With the excitement of a birder spotting a rare warbler, my daughter and I quickly sunk to our knees on the edge of the Big Bog boardwalk to study our botanical target: insect-eating pitcher plants. They carried enough of creepy-crawly “eew” factor to convince my 10-year-old daughter, Kylie, to road trip an hour north of …
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Discover Southern Minnesota’s wildflowers The trill of a red-winged blackbird swaying atop cattails instantly takes me back to growing up on the southern still-rural edge of the Twin Cities. April and May offered a daily scavenger hunt for new clusters and carpets of spring wildflowers. Bloodroot emerged first, poking through the musty leaf litter beneath …
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Head south on the Great River Road Craving a Minnesota or Wisconsin road trip to celebrate the welcome end to winter? Let spring blossoms inspire your route. Some of Minnesota’s most stunning views can be found along the 17-mile Apple Blossom Scenic Drive each spring. This byway, tucked above the Mississippi River Valley in …
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Around since the 1930s, Clamshell Beach Lodge north of Brainerd has new luxuries–like newer cottages and a pool. Minnesota cabins get bigger, modernize By Lisa Meyers McClintick My daughter jumps into the pool. On a Minnesota resort trip last June, my 7-year-old daughter barely glanced at the sandy beach on Whitefish Lake north of …
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Families love Clear Lake Campground at Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest in Wisconsin. State park closed? Try national forests or county campgrounds Photos & feature by Lisa Meyers McClintickThere are surely moans (or shrieks) of frustration today as weekend and summer plans are foiled by the Minnesota government shutdown. It has closed all Minnesota state …
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Nine-Mile Lake in Superior National Forest. If families are looking for the best vacation deal around, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, teaming up with REI, has been offering I Can Camp! workshops around the state this summer. The new program teaches families everything they need to know for only $55–that’s with equipment provided. It’s one …
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We had wonderful news in Minnesota last week. The state has finally negotiated a major land purchase along the shores of Lake Vermilion. It will be an amazing addition to the state park system. What makes Lake Vermilion so attractive? For one thing, the new state park would connect to the existing Soudan Underground Mine State Park. …
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