Visiting Minnesota- Places to See

 

Minnesota offers many beautiful places to enjoy nature. I visited a few and posted some photos and videos in a few blogs. So, the purpose of this page is to provide links to the places I have seen.

Duluth - Trails and Hikes

Duluth- Lake Superior Railroad Museum

Voyageurs National Park

Rainy Lake - Tilson Bay area

White Bear Lake

Big Falls Minnesota

Voyageurs National Park Minnesota

 More Water Than Land

I drove to Voyageurs National Park up highway 53 from Duluth. There are two visitor's centers enroute to my stay at International Falls, which is west of the Rainy Lake center. I found the park map board helpful.

My first stop was at Ash River

...where I hiked to Beaver Lake among other points of interest. The top photo is of Beaver Lake. Below is a closeup.

There are a lot of birds, squirrels and chipmunks. I didn't get good shots of birds. But I did get this creature crossing my path.

Here's a video showing the lake by the visitors center along with boaters and people fishing. I was also videobombed by mosquitos.

The next stop was Kabetogama Lake. I hardly saw anyone but there were plenty of trucks and boat trailers.

On the second day, I hiked at the Rainy Lake area.

Unfortunately, I was too early in the season for a boat tour of the park. However, with sunshine and 80 degree temperatures it sure felt like summer. And the mosquitos were out in force.

Along a trail at Rainy Lake

Notes

Voyageurs National Park is unique because of the vast areas of water. I wish I was there when boat rides were available. There's also a variety of winter activities. Learn more at the Park Website.

I'm glad I had plenty of insect repellent and sunscreen.

Trekking poles and waterproof shoes or boots are important on trails.

Most pictures were with my Pixel 4 phone but I use a Lumix DMC ZS 100 for zoom shots.

The trail maps and signs were helpful.

I like the National Parks' Book for more information.

Please check out my website suttong.com

And subscribe to my Travel Channel on YouTube SuttonTravels

See more places in Minnesota

BIG 5 NATIONAL PARK TOUR IN UTAH

 

We toured the Big 5 National Parks in Utah 6 to 17 April, 2021: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion.

This post provides links to the blogs, which contain notes, photos, and videos to the Big 5 plus some side trips.

Day 1: We flew into Salt Lake City, discovered our save-our-budget Thrifty wildcard rental was an SUV, and used miles to stay the night at the Airport Sheraton.

Day 2: We headed south to Moab where we stayed at the Moab Valley Inn for 3 nights. It was nothing fancy but it was fine for us.

Along the way, we took a break to visit the Prehistoric Museum in Price Utah. It’s part of Utah State University Eastern.

Mammoth at Prehistoric Museum/ Geoff Sutton 2021

This is COVID-19 season so, breakfast was a fill-your-own-bag setup. No problem for us because we wanted an early start. In the evening we had a great Mexican meal at

Day 3 We were up at 6 to get to the Arches National Park. See the post for details.

Arches National Park/ Geoff Sutton 2021

Day 4 Another  early morning to visit Canyonlands National Park.

Canyonlands National Park / Geoff Sutton

In the afternoon, we stopped by the nearby Dead Horse State Park to see the Colorado River. In the evening we had BBQ at the next door. Service was very slow but the meal was fine.

Dead Horse State Park/ Geoff Sutton

Day 5 we drove to Torry, Utah. We stopped to see part of Capitol Reef National Park then headed to the Days Inn for two nights. Their breakfast was limited but overall, it was a good value. We had a good dinner at La Cueva Mexican Restaurant. 

Day 6 We spent the day at Capitol Reef National Park—see the blog.

Capitol Reef National Park / Geoff Sutton

Day 7 We headed south along scenic highway 12 through Escalante National Monument and arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park midday. We spent two nights at Ruby’s Best Western Inn. The included breakfast buffet was better than the previous hotels. And they had a bag-to-go-option.

Day 8 We hiked the trails at Bryce Canyon National Park and had a pizza at a restaurant on the hotel grounds.

Bryce Canyon National Park/ Geoff Sutton 2021

 Day 9 We drove a short 85 miles to Zion National Park, which was crowded. We spent the rest of the day there—see the website. In the evening, we enjoyed the best hotel of the trip at the Best Western Plus Zion Canyon Inn in Springdale, Utah. In the evening we got fish n chips at Blondies then an ice cream cone nearby.

Zion view from Spingdale hotel

Day 10 we were up early to see the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park, which is up highway I 15 – the drive took nearly one hour. See the blog for details.

Zion National Park / Geoff Sutton 2021

Later in the day we drove to Las Vegas and spent two nights at the Courtyard Marriott using air miles. It was a fine room and facility but Las Vegas is not for us. The next day, we got brunch at Cracker Barrel south of the airport—the service and food quality was ok. The Thrifty rental car return went well as did the taxi into the city. The line for Uber and Lyft was ridiculously long and the set fee for the taxi cab service made it highly competitive.

Day 11 We flew home. the Uber to the airport was a fair price. The Uber from our local airport to our home was overpriced.

 

What would we do differently?

Fly round trip from home to Salt Lake City- skip Vegas and we would have saved money on the rental car fee charge for a different drop-off point.

Take hiking shoes--I bought a pair of Sketchers when we returned. We both slid on a couple of tails. And some were too steep without hiking shoes/boots or poles.

Take hiking poles—some trails were steep.

Spend an extra night at Springdale, Utah—the town near Zion National Park.

Our favorite?

Bryce Canyon National Park because it was so different from the others. The interesting structures within the canyon and the pine woods along the rim made it an overall favorite.

 Please check out my website   www.suttong.com

And Subscribe to my Travel Channel on YouTube

 

Also, see my books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Also, consider connecting with me on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton   

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

 I did find the USA National Parks book interesting to read before I went.

We flew American Airlines because we had credit from 2020. We had a nice upgrade to business class from DFW to Salt Lake City!

Bryce Canyon National Park Utah

Land of the Hoodoos

Visitor's Centre

According to wikipedia:

A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, or earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or badland. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the elements.

So, we found the views of hoodoos in the canyon stunning as we walked along the Rim Trail to Inspiration Point.

This video from my YouTube channel, SuttonTravels, is about 3 minutes long.

Hours- Please see the website

Restrooms- those at the visitor’s center were clean and in good working order when we visited

Picnics- There are tables throughout the park.

Trails-a lot of trails are available--  see the website for details

See my photos and comments on the Big 5 National Parks in Utah

My kit

Pixel 4 Google Phone with Google Fi

Panasonic Lumix Camera DMC ZS100 for zoom shots

Garmin vivofit3 tracker because I hate chargeable models

Nike Backpack

Cap with neck flap

Sunscreen and insect repellant

toilet seat covers

hand sanitizer

water bottle

 

Wished I’d remembered

Broadbrim hat with neck flap and chin strap

Trekking poles

Hiking shoes or boots

 Please check out my website   www.suttong.com

And Subscribe to my Travel Channel on YouTube

 

Also, see my books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Also, consider connecting with me on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton   

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

 

Capitol Reef National Park Utah

 We spent part of two days at Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. We entered from the east. 

From the beginning, Capitol Reef looked different from Arches and Canyonlands. The trees along the river were a welcome sight.

Our first stop was for a short hike along a trail to see the Petroglyphs left by early Americans.

Next we hiked the short trail to Hickman Bridge.

Hickman Bridge Trailhead

Trail to Hickman Bridge

Hickman Bridge

On the next day, we got up early to hike the Grand Wash Trail. The parking had been full on the first day. It's an unusual walk with high rock cliffs on both sides.

This panorama is my attempt to "capture" the two-sided rock walls along the trail.

We stopped for a picnic lunch in this grassy area not far from the visitor's centre. There are some deer as well as old buildings and an orchard from early settlers.

Deer feed in the picnic area

Orchard near a picnic area

Here's a video of Capitol Reef National Park from my YouTube Channel: SuttonTravels

See my photos and comments on the Big 5 National Parks in Utah

Notes

Hours- Please see the website

Restrooms- those at the visitor’s centre were clean and in good working order when we visited

Picnics- There are tables throughout the park.

Trails-available--  see the website for details

My kit

Pixel 4 Google Phone with Google Fi

Panasonic Lumix Camera DMC ZS100 for zoom shots

Garmin vivofit3 tracker because I hate chargeable models

Nike Backpack

Cap with neck flap

Sunscreen and insect repellant

toilet seat covers

hand sanitizer

water bottle

 

What I Wish I’d remembered

Broadbrim hat with neck flap and chin strap

Hiking sticks

Hiking shoes or boots

 

Please check out my website   www.suttong.com

And Subscribe to my Travel Channel on YouTube

 

Also, see my books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Also, consider connecting with me on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton   

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

 

Canyonlands National Park Utah

 Stunning Views of Deep Canyons

We visited Canyonlands National Park on 9 April 2021. As we drove toward the park from the east entrance, it wasn’t impressive. But that impression soon changed when we saw the majestic canyons.

We are in the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park. Our first hike is along the Grand View Point Trail.

People all dressed up begin their marriage on the rocks.

The trail ends at a point where from left to right you see a panorama of stunning shades of red against a deep blue sky.

Chipmunks scramble for food dropped by snackers feasting on the visuals.

We hiked over to Upheaval Dome, which looks more like a crater. A nice moderate trail that was more interesting than the dome itself.

Our final trail took us to Mesa Arch, which is one of those picture-perfect spots people love. It’s an easy trail leading to an arch on the edge of a cliff. Beyond the canyon are the La Sal Mountains.

Here's my video of the Canyonlands from my YouTube Channel.

See my photos and comments on the Big 5 National Parks in Utah

Please check out my website   www.suttong.com

   and see my books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Also, consider connecting with me on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

 

 

Subscribe to my Travel Channel on YouTube

 

I've found this book useful-