Minnesota State Parks

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xl_target
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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by xl_target » Sun Jul 05, 2015 8:47 am

timmy wrote:XL, Spring is looking very nice up there! That site looks like such a nice place for a hike and history lesson!

Great pics, too -- thanks for sharing.
Tim,
Glad you liked them. We really have to get together when you come here next.

Even today, "outstate Minnesota" (as opposed to the Twin Cities) is rather sparsely populated. Something like Five million in the entire State.
In 1862, it was even more so. Without taking sides in the conflict, one can appreciate the enormity of the calamity that hit the settlers. With about a thousand people killed in this area, almost every one would have known someone who had been killed.
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by xl_target » Sun Jul 05, 2015 8:57 am

ckkalyan wrote:Nice pictures and write up xl_target. I liked the campsite, by the river very much.

I can only imagine the continuous music of the flowing water tumbling across the rocks and pebbles! :D
CK
It was well worth it to be out there on such a beautiful day.
Getting a little sweat on to clear out the cobwebs of winter made me ready to go to bed after supper.
It was very pleasant by the river. I slept like a baby till I woke up at 6 am to the cold.
Some of those photos look familiar to you? :)
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by AgentDoubleS » Sun Jul 05, 2015 1:18 pm

Xl target,

Thanks for sharing these wonderful picture, the spring looks fantastic, I'm guessing it makes up for the dreadful winter. My co. has an office in Minneapolis but unfortunately most trips to the US have been to the concrete jungle of Alexandria, VA or Cincinnati. I hope to make it to MN someday and make the most of the trip including a visit to the shooting ranges.

I have been looking to start camping trips for quite sometime, but haven't really got down to it. Looking at your pictures it seems I'm missing out on a lot. What would be ideal would be a motorcycle trip in India on a dual sport motorcycle with camping at some good locations built in. Motorcycle or on foot, I know this is something I cant be missing out on, particularly with my recently fueled interest in studying trees.

I'd be keen to know more about the gear you use if you dont mind sharing: the tent and sleeping bag? Backpack, brand and how many litres? How much weight do you carry?

Look forward to more trip updates on this thread..

Cheers,
ADS

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by Commonwealth_of_PA » Sun Jul 05, 2015 6:40 pm

XL, this is wonderful, thanks! Looks very nice.

You guys still talk funny up there, though. You must sound hilarious, Indian Minnesotan :D :D :D

(no harm meant)

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by xl_target » Mon Jul 06, 2015 3:40 am

SS,
I'll start another thread on gear to try and answer your questions.
If you ever get a chance to come to Minneapolis, make sure you contact me.
Take a couple of extra days off and we'll do some camping and shooting.

Commonwealth_of_PA wrote:XL, this is wonderful, thanks! Looks very nice.

You guys still talk funny up there, though. You must sound hilarious, Indian Minnesotan :D :D :D

(no harm meant)
I've been here so long that I have lost all traces of my Indian accent.
Now I sound like an extra on the set of Fargo. :)
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by Commonwealth_of_PA » Mon Jul 06, 2015 5:01 am

LOL, please email me if you ever head to Penna for something.

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by timmy » Mon Jul 06, 2015 7:59 am

xl_target wrote:Tim,
Glad you liked them. We really have to get together when you come here next.

Even today, "outstate Minnesota" (as opposed to the Twin Cities) is rather sparsely populated. Something like Five million in the entire State.
In 1862, it was even more so. Without taking sides in the conflict, one can appreciate the enormity of the calamity that hit the settlers. With about a thousand people killed in this area, almost every one would have known someone who had been killed.
XL, yes, I need to do that. Mom's in Waconia and we should get out there for her, as well. My Wife still isn't up to long car trips, and the longest we've done is about 120 miles. But we need to do it! There is no doubt that Minnesota is very nice. So far, we haven't gotten away for kids or anything else, but one of my granddaughters will be here at the end of the month, and we will take her to DC. Also, a trip up to New Jersey and Oak Tree Road is something I'd like to do. She needs to see a movie and get some good biryani. :-)

You are right about the impact of the Sioux Uprising. Those must have been some very tense days. I would like to see some of those reenactments.
“There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know”

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by xl_target » Mon Jul 06, 2015 9:04 am

Commonwealth_of_PA wrote:LOL, please email me if you ever head to Penna for something.
You bet! Will surely do that.

timmy wrote:XL, yes, I need to do that.
Tim, just let me know and I'll come up there, to Waconia.
Even if its just a few minutes for a quick meal or a drink.
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by AgentDoubleS » Mon Jul 06, 2015 7:00 pm

xl_target wrote:SS,
If you ever get a chance to come to Minneapolis, make sure you contact me.
Take a couple of extra days off and we'll do some camping and shooting.
XL_target, that is a very generous offer and i'll take you up on it. :) (y)

Cheers,
ADS

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by xl_target » Mon Jul 06, 2015 7:02 pm

I look forward to it, SS.
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by ckkalyan » Tue Jul 07, 2015 5:43 am

xl_target wrote:CK
Some of those photos look familiar to you? :)
Yes sir, indeed they do. I remember that we were running out of time and had to hustle! :(

Nevertheless, we did have a grand time - thank you again! :D

Image

Image

Images from here Midwest Meetup!

Commonwealth_of_PA wrote:XL, this is wonderful, thanks! Looks very nice.
You guys still talk funny up there, though. You must sound hilarious, Indian Minnesotan :D :D :D
(no harm meant)
:lol: Now you can imagine an Indian Canadian added to the mix in MN ROTFL
When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns!

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by Commonwealth_of_PA » Tue Jul 07, 2015 7:40 am

ckkalyan wrote:
Commonwealth_of_PA wrote:XL, this is wonderful, thanks! Looks very nice.
You guys still talk funny up there, though. You must sound hilarious, Indian Minnesotan :D :D :D
(no harm meant)
:lol: Now you can imagine an Indian Canadian added to the mix in MN ROTFL
Now you just need an old fat white guy from the East like me.

"Yo! Hows yous doin!" :D

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by xl_target » Sat Jul 11, 2015 4:35 am

Seven Mile Creek Park
At the end of May, I did a short day hike with a friend.
Seven Mile Creek Park is about 20 miles from my doorstep.
We live in opposite directions to this park and so I met him there at about 9 am.

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This large park is so called because it is approximately seven miles from the town of Mankato, Minnesota.

It is a County Park maintained by a next county over from me. It is a popular hiking, picnicking and snowshoeing destination.
"Explore Minnesota" describes the park as:
This 628 acres of county park transitions from the Minnesota River to grasslands in the valley, to deciduous forests on either side and up the bluffs of Seven Mile Creek; contains 8 miles of multi-use trails. The forests are home to white-tail deer, wild turkeys, and nesting and migratory bird species.There are three shelters, numerous picnic areas, playground equipment, volleyball courts, a ball diamond and a boat landing on the Minnesota River.
There are a number of short trails here that follow the creek and make for a very pleasant hike. so you cross a few bridges and you see a lot of water.


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You start the trail by leaving the picnic areas and crossing the creek.

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crossing one of the bridges

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We actually some some wild turkeys but before I could get the camera out and ready, they were gone.

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The sound of rushing water can be very soothing at times.

There are easy trails and some challenging trails.
We did about 5 miles, then stopped for a hot cup of tea before we left.

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It's just nice to have a secluded area close by for a quick getaway.

Seven Mile Creek Park info
Seven Mile Creek Park interactive map
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by xl_target » Fri Jul 31, 2015 4:18 am

On Sunday, the 5th of July, the weather forecast called for a very hot and humid day.
So we decided to start early in the morning. We met up at 6 am and headed out to Sakatah State Park.

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Sakatah State Park
During early historic times, members of the Dakota Nation, Wahpekute (Wapacoote) band, inhabited the area that today is the park. These people lived by hunting, gathering and trapping. They named the place Sakatah, which translates to “Singing Hills”, hence the name for the state trail. The Cannon and other area rivers served as an important Indian water route between southcentral Minnesota and Wisconsin. The “Big Woods” made land travel difficult and a water route allowed larger loads. Numerous trading posts and Indian villages existed along the route. Several burial mounds were discovered in the late 1800’s and can still be seen in the park. A village site is believed to have existed in the area of the point separating Upper Sakatah and Lower Sakatah lakes. In 1826 the trader Alexander Faribault established a trading post on the northeast shore of Cannon Lake, near present day Faribault. This is thought to be the fist permanent white settlement in the area. He eventually established at least five other trading posts at various points along the Cannon River. One of these is likely to have been in the park, along Sakatah Lake. The railroad played an important role in opening up the country to settlement. Although the route was surveyed in the late 1870’s, none of the actual work was done until the spring of 1882. The railroad was completed from Faribault to Waterville that same year by the Cannon Valley Company, and four years later the tracks reached Mankato. Electric passenger trains and steam freight trains both used the Mankato to Faribault segment, stopping at various points including Waterville and Elysian. The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad abandoned the line in the early 1970’s because of competition with other forms of transportation. The state purchased the right-of-way, and established the state trail that you see running through the park today
Info from here: http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state ... k00256.pdf

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We are here

We parked the car and walked down to the lake.
At this time of day, there was very little breeze and the lake looked like a sheet of glass.
I stopped for a while to soak up the peace and quiet, surrounded by nothing but the sound of birds.

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..like a sheet of glass

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Most people seem to use this park for its boat landing.

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An feather rests gently on the surface.

Sakatah is a relatively small park and encompasses 820 acres.
They don’t have very many miles of trail. Some of the trail follows the shoreline of the lake and is a pleasant walk.
What we did find is that this park’s hiking trails are not used very much and were therefore rather overgrown.

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The start of one of the trails

The start of each trail looked good but in a short while the trees and brush closed in and there was a constant fight with spider webs that stretched across the trail.
I was able to use my hiking stick to clear most of them but after the sun went up a little higher, it was impossible to see them.

Interesting flora grew by the side of the trail.
Shaking one plant produced a shower of very fine pollen like smoke on the wind.

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…smoke on the wind

The Sakatah Singing Hills bicycle trail crosses through the park and our trail intersected it a few times.

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The bicycle trail

By about 10:30 am we had covered all the trails in this park and went over the the picnic area to prepare lunch.

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Setting up to make lunch.

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Bombay Potatoes

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Bombay Potatoes on Basmati

Pleasantly full and well excercised, we were out of the park and on the way home by 11:30 am.
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941

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Re: Minnesota State Parks

Post by aadhaulya » Fri Jul 31, 2015 4:49 am

Do you have to pay to use these facilities of the 'state parks' and are they safe enough that you leave your camp unattended for day trips and be sure no one is going to walk off with your stuff??

Atul

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