MN Zoo...

 Over a week ago, we went to the MN Zoo that had recently reopened under many different requirements to members...masks are required on zoo premises (inside and outside), all walkways are directional, you must order tickets for entry times early, etc.  But it was still time to go...

The black bears didn't care...

The wolves were relaxed as well...

Coyotes seemed happy...

The river otters where busy, they're fun to watch...

As this picture demonstrates, signage is everywhere...

I don't think we've ever seen the red panda as active as it was...

The Hawaiian Monk seal though...not so much...

The sea otters were busy as usual...

The prairie dogs still bark...

But the highlight was the Tiger Den, they had been working on restorations on it all last summer so we were looking forward to it...

Lukie called it 'Wakanda' from the movie Black Panther, but of course, it's a Tiger not a Panther.  Either way it was cool...we'll be heading back to the zoo soon...

LaSalle Lake State Recreation Area...

 On the way back to Itasca State Park from Bemidji, we stopped at LaSalle Lake State Recreation Area because we knew there was a geocache hidden there...but the hiking club trail sign caught our eye first...

We didn't expect a trail (the mileage wasn't in our book), but it was a short two mile hike (out and back)...

They got excited seeing this sign up ahead...but it said the password was still ahead...

We found it...

It was at a nice overlook where LaSalle Creek flows into the very small, Mississippi River...

Turns out the the lake that LaSalle Creek flows out of is the deepest lake within the borders of Minnesota (we had no idea).  This lake is a glacial meltwater feature, meltwater under a glacier dug deep into the glacial sediments to be filled later with water.  (Obviously, Lake Superior is the deepest lake shared with other states/countries at over 1,300 feet deep.)

It was a very cool place to visit, with far more there to do than we thought of, but we went there to geocache and it was time to geocache.  Here's the first set of coordinates...

Unfortunately, when we got to the coordinates, we couldn't find the next clue.  We searched for about 45 minutes before giving up.  Lukie asked if we could ask someone at Itasca, so we did.  They told us where the clue was (which was where we were) and we decided to go back the next day...

Hence the different clothes...but we couldn't find it (we also couldn't find the one at Lake Itasca either)...

But we got our picture...

And the stamp that goes with it...

Just making memories...

Lake Bemidji State Park...

 While camping at Itasca State Park, we went to Bemidji one morning to take in another park, Lake Bemidji State Park...the first thing they wanted to do was geocache...Lukie took off with the GPS while Lex and I played catchup...

One of the first stops he thought he had found the cache, but it turned out to be another set of coordinates...Each stop asked a question relating to the park, the answer we needed to record because it would used as a combination on the final cache's lock...

It wasn't too long before the found the cache and the aquatic quest card they are collecting...

Then it was time to lock it up and move on...

We also found this cool looking guy...

Then it was time for the hiking club trail...it was a short, two mile hike that was pretty easy...

We just needed to follow the trail...

The highlight of the trail was the last 1/2 mile or so was over a bog, utilizing a boardwalk to not harm the bog.  We had great discussions about types of plants that live in bogs, like the picture plants below...

Boardwalk hiking is easy...

Sphagnum moss covers the floor in a bog...

Since the trail was an out and back, of course the password was at the turn around point...

We thought this was pretty cool, the different between the air temperature and the temperature of the bog...

We just had to take our usual selfie...

And get a picture with the park's sign...

And take the picture of the park sign and passport book...

It was a nice morning...

Itasca State Park...

We spent the last four days camping at Itasca State Park, neither Lukie or Lex had any memory of being there (though they were at the park when they were very little), so we had to fix that...we got to the park on Saturday and explored the less popular areas of the park avoiding the crowd...

We visited the several thousand year old Indian Mounds (they are there, it's a bit grown in)...

And read about their history...

They learned how felled trees were moved during the winter in the logging days...

Saw a replica of the Wegmann Cabin (a pioneer era cabin that served as a store, post office and other things)...

And then saw the ruins or remains of the cabin...all that is left is the foundation...

Then it was time for dinner...Lukie is pretty happy cooking hot dogs as long as he can be done when the first dog is done...

It was such a busy day that Lukie fell asleep in the hammock (something he repeated every night)...

Before breakfast the next morning, we went to the headwaters area to avoid crowds (we were there for about 20 minutes before anyone else showed up)...Lex jumped at the chance to walk through the Mississippi River...

And then went to the headwaters...

Lukie was the first to walk across...

Lex went second and I followed...

This is Lukie checking out a crayfish he found...you might be able to see it...

I suggested that they walk down the river to the bridge on our way out...as they left I said "see you in New Orleans" and got a chuckle out of them and the older couple that had shown up...

Lukie might be showing a little too much leg...

After we ate breakfast, we left the park to explore a couple of areas nearby (future posts) and took our usual pictures at state parks new to us...

At night, it was time for marshmallow roasting...Lukie can't have any (because of his braces), but he enjoys making them...

Lex likes eating them...

And making them, but I'm pretty sure that more were lost to the fire than those that made it to her stomach...

Our camp at night, notice that someone is in the hammock...

The next day we took the 10 mile Wilderness Drive to see some former record trees...

This white pine truck was huge...

Learned about an ancient bison kill site, which Lukie thought was pretty cool...

Then it was time to take the 3.5 mile hiking club trail (we added another two miles when we took a loop trail through a bog along the way)...

I'm always a ways behind them...they haven't figured out to pace themselves yet...

It was a nice hike, great temperatures and we saw may eight other people...

We got the password and am now approaching 100 miles hiked throughout the state park system and another patch...

Before we left the final morning, we went back to the headwaters...this time there was no way Lukie was going to let Lex be the only one who crossed the river here...

Took our selfie...

And walked across the river again...

Lex had a rough time of it though...she fell three times (not getting very wet) and got frustrated...she told Lukie she was never going to do that again...

So she took a break...

I had a little talk with her to calm her down and told her that we weren't going to leave the park until she made it across the river again...so she tried again...

And made it this time...the DNR worker congratulated her (he had seen her fall a couple of times).  Funny story about the workers, they go to the headwaters every morning to clear out the reeds, sticks, etc. against the rocks.  Turns out there is a beaver who is trying to stop the river, the workers said that if they didn't clear the reeds, the river would be a trickle within a week...

Lex was barely wet...but happen she made it across...

This was our last view of Lake Itasca...

Not a bad way to spend a few days...making memories...