by Amy | Sep 15, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Adventure, The Art of the Moment
I’ve come to realize that there are two basic types of hikers. Those that find a trail and hike it…when they are done, they are content to do something else, maybe something a little more lax. And…those that make a list of trails. They set out to do as much as possible, and as long as the sun is still up and they still have feet, they will continue hiking until they literally cannot take another step.
Derek and I are the latter.
We get a rush when we are out hiking, exploring, seeing beautiful, rugged places. As long as we are feeling “pretty good” we will keep trucking…because we are awful at relaxing and taking it easy. So we will push it to the limit until the sun goes down. Really, we don’t know what to do if we aren’t moving with intention.
That’s pretty much the story of our first day at Glacier National Park. We started with a single trail that we wanted to hike. Then we just kept adding things on to it. It’s easy to do here. The trails are all well marked and the whole park is just gorgeous. So we kept going. Kept exploring. Kept walking, and climbing, and descending, and hiking. I’ll just go ahead and admit that we over did it.
But boy, oh boy, was it a lovely over do. Here’s what our first day looked like.
We started by driving to Siyeh Bend via Going-to-the-Sun Road. {Fun fact…GTTS Road was featured in The Shining.}
Once there we started out on the Siyeh Pass Trail. The trail takes you, well…to Siyeh Pass. But it’s touch getting there. There’s just about 2100 feet of elevation gained along the way, and a lot of it comes up very quickly on you at the end. Really up until the rocky climb at the end, the trail ascends steadily and isn’t too bad. Along the way we had a close encounter with some lovely femail Mule Deer…which was just magical. We stopped at the top and had some lunch while taking in the view. Round trip this hike is just over 9 miles {from where we parked.}
After lunch we headed back out. When we got to a split in the trail we decided we were still feeling “pretty good” so we took the fork toward Piegan Pass. This one was less strenuous. Only about 1900 feet gained, 4 miles round trip. Unlike Siyeh, the Piegan trail ascends very gradually. The payout at the top is big. We got our fist glimpse at one of the turquoise glacial lakes in the park as well as an up close encounter with a group of lady big-horn sheep.
After we got back to our car our feet were tired, but we still had some solid daylight. So we decided to power through a few short hikes to see some waterfalls. If you are keeping track…we are up to 13 miles so far.
First stop: St. Mary’s Falls. This is an easy hike. Just shy of 2 miles round trip, it’s very well traveled by all levels of hikers. But there is good reason for that…it’s beautiful. Just look at the color of the water! So, stinking awesome!
After St. Mary’s we made the short drive to Sunrift Gorge. That’s a short hike up a series of stone steps, about 0.5 miles in all. Then we hiked downhill to see Baring Falls {that’s the bottom right photo above.} It’s another very easy hike, only about a mile round trip…but by the time we got to the waterfall, we knew we’d done a bit too much. By the time we got off the trail and walked back down the road to where we had parked we totaled a 17 mile day. Now, I’ve done more…but this was some hard hiking. {Or I’m a whimp. Or maybe a bit of both.}
By the time we got back to the park entrance it was way past dinner time and we were both pretty slap happy. But for me, that’s a good thing, because it makes all my jokes even funnier. Let’s just say we downed a pretty massive amount of food and topped it off with huckleberry cobbler a la mode. The kind of eating that would make Ron Burgundy “…not even mad. I’m impressed!” {If you don’t get the reference, you should probably go rent Anchorman stat.}
I’ll be posting more from our trip as the photos get edited. Hopefully more tomorrow. But it’s Sunday, the day of rest, so we’ll see.
Amy
by Amy | Jul 26, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Adventure
I’ve been gone a long time. I know. I have this goal of “writing out” so that even when I’m away and unable to post I’d have content coming up every day or so. But, as you can tell…that goal keeps getting shoved underneath a bunch of other more pressing/urgent/fun things. Anyway I’m home to PraCan now and I’m very happy to be here. The weather is simply ideal.
While on vacation I was all over the Midwest. I even took along a native Californian who had never explored the possibilities this amazing region has to offer. Since I wasn’t just bumming around solo the pressure was on to show her a good time. It’s no secret that I adore the Wisconsin/Michigan/Indiana zone…and I wanted her to adore it too.
I’ll be breaking my trip up into a few posts. And tonight I’ll be addressing a question I get asked a lot:
Where do you come up with these places? How do you find them?
Yes, true. That’s two questions. But the premise is the same…I love to travel {even when it makes me nervous}. As in every other aspect of my life and personality, my travel practices are quirky/unique/weird. I’ve been on arranged tours and I don’t like them. I’ve stayed in the “it” places of the classic “destinations” and I didn’t like it. I’m all about creating a get away that is unique. Something you’ll remember. Something your friends have never done. Something off the beaten path.
I’ve been a lot of places and my best trips have been to places most have never heard of, when I’ve stayed in little known nooks and eaten in dive-ish diners. I’ve two-stepped with locals in a Texas dance hall, stayed overnight in an airplane hanger-come-hotel, listened jazz in NOLA, eaten world famous dinner rolls and even jumped off a cliff.
Don’t stop reading here and think that I’m a big, fat bragger. I’ve been blessed enough to do some really cool things. And you can too. When I get home and post my photos people always ask how we came across all these wild/weird fun-tivities. On my most recent adventure I decided to visit the Wisconsin Dells. Here is where we stayed the night.
Remember I was traveling with that California Raisin…so this trip had to be a blast. So, for better or worse I dragged her along on one of my signature adventures. Cliffside Resort and Suites. Sound like a place you’d book? Well you should.
Why stay here instead of the well known Holiday Inn Express? A bunch of reasons. First of all you’ll be supporting a local business. Second, just look at this place. It’s soaked in quirky lake-house nostalgia. Even better…it sits right on Lake Delton directly across from the Tommy Bartlett stands. So you can take in the show from the resort grounds. Don’t know Tommy? Look at his website here, and we’ll get to how to find similar attractions in a minute.
Not to mention a pristine outdoor pool, lakeside seating and fire pits for guest usage. This place was just precious.
Being at the Cliffside Resort made me feel like I was at summer camp {and I never even went to camp as a kid.} Or at very least like I was in “Dirty Dancing” at that family camp where Baby met what’s-his-name. Now, it’s your turn. Here’s a quick list of ways you can track down the coolest, weirdest, quirkiest travel spots. (more…)
by Amy | Jul 19, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Adventure
I know I’ve been absent. If I was really a good friend to you, I’d be writing every single day of all the adventures I’ve been having in Indiana. But here’s the thing. I’m having so many, many, many adventures that are lasting late into the night I’m just too pooped to put a full sentence together by the time I’m home for the night.
However, I’m so excited to show off not one…but TWO vacation bro images.
The first comes from my recent visit to Noah’s Ark Water Park {America’s largest water amusement park}. While floating down the lazy river, I discovered that the park offered tubes that were built for two people to share. Perfect for friends. Immediately I began wishing and hoping that I’d see two bros sharing one of these tubes. And…bingo. Right behind us on the river two bros hopped in one tube together.
Just two bros floating down the lazy river.
Now, this first one shows a view from the side. It kind of looks like they are just floating close. Nope. Oh, and don’t mind that creeper in the corner. Katie was smiling so it would look like I was taking a photo of her and not the bro show.
This one really shows off the bro moment that was taking place.
Last night Katie and I ventured up to Baron Lake near Niles, MI where Derek’s family has a cabin. We didn’t expect to see a bro moment take place. But that’s the thing with moments like these. Sometimes they can crop up out of no where. While we were taking turns practicing our dives off the pier we noticed two bros climbing on to a paddle board together. Nice and cozy. The icing on the cake? They literally referred to each other as “bro.” The cherry on top? One was wearing American flag board shorts and the other was sporting Canadian flag shorts. Priceless.
Just two bros doing a little paddle boarding.
by Amy | Jul 6, 2013 | Blog, Crafts, The Art of Adventure, The Art of Projects
I was incredibly and pleasantly surprised recently when I attended Minot’s second annual Vintage Fair. When I heard it advertised I was excited, but I never expected it to be such a wonderful and inspiring event. When I drove up to the rustic family farm on which it was held I felt like I stepped out of my Chevy Equinox and into an issue of Country Living Magazine. Seriously, all, it was that wonderful.
Furniture, antiques and vintage inspired artisan goods littered the open air market. Booths of venders lined up with goods repurposed from nostalgic wares. I’ll call it a junker’s/upcycler’s/collecter’s/thrifter’s paradise. Cast aside cupboards, doors and windows waited anxiously to be snatched up by an inspired fair goer. Things forgotten were seen in a new light under lots and lots of creative eyes.
Minot’s very own Darling Stewardess brought everything-but-the-kitchen-sink from their downtown shop and set up in this adorably rustic church. Lots of venders were local to Minot, but a good number flocked in from all over the state. The only requirement is that you sell vintage or vintage inspired items. Seriously, can you imagine a better place to spend and afternoon? One of my favorite venders sold North Dakota inspired greeting cards with sayings like, “Uffda,” “Oh you betcha,” and “Oh for cute.” They really say those things up here.
I walked away with just a few items…but a lot of inspiration. My new goal is to participate next year with my very own booth. I walked away from Minot’s Vintage fair knowing, just knowing that I’ve got to get in with this crowd. If you didn’t go this year, you’ve gotta check it out next year. And if you aren’t lucky enough to spent your summers in Practically Canada…at least find a flea market or swap meet to hit up this season.
Amy
by Amy | May 30, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Adventure, The Art of the Moment
There are few places that I’d visited are sweeter than Seaside, FL. It’s so quaint it’s nearly surreal. Have you seen that Jim Carey movie, The Truman Show? You know that precious too-cute-to-be-real town Truman grows up in? Well, that’s Seaside, FL.
Seaside is like no other place I’ve ever been. It’s got the atmosphere of a dream. I guess, because that’s what Seaside is: a dream. The settlement that we know today was the vision of J.S. Smolian. After his passing, his grandson carried out their shared vision. They dreamed of a place where everything you needed {including the beach} was within walking distance. A place where people biked, lingered on porches and relaxation reigned. Mission accomplished. More than 30 years later Seaside still exemplifies this attitude. (more…)
by Amy | Apr 23, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Adventure
As you may remember, the drive to Minneapolis to visit the Mall of America {from here on out it will be referred to as the MOA} was pretty treacherous. Scratch that. It was some of the most terrifying driving I’ve ever done. Ever. But we made it. And, yes…it was worth it. (more…)
by Amy | Apr 19, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Adventure
Well, we made it Minneapolis.
Barely.
Let me tell you…if warm weather late into fall is called an Indian Summer, I don’t even know what to call the weather we are having right now. Well, I know what to call it, but those words are not appropriate for my younger readers.
Okay, I’ll say it. It’s poopy. Down right poopy, I tell you.
Our day started out great. Blue sunny skies in Minot. We got coffee from Sweet and Flour {the best place to get coffee in Minot} then headed out.
But about half way the weather turned into this.
I thought for sure we’d drive out of it eventually. I thought wrong. This lasted the rest of the drive. 5.5 hours later {it takes 3.5-4 hours in clear weather} we arrived. Yes, that is the highway. Speed limit 70. Traffic pace 40 mph.
After a good dinner at the Cheesecake Factory the weather looked like this.
Poor Katie! She’s just a little California Raisin. This is no way to treat a girl on her birthday.
Good thing our hotel offers a free shuttle to the Mall of America. No more driving for us until it’s time to go home. Hopefully by then it will be over.
Seriously, this is nuts.
Amy
by Amy | Apr 14, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Adventure
I don’t think I need to say much. There were rumors {at least I had hoped they were rumors} about snow coming our way…but this is ridiculous. In case you didn’t know the date, it is April 14th.
Today I went to the Minot High School spring play. The key word is spring. Newsflash, this doesn’t look like spring. When I went in to the play it was barely snowing. When I came out I could barely see.
I’ve been home for a few hours now. The snow has yet to lighten up. Locals say this is atypical. And I really hope so. Welcome to my first Practically Canadian “spring.”
