Duluth in the winter

I must admit, Duluth (I guess anywhere in Minnesota) isnt the first place you think of visiting in the winter. I made a trip up there last weekend, and enjoyed the time.

When we arrived, we grabbed a bite to eat, and then headed out to Park Point. Park Point is a long sandbar on Lake Superior. The only way you get there by car is to cross the aerial lift bridge from Canal Park. We crossed the bridge, and made our way to the park. When we got there, we put on our snowshoes and began to walk down the beach. There were large ice formations and it was entertaining to see the water crash up against the ice.

There was a very cold wind as we walked down the beach, so we left after about an hour. Once we made our way back to Canal Park we got some coffee to warm us up a bit. We walked around for a bit, and decided to go to head up the hill to Enger Tower.

The trip to Enger Tower was a bit of an adventure. Many roads in Duluth are quite steep, and the ones we took to get to Enger Tower certainly were. There was some snow on the road, so that made for an interesting drive in addition to the great views from Skyline drive. We parked on the road into Enger Park and walked up to the Tower. At first I wasn't sure if the tower would actually be open, but it was. We made our way up the tower and took several pictures of the wonderful view.

The sun set and we called it a night after a successful day in Duluth.

Walking to work: not an adventure, but a lifestyle

I moved in October to an apartment located about half a mile from where I work. There is a bus stop near my aparment, but I've never actually rode the bus in to work as I would rather walk than sit in the cold waiting for a bus to arrive. With all of the snow that has fallen, it has actually been a bit interesting. I've worn snowpants and boots into the office a couple times, but for now the sidewalks are decent.

I find that walking to work is much less stressful than driving as well. When you walk to work, traffic isn't something for you to worry about. In addition to the obvious cost savings, you get to start your day on a good note. For many people this isn't possible, as not all businesses are near enough residential areas to walk to, but if you can walk to work, I definitely recommend it!

Skiing into the New Year

2011! It feels pretty good to be starting a new year. This year I'm committing to staying active (not a resolution, but a general way of life). On that note, I went skiing for the first time in many years.

The last time I went cross country skiing I was in middle school, and even though I've been through many winters since then, I haven't had too big of an urge to go until about a year ago when I helped out with a ski race. Seeing the athletes made me want to give it a try, but alas, I didn't get out until today.

I didn't want to make a financial commitment, so I was able to borrow some skis and boots, and went out on a public trail in the suburbs with a friend. She hadn't skied in years either, so it was a great opportunity for us to both practice our skills on some old skis.

Very quickly after we started, I could feel a burn in my triceps. I tried to work on my form a bit, and for some of the time I tried to not use the poles, though I found that to be hard as well. Soon, we saw a class of young children, so we stopped and went off to the side of the trail. We didn't want to fall down near them!

In total we probably skied for a mile or two. The terrain was varied, so we could really notice when we were going up or going down a hill. We never really learned how to stop well, but lucky for us, we didn't have any bad falls. I guess we know what to work on the next time we go, which I hope will be soon.

Adventures in review: 2010

2010 has been a good year for me when it comes to going new places and having fun experiences, both outdoors and indoors.

In the beginning of the year, I volunteered at a beer festival in Saint Paul. It was a very accomodating volunteer activity, as I was able to sample a few beers from local and regional breweries. This experience led to a group of my friends going on a brewery tour at Summit Brewing a couple months later.

Before it got too warm in Minnesota, I went on a trip with friends to Las Vegas. I had never been there, and it seems everyone has a wild story that starts "When I was in Vegas...It was fun to see the city, as we walked around quite a bit each day. There really is a lot to see there, although some of it is best not seen. We spent a significant amount of our time laying out by the pool at our hotel, which was nice as it was always hot and sunny. My favorite experience was seeing a cirque de soleil show.

As the seasons changed, I started running more often, competing in an 8k in June. This was also the time of year when I visited Minnesota's highest point, Eagle Mountain. This started what I hope will be a hobby that will bring me all over the country.

I also went on many runs over the summer, often times going from my apartment to the Mississippi river road. I ran an 8k for Grand ole day on Grand avenue, which went well, except for the final quarter mile, where there was some serious fair food cooking up, and the smell was not pleasing as I was finishing the race.

Later in the summer I made my way to Colorado, first passing through South Dakota. I had a great experience hiking to Conundrum Hot springs with some friends. In addition to the hike, we also went whitewater rafting, headed to Pike's Peak, and had a fun night out in Denver. A few weeks later, I traveled to the highest points in Wisconsin and Michigan, which less than thrilling, still made for a nice drive, and helped to solidify the goal of making it to other high points.

Since it has gotten cooler, I've still been able to make it outside, checking out Interstate State Park and continuing to run, even during a very cold turkey trot. I joined a broomball team, and used my snowshoes three times in December!

All in all, I think this year has been pretty good when it comes to being active. I look forward to continue sharing experiences and learning from other bloggers in 2011. Have a great New Year!

Broomball: slippery fun

It may surprise some people out there, but today was my first time ever playing broomball. I joined a non- competitive team that a coworker started. It turned out to be a bit awkward, but pretty fun.

I have absolutely no experience playing (and very little experience watching) hockey, so when I signed up for broomball, I told the team captain I would probably stink at it. Fortunately, we are in the least competitive mens league in town. A little background: (and I didn't know this before today) Broomball is played similar to hockey, but it uses a small ball and sticks that look like large ice scrapers. Also, you wear a special shoe on the ice so that you can actually run around.

I was easily the worst player on the ice, but it was my first game, and besides, I'm a runner, not a broomballer. The running skills didn't help much, as even though the special shoes made it possible to pick up some speed on ice, it's still ice, a surface I'm used to treating with extreme care to avoid injury.

All in all, broomball is a fun way to get outside, even if you are sliding all over the place.

A legendary Blizzard

When I created this blog, I didn't intend to have weather-related posts. The storm that hit the twin cities last weekend, though, was not typical. We got hit with about 18 inches of snow between late Friday night and Saturday evening. On top of that, the temperatures were very low, going well below zero on Sunday and Monday. Now, almost a week later, many roads are still messy.

I didn't try to spend much time outside last weekend, but I was getting a little bored sitting inside all day, so I got out the snowshoes and went for a little walk. This was definitely one of the highlights, as I could see that I was the first person to set foot on much of the snow: it was terrain created overnight, and I was conquering it. Ok, that's a little dramatic, but it felt good to get some fresh air and make some fresh tracks.

Everything on Saturday was a bit of an adventure. I rode the bus, which gave me a great view of many cars stuck, others covered in huge drifts of snow. The bus driver told me that he had been stuck in Saint Paul for a couple hours prior to picking me up. Fortunately, he only got stuck once when on my route, which was only quite brief. Regardless, bus service was cancelled in the afternoon, so I was fortunate to have gotten on when I did.

Looking forward, I'm excited that I'll be be able to go snowshoeing more because of the snow, and I've been thinking about Nordic skiing. We have the makings of a long winter, so I'll need to do something!

Snowshoeing: From one beginner to another

I bought a pair of snowshoes about two years ago, not actually knowing if I would enjoy the activity. While I wouldn't recommend this approach to most sports, I had some friends who had snowshoes, so I decided to spend the money to get some quality snowshoes. I think it turned out to be a good decision, as snowshoeing happens to be a fun and inexpensive outdoor activity.

There are many types of snowshoes out there, and also many places to buy them. It isn't all the same: if you want to race and run on trails, you will likely buy a completely different (look, shape, and size) than if you are doing backcountry trekking. I recommend that you search for experts online or at a sporting goods store to make an educated decision.

I've never competed in a snowshoe race, but there are several out there. I have done most of my snowshoeing at parks where there is enough space to go a little off the trail and not get lost. I find this to be the most enjoyable, especially with a variety of terrain.

Before you set foot outside, though, it is always important to wear the right clothing. Obviously, it depends on just how cold it is. Remember, it is a workout, so it might not be best to wear your winter coat. You want something that you can move in and that breathes a little.

I hope to have future posts about snowshoeing as the winter progresses.