Outdoor Adventures in the Washington D.C. Area

My extended Thanksgiving weekend had many outdoor adventures with Mick and his family.

A hike around Lake Royal, a neighborhood park, on a bright and sunny day-after Thanksgiving.
We brought the football almost everywhere we went!

Great Falls National Park on the Potomac R.

The Patowmack Canal around the Great Falls was inspired by George Washington
who envisioned a waterway connecting the East Coast to the Ohio River valley.   

The trail high above the river gorge below the Great Falls.

The Washington Monument is the perfect landmark to toss around a football,
as Christina plays catch with Maria and  Anders.

Anders stands tall at the Lincoln Memorial as an airplane lands
at Reagan International,  creating an interesting illusion.  

Part of the WWII Memorial on the capitol mall.

George Washigton slept here;  it's Mt. Vernon afterall!

The view of the Potomac R. from the front porch of the residence at Mt. Vernon,
 as Anders and Maria run just for the joy of it, as they often do where ever they go.

The headwaters of Pohick Creek, an intermittent stream in this area, is locally
 known as Anders Creek,which flows through the Gleason's backyard.
 Many adventures await!  

A game of two square at dusk.

The new house is looking good!

Sunset from the patio on my last evening in Virginia. 
Thanks for all the fun, Gleason family!

The Mick Brick

One of the highlights on my Thanksgiving weekend trip to the Washington D.C. area was the Search for the Mick Brick!  My brother Mick graduated a few years ago from The George Washington University, located in the heart of D.C., just 2 blocks from the White House.  As a reward for graduation, he purchased for a small fee a paver brick with his name carved into it.  He moved away from the D.C. area before he defended his dissertation and so he had never seen his brick but that status was about to change -- the hunt was on!

We arrived at campus and went to the court yard and immediately began to see hundreds and hundreds of named bricks.  Where was Mick's? They were arranged by year of graduation, but Mick was not certain in what year he technically graduated.

 

So many bricks!

George himself stands as sentinel over our noble quest for the Mick Brick!

Eureka! Mick and his Brick!

Christina and Maria make an etching of the hard-earned Brick.

The whole family celebrates The Brick! 
Very fitting since they all helped Mick earn it!

Congratulations, Mick and family!

   

Gleason Turkey Bowl 2011

On Thanksgiving day in Fairfax, Virginia  we played football at Oasis Field in Coffee Stadium, the home of the Robinson Rams, the school that both Christina and Anders attend. It is a 1/2 mile walk from the Gleason home.  Many touchdowns were scored as a result of great passes and impossible catches.

A perfect day for a Turkey Bowl!

Dad huddles up with the girls.

When Maria needed a break from the game, she would run a 1/4 mile lap
on the track that surrounds the football field.

The Gleason family has their game face on!

Maria did a triathlon:  football and  track at the stadium,
and biking to and from the game!

 

When we returned from the game, Anders attention
quickly turned to more important matters.

Thanksgiving Dinner in Fairfax, VA

I spent Thanksgiving in Fairfax, VA with my brother Mick, his wife Mette and their kids Christina, Anders, and Maria.  The day before Thanksgiving we went to Mt. Vernon.  Much to our surprise, the Presidential Turkey that had been pardoned earlier in the day by President Obama at the White House,  had just arrived  at Mt. Vernon by motorcade, to live its life in peace there, or so it thought.   

The Presidential Turkey just happened to be from Minnesota!

Here is the same turkey at Mt. Vernon.  Notice Mette peering over the fence. 
She is really checking out that turkey!!

Thanksgiving dinner, what great company!
Notice the turkey platter between Mick and Mette. 
Thanks President Obama!

2011 Potpourri

During the past year Cristin and I have visited some outstanding outdoor locations that never made it into a previous blog post so here is a round-up of some of them.



The Grand Marais harbor on Lake Superior.

Pittsburgh, PA

On the last weekend of October, Cristin and I visited her hometown of Pittsburgh.  We timed our trip so we could take in a Steeler's game.  Pittsburgh is at the Three Rivers confluence, where the Allegheny R. and Monongahela R. join to form the Ohio R.   The land area between the converging tributaries at the confluence is known as  the "Point" and was a strategic western location early in our nation's history and played a key role in the start of the French and Indian Wars; George Washington slept here :)  This area is now downtown Pittsburgh. 

We saw the Steelers play their nemesis the New England Patriots and Tom Brady at Heinz Field on a cool and pleasant Sunday late afternoon. The Steelers won 25-17 in an exciting, dramatic game. The victory resulted in the Steelers having the best record in the AFC.

Steeler's Girl #82

View from our seats at Heinz Field. Wow! 

Enjoying a post-victory dance-off at Redbeard's Bar and Grill in Mt. Washington.

The nightime view from Mt. Washington with Heinz Field still lit up after the game. 

A view of the Three Rivers confluence, the 'Point', and Heinz Field
from Mt. Washington.

We took the Monongahela Incline up to Mt. Washington.
 A unique and useful feature of the Pittsburgh public transit system!

We also had some time earlier in the weekend for an out-of-town excursion to tour Frank Loyd Wright's famous Fallingwater and a short hike at Ohiopyle State Park.

Fallingwater is built over a waterfall on Bear Run Creek.

Cucumber Falls at Ohiopyle State Park.

The Youghiogheny River Gorge, nicknamed the 'Yough',  is a whitewater
recreational paradise. 

Sandhill Cranes at Crex Meadows, Wisconsin

On Saturday October 22,  Cristin and I drove to Crex Meadows Wildlife Area near Grantsburg, Wisconsin, about 70 miles from the Twin Cities,  to check out the sandhill cranes, which are at peak numbers this time of year.  I have been to Crex many times and this trip was by far the best ever.  The cranes spend the evenings in the refugee, fly out in the morning to feed in nearby farm fields, and return en mass around sunset.    The Refuge is an area within Crex Meadows in which no access is provided or allowed. The best viewing is on the roads that surround the Refuge. We arrived about 5PM, drove around the refugee, and realized the south perimeter along Main Dike Road provided the best viewing.  Many others were there to witness this natural wonder under clear skies and temperatures falling from the 50's.  We saw thousands and thousands of cranes, arriving in endless waves in flocks of various numbers - from 2-3 to 50-100.  The call of the sandhill crane is a unique chortle and once heard, is never forgotten.
 

Click below for more pictures. The skies were filled with cranes; the black spots of various sizes are cranes at various distances.  Click on pictures to enlarge.

The Best of Times: Fall in Minnesota

 St. Croix River in Stillwater tour with Cristin and her parents.

 My favorite time of the year is September and October.  The heat and humidity of the summer gives way to  sunny and comfortable days and cool nights;  the bugs die off, and the fall colors emerge.  This September was memorable for being the driest ever, which is a mixed blessing: not so great for natural resources and agriculture  but good for outdoor activities!!    Below are pictures from some of this fall's fun and adventure.

Quetico's Cache Bay Pictographs

On our August 2011 trip to Quetico, Cristin and I sought out and found the Cache Bay pictographs, located a bit off the beaten path in a dead-end bay on the west side of Cache Bay.  Please see the companion blog "Quetico" for more on our whirlwind Quetico trip.  See also a description of our epic snowshoe hike in January 2011 to the Hegman Lake Pictographs in the BWCA.

Quetico

Sunday, August 28, 2011: Straddling the international border
between Ontario (left) and Minnesota (right) on Lake Saganaga

Cristin and I made a whirlwind 3 day trip to Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario the last weekend of August. Quetico is the Canadian equivalent of the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in Minnesota, a pristine canoe wilderness full of nothing but lakes and rivers, rocks and trees.  Both Quetico and the BWCA are about 1 million acres but Quetico has about 1/10th the number of visitors each year, making it a much more remote experience.

Cristin's goal was a trip to Quetico that included waterfalls, pictographs, lots of paddling, a great campsite, and complete solitude - all in 3 days and 2 nights!  The challenge was on.

Day 1 Paddle Route (dashed line)

Biking the Stower Seven Lakes Trail in Wisconsin

Today I decided to check out this 13-mile crushed linestone state trail between Dresser and Amery, Wisconsin.  It was recently featured in Midwest Weekends.  Click here for trail information from the Wisconsin DNR.

The Stower Seven Lakes Trail and North Twin Lake in Amery  

Glacier National Park - Car Tour and Rafting

After 3 great days at Many Glacier (see blog entry), we hit the road.

Many Glacier, Glacier National Park -- a Hiker's Paradise



Redrock Falls

Cristin and I spent three days at the Many Glacier campground, day hiking the numerous trails that can be assessed right from the campground.  The National Park Service brochure says about Many Glacier, "Many people consider this area the heart of the park. Massive mountains, active glaciers, sparkling lakes, hiking trails, and abundant wildlife make this a favorite of visitors and locals alike".   We really enjoyed our stay.  We had a great campsite, the weather was perfect -- warm, sunny days, cool evenings, and the long days provided lots of opportunity to enjoy it.  The Swiftcurrent Motor Inn is adjacent to the campground and its great restaurant, camp store, ranger programs, gift shop, public showers and laundry are in reality integrated right into campground life.  It helped make the Many Glacier experience even better.  One of my guidebooks accurately summarizes, "The Swiftcurrent Motor Inn  is a hip hub of activity".    

North Dakota Highlights

Our trip to Glacier included 3 nights spent in North Dakota - 1 night each in the South and North units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park on the way to Glacier NP and 1 night camping on the drive home at Schnell Recreation Area west of Bismarck, a convenient and very pleasant campground that cost just $5!
 

Glacier Trip update

We had 3 great days hiking in the Many Glacier area. Perfect weather. Today we packed up camp and headed to west Glacier and now Whitefish. Staying in Condo tonite. Rafting tomorrow. Only bummer is Going To The Sun Road is still closed, so had to adjust plans.





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Location:U.S. 93,Whitefish,United States