Hiking Yellow River State Forest

With only a few weeks left with Fabi, I realized that I needed to get a few more blog posts up. Since it's been a few months since I've posted anything, a lot has happened. I am going to spread the happenings over 3 or 4 blog posts so that the amount of photos aren't overwhelming. I want to include a lot of photos so that Fabi and his family (and Krissy and I) can easily look back on his year in America in one location. 

In March we took (another) trip up to Seth's parent's cabin in northeast Iowa. Near the cabin is Yellow River State Forest, an 8500 acre forest with about 20 miles of hiking trails. This area is also in the Driftless Area (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driftless_Area), a region that is a bit more hilly than the rest of Iowa, as it avoided being flattened during the last glacial period (a scientist I am not, but I think that's the gist of it). Anyway, it makes for some beautiful scenery, to the extent that you can have beautiful scenery in Iowa. We hiked about 15 miles and camped overnight. The trails were muddy in spots due to the winter thaw, but overall we had a really fun time. 

We also had the opportunity to head up to Ames to watch an Iowa State basketball game. While they ended up losing, it was still really a great time. This is only the second time Krissy and I had been to Hilton Coliseum (first time for Fabi). It really is a great environment for a basketball game. Fabi's friend Carter came to the game with us. 

Also in March, we made a trip to Ackley for Krissy's grandma's 90th birthday. While there we went up to the new gym at the school and played some games. Fabi had fun playing with our niece, Taryn. 

Fabi enjoying the Iowa State basketball game

People in the United States love their college sports. I think this is especially true in the Midwest areas where there aren't as many professional teams

Before our hike at Yellow River State Forest. Krissy forgot her hat so she had to borrow an awesome camouflage one from Seth's dad. Looking good, Krissy

Pre-hike shot

This would have been a lot prettier in the fall when there would be leaves on the trees. Oh well, it still made for a fun time. And we were able to discover that Fabi's sleeping pad had a hole in it (which we've since fixed in preparation for our May hiking trips)

We didn't see a whole lot of wildlife. We did, however, come across a dead bald eagle that had gotten trapped underneath a tree. 

This was our campsite (Fabi's tent was to the left in the woods). It was a very pretty spot, even though it was hard to find a level spot to set the tents up.  The chairs that Annegret bought us for Christmas are great! We really love them

Fabi working on the fire. We later discovered a nice pile of dry wood and were able to get a good fire going. 

Hanging out after eating supper. 

Fabi crossing the water. Krissy and I are standing on a bridge that crosses the same water. Fabi had footwear that could withstand a water crossing.

Playing games at Krissy's parents

Fabi having fun with Taryn. This looks more dangerous than it really was (I think). No blood was shed, so we'll call it a victory. 

Maybe Fabi should have tried basketball?

Too hilarious not to include. The ol' senior picture pose.

Sisterly love

The family that plays together stays together? Is that right? I'm sure it's something like that. 

Krissy's cousin feeding a calf born earlier that same day. 

The guest of honor. Krissy's grandma on her 90th birthday

 

Maplelag 2015

We have been very busy since the last posting at Christmas. Krissy and Seth have both been toiling away at work and Fabian was studying in preparation for his first semester tests.

Last year we spent about four days at Maplelag, a cross country ski resort in northern Minnesota. We had such a great time that we decided we were going to make it a yearly trip. The resort is family-run and you can tell that they really have built up a loyal clientele over the years. Every meal is served family style so we had ample opportunities to visit and exchange stories with people. Many of the people we spoke to had been coming to Maplelag for over 30 years! 

On our drive up we stopped in Minneapolis and had lunch with some friends from high school. The drive takes between 7 and 8 hours, so it was nice to have a bit of a break halfway through. 

Fabi had never cross country skied before, so we were a little worried that there would be a frustrating learning curve. Fortunately he was very proficient after a very short period of time. Oh to be 17 again.

Another highlight of the trip was taking the "polar plunge". Basically it amounted to jumping into the lake through a hole cut in the ice and then getting out and running into a sauna. I had never taken a plunge, and it was quite the sensory experience. Fabian did it three different times. There are videos farther down of us doing the plunge, so make sure you click on the video to start it.

This is the only non-Maplelag photo. We got a few board games for Christmas. The one we're playing is Memoir '44. It's very fun and tactical. 

The view into downtown Minneapolis. Fabian took this photo.

This is the lodge where we stayed. We had a room on the upper floor. It was a nice layout as it had two separate bedrooms with a shared bathroom. The nice thing about the resort is they have a lot of different room configurations that work well for groups of all sizes. As you can see we were one of the only groups there after the weekend crowd left. 

Fabian wore his GoPro camera for a little while

The trails had just enough snow to make for good skiing. There was about 4 to 6 inches of snow in the woods. The temperature when we went last year was about -20 degrees fahrenheit. This year the temperature was around 30-35 degrees the entire time. The last day the trails were getting a little icy, but it was still a great time.

This looks like he's going to make a crash landing into a tree, but he's going pretty slow here. Looks a lot more dangerous than it really is, I promise.

The aftermath. Krissy decided to walk down the hill rather than push her luck. This particular trial is pretty narrow and hadn't been groomed so it had more of a backcountry feel to it. 

This is the largest hill in the trail system and is named "suicide hill". It's really not too bad though. Fabi and Seth both made it down in one piece.

Fabi at the bottom of suicide hill. His experience downhill skiing served him well when it came to controlling his speed on the downhill sections, if needed.

Some of the open areas didn't have enough snow so we had to take off our skis and walk.

It was really nice to not have to wear as many layers as we did last year. I was able to wear what amounts to a sweatshirt in January in northern Minnesota. Can't say that would happen that often. 

Fabian making his way through the cattails 

Fabian before he took the "polar plunge". The key is getting nice and warm in the lakeside sauna before taking the plunge. This ensures that your head feels like it will explode the second you hit the water.

This is the outer room of the sauna where you feed the stove.

Getting the ladder ready to go.

This pretty much sums up how I was feeling

After a long day of skiing Krissy and I played board games and had some Crispin. Fabi messed around on his Ipad and ate as many cookies as humanly possible

A master tactician at work.

The last couple of nights we had the table to ourselves. 

A delicious cream puff

The aftermath of too much food. 

Enjoying some ping pong

Such focus.

Signs cover pretty much every inch of wall in the lodge. There are many old German signs throughout the lodge. The owner said that only Germans over 40 would have any idea what this sign meant. It is maybe a German dialect and not even real German?

Another German sign. The owner had a lot of interesting stories about the signs in the lodge.

This was my favorite breakfast. Norwegian pancakes with lingonberry jam and sausages.

The owner of the resort, Jim, telling Fabi stories about the signs. I'm pretty sure Jim doesn't sleep. Krissy and I would go to the lodge pretty early to drink coffee and would stay pretty late at night and Jim would be there the whole time. It's really evident that they love running the resort and have built great relationships with their guests throughout the years.

The dogs didn't get to come inside very often, but when they did they got their bellies rubbed like nobody's business. 

Krissy making it up a hill

Victory

The skis after a fun day on the trails 

Krissy plotting her plan to take over the world--or at least to attempt to beat me in a game.

A pretty common sight after being tired from skiing and full from too much food.

A view of the dining room. All of the windows overlook the lake. It's really pretty.

Don't forget to eat!

A view down the main area of the lodge

And, of course, the bottomless cookie jars