If you've been following along on our travels, we know that our summer vacation plans changed multiple times, finally ending us up in the Northern US in the beautiful state of Minnesota. We took a pit stop in Iowa to see the Bridges of Madison County, made our first stop in Minneapolis to see Minnehaha Falls and the Stone Arch Bridge, and then headed to Itasca State Park for a few days. We spent some of our time on the water enjoying the things Lake Itasca had to offer, including walking the headwaters of the Mississippi River and pontooning. And if you missed any of that, all the links above will take you to each post. After that, we made sure to do some trail walking and Jeep driving on the scenic 16-mile loop.
The hiking, while one of the most challenging parts of this trip for my type 1 diabetes & asthma, was something I loved the most. My son had recently spent 2 weeks in New Mexico at the Philmont Scout Ranch completing a 10-day backpacking/camping trek that covered over 75 miles of hiking. Upon his return, he told me how much I would have loved going and taking pictures - but that I probably would have died. Kidding aside, I may not have died, but all my conditions certainly would have made it difficult on the crew to keep good time. So, getting to have my own little, manageable experience was perfect.
The icing on the cake was that it was best to have someone with me, and since my daughter preferred the beach on the lake, my husband stuck with her and my son got to hang with me. I really loved the extra time, even if it wasn't much. Something about that final vacation before the oldest took off for college had me feeling all the feels.
After one duo spent some time in the woods while the other spent it on the beach, we took off for the scenic drive through the park. We made sure to seek out what used to be the tallest red pine in the state and stood in awe of both its beauty and its brokenness. My very favorite thing in life is to drive down windy roads. I'll take a forest of trees or farmland; it's something from my youth. Itasca did not disappoint.
The drive was beautiful with its winding tree-filled turns and sneak peeks of the lake. The one way, empty road gave me the perfect opportunity to jump out and get the shots I wanted.
As we rounded out the evening, my crew decided to investigate an observation tower to see about getting a top view of the park. The boys didn't want to stick around with Emma and I for the big tree, so we found the dance they did on the trail a little funny because they didn't realize how BAD the bugs were and insisted they would be fine without bug spray. When we got to the bottom, I decided to wait for them to tell me if it was worth it because I knew that I would need to eat yet ANOTHER granola bar to make it up and back down. And just as I got cozy at a picnic table, a group of 20-somethings came down the stairs, one wearing a CGM like mine for his own blood sugar and they confirmed that if I had the granola bar with me, I would need it, but it was worth it. And so, up the tower I went, catching the last kiss of sunlight over the trees before we left the park for the final time. Itasca State Park and all her riches were definitely a trip worth making.
Until Next Time,
