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 increase 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.