The State Park Challenge

The below photos are of me (mostly) in the State Parks when we've found the caches, they are not necessarily (or likely) of me at the caches and do not give away the location of the caches (no cheating Minnesotans).

#1 Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area

#2 Mouse Lake State Park

#3 Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

#4 Grand Portage State Park

#5 Judge C.R. Magney State Park

#6 Cascade River State Park Stand-In Photo.

Mom forgot her camera battery for this one but Jenny let us use hers (we haven't gotten the photo yet).

#7 Bear Head Lake State Park

#8 Soudan Underground Mine State Park

#9 Temperance River State Park

This is quite a lovely state park and mom loves to go swimming here where the warmer (slightly) water of the river meets with the freezing water of Lake Superior.

#10 Jay Cooke State Park

Mom has always loved this style of building that is very popular in state parks. I bet they used to serve ice cream from this counter, that's why I said I'd stay up here.

# 11 Banning State Park

#12 Frontenac State Park

#13 Carley State Park

#14 Rice Lake State Park

#15 Sakatah Lake State Park

#16 Whitewater State Park

This is the only park so far that we had to go back to. We even climbed all the way up to the top the first time as to not waste the trip. I've been working on helping mom find good vistas for pictures and posing. I'm wearing my cooling dog vest (SwampCooler) from Ruff Wear. It really helped keep me cool and I look quite snazzy.

#17 John A. Latsch State Park
We found these stairs in a campsite next to the campfire, I suppose people have been using them to sit on. They are propped up on a stump. Nowadays mom doesn't even need to ask me to jump up onto strange things for pictures, I just do it and then wait patiently for her to finish her flashes.

#18 Great River Bluffs State Park

This was quite a lovely view, especially loving the foliage framing it.

#19 Beaver Creek Valley State Park

A very neat suspension bridge that wiggled and jangled with every step.

#20 Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park

We didn't arrive at Forestville until after 7pm and because of the flooding in Southern Minnesota we didn't think we could get to the main 'gate' of the park so we came to it from a series of gravel roads ending in a Minimum Maintenance Road. So we decided if we had until 8pm to find the cache or we had to leave empty handed rather than risk being in the empty park in the middle of no where after dark. The terrain for finding the cache was rated 1 (really easy) so we gave it a shot, rather than just heading home. Well, it wasn't that flooded anymore and the cache deserved a 3 (out of 5) rating maybe even a 4 from where we started out...

After I fought with a raccoon and we climbed the big hill (mom wearing rainboots to keep dry, she got a big blister on one foot and walked barefoot when possible). We managed to eek past our deadline, finding the cache at 7:58. Then we just had to hike back before dark. TomTom said it would take 1 hour 47 minutes but we took a short cut (it worked out) and fast paced it. None the less we were thrilled when we say the break in the woods and the lovely sunset that awaited us there. Arriving at the car again at 9:37!

That's why I love this photo.

#21 Lake Maria State Park

Rare Turtles Interesting Facts

Blanding's Turtle
-has a yellow throat
-can live to be 75 yrs old
-called the "smiling turtle"
-feed on snails, minnows, tadpole and aquatic insects

Other Turtles in Lake Maria
Painted Turtle
Spiny Softshell Turtle
Snapping Turtle
Common Map Turtle

#22 Fort Snelling State Park

This is my favorite photo of the bunch, I figure I look very classic.