Image captured by the author of Red Pine trees as seen from the ground in Itasca State Park.
After winter snowbirding surrounded by the brown and tan colors of the desert southwest with cacti green sparsely dispersed, I nomadically wandered eastward through Northeast Iowa’s rolling green hills and early farmland plantings, with my destination targeting the sights of dark green Minnesotas state parks.
Minnesota state parks are filled with the natural beauties of old-growth forests, with numerous migrating birds, and me, the day hiker, backpacker, and photographer, exploring into the thousands of lakes searching to capture the images of the Trumpeter Swans, Pelicans, and Loons. These migratory birds like I have migrate into forested areas for cooler evenings.
For a day hike, I targeted a section of the North Country Trail in Minnesota that intersects with MN Highway Route 34 at the 107-mile marker northeast of Detroit Lake, MN.
The biting flies were numerous, along with the mosquitos, yet as ever, the prepared Boy Scout. My permethrin-sprayed clothes warded off nature’s tiniest creatures and annoyances as I enjoyed the trail.
All images captured by the author on a day hike.
I was born during the summer with nature warming within my soul.
As a child, I enjoyed a backyard where I played all day, dreaming of more extensive lands to see and visit.
During my lifetime, I have enjoyed every moment of traveling around America, allowing my eyes and soul to absorb my visual beauty, embracing every detail of nature’s deserts, mountains, arctic zones, sandy shores, waterfalls, streams, rivers, lakes, and, my favorite, the oceans.
My visuals of nature are framed portraits of poetic beauty for my senses to absorb the essences allowing me to meditate joyfully.
Winds ruffled the quiet sounds of flora and fauna, gently piercing silence while never startling my fears or concerns about nature’s residents.
My awe is continuously appreciative of my surroundings, with temperatures dictating my nomadic destinations.
Poet Author
M. J. Leake
I’ll read this more in-depth tomorrow when I do my daily blog reading, but I have a Minnesota travel guide/relocation packet in my stack of places I’m considering checking out! See ya tomorrow!
The state is a tremendous location for excellent summer weather especially when backpacking and day hiking. .
Nice…it seems like it has a lot to offer in regards to Nature!
…when I’m more awake LOL!
Do you have a bucket list of must see places or do you just go where the road takes you and see what turns up? The state park look very lush and it’s good to see the wading birds. I could do without the biting insects though. We too are plagued with invasive plants – himalayan balsam along our waterways and rivers, and giant hogsweed that can blister the skin, among other nasty surprises.
I’m nomadically exploring National and State parks, where the temperatures don’t exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit / 32.22 degrees Celsius 🙂
Sounds like a sensible plan 🙂 What’s your temperature minimum?
Eileen, I try to remain in temperate zones of 70-85 degrees Fahrenheit or 21 to 26 degrees Celsius.
However, 40 degrees Fahrenheit or 4 degrees Celcius for more than a couple of nights, and my home with wheels, will move to warmer temperatures.