Well, we have driven over all the mountains, passed through all the wheat fields and have hit the land of forests and lakes. Finally, a land that we like and Gurt does too. Myles has driven across Canada before (well to Toronto) so in an effort to incre
ase his experiences we decided to head south and scout out some American wildlife.
With more small towns, we have found America to have more “unclaimed land” (crown land but I don’t know what they call that in America, Spangle land? I don’t know..) This works well for us, as it is much easier to find somewhere to camp and we are making great efforts to avoid paying for a campsite. Minnesota is the land of beautiful waterfalls, monstrous lakes that look more like oceans, and hunters. Lots and lots of hunters. Me, being the newly found vegetarian and animal lover that I am, am not impressed with this deer-killing society. Myles and I have actually gone to sleep with the soft, calming sound of gunfire – a little concerning what people are shooting in the middle of the night, but anyhow. Myles and I, only half-jokingly, have said goodbye to each other before bed in hopes that Gurt wasn’t what they were hunting. If you can survive through the night here (I’m kidding, it’s not THAAAT bad) you will be endlessly rewarded with thousands of lakes (literally 11,000+) and the most beautiful waterfalls to swim in.
Our favourite waterfall was a two-step waterfall where one gorgeous hike leads you to three different waterfalls, all swim-able and almost completely secluded. One thing we have learned about Minnesota is that in the wintertime everyone gets around using snowmobiles instead of cars because of the extreme weather, much different from the 30-degree sunshine we have been blessed with. A very scenic drive on the coastline of Lake Superior, lead us to the twin cities of Minnesota.
Myles, being the sports buff that he is was very excited. Minneapolis, like every growing city, was full of construction but otherwise perfectly nice. With one nice walk along the Mississippi River but other than that, not a very walkable city in our opinion, especially with dogs. St. Paul, on the other hand, we really enjoyed it.
Possibly because it is the smaller of the two, the gorgeous historical buildings and restaurant and shopping vibe it exuded, you could tell this was more of the “downtown” we enjoyed. Not staying long (cities are nice, but only for an afternoon) we kept east in search of beer. A much shorter than anticipated drive lead us to Wisconsin, the land of beer. The night quickly turned gray and began to pour. Ironically, stormy nights have become a favourite for us. Probably because we are from Vancouver and we are so used to it, or perhaps it’s just because it doesn’t happen EVERY SINGLE DAY. Myles and I decided to embrace the rain. So, naturally, we grabbed some food, searched for WiFi and hid in our van with Mexican food, criminal minds and the sound of the thunder and the flashes of lightning. Some things, I guess you can’t shake out of us.