Up North to Park Rapids and Back

I had a job back up in Park Rapids, Minnesota, so we made a weekend out of it. As we tend to do we stopped at Revel Brewing for beer, kombucha, root beer and pizza.

We got the small pizza on accident, but it would do.

Looking back from previous times we've been here the pizzas used to be bigger.

I think we just ordered the larges in the past. My bad.

This year Theo has suddenly discovered he likes reading. When he finds a book he wants at the bookstore we have to say yes.

I booked a Hipcamp in nearby Nevis. The owner messaged me that it wasn't available so we could use their main cabin instead. That would work. It had major grandma vibes.

It was also immaculately clean.

The 70's headshots really added to the charm.

The kids loved the recliner chairs.

We went to Shingobee Recreation Area where we'd previously sledded on our last trip up here.

We somehow always find ourselves on the North Country Trail.

It was a great weekend for the last bit of summer.

For dinner we ended up at Bullwinlkles on 34. We were all super hungry after a small lunch followed by a hike.

I guess Theo was satiated.

The kid were disappointed that there was a VCR and no TV.

Kind of strange, but a OK.

The chairs were also massagers.

This felt so much like one of Brooke's grandma's places.

We made pancakes at the cabin (I think this really, really should be called a cottage) before heading back home.

The kids and I played outside while Scott practiced using his new camera.

I love when I catch Theo deep in thought. I wonder what he was thinking about.

Wish I could have seen inside the side cabin.

We took a pitstop at Sanchez Burritos in Little Falls for lunch.

It's nothing special, but it's a nice option on the way back. We've stopped here a few times.

Then we stopped by Lindbergh State Park to knock off another hiking club trail.

Somehow the kids were in good spirits on a hike.

The kids produced a radio show along the trail, which might have distracted us from the hiking club trail sign.

Theo and I played by the creek while Brooke and Meadow backtracked to find the sign.

We never found the sign. I always see people posting on the MN Hiking Facebook group that they missed the hiking club trail sign and always wondered how people miss it. I guess it is possible.

We finished off the weekend with ice cream and a walk at St. Cloud's Munsinger Gardens.

I loved how this was arranged.

And whatever flowers these were.

St Cloud gets a bad rap, but Munsinger Gardens are beautiful.

Comments

Iron Range Camping for Work and Fun

Scott had more shoots this weekend. This time it took us way up north. With Meadow back in school we left Friday afternoon. Luckily Meadow's teacher canceled their afternoon meeting and we were able to leave earlier than we planned. To break up the long drive we camped for the night at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park . We booked the last site, I can't believe people are still camping. When we were setting up our tent Meadow said, "Why are other people so close to us?" We don't go to normal campgrounds very often I guess. We set up early and went on a hike before dinner. We should have brought our canoe along, but a hike would do.

Meadow's 13th Birthday Party

We woke up to down pouring rain. Once the rain had slowed down, Theo and I walked over to the Kingfield Farmers Market. Theo picked another Bundt cake as his treat. I have never seen it so dead. I got some rhubarb to make jam and Israeli bagels that I wasn't expecting to be long. On our walk home we also picked up some free pots and a Minecraft book. Both of our vacuums have bit the dust. I was trying to hold out until Black Friday to buy another one when I saw there was deals thanks to Prime Day. Theo said he's never seen me this excited before, not even my birthday. I used up all of my gift cards I'd earned from Medica. Yeah, I know, it's weird. Walking for two years got us a vacuum. I had vacuumed in the morning with our old vacuum and then again with our new one. Ew. Usually I'm the one stressing out before guests come over but this time it was Scott. He was deep cleaning everything. We both have blind spots for different parts of the house I guess. We ...

Father's Day and Grandpa Birthdays Up at the Cottage

This summer we were making sure to get up to the cottage as often as we could. Even when I had a shoot out of state before Father's Day. While Scott was still in Illinois, the kids and I drove to the cottage on Thursday evening. Scott would be flying in to Rhinelander Friday morning and we'd pick him up there. My dad suggested we go out for breakfast before picking him up. We dried out R&T's "not so" Dinky Diner. I wish I could have went to their old location but this was a nice restaurant. They had games and a play area for little kids. I thought we'd just pick up Scott at the entrance when my dad said we should park and go in. I didn't think in 2026 that you could still meet people at the gate. I flew into Rhinelander since I didn't want to miss Father's Day up at the cottage. To my surprise, Mr. Mike, Brooke and Theo met me in the tiny terminal. On the way back we checked out my new billboard for the Three Lakes Area visitors bureau. As ...

Search This Blog