I was running 

and later, when I was hiking. Overall, though, it did give me back some freedom I did not have before I bought them. Yaktrax did not sponsor me  to review this, I just thought I would share my secret to snow running before you hurt yourself. They are perfect on the road and over solid ice, where I didn't have to slow down one bit. I think the uneven trail caused the slippage. I will fiddle with them more and keep you updated if I find better results later on. 

As for Lonely Lake again, photos couldn't capture the beauty I saw.

But I think you can clearly see how amazing this snowglobe I live in is to look at.

 The trail is not far or difficult, and right on Gunflint Lodge property. Just don't forget to watch your head. 

Hiking the Northern Light Lake Trail

 It is pouring rain out. The ground is slippery and sticky with mud. What do I want to do today? I will go for a hike. I somehow talked a friend into joining me. We did not plan to hike the trail overlooking Northern Light Lake. As we were passing it, she mentions it to me.  I had been wanting to check it out myself, so I just had to stop. The rain makes it very lush and it smells amazing.

 You can barely see the lake through the mist, but it feels so good. I have no regrets on this beautiful hike in the rain.

Missouri Roadtrip

    I've never given a second thought to Missouri in my life. I passed through it briefly on my way to Minnesota from Mexico, but not enough to leave me any impression at all. When I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised.

   I was in Jefferson city and the surrounding area for the whole trip. It is a beautiful place to enjoy the fall colors. It was very warm compared to the cold, back in Minnesota. It was a little humid and warm the whole time, perfect weather as far as I'm concerned.

 Look how happy this dog is playing in these leaves.

 Contrasting fall colors..

 I think this is my version of a selfie.

 This giant enthralled me.

 Beautiful hand built bridge..

 Looking up through the leaves, you see a broad range of contrast and colors.

 I just thought this was a neat stump. I shares with us so many years of growth through the rings.

   The views of the woodlands were beautiful, and I even got the surprise of seeing deer (not pictured) for the first time in a while. As for Jefferson City itself, it's just not my type of town. There's not much to do if you are looking for outdoor activities to enjoy. I know state capitals usually have nice buildings and things to see around them, but that just wasn't my cup of tea. I'd rather be found hiking through nature, seeing lakes, and climbing trees.

Sights of Centennial Trail

 The historic sites of the Centennial Trail, are not the only sites worth checking out along this section of the Kekekabic Trail. I couldn't find anything definite on the name of the lake. From what I read it may be either a large pond or drainage from the old mines reshaping the area.

 

Either way, the purple and green hues contrasting to the lightly iced, perfectly reflective glass lake  surface made for some unforgettable sights.

 From high up on the hills, you get a broad view of  both the valley, and the results of the Ham Lake fire.

 I enjoyed being able to see the layers of hills for miles, skewed by the atmosphere.

 It looks like we stumbled upon the old railroad area. My camera didn't like adjusting to the lighting in there, but it made for an amazing, paint-like photo. This could be spooky with the right editing.

 From certain areas you can see several frozen lakes.

I just loved how this tree is still standing, despite the way the fire weakened it.

     The trail ends a little weird. It does not take you back to the parking lot, or the main trail. Instead, it takes you to the road, where you have to walk back for a quarter mile or so. Despite the strange ending, the trail was very enjoyable and I think if you check out this trail, then you won't regret it. 

Historic Sites of Centennial Trail

 Recently I went on a hike on the Centennial Trail. The Centennial Trail is a 3.3 mile loop found on the Kekekabic Trail, the same trail I hiked to get to the Old Gunflint Tower. At the beginning of the hike, you can sign in to hike the full Kekekabic trail, 41 miles, or you can grab a map for the Centennial Trail.

 The map is an excellent resource, as it will tell you what each landmark you pass stands for.

 The landmarks are labeled along the trail, so you can read about them as you go. These photos are of the test pits dug from the Gunflint Iron Company in the early 1890s.

 They were used to evaluate the purity of the iron deposits in the area as well as exploration looking for gold, silver and nickel, but only one car load of ore was removed from these explorations.

 It was pretty neat to read about these pits and the water they were filled with was such neat color, contrasts.

Hiking Interpretative Trail

So the other day I happened to notice this little trail on my way up to high cliffs. The sign read Interpretative Trail. It was very nicely laid out. It was well marked and had nice little signs identifying certain trees along the way.

Such as this Paper Birch

Or Spruce

Or White Cedar

Or this leaning tree... ok maybe not this leaning tree but it was quite comfortable, and on the trail.

Will you look at these reds!

This is such a lush plant! Well maybe the end of the trail was up to interpretation because it kind of ended in the dog sled trail without a clear sign, but it was a nice walk after all.