Memorial Day Weekend Trip – May 22 – 26, 2008 (Splurge!)
Side note: Although most of the adventures take place in and around the metro DC area, this particular adventure was a splurge – a trip the Minnesota for the long weekend.
This weekend brought the big trip to Minneapolis. It’s not that I hate flying, but I don’t have a lot of patience for the ridiculous goings on at airports – the food is too expensive, there’s a long line at security at 4:30 a.m. (what is with that???) and my inner clock is all thrown off.
However, all complaining aside, I finally get to see both of my sisters again. It’s been almost 3 months since I’ve seen them so the excitement is mounting as I board the plane and we inch (it feels like inching, but I’m sure its faster than that) towards the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.
After an uneventful flight, my husband and I board the unbelievably clean and smooth train to 46th street where we will meet my sister. I love taking this train and I am astounded by how inexpensive the fair is. How did they ever come up with such a wonderful public resource that is so economical? I’ll never understand that.
After a comical greeting by my sister, who practically flies out of her car as its still moving to greet us (I love her, she’s hilarious, although she’s not wearing the Beyonce wig as I had hoped), we gather up Marcia and head out to a delicious breakfast. The rest of the day is spent working, getting ready for camping, and relaxing.
My other sister arrives by plane the next afternoon and we are off to Banning State Park, http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/banning/index.html, about 90 miles north of the Twin Cities via I-35W and I-35. I love to camp, hike, and eat food made outside, so I am in high spirits. We are a little squeezed in the car, with my sister’s Anne and Liz, Marcia, Eric, me, and the dog/mountain goat Baxter. Well, technically, Baxter is a Great Dane, but as we were about to discover, he is also part mountain goat.
The most intriguing event planned is a hike on Hell’s Gate trail, which is, and I quote, “Not recommended for small children.” Luckily, the youngest member of the group is 16, so I think we are good. And, upon arrival at Hell’s Gate trail, we have some inkling as to why small children should not hike here. This is the best kind of trail, where at parts, there is no trail, and you literally have to enter and skirt alongside the Kettle River. This is also where we discovered Baxter’s mountain goat tendencies. Not only did he ford the river like a champ, he also could scale sheer rock at a 90 degree angle with ease. We had a glorious time that day.
That night, however, it began pouring and showed no signs of letting up. The next day, to escape the bad weather, we head to Hinckley, MN to the Hinckley Fire Museum. In 1894, over the course of 4 hours, a huge fire (much more severe than any wildfire you hear about today) wiped out 6 towns in just 4 hours. An incredible fire wall over 4 miles high swept over the area. Some residents of Hinckley were able to escape to the rivers but many were killed in the swamps that boiled or in the towns as the fire overtook them. http://www.hinckleymn.com/history.htm.
This museum is incredibly interesting, least of all, the woman who runs the museum, who I also suspect lives there, never bores of telling this same story over and over again to groups of tourists to the area. Today the town of Hinckley boasts almost nothing, although before the fire, this town was prospering on the lumbering industry and the fate of its geographic location, halfway between the Twin Cities and Duluth. The only positive outcome of this tragedy is the national awareness about fire safety and prevention that was learned as a result.
The rain that day was relentless. No one had the desire to be unendingly damp, so we pack the car up a day early and head back to the Twin Cities. About halfway back, we receive a call from Marcia’s sister letting us know that we were, fairly directly, driving into a tornado. And she was right. Tragically, the city of Hugo, MN, just a short jog from where we were, is hard hit by a series of tornados. Please visit this site for the complete story. http://www.topix.com/city/hugo-mn/2008/05/power-restored-in-storm-ravaged-twin-city-suburb.
After a brief stint off of the Interstate to let the storm pass, we continue home. We take turns with the shower and retire to the dinning room for an evening of games, pizza, and merriment.
