Lisa McClintickAdventurous, creative, hands-on travel in Minnesota and beyond.

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Take a Minnesota dogsled ride: click video below

Filed under: Adventure Travel, brainerd, Ely, family travel, North Shore

Lisa Meyers McClintick

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Minnesota Bog

Minnesota’s Big Bog State Recreation Area

Best North Shore adventures along Minnesota’s Lake Superior

St. Louis offers flying trapeze at Union Station

Recent Stories

  • 10 Best Things to Do in Wabasha, Minnesota
  • Minnesota’s Big Bog State Recreation Area
  • Best North Shore adventures along Minnesota’s Lake Superior
  • St. Louis offers flying trapeze at Union Station
  • Minnesota wildflowers at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

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    The Dakotas

    From the “Off the Beaten Path” series published by Globe Pequot, let The Dakotas Off the Beaten Path show you a side of North and South Dakota you never knew existed.

    You may still be eating leftover domestic turkey, You may still be eating leftover domestic turkey, but here’s a look at the growing number of wild ones that may be wandering into your backyards, across urban roads or roosting in trees. That latter scenario would freak me out if, say, I startled one after dark and it tumbled down in front of me. When our son was not even 2, he was following me in our family’s woods as I looked for wildflowers. He found himself face to face with a turkey the same height as he was and bolted back to my side, jabbering in panic and not knowing the word for the huge creature in the woods. Jabbering and gobbling sound a lot alike, so I figured out what he saw before I spotted the turkey. We’re grateful he still loves the woods despite the surprises. #wildturkey #turkeycomeback #backyardturkeys #thisweekinnature @startribune
    When November looks a bit drab, you just have to l When November looks a bit drab, you just have to look a little closer and find it in the details. Snowflakes arrived this morning! #novemberweather #beautyinthedetails #snowflakes #minnestagrammers #raindrops #naturalist
    I was honored (and a bit nervous) to get my first I was honored (and a bit nervous) to get my first illustration-only assignment this fall. Working with an elder with the University of Minnesota Extension Service and the story’s writer, we depicted the elements of a four directions medicine garden (Thatúye Tópa Phezúta-Ozúpi). It’s shaped like a turtle, with the sacred plants —cedar, sage, tobacco and sweetgrass—aligned to the four sacred directions. I truly enjoy learning about Indigenous cultures and traditions. You can find the Extension story and read more through the link in my bio. #fourdirections #sacredmedicine #nativegarden #illustration @umnextension
    Keep your ears and eyes on the skies to enjoy the Keep your ears and eyes on the skies to enjoy the unique sound of tundra swans! A big flock flew over our yard in St. Cloud last night. It’s a higher-pitched “whistle” than the trumpeters that can be seen in Minnesota year-round. The tundra swans head south from the Arctic, follow the Mississippi River, and then veer to the mid-Atlantic states. @startribune #tundraswans #mnwildlife #backyardbirding #migration #birding
    Whether you’re looking for holiday fun, winter g Whether you’re looking for holiday fun, winter getaways or planning your 2025 destinations, check out Day Trips from the Twin Cities. This gift that can keep on giving helps you find the best lodging, eateries, parks and quirky places that define communities throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. If you already have a copy, thank you for your support! 🙏 If you’d consider leaving a review online, I’d be grateful! I poured a lot of passion into these pages. @exploreminnesota @travelwisconsin #daytrips #weekendgetaways @visitmankatomn @newulm @experiencerochmn @visitstcloud #minnesotalife #minnesotagirl #midwesttravel #midwestliving
    We were awake before the crack of dawn Oct. 24 to We were awake before the crack of dawn Oct. 24 to watch the sandhill cranes at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. There were about 12,500 cranes counted that week. Here’s a surprise: even with our crazy winds and cold rain yesterday, bird counters estimated 22,197 cranes were still at the refuge and hadn’t headed south. The Wildlife Drive is open until Dec. 1, and there are some designated viewing areas off county roads for mornings and evenings when cranes are heading overhead to and from fields and roosting areas. Turn on the volume in the video to hear how they sound. 🙂 @sherburnenwrfriends @usfws #sandhillcranes #cranemigration #mnbirding #exploreminnesota #cranemigration2024 #mnmasternaturalist
    It has been fantastic to see an ever-growing numbe It has been fantastic to see an ever-growing number of nationally successful books written by Indigenous authors. Each one, whether literary, suspense, mystery, historical, or even horror, brings cultural insight, fresh perspectives and overlooked tragedies and injustices to light. With 574 federally recognized tribes, we have immeasurable stories and voices yet to be heard. Minneapolis’s Birchbark Books has long championed these stories and is owned by the prolific and much-lauded literary legend, Louise Erdrich. If you’ve read her book, “The Sentence,” which uses the bookstore as inspiration, you have another compelling reason to visit. The bookstore staff helped me pull together this list of standout Indigenous stories perfect for the long, cold nights ahead. You can see the full story and read USA Today’s Native American section at the link in my bio. The feature begins on page 45. I’ve read quite a few of these titles. Have you? Which are your favorites? @usatoday @birchbark_books #indigenousauthors #indigenousbooks @louise_erdrich #fallreads #nativeamerican #nativeamericanheritagemonth
    Some of you were lucky to enjoy the Indigenous Foo Some of you were lucky to enjoy the Indigenous Food Lab’s pre-Colonial cuisine at the Minnesota State Fair this summer. I felt lucky to write about this organization founded by Chef Sean Sherman (@the_sioux_chef) for USA Today’s Native American special section. The organization’s wide-ranging efforts include inner-city gardens and foraging, training indigenous chefs, supporting small businesses who supply indigenous ingredients, and projects such as adding a weekly indigenous meal to a school lunch menu on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. These efforts seek to break away from unhealthy diets of government commodities and move toward food sovereignty, a goal that reaches beyond nourishing the body. As Linda Black Elk said, “It’s reconnecting with ancestors, your culture, and your spirit.” Read the story on page 31 and view the entire Native American section at the link in my bio. @usatoday @indigenousfoodlab #foodsovereignty @mahpiyalutaredcloud @natifs_org #indigenousfood #nativecuisine
    Minnesota may be gray and chilly this time of year Minnesota may be gray and chilly this time of year, but moody skies and infamous gales make it a dramatic time to enjoy shipwatching on Lake Superior. It’s the world’s biggest freshwater sea (by surface area) and you can get an up-close view along the canal at the world’s most inland seaport: Duluth, Minn. You can read more at the link in my bio. @startribune #greatlakes #lakesuperior #shipwatching @canalpark #galesofnovember #edmundfitzgerald @visittheusa @exploreminnesota @visit_duluth
    I’m working the polls on St. Cloud’s South Sid I’m working the polls on St. Cloud’s South Side Tuesday, from 6 am to 9 pm. I’m not sure this T-shirt is deemed politically neutral enough—and I didn’t plan ahead and purchase it—but I’m loving the Schoolhouse Rock vibe. I’m wishing I had something smile-inducing for an anxious day. Too bad I’m not into festive fingernails. #vote #electiondayattire #overthinkingthings #votetshirt
    If you’re looking for a warm, feel-good story to If you’re looking for a warm, feel-good story to read on a slushy day, grab a seat around the hearth at The St. John’s Pottery in Collegeville, Minn. Here, Master Potter Richard Bresnahan shares what he learned apprenticing in Japan in 1970s, creating his own style using only indigenous materials and leading a life of environmental stewardship. He shares that wisdom with students, apprentices and guests who visit the studio at St. John’s University, share cups of tea and leave feeling the sense of community he has created. It’s been an especially eventful stretch as the Johanna Kiln, the largest wood-fired kiln in North America, fired up in October. The 10-day event requires about 17 cords of wood for the three chambers that can collectively hold close to 12,000 pieces of pottery. It can take two months just to load the kiln, which only fires up every two years. Read the full story @projectoptimist or click the link in my bio. @csbsju #stjohnspottery #johannakiln #ecomutualism #landstewardship #japanesepottery #artapprenticeship #biophilia
    In honor of Halloween and all things spooky, it se In honor of Halloween and all things spooky, it seemed fitting to feature some of the creepier things you might find in the woods of Minnesota: dead man’s fingers, witches’ butter and dog vomit slime. @startribune #mnoutdoors #thingsyoufindinthewoods #freakyfungi #mnmasternaturalist #slimemold
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