my favorite region in this country is the unparalleled beauty of the northern great lakes. i've explored the u.p and north country wisconsin pretty well and now i've got designs on minnesota. not a terribly long trip, but with the itinerary i will unveil, what is the appropriate amount of time?

i have family in greater minny and would like to check out the twins. lake itasca is probably the only must but i would love to get up to the lake of the woods. is international falls or the hockey hall of fame worth a diversion? the mesabi iron range? i love sh!t like that. and speaking of the iron range, is there any hiking in the area? i love those juxtapositions. the boundary waters and voyageurs most likely would be a separate trip. we'd be camping most of the time, maybe a cabin or two. me the missus and the little one. tnx for your time and now back to partisan politics

wow. 67 views and no posts. must be some kind of record

(01-25-2017 06:58 PM)Lush Wrote:  wow. 67 views and no posts. must be some kind of record

Well, given that I don't know a whole lot about that region - thinking you probably don't want my insights. I bet Lord Stanley could give you some insights....

It does sound like a fun trip though.

I'll reply so you can have a couple of responses on your thread, but....

I rarely take vacations other than to visit family, have never been to the states you mentioned, don't visit tourist locations and don't hike or go camping. So I will be of no help other than to suggest you avoid the sections of Minneapolis that have been taken over by Somali Muslims.

Had an uncle and aunt that lived in northern Minnesota back in the day. They lived in the boonies but the land was so beautiful and I remember lakes, lakes and more lakes everywhere. Small, medium, large, narrow, round, you name it. The water was so clear. The nearest town was Bigfork (pop. 400+). Visited them twice and we fished in the summer and hunted snow hares in the winter. Lots of chillin' time. Black bears and wolves were around too. God's Country. Great memories.

I know we saw a bit of Lake Superior on the trips but I don't remember details. Would love to visit Superior again someday.

(01-25-2017 07:15 PM)Crebman Wrote:  

(01-25-2017 06:58 PM)Lush Wrote:  wow. 67 views and no posts. must be some kind of record

Well, given that I don't know a whole lot about that region - thinking you probably don't want my insights. I bet Lord Stanley could give you some insights....

It does sound like a fun trip though.

don't beat yourself up man. tnx for the bump

Not so certain that's it's "God's Country",.. but if so,... He vacations in Virginia!

Word of caution,... lots of Muzzies up there and a big ,I'm certain and fugly Mpls Bison!

(01-25-2017 08:58 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  Had an uncle and aunt that lived in northern Minnesota back in the day. They lived in the boonies but the land was so beautiful and I remember lakes, lakes and more lakes everywhere. Small, medium, large, narrow, round, you name it. The water was so clear. The nearest town was Bigfork (pop. 400+). Visited them twice and we fished in the summer and hunted snow hares in the winter. Lots of chillin' time. Black bears and wolves were around too. God's Country. Great memories.

I know we saw a bit of Lake Superior on the trips but I don't remember details. Would love to visit Superior again someday.

my uncle (whom lives along lake michigan in wisconsin) says that wisconsin is the true state of 10,000 lakes. minnesota has about 20,000.

the howl of a wolf is something that i'll always cherish. heard late while safely in the confines of my tent on a crisp fall night amidst the timber of the nicolet forest in northern wisconsin

I've been to Thousand Islands, Ny and Bolt Castle ! That was beautiful too.

(01-25-2017 06:58 PM)Lush Wrote:  wow. 67 views and no posts. must be some kind of record

Wait until my Steven Crowder thread gets a hundred views without any replies. lol

damn ucgrad. i just saw on the atlas was bigfork was. that's in the thick of some serious sh!t

(01-25-2017 09:29 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  Not so certain that's it's "God's Country",.. but if so,... He vacations in Virginia!

Word of caution,... lots of Muzzies up there and a big ,I'm certain and fugly Mpls Bison!

like a muzzle loader? the region is my ******* home away from home

Sorry, broski. None of the rust belt states have anything on North Carolina. You can have your frozen tundra and crappy beer.

ain't nothing wrong with north carolina. that's another state i wanna dig up. only been to asheville in boone thusly. wanna make it to wilmington and eat some damn q

Some thoughts on Minnesota -

If you are in the Cities, the Iron Range is 4 hours away, International Falls is 5 hours away, Grand Marais is 6 hours away. Minnesota is a pretty big State and Minneapolis is the bottom third over in the eastern corner. So plan accordingly as these would be overnight trips, though you might check flights up the International Falls. Maybe you could find a cheap flight and a rental car.

Lake Ithasca is cool in the sense of what you are looking at, but really it is just a lake and you can walk across the river on the rocks. We went, spent hours getting there, then about two hours there including a picnic, then headed home. There's nothing else up there to do....



If you want my advise, concentrate on Lake Superior. Go up to Duluth, get a beer at Grandmas and watch the lift bridge, then head on up to my favorite town, Grand Marais. The drive is incredible right along the shore of Lake Superior. We also get a condo down by the Coast Guard station which gives long views over the water. Eat dinner at the Gun Flint Tavern and get the GFT roundel for the back window of your truck.



We have use of a cabin in Cotton, MN (recently -35, horray!) which is just down the road from Eveleth and the USA Hockey Hall of Fame. Such a random place for a professional Hall, but whatever. It's not hard to get to at all.



In the Cities themselves, there a fair number of cool things to do.

Go to Minnehaha Falls and SeaSalt to drink beer, eat seafood (flown in everyday from the East Coast, I know the owner) and people watch.



If you are beer guy, go to Surly Brewing for dinner and brews



Museums? Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Walker. The only Russian Art Museum in the USA is in south Minneapolis and well worth a visit.



I live out on Lake Minnetonka and a great way to spend a Saturday is on the lake, either in a boat or at any of the bars and restaurants. I'm close to Lord Fletchers but note it can be full of rich aceholes, cougars, slutty college girls and swole bros. Not really my scene so much any more but still worth the time.



Bike the Midtown Greenway or the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway. Or walk around the Chain of Lakes.



Cross the river and explore St. Paul: walk along Summit Ave (beautiful old mansions) & Grand Ave, go to Como Park



If you like things a bit gritty, hit Lake Street in Minneapolis. From west to east you will go from hipster Uptown with gastropubs to urban LynnLake with the only real Mexican north of Chicago, to Cedar Ave with the Somali restaurants. You will be fine unless you're drunk and beligerent on a Saturday night. Most recently some guy dressed head to toe in yellow including hat and shoes tried to sell me DVDs out of his trunk. Something of everyone I guess.



If you come during baseball season, see a Twins game



If you are coming, wait until spring, say May or June. Summer is fine but a little buggy. Fall is spectacular but too short.

Have fun! Welcome to the Land of Sky Blue Waters.

(01-26-2017 04:13 PM)Lush Wrote:  ain't nothing wrong with north carolina. that's another state i wanna dig up. only been to asheville in boone thusly. wanna make it to wilmington and eat some damn q

Wilmington is not the BBQ destination, although it once had a great place called Skinner and Daniels..Nice family beaches though.
The Greenville area is good for Eastern BBQ and the Lexington area is good for Western. I prefer Eastern. Parker's..B's..Sam Jones in the Greenville area.

(01-27-2017 08:40 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  Some thoughts on Minnesota -

If you are in the Cities, the Iron Range is 4 hours away, International Falls is 5 hours away, Grand Marais is 6 hours away. Minnesota is a pretty big State and Minneapolis is the bottom third over in the eastern corner. So plan accordingly as these would be overnight trips, though you might check flights up the International Falls. Maybe you could find a cheap flight and a rental car.

Lake Ithasca is cool in the sense of what you are looking at, but really it is just a lake and you can walk across the river on the rocks. We went, spent hours getting there, then about two hours there including a picnic, then headed home. There's nothing else up there to do....



If you want my advise, concentrate on Lake Superior. Go up to Duluth, get a beer at Grandmas and watch the lift bridge, then head on up to my favorite town, Grand Marais. The drive is incredible right along the shore of Lake Superior. We also get a condo down by the Coast Guard station which gives long views over the water. Eat dinner at the Gun Flint Tavern and get the GFT roundel for the back window of your truck.



We have use of a cabin in Cotton, MN (recently -35, horray!) which is just down the road from Eveleth and the USA Hockey Hall of Fame. Such a random place for a professional Hall, but whatever. It's not hard to get to at all.



In the Cities themselves, there a fair number of cool things to do.

Go to Minnehaha Falls and SeaSalt to drink beer, eat seafood (flown in everyday from the East Coast, I know the owner) and people watch.



If you are beer guy, go to Surly Brewing for dinner and brews



Museums? Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Walker. The only Russian Art Museum in the USA is in south Minneapolis and well worth a visit.



I live out on Lake Minnetonka and a great way to spend a Saturday is on the lake, either in a boat or at any of the bars and restaurants. I'm close to Lord Fletchers but note it can be full of rich aceholes, cougars, slutty college girls and swole bros. Not really my scene so much any more but still worth the time.



Bike the Midtown Greenway or the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway. Or walk around the Chain of Lakes.



Cross the river and explore St. Paul: walk along Summit Ave (beautiful old mansions) & Grand Ave, go to Como Park



If you like things a bit gritty, hit Lake Street in Minneapolis. From west to east you will go from hipster Uptown with gastropubs to urban LynnLake with the only real Mexican north of Chicago, to Cedar Ave with the Somali restaurants. You will be fine unless you're drunk and beligerent on a Saturday night. Most recently some guy dressed head to toe in yellow including hat and shoes tried to sell me DVDs out of his trunk. Something of everyone I guess.



If you come during baseball season, see a Twins game



If you are coming, wait until spring, say May or June. Summer is fine but a little buggy. Fall is spectacular but too short.

Have fun! Welcome to the Land of Sky Blue Waters.

See Lush! I knew who the resident Minnesota vacation planner would be!!

(01-27-2017 09:05 AM)Fo Shizzle Wrote:  

(01-26-2017 04:13 PM)Lush Wrote:  ain't nothing wrong with north carolina. that's another state i wanna dig up. only been to asheville in boone thusly. wanna make it to wilmington and eat some damn q

Wilmington is not the BBQ destination, although it once had a great place called Skinner and Daniels..Nice family beaches though.
The Greenville area is good for Eastern BBQ and the Lexington area is good for Western. I prefer Eastern. Parker's..B's..Sam Jones in the Greenville area.

my bad. i meant in addition to bbq i'd like to go to wilmington. tnx for advice on the q, that was gonna be a follow up

yeah crebman, but i had to beg and whine for him to do so. tnx for the notes lord stanley. lake itasca seems to me an almost religious experience. i've been to the confluence of the ohio and mississippi in cairo, illinois a few times and i have some perspective at how large a spanse it covers. it's an inland sea. just to see it's humble origins would be kinda neat. but yeah, i'll probably end up staying a few hours. but it seems like a good place to read a book.

tnx for the tip on grand marais. my heart is in superior looks sweet. i've been to duluth once. i traversed lake superior and hung out in thunder bay. hit duluth on the way out. super dope town. would love to go back. i really want to check out lake of the woods. maybe that's a trip for me and my dad.

i was born in north dakota so i kinda think that's why i'm drawn to this region

(01-26-2017 09:34 AM)Lush Wrote:  damn ucgrad. i just saw on the atlas was bigfork was. that's in the thick of some serious sh!t

Like I said, 'twas the boonies. IIRC, the nearest neighbors were 1/2 mile away along a dirt road.