I thought the tree outside my window looked pretty with all this snow on it yesterday morning.  I couldn’t get a very good shot of it through the window but I am glad I took this photo because  just a short time later the sun melted  all the snow crystals off.

Some mornings I leave for work long before the sun makes his appearance, other days I can catch a spectacular sunrise over White Bear Lake while enroute.  Today was one of those days! (Thanks to a super-sweet loaner bag (Coach!) from a friend, I am able to conveniently carry my camera around in style- camera bag problem temporarily solved)

PS On an unrelated note….. www.sweetsauer.com will be moving to a new server and platform this weekend so make sure you subscribe using this feed otherwise you will not continue to receive my blog updates!

Last week some friends and I got a couple of rooms on the 17th floor of a nice hotel overlooking the Mississippi River and had ourselves a stay-cation.  Great views from the rooms which is great because it was freezing out!

Daytime:

Nighttime:

We ventured out a little and had dinner at American Burger Bar (which has awesome burgers!) and then looked at some nearby lights

The city is so pretty during the holidays!!

This past Saturday was one of the most beautiful fall days we could ask for in MN! The sun and 65' temp were a welcome sight after the cold, rainy month of October that we had.  I had wanted to get out and plant my tulips in the perfect weather but decided to go on a hike and get some exercise instead.  It was a beautiful day out at Tamarack! Ahhh, to see blue skies and the sun again makes me happy :)

Now that the sun is setting so early, we were able to catch it as it started to sink into the horizon.  Thought it looked really cool as it set behind this water tower, causing a cool silhouette.

This warm up might be brief but it is welcome anyway :)

A perfectly beautiful maple tree, covered in SNOW. (Taken 10-12-09)

I woke up on Saturday 10/10 to find snow covering the ground!! It melted by afternoon but that is the earliest October snowfall that I can remember.  Two days later on 10/12, there was more snow on the ground when I woke up and it continued to snow almost all day!

Has Winter has decided to come early this year??!! As much as I detest snow and cold weather, I hope we have a very snowy season this year so that our lakes can fill back up! It can wait until December to arrive though, it would be nice to enjoy the rest of Autumn first :)

The highlight of my trip to the North Shore was a day in the Lutsen Mountains.  On Saturday we took the gondola up to the top of the mountain just after it opened for the day.  The gondolas hold up to 4 people and are suspended from a series of cables; a one-way ride takes about ten minutes.  Neither of us had ridden one before and it was really cool!

There was a small river flowing through the valley

The colors got much more spectacular the higher we climbed and the further we went from Lake Superior.  It was awesome to see all the beautiful colors. Too bad the weather was overcast and damp, the colors just don't gleam the same.  Still pretty though!

Once we got to the top we stopped at the overlook to enjoy the beautiful view of the valley below us.  Breathtaking!! Just imagine it with blue skies on a sunny day…..

(Yes, my hair is getting ridiculously long.  I can't stand it)

Next we proceeded to go on a hiking adventure like neither of us had ever been on before! The first few miles were partially off-the-beaten-path…. I was climbing a dang mountain!! With a lot of loose rocks, soft soil and tree roots everywhere. I didn't take too many photos during the hike as I was being extra-careful with my brother's camera, but here are a few….

I was not feeling so adventurous at that point ( I was being a  big baby, actually) but things got better once we found the main trail again.  We came across the Spur Trail, which is part of the Superior Hiking Trail system.  We did not have a map with us (as we had not really prepared for a hike at that point in time in that particular area) but decided to continue our hike.  There were a lot of obstacles in our way, such as this cluster of trees that had been uprooted.  They had been growing on a solid layer of hard rock.  It's crazy that they were able to grow there for as long as they lived without the roots being able to anchor into the ground like they do in soil.

Some other photos from the hike

After 4-5 miles (about one mountain over from where we started) and not having a clue where we were headed, we turned back the way we came.  A few miles later we came across the first official sign (which we had somehow missed on the hike out so we must've been on a slightly different path).  Only 3 more miles to go, all of which was slightly different than the way we came.

About 8-9 miles after we started our hike ( holy moly was that tiring!), we finally made our way back to the top of the mountain where we could catch the gondola for a  ride back down the mountain to our car.

We saw some of the ski runs and chair lifts that they use in winter.  (Sidenote: Downhill skiing is something I have never done in my life, nor will I ever do.  I would hate to go out like Sonny and that is probably what would happen, knowing me.  Breaking my arm while sledding in third grade was quite enough for me, thank-you-very-much.)

We both loved Lutsen and look forward to going back again.  The fall is a beautiful time to go but I am sure it is beautiful in spring, summer and winter as well!

Last week I took a couple of vacation days for the first time in three years and spent a nice long weekend up at the North Shore.  I have been to Duluth many times over the years and my family used to camp up on the North Shore way back in the day, but to my recollection, I had never been any further than Little Marais.  (Here is a MN map for reference)

Here is a map of Lake Superior

The first night we stayed in Duluth at the Holiday Inn.  I had earned four free-night-stays during a promotion they had going this past summer when I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Austin, TX and decided to cash a few of them in for this trip.  It rained all day Thursday and we were off to a late start so we didn't get to Duluth until late in the evening.  Here is a view of Canal Park from our hotel room.

Early Friday morning we left rainy Duluth and started our drive northeast along the North Shore Scenic Drive.  The rain prevented us from stopping at many of the scenic overlooks, but we stopped at Split Rock Lighthouse for about .32 seconds until we realized you had to pay $8 admission.  Forget about it! 

It had stopped raining at Silver Bay so we stopped at a scenic overlook.  It was sooooo  crazy windy that day, like 40-50 mph.  The swells of the lake were 8-12', it was like being at the Ocean the waves were so big.  I have video footage that I will post sometime soon.

It was nearly impossible to catch a clear photo of the berries, it was so windy

We got back on the road and continued the drive to Grand Marais.  The weather got better the further we drove north along the lake.  We stopped at another scenic lookout  somewhere between Lutsen and Grand Marais.  It is so incredibly beautiful! Being at Lake Superior is almost like having the ocean in Minnesota, especially on windy days that bring big waves.

We had lunch at the Gun Flint Tavern (which has an awesome Cuban sandwich that I will be reviewing on the Twin Cities Restaurant Blog soon) and then sent some time walking around the town and browsing the shops.  

Cool little scene in the Grand Marais Harbor

Later in the afternoon we drove back south to our new hotel in Tofte and then out for a fancy late dinner at the Blue Fin Grille (which I will also be reviewing soon).  Took a couple photos on their beach as the waves kept crashing in.

The hotel we stayed at was overlooking the lake and our room was literally less than 20 ft from the waves that were crashing all night long.  I was so tired that I slept peacefully anyway.  We got up early the next day before heading the Lutsen Mountain, which I will be blogging about next!

Labor Day is always the last day of the 12-day Minnesota State Fair and like other years, I had to make it out there for a 2nd time to sample the treats we only get to eat once a year.  We met up with my brother Jeff sometime in mid afternoon and took the Park N Ride to the Fairgrounds. 

There were a LOT of people out at the Fair on Labor Day!

I made Jeff bring his camera along so that I could document more of our food buys which consisted of:

• Cheese Curds
• Philly Cheese Steak

• London Broil Sandwich
• Deep Fried Ravioli
• Deep Fried Snickers

• Reuben Pretzel (eeeewww.  I love Reubens and did not enjoy this at ALL)

• Deep Fried Sunfish with Lindon Berry Sauce and Walleye Cakes

We were out at the Fair about 4 hrs until we were pretty hot and stuffed and decided to call it a day.

It was another great year at the MN State Fair!