Week in Review - 4/09

Happy Sunday! How was your first full week of April? Work was a little crazy for me, but everything else was pretty good! I'm excited for the rest of the month.

Since I'm not currently training for anything in particular, I'm switching up the format for my weekly review posts.

Our visit to Valley of Fire State Park

It's Day 9 of Blogember!! Are we having fun yet? Today's topic is about our favorite places to shop online. I'm not really an online shopper, so instead, I'm going to share some pictures of Valley of Fire.

Back when my parents were visiting, we took a day to visit this state park.

Perfect weather. Blue skies. Gorgeous views!

We started at the Visitor's Center. I didn't take any pictures there, but there was a lot to see in the center. And lots to learn. For example, millions of years ago, it used to be a sea. Seems so weird that it's a desert now.

In the visitor's center, I talked to a ranger to decide on which trails for us to tackle.

After pulling my Dad away from the exhibits at the Visitor's Center, we headed to Mouse's Tank trail. What is Mouse's Tank? It's an interesting story, actually. Mouse isn't a what, but a who. A Southern Paiute Indian renegade in the 1890s, accused of murder and other crimes, hid out at this natural basin.

Looking down into the basin

It was a gorgeous trail! Along the way, there were tons of petroglyphs.

The trail itself was soft sand. It was kind of like walking along the beach - with cliffs instead of ocean views.

After dumping the sand out of our shoes, we headed to the Rainbow Vista.

From there, we took the Rainbow Vista trail to the Fire Canyon.

Again, the trail was very soft sand, but it was pretty well marked, and GORGEOUS, so totally worth it.

Our calves got a great workout for sure.

These pictures don't really do this state park justice, it really was breathtaking. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Vegas who is looking to get off the Strip for a day. It's an only an hour away and very easy to find.

My Biggest tip for visiting Valley of Fire? Wear hiking boots. Running shoes were okay, but they sure welcomed the sand, and filled right up with copious amounts of sand. We were totally surprised at how many people were hiking in flip flops. Weird.

I can't wait to go back.

As a matter of fact, I'll be heading back there next weekend for a half marathon - The Valley of Fire Half. I've been looking forward to this half for MONTHS and visiting the park with my parents only made me more excited about it.

My shins, however, seem to have other ideas. I've been spending my weekend icing and rolling and massaging. I'm still holding onto hope that I'll be able to run on Saturday. If not, I'm planning on still driving to the race to volunteer. It won't be the same, but it would still be fun.

Stay tuned...

Have you ever visited Valley of Fire?
What's your favorite state park?
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5FF - Places

Lisa asked for a post on my favorite places in MN. I thought it would be a great idea for this week's Five Favorites for Friday, so here you go (in no particular order).

Alexandria

Source

I'm probably partial to this place because it's my hometown. :) I lived there from mid-3rd grade through graduation. It has a cute downtown, lots of area lakes, parks, beaches. Big Ole makes an appearance at one of Broadway, and the Kensington Runestone isn't very far away.

Inspiration Peak

from the Ottertail County Website

This is a little wayside park north of Alexandria in Ottertail County. It is so beautiful up there! Growing up in Alex, my family hiked to the top several times in my youth. I always loved it and have such great memories of going there. One day I'd really like to go back again.

Big Lake Wilderness Lodge

from their website

We first took a family vacation here the summer of 2008. We had so much fun that the next summer, we convinced even more of my family to come along. I've been a bad blogger and I can't seem to find any pictures online from 2009. Oops! We all made the trek up to Ely again last summer.

Big Lake is about 20 or so miles outside of Ely. I love it there because they have free access to kayaks, canoes, and paddleboats. They also have free day passes into the Boundary Waters for canoeing/kayaking or hiking. It is so gorgeous in northern MN!

Minneapolis Chain of Lakes

Source

This series of lakes is so fun! You can circle them by walking, biking, blading. On Lake Calhoun, you can even rent kayaks, canoes, paddleboats and other fun non-motorized water toys. I think it's so beautiful! And I just enjoy being around so many people, outside, enjoying nature.

Downtown Minneapolis

Source

Even though I grew up in a small town, I grew into a city girl. I love the buildings and the parks and the people that come with living in a big city. I love the Minneapolis skyline. I love the skyway system. There is easy access to bike lanes, the light rail, and public transportation. There are museums and theaters and sports venues. The Mississippi river is at one end and Loring park at another.

In writing this post, I've realized that there is a lot to MN that I've never really explored. Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to view and see more of this great state in the next year. :)

If you live in MN (or ever have), what are some areas/things I should put on my MN bucket list?

If you're not in MN, what are some of your favorite places where you live?

Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls...

But I just can't help it!

It's no secret that both Jeff and I LOVE waterfalls, as described here and here.

For me, it's almost even stronger than love. Is that possible? Is anything stronger than love? It is what binds us, after all.

For me, it's almost like a drug. If I'm out for a walk or in a park, and I hear the sound of rushing water, I can't help but go. chase. that. waterfall!! I keep listening and walking...and listening and walking...until I finally find it!

This past summer, I even convinced Jeff to make a pitstop on our road trip to check out the waterfalls in Sioux Falls, SD. You can read about that here.

A few weeks back, I took Sallie for a walk. I heard the unmistakably, wonderful sound of a waterfall, but I couldn't find it. anywhere.

Today, we went out again but this time hiked even closer to the river.

There it was again. An ever-so-slight, but deliciously exhilarating, sound of rushing water. It didn't take me too long to gasp at the beauty as I turned my head.

There it was!! Complete with icicles. Wow.

Now I didn't happen to have my camera with me - just my phone.

If you look real close, in the back center, you can see two streams of water going over the small cliff.

The camera on my phone doesn't have a zoom, so I knew that I needed to get closer.

Down we hiked. Sallie and I.

Closer. But still not good enough to satisfy my need.

Down. Down. Down.

Finally I could get a shot from the front.

This shot was difficult to get because Sallie, does not get my fascination with waterfalls. She was trying her darnedest to get back up the hill. Guess it reminds her too much of getting a bath. Something she does. not. enjoy.

Back at the top of the hill, I tried to capture one last shot of some icicles. Gorgeous!

I realize they are a little difficult to discern (darn no-zooming-camera-phone), but trust me. They are there. Kind of dead center, hanging from the blob of greenery.

Walking Log

Ok. So, I haven't been very good about updating my walking log.

Truth be told, I haven't been very going about walking either.

The week after my last walking log entry, my family took a trip to a lake up near Ely, MN. It was great fun! I went canoeing, and hiking, and swimming! There were also quite a few moments of relaxation enjoing the beauty of the outdoors.

Here's a few stats:

August 10th (my 32nd birthday)
I was hoping to go for a hike on my birthday, but the sky looked a little ominous. Jeff and I took out a canoe instead. The battery in my Garmin died a little less than half way, but here is what the canoe trip was like before that.

Canoe Time: 1:10:30
Canoe Distance: 3.06mi
Avg Pace: 23:01/mi
Calories: 416

Well, actually Jeff did most of the work; I'm not the greatest canoeist.

August 11
This was the first hike of the trip. I was accompanied by my sister and 3 nieces. We hiked the Bass Lake trail to the Dry Falls. It was very hilly! A great workout! It was quite a busy trail, and when we got to the end, there were quite a few people playing in the falls and swimming in the lake. Not quite what I was hoping for at the end of our hike. It was still great fun to spend time outside with the girls.

Run Time: 1:27:12
Run Distance: 3.01mi
Avg Pace: 43.26/mi
Calories: 139

August 13
This was the second hike of our trip. It was the same people with the addition of my dad. This time we hiked the trip to Big Moose Lake. It was so much fun! The trail was riddled with wild blueberry plants. There was no one else on the trail, and the lake at the end was absolutely gorgeous! So clear and still. We paused for a while at the lake--eating some snacks and dipping our feet in the lake. It was wonderful.

Run Time: 2:23:15
Run Distance: 4.40mi
Avg Pace: 32:32/mi
Calories: 628

Walking Log: Day 3

WOW! My walk today did not turn out to be what I'd intended.

I wanted to walk somewhere different than yesterday. We live close to Lake Crosby, and Jeff and I walked to the lake and around the park a little back in April. That walk had ended with us scaling a wall. This time I wanted to walk from one end of the park to the other.

Here is a map of the park. I entered at the end opposite of where the marker is, and I wanted to come out where the A was.

View Larger Map

It seemed to be taking a LONG time, and I was getting a little frustrated. I hadn't intended on walking nearly 5 miles today! BUT, if you're lost in a park, you have no option but to keep on trekking.

When I finally got to what I thought was the end, I asked someone if I was at Shepherd Rd. He confirmed it, but as we talked, I was informed, that I was back at the point where I'd entered the park.

Somehow going straight (or what I'd supposed was straight) had brought me full circle!

I have now found a map online that shows the trails in this park. I'll need to study it before I attempt tackling this park again!

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 1:15:09
Run Dist: 4.88mi
Avg Pace: 15:24/mi
Best Pace: 8:51/mi
Calories: 428

I was surprised at how many wild rhubarb plants I saw in the park. It's out of season now, but do you think they'd mind if I helped myself next year? :-)

Part of the trail was in a marsh, so it wasn't paved but a boardwalk had been constructed. There were snakes everywhere! I tried to find out what kind they were, but it was too creepy for me to look through photos online to find one that looked that the ones in the park. Also, whenever I caught a glimpse of one, I usually averted my eyes as quickly as possible. I never really knew how icky I thought snakes were. At least I was relatively calm and didn't shriek or anything!