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There’s just something about barns.
They appeal to everyone — city folk, country folk, anyone who's ever played with a barn kitten. They're
graceful structures, built in every size and shape. And they evoke a nostalgia for simpler times, when ordinary people who
worked hard could prosper.
Contrary to common wisdom, the best deals in travel aren’t too good to be true.
The minute I heard about the “rustic group camp’’ at Big Bay State Park on Madeline Island, in the Apostles, I was interested. It’s not a camp but a lodge, with a choice location near the lagoon of Big Bay. There’s space for 20 people and a kitchen with a full-size refrigerator and stove, and it was available to nonprofit groups for $40 per night.
For that, I didn’t expect much. But when I went there one August with the Minnesota Rovers Outdoors Club, we found a
two-story, atmospheric log lodge with a fieldstone fireplace, plank floors and a long screened porch, set in its own grove of
cedars.
Most guided adventure trips cost quite a lot. If you're prepared to pay, great; if not, you have options.
If you want to hike the Superior Hiking Trail on Minnesota's North Shore, for example, you can pay up to $379 per day, per person, or as little as $40 per day. Here's how it works out:
Want to save money on trips? Then, step away from the fancy catalog.
Glossy pages of snow-capped mountains and medieval castles are eye candy for travelers. But the prettier the brochure, the more eye-popping the prices.
Luxury excursions are like Jaguars and Jimmy Choo shoes. We covet them, we window-shop for them, but only a few of us can afford them.
Every week, a few dozen people join an exclusive club high above Minnesota's North Shore.
To get there, they lug all their food and gear 1¾ miles up and down a steep hill. They draw their own water and make their own fires. They clean and then lug their garbage over the same hill.
And they consider themselves lucky.
As adults, we sometimes forget how great it is to be a kid.
People give you toys to play with. They show you new games and explain things in interesting ways. They feed you freshly baked cookies and s'mores.
Kids take it for granted. But I didn't one January, when I got to stay at Deep Portage Conservation Reserve, in the woods north of Brainerd.
In hindsight, it's good to be grown up and out of school: no more tests, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks.
But it's also good to be a grown-up who's back in school, because schools have grown up, too. There are no tests and few books, and teachers are as friendly and attentive as cruise-ship hosts.
In fact, attending some schools is a lot like being on vacation.
When a swarm of photographers from the city descended on the Red River Valley of Minnesota in the summer of 2005, everyone was in for a surprise.
The photographers, eight students led by two professionals, were surprised by the area's beauty. The locals were surprised the photographers were there at all.
On a deserted county road near St. Hilaire, the two worlds collided. As the students set up their equipment in a field to shoot the sunset, they noticed traffic picking up.
Out in the forest, solitude can be overrated.
Occasionally, we all need silence. But you may have more fun if you play follow the leader.
When I go on a hike, especially if I don't know the area well, I like to tag along with naturalists. Thanks to them, I've learned all kinds of interesting things.