Catie Nodak

Comparing Itasca in March vs July

I did the main park drive and stopped at some sights, but not all of them as I am planning a return trip in the fall to hopefully see the burial mounds and record redwoods. The lake pictured is Josephine Lake, got it as I was leaving the park for the day.

Today I went back to Buffalo River State Park (MN). They had Archery in the Parks program this morning, and I took part in that. This park is also one of 35 in Minnesota that let's you rent a GPS for geocaching. Did I mention it's free? They currently have a nature geocaching program going, but I opted for the "Friends of Buffalo River" cache. This one was cool because it had multiple points before you got to the cache. There wasn't much in the box, but it was simple to find. I signed the log and left a pack of shark playing cards. I think I caught the bug! I also signed up for the MN hiking club. The trail was marked clearly, but I came from the opposite directions of all the signs, so I walked a little farther than the 2.5 miles. It got into the 80s today, but there was a nice breeze that made it bearable, and I hiked along the river so there was adequate shade. Great solo hiking day!

My photo of Split Rock Lighthouse

Went to Lutsen the last weekend of June. No camping, but plenty of sight seeing! We stayed at a huge log mansion. Day one we went to Grand Marais, and to Grand Portage National Park. We took a short drive on the Gunflint trail and did a half-mile hike to see some moose around dusk, but no luck :( Day two we saw split rock and ate at a beautiful old North Shore diner with a great view of Superior. We made our way to Gooseberry to play in the waterfall before I had to head home for the weekend. I love being on the North Shore and I wish I could have stayed all week!

200 year old cottonwood tree at Cross Ranch State Park. It's huge!

Some beautiful fog one morning at Cross Ranch State Park

Memorial Day Weekend we packed up and went to Cross Ranch State Park (ND). This park was fairly busy for the weekend. We met some campers at a site near us, and they invited us over for drinks later that night. Our site was called primative, but it wasn’t far away from our car. We could easily run to and from the car grabbing things. The weather was nice and we got to sleep without the rain fly. So nice! Beautiful view of the Missouri River, you can climb right down to it. We took a 6.5 mile hike on saturday and saw some sites from when Lewis and Clark came through the area. Definitely want to bring bug spray. During our hike we encountered close to 70 ticks on us (picking them off as we walked). The tral brought us over a suspension bridge to a little creek right by a bridge for the train. So cool, and we almost missed it by taking a left instead of right. This trail was cool when it led you by the river, but be prepared to do some hiking in the prairie, too! We treated ourselves to ice cream at the station afterwards :) Right as our hungry selves started preparing for dinner, a severe thunderstorm warning came in. We went to the pickup and watched the campsite as it rained and the wind tried to carry things away for almost an hour. Luckily we had snacks. The wind died down and we decided to stick out the rest of the rain inside the tent so we could sprawl out. It took another hour for the rain to let up enough to start our fire for dinner. Sunday we went into town for supplies, came back to set up a hammock by the river, and relaxed. Later at night we went on a half-mile hike on the interpretive trail, and came across a 200 year old cottonwood tree, which was glorious! Lots of beer this night with a few mini night hike excursions thrown in :)

For my 25th birthday in April we went camping at Maplewood State Park (MN). This was my very first time camping, and it was definitely an experience! We thought we would have access to running water, but found out once we got there that it wouldn’t be on until the next weekend. It got very cold at night, down to 34°. Luckily we had sleeping bags for colder weather! The first night we couldn’t find the outhouses and we had gotten there right as the sun was going down. The beer definitely made it easier to get *that* close to nature. The late night fires were great. We did a 5 mile hike on saturday after we went to town for supplies. Saturday was my actual birthday, so we picked up some steak and asparagus to cook over the fire along with some wine and Mystical Fire for night. I was given my first real hiking pack, a Kelty! Pictured with my hiking partner on this trip. We found the bathrooms, and walking to them at night was an adventure. Many ghost trees here as well as many many ducks and birds. Awesome opportunities for kayaking or canoeing.

Went to Itasca State Park (MN) in March on a spur-of-the-moment trip after Buffalo River. Much colder this day than the day before. Bits of rain as well and ice still on the lake here. So quiet as much of the park was still closed. So much fun being the only two people in the park!

Took a 4 mile hike at Buffalo River State Park (MN) back in March. Beautiful 60° day, I got the hiking bug that day :)

Welcome to my blog! Here is where I will post about all of my outdoor adventures. Everything from camping to geocaching, or just short hikes. Thank you for taking the time to visit, I hope you enjoy!