Willow river state park (Wisconsin)

Willow river state park is located just outside of Hudson, WI. With 13 miles of hiking trails, a lake, and camping areas, there is a lot to do in this park.

I chose to go hiking, and explored what looked like about half of the trails going throughout the park. There were a few highlights. The greatest of which was clearly the gorge with an impressive waterfall. I didn't expect to see it in Hudson, a town that I knew had cliffs along the St. Croix, but I didn't know of the beautiful river vistas.

On the other side of the park there is a dam, which was right next to a nice area for a picnic and a small beach. I didn't spend much time there, but I could see many families enjoying the park.

Willow river state park is somewhere that I will probably go again if I ever want to get away, but not go too far.

Minnesota State Fair

Before yesterday, I had never been to the "Great Minnesota get-together". I went pretty much knowing what to expect, as I've been to several other fairs, but there were still a few neat things.

I learned that if you aren't going to the fair for a concert, then you're likely oing for food, people watching, the animals, and maybe the rides. Though a day at the fair wouldn't be complete ithout a little of each.

I got a nice taste of the food, (I was sharing with someone) trying a pronto pup (corndog), fried ravioli, french fries, salad on a stick and a malt. The malt had to be my favorite, though nothing really wow-ed me. I do not endorse this diet, though, and cranked out a 12 miler this morning to help me mitigate the caloric overload (well, that and I'm training for an upcoming 10 miler)!

I got a ton of people watching in as well. The styles, attitudes, and sizes were all over the place. With so many people wandering around, this had to be my favorite activity of the day. It was something everyone was doing.

I saw some barn animals, including pigs, goats, sheep, and cows. This was a pleasant way to get away from the massive crowds in other areas of the fairgrounds.

Finally, the rides. I didn't actually go on any, but I was up close to a few, and realized that none of them looked too special. I'm pretty sure had I gone on some of them, I would have lost my lunch.

Will I go back to the fair? Probably not, but the sensory overload is undeniable, and it makes for an interesting afternoon.