Prior to our departure, the Air Quality Index reached the Orange or Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups category due to the smoke from the wildfires located north of the Canadian border in Ontario and Manitoba. We revisited a few attractions in the Iron Range by driving through several small mining towns such as Hibbing, Chisholm, Eveleth and Virginia. When we told a retired mining worker at Hull–Rust–Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine that we visited this place exactly 20 years ago, he paused in disbelief and I had to gently remind him that we Asians look much younger than our true age.

Our campsite in Bear Head Lake State Park was very spacious and quiet. We spent a full day kayaking and hiking in this lovely park. The loud loon wailing could be heard all day long. Although the ranger warned us about recent bear sightings upon arrival, we didn’t stumble upon one except the bear head logo at the entrance of the state park. On the second full day, due to the forecasted thunderstorm in the afternoon, we started our day earlier and hiked the entire 6-mile Bass and Dry Lake loop located north of Ely. Thankfully, the storm never arrived and we managed to chill out in Ely before heading back to our campsite. Our initial plan is to explore the nearby Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park, but we were exhausted from the earlier 5-hour hike. Instead, we checked out several lodges in the vicinity in case we plan to visit Ely during fall season in the future.

As we headed home on the final day, our vehicle began to act up. The “check engine” light lit up on the dashboard, the acceleration jerked as if the transmission was slipping and at times, it lost the ability to accelerate. Given we were still 2 hours away from home, we pulled into an auto repair shop just north of the metro area to run a quick diagnosis, but the mechanics weren’t able to pinpoint the problem right away. We decided to push forward very slowly through the heavy storm just south of the metro, praying that our vehicle wouldn’t stall on us along the highway. We got home safely, albeit a very stressful drive. Apparently, the accelerator pedal position sensor had gone bad and it caused a small fortune to replace it.

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From Minnesota, we drove south along the Mississippi River to Iowa before crossing the river to Wisconsin. The purple milkweed flowers and the eastern tent caterpillar nests on the trees, which look like giant white cotton candies, dominated the landscape along the 2.5 hours drive. Upon our arrival at the campsite, a trash panda greeted us before scurrying into the nearby bushes. We prayed we didn’t have to encounter it again, especially in the middle of the night. The ruby throated hummingbirds were commonly seen buzzing around at our campsite especially at dusk in search of food. We also got to watch the crop dusting planes doing countless laps throughout the day and refilling at the distant municipal airport across the Wisconsin River.

Apart from the early morning rain on the first day, it was very hot throughout our stay with the heat index consistently reaching 100F. We still managed to hike several trails in the forest to get away from the heat, albeit very muggy and humid. To escape the sweltering heat in the afternoons, we constantly repositioned our folding chairs in search of shade under the 2 tall oak trees at our campsite. When the sun moved, we moved in unison. The only downside of camping under oak trees was the constant dropping of oak nuts like mini bombs. It was considerably cooler at night where the temperature dropped at least 25 degrees.

One of the attractions in this state park is the canoe trails on Glenn Lake, which is part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. There are 2 canoe trails — the north trail cuts through the idyllic Woodyard Slough and the south trail is more exposed to air and water currents. Both trails were well marked and we saw a few egrets hunting for fish along the north trail. Although we rented a canoe for 4 hours, we managed to cover both trails in 3 hours with a total of 6.7 miles. We were not allowed to canoe on the Mississippi River due to liability reasons. We were told the waves from the passing barges would constantly push the canoe to the river banks.

On our departure day, it was very breezy in the morning with the storm forecasted to roll in that afternoon with damaging wind and hail. We departed at 8:30 AM and headed to Pikes Peak State Park — located across the Mississippi River in Iowa — to do a few short hikes before heading home. This state park bears the same name as one of the Colorado’s 58 fourteeners — a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet — because both locations were discovered by the same American explorer, Zebulon Pike.

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The drive to the Wild River State Park took about 2 hours. We were the first to arrive at 1:30 PM. After setting up the tent and tarp shelter, we hiked the 3.7-mile River Loop trail while waiting for everyone else to arrive. At night, we sat by the fire and chatted with friends until past midnight.

On the first night, loud strange noises echoed loudly in the campground: hooting owls, growling raccoons, howling coyotes and crowing roosters. None of us were brave enough to peek out in the darkness to investigate. All of us played dead. To make the experience even more interesting, the park ranger had warned us before about possible bear sightings in the area. We survived. After having a long breakfast with everyone, we went separate ways to explore the park. We hiked the strenuous 3-mile Highland Hills trail. In the evening, we had an incredible dinner feast: 2 seafood hot pots (one spicy broth and one non-spicy broth), grilled pork chops and chicken chops. The sheer amount of raw ingredients brought in was incredible. After dinner, most families except one other family and us had packed up and left for home at late night due to possible midnight thunderstorm.

At 2 AM, sure enough, we were rudely awakened by a very bright lightning that illuminated the whole dark sky followed by a loud rumbling thunder. It rained heavily. We were too tired to be bothered by the storm and were fast asleep shortly after. By the time we woke up at 6 AM, the rain had stopped. One of the nearby campers told us the lightning struck less than a mile away from the campground. While the wet ground made the packing process rather messy, we were fortunate we didn”t have to hastily pack things up under heavy rain… unlike our camping trip in Itasca State Park.

Overall, it was a very relaxing camping experience. Having to camp once with a few of them before in St Croix State Park, we adjusted our expectations. At the same time, we also made a few new friends in the process.

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Camping has allowed us to explore the more remote places that we normally would not go due to the distance, the lack of accommodation and eatery options, and generally the fear of not knowing what to see or expect. Last year, we explored the northwestern region of Minnesota. This year, we decided to explore the north central region of Minnesota by camping in Scenic State Park. We chose this park for 2 reasons: 1) it is located in the Laurentian Mixed Forest, a remote area far away from any big cities, and 2) the name of the park enticed us… it would be rather disappointing and misleading to go to a place called “Scenic” and it not being scenic at all.

Scenic State Park holds true to its name. The proper words to describe this magical place: raw beauty, quiet, peaceful, idyllic and untouched. Every morning, we woke up by the chirping and scurrying noises from the tiny critters and the hammering noises from the woodpeckers. Every evening, we listened to the crying loons and the honking Canadian geese echoing loudly from the lakes. Throughout our time here, we hiked several trails (Chase Point, Tell Tale and Fire Tower) and kayaked on a few lakes (Coon Lake and Sandwick Lake).

We took an opportunity to explore outside the park by driving 45 minutes west to the Lost Forty. Located in the Chippewa National Forest, the Lost Forty is home to one of the last stands of virgin, old-growth red and white pines in Minnesota. This area went untouched by loggers when a surveying error mapped the area as a body of water in 1882.

On our last day, we traveled off the beaten path by driving along the Edge of the Wilderness Scenic Byway, the oldest scenic byway in Minnesota. This area is unique in the sense that it is located at the crossroads of 3 distinct North American land types: prairie grasslands on the west, boreal forest on the north and deciduous forest on the south.

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The first morning in the campground was the coldest with the temperature hovering a little above freezing point at 36F due to the cold front. It was so cold that our exposed foreheads and noses felt the biting cold throughout the night. That said, the morning weather gradually got warmer since then (41F and 53F). The upside of cold weather is we did not have any mosquito or bug problems. We spent the whole Friday in Itasca State Park, covering the must-see attractions and hiking for several hours to see fall colors. The fall colors in the park was rather irregular since some areas were dominated by giant pine trees while others had more maple and oak trees.

On Saturday, we spent half day visiting Bemidji, a small town located about 45 minutes drive from Itasca State Park. There, we hiked in Lake Bemidji State Park and visited the Bemidji State University and the famous Paul Bunyan and Babe The Blue Ox statue. In the late afternoon, we rented bicycles in Itasca State Park and rode along the bike trails in the park since it was too windy to get a paddle boat out on the lake.

On Sunday, It started raining after midnight and it rained the whole day until we reached home in the late afternoon.

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St Croix State Park is the largest Minnesota state park. It takes about half hour to get from the campground to one of the trails by Kettle River. The most surprising (and pleasant) part of our camping trip is this state park has very clean and modern individual shower rooms equipped with hot water.

We survived our first camping trip with flying colors. The wet and cool weekend didn’t dampen our spirit with the temperature hovering between 50F and 65F. We consumed luxury meals (BBQ chicken, grilled pork chop, hot pot, American breakfast), hung out with good friends and at the same time, made new friends.

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