Currently Wandering

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (aka The UP)

Post author By Jess
Post date August 18, 2015
7 Comments on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (aka The UP)

Travel Dates: August 7-17, 2015

We left the Dells, and arrived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula unceremoniously on Friday afternoon, August 14, 2015 after driving up from Walmart down near Green Bay, Wisconsin. Totally ignored the time zone change to Eastern Time as we searched along the west shore of Lake Michigan for a place to stay for the weekend.

We finally ended up in Pioneer Trail County Park in Gladstone and snagged a rustic camping spot for the weekend. Played some disc golf, got laundry done, went grocery shopping, and made it to church.

Bright and early Monday morning we headed farther to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We stopped at Muldoon’s Pasties & Gifts in Munising on the way up for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed our first pasty. Delicious, especially the dessert pies.

Found a beautiful boondocking spot south of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and spent a few, slightly frustrating days exploring the park with all the tourists on vacation.

Headed back west, we spent two nights at Marquette Tourist County Park. The town is super cute & Sam and I managed to squeeze in a bike date to get ice cream at Frosty Treats. We also rode out to Presque Isle with the kids and hiked a bit around the peninsula/island. Super pretty. On our way out we ate at Jean -Kay’s pasties & subs and enjoyed our first vegetarian pasty.

Drove to the Keweenaw Peninsula where we had reservations at Linden County Park so we could send packages ahead of us. The park isn’t amazing, but the kids enjoyed the swim beach.

We day tripped up to Calumet and the Keweenaw National Historic Site Visitor Center to earn our 74th Jr. Ranger Badge and enjoyed learning about the history of the area.

Our third and final pasty taste test was at Roy’s where their chicken & broccoli pastie totally took the gold medal. We also ventured into Hungarian Falls and were disappointed the reports of swimming in the waterfalls proved to be false, but had fun throwing rocks into the pool and hunting for frogs.

Moving farther west, our next stop was the Porcupine Mountains. We woke up super early to try and get to the Union Bay Campground for a first come, first served spot. Unfortunately, there was no Verizon signal anywhere and we weren’t very impressed with the campground anyway.

Instead, we decided to have Sam take the day off and we went hiking! After a quick lunch in the Visitor Center parking lot, we drove up to Summit Peak and hiked the loop ending with the lookout tower. It was beautiful and only about 5.5 miles of pretty gentle grade. We loved it.

It was still only about 3:30pm so we drove over to the Lake of the Clouds overlook to check that out. Super pretty views, but all I could think about was the hike along the ridge that would be EPIC. So many back country trails and campsites at this park.

Lastly, we grabbed this pull out spot next to the side of the road and the kids played on the beach while Sam and I cooked up a grilled sausage and pasta dinner. Afterwards we had our weekly Family Night on the beach, followed by treats and then about an hour to Walmart in Ironwood, MI for the night.

That wraps up (for now) our tour of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It really is a different place than “the mitten” with absolutely gorgeous views of Lake Superior, and more back country hiking than I expected (not that my expectations were high to begin with!).

Next up we went back to Wisconsin to backpack on the Apostle Islands!

Tags Michigan UP, Michigan UpperPeninsula, travellog, UP, WanderLog

Fitness & Recipes

Airstream Kitchen: Healthy Zucchini Bread Muffins

Post author By Jess
Post date August 15, 2015
3 Comments on Airstream Kitchen: Healthy Zucchini Bread Muffins

I love zucchini bread! One of my favorite things about having a garden (okay, in my past life) was planting a zucchini and reaping the rewards all summer long!

Growing up my mom had a super tasty recipe, but unfortunately was also not very healthy. Lots of sugar and butter, so I stopped making it awhile ago and began the search for a substitute recipe.

I found one! This one is tasty, filling, and uses coconut oil and applesauce and only a little bit of sugar. Total win.

Healthy Zucchini Bread Muffins

Yields approximately 16 muffins, 2 per serving
21 Day Fix breakdown per serving: 1 G, 2 Y, 1 tsp

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
6 large egg whites
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 cups grated zucchini (my kids like these more when I chop the zucchini pretty small)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line muffin tin with paper liners and spray with nonstick cooking spray for good measure.
3. Combine egg whites, oil, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Set aside.
4. Combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; mix well.
5. Add flour to egg mixture; mix until just blended.
6. Fold in zucchini and mix until just blended.
7. Spoon batter into muffin tins until 2/3 full.
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9. Remove from pans and cool on a rack.
10. Eat & Enjoy!

Tags 21DFX, Airstream kitchen, Healthy Zucchini Bread Muffins, Recipes

Minnesota

The 2nd Annual Midwest Corn Alps Paragliding Competition – Cosmos, MN

Post author By Jess
Post date August 13, 2015
2 Comments on The 2nd Annual Midwest Corn Alps Paragliding Competition – Cosmos, MN

We recently had the opportunity to attend the 2nd Annual Midwest Corn Alps Paragliding Competition out in Cosmos, MN. Last time we rolled through Minnesota Anna from SDI Paragliding reached out and said she’d love to meet up if we ever came through again. She’s a total travel lover and someday would love to set out with her family so naturally she follows many full time families on Instagram. This time around we spent a good 2-3 weeks trying to coordinate a time to get in some flying lessons or a tandem flight. Something always came up, but I swore we would make it work!

Well, we took long enough that eventually Anna tentatively invited us out to the competition they were having the following week and it lined up perfectly with our exodus from Minneapolis. Sold. They even had a base camp set up on one of the flier’s farms and we could bring the Airstream and camp next to a barn. Awesome.

The evening we got there, some of the pilots went out for an evening flight and we were able to tag along and watch them go up.

Because there are no hills or mountains in Minnesota, the pilots are attached to a winch on a truck and then pulled up into the air. Its pretty fascinating! Anna’s father, Steve, has also designed a pretty spectacular winch and sells them as part of their business.

The group of participants – a good looking bunch!

Anna and her family (she’s in orange):

Each morning around 10-11am they would have a pilots meeting and discuss the challenge for the day. There was a whole lot of talk about wind speeds, distances and a lot of numbers on a white board that I didn’t understand but everyone else nodded and put the correct info into their flight computers.

After that we all caravanned out to the long, empty farm roads and one by one, the pilots were pulled into the air. Once the pilots had released the cable (or pinned out) the truck would swing around and come back for another pilot.

The day we watched was super hot and humid, but the kids were troopers! Sam even got to tag along in the truck with Steve as he pulled a pilot up into the air.

After a quick trip into Hutchinson after lunch for some frozen yogurt and air conditioning at the local library, we headed back to base camp and got set up for a tandem flight for Sam and I. One of the groups participating in the event was ChicagoParagliding and they offered to help get us up into the air.

On a tandem flight we were strapped to an experienced pilot who did all the work of flying, all we had to do was run until we achieved lift off. I wasn’t so good at running and actually had to try twice to get up – eating dirt the first time as we crashed landed back to the ground.

It was pretty amazing (and slightly terrifying) to be up that high! Soaring up above all the farmlands was fairly surreal and since my pilot, Emmanuel, did all the work, I could just sit back and enjoy. The best way I can describe the view is its like looking out an airplane window on take off, but no airplane.

I loved watching the passion these guys have for paragliding. Talking to Anna was so much fun because I could tell she really loves what her family does and enjoys sharing that passion with others. It was also amazing to watch this community of para-gliders interact with each other. There was so much camaraderie and fun even in the midst of a competition. Reminded me a bit of our traveling community and how much I love it.

We definitely had a great time, and loved making some new friends in the process. If you are ever near Minneapolis and are looking for something awesome – hit up SDI paragliding for some lessons. You seriously won’t be disappointed!

Tags Adventure Family, Family Adventure, Midwest Corn Alps XC Competition, minnesota, onlyinmn, paragliding, paragliding lessons, SDI paragliding

Biking Minnesota

Mountain Biking (Off Road Cycling) in Minneapolis, MN

Post author By Jess
Post date August 11, 2015
2 Comments on Mountain Biking (Off Road Cycling) in Minneapolis, MN

Let’s start this post by saying we were aware of the love affair Minnesotans have for road cycling. They often plow the bike paths before the roads and ride (commute to work) all winter long. Minneapolis has some of the best (and arguably the most – sorry Portland!) bike paths we’ve ever seen.

What we didn’t know was that this love affair extended to off road cycling as well. I was amazed to visit two different areas around Minneapolis that had some really great mountain bike parks for all levels. We took our kids and had a blast!

Rachel and Andrew generally ride ahead with one parent while the parent on the cyclocross bike hangs back with Cara who is much, much slower. Sam and I will trade off who does which, but its definitely more a ride for the kids than for us and that’s fine. Instilling a love a mountain biking in my kids while they are young will pay out later when they are older I’m sure.

Lebanon Hills Regional Park (pdf of the trails)
Rachel Lebanon Hills Lebanon Hills Regional Park is located in Dakota County on the south side of downtown Minneapolis. We camped across the road in the campground and Sam and I were both able to bike over to the trails. Since we wanted the kids to conserve their energy we opted to drive over when we took them.

Cara is still a pretty novice mountain biker and hates anything with “bumps” or rocks. The beginner trails are pretty smooth but she still threw a tantrum and refused to ride any farther. I’m pretty sure the whole park heard her yell how mean of I mom I was. I talked her through it and once she got going she didn’t want to leave opting to ride another small loop when given the choice. See? Being “mean” pays off sometimes.

Lebanon Hills also has a fun skills park in a small area where people can practice going over or down different obstacles (logs, bridges, bumps and rollers, etc). Our kids had a lot of fun doing laps around the skills park both before and after we rode the trails.

The only downside we found to this park is that the return path for some of the more advanced trails is the beginner loop. On a busier Saturday, Cara was frustrated at having to frequently pull over at let more advanced riders pass her.

Website for just the mountain biking park.

Elm Creek Park Reserve (pdf of the trails)

Elm Creek Park Reserve is on the northwest side of the Twin Cities area. We tried this trail twice and loved it both times. The first was a quick spin around one of the loops on the day of the great bike fiasco. The second time was after we had left Minneapolis only to return for a family event and a meet up with some other Airstream families a few weeks later. We were camped at the KOA only 15 minutes away from Elm Creek and I desperately wanted to get back over here before we left. I’m so glad we did!

We took the kids on the beginner loop and they did great! Smooth, easy trails and even though Rachel ended up with a bee sting mid-ride she toughed it out and even did another lap.

The following morning I snuck over for a longer ride on one of the intermediate routes. The trail wound through a lot of trees – some of them so close I thought I was going to clip a handlebar. For all the technical sections, there was an easier path around and I ended up clocking a little over 8 miles.

It was good, but I think for more advanced riders the trails at Lebanon were more fun. Elm Creek definitely has the easier of the two parks for beginners and it was definitely less crowded.

With how much Minnesotans love their bikes, I’m sure there are more trails in the area we’ll have to discover next time through. Both parks were well marked with trail maps, difficult levels and direction arrows so it was obvious which direction you should be riding on the one-way trails.

I’m grateful we were able to get some great biking in a place where I was sure there would be nothing and a total bonus for the kids who had a ton of fun and gained more confidence every time we rode!

Tags easy trails for kids minneapolis, minnesota mountain biking, minnesota off road cyclists, mountain biking with kids, mtb, mtb kids

WanderLog Wisconsin

Our First Taste of Wisconsin – The Dells

Post author By Jess
Post date August 8, 2015
2 Comments on Our First Taste of Wisconsin – The Dells

Travel Dates: August 4-6

We left Minneapolis, MN (again) and drove the long 4.5 hours east to the Wisconsin Dells in one day. We decided it was worth the push to get there in one day – and get in late as we knew the RV Park at Mt. Olympus would not be very scenic. The kids had been looking forward to a water park here for at least a year, and since we could add it to the itinerary, we decided we should.

The next two days were spent at Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park. We had a blast. The first day we spent the morning at the Waterpark, ate lunch at a cafe, swam some more and made it back to the Airstream for an early dinner. After dinner we went back in until about 8pm and rode the rides.

The following day we did in reverse. We hitched up the Airstream and drove early over to the Mt. Olympus Parking. We got in first thing and rode the Hades 360 roller-coaster (the lines were at least an hour the day before), and then more Go Karts and our other favorite rides. We went back to the Airstream for lunch, changed into our swimming suits, and Sam stayed to work while I took the kids back in to swim. We stayed at the park until about 5pm, then whipped up a quick dinner in the parking lot and drove a few hours to a Walmart outside of Green Bay, WI for the night.

The next morning, after a frustrating attempt to find someplace to stay in Door County, we abandoned those plans and decided to head north towards the Upper Peninsula of Michigan instead. We feel like Wisconsin totally got the shaft, but we had plans to come back after some time in Michigan.

Next: Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Wrap Up