Winter can be a great time to visit Minnesota’s Mississippi River valley, if you aren’t already sick of cold weather. Snow softens the rough edges of rocky bluffs. The floodplain is decorated like cake frosting with piles of snow sculpted into graceful formations by unforgiving winds. The inviting waters of the Mississippi River and its sloughs are transformed into vast
Winter driving sucks. I know this. I have 12 hard-earned years of winter driving experience in Minnesota and Wisconsin. You can’t be in a hurry. You have to stay alert. Try to drive during daylight hours if it’s snowing. Pack your trunk with a survival kit. Steer into the skid. Pump your brakes to slow
If you’ve ever hiked through a state park, admired groves of trees in a public forest, or swam at a public beach, you should thank the CCC. In 1932, the US – and the rest of the world – was mired in one of the worst economic depressions in history. An unfathomable 25% of the
Tuesday – the 30th of January – it was 71 degrees at noon. 71 degrees! Three hours later it was snowing. Ugh. As I was driving around town, I watched the reading in my car thermometer drop to 62, then to 52, then to 35 –in less than in hour. It’s enough to drive otherwise
Most people understand that the River Road is a great drive in the summer. Few are willing to drive its northern reaches in the winter, however. What a shame. Last week I spent a few days driving around sections that I explored in balmier times. Even though some tourist sites are closed for the season,
We just got back from a very relaxing four days and three nights in Cancun. That’s in Mexico, in case you weren’t sure. Even if you’ve been there, you may not have realized that you were in Mexico. You need about as much Spanish as you would to visit that Mexican restaurant down the street from
