Adventure! (Within Reason): Recent Episodes
Kelly and David
A Minnesota State Parks PodcastWe are not affiliated with the Department of Natural Resources or Minnesota State Parks and Trails. We're just fans.
This park is a little gem tucked away in Central Minnesota! Also, mark your calendar for our upcoming group hikes, swims, and picnics.
An impressionist overview of this park from the way, way back machine! We recorded in September, life got nuts, but we managed to still get it released in 2023! Happy New Year!
An overview of all of the great things at Father Hennepin, a HCT report, and David's grievances with the birding community finally take flight.
What a Tolkien-esque park! Kelly loved it despite having heat exhaustion, which means a lot.
We have DIRECTIONS. We have PARK INFO. We've got what you need to make it out to this park and have a great time before it closes.
Tipis are available for rent until September 25, 2023.
Shoutout to our friend, Jill, who not only waited a long time for us to finally catch up to her, but also provided our sign photo for this episode.
Otherwise, the HCT, monarchs, a run-in with the law, and listener Adam provides an utterly charming lodging report on the tipis!
The River View Trail, an eagle, and some tips for getting the Falls to yourselves.
Apologies for some of the audio. One of us (me, Kelly) was having a hard time with wildfire smoke.
This is a special episode, adventurers! We visit Apostle Islands National Park (just the mainland) and interview Aaron Hill about his own Minnesota State Park Adventure.
We really want to thank Aaron for being on the podcast. We only got to talk to him about Minnesota State Parks, but we hope that you'll learn more about his incredible story of love, loss, grief, and the outdoors. https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-state-parks-camping-aaron-hill-running-trails/600278411/
Lo and behold, I have a new catchphrase. We both get distracted by birds a couple times in this one, we review one of our new favorite HCTs, David has an extensive bird report, we give a long PSA on proper tarp tucking and sunscreen. We also have a bathroom report!
After we recorded this episode David finally saw a red-headed woodpecker and I found Jack-in-the-Pulpit.
Plus some slightly unhinged ad reads for our great sponsors Perennial Soaps (perennialsoaps.com) and Ashley's Vegan Sweets (find her on Facebook!).
A loving send up of NPR, spring ephemerals, the HCT, and BLUEBELLS.
A note: We have a "foraging report" in this episode where we specifically mention the location of ramps. Ramps, or wild leeks, are in danger because of overharvesting. Don't be a butthead and go dig them all up. Foraging is allowed in State Park onlyfor fruits and mushrooms and only for personal use. We've gotten this wrong in the past, so please learn from our mistakes!
The shorebird David saw was a white-rumped sandpiper.
Our Sibley group hike was cancelled! We'll see you later this summer.
NOTE: Our April 29th Group Hike at Great River Bluffs has been moved to April 30th!
We love this park. We love our listeners.
This is a weird one. David digresses on how to make tea, we talk A LOT about how much we liked meeting one of our listeners, and she indulges us with a brief interview.
Plus! David adds a mailbag segment, we continue to rhapsodize about the North Shore, and we drink some beers.
George Orwell's essay on how to drink "A Nice Cup of Tea" can be found here (https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/a-nice-cup-of-tea/)
Forgive us for our microphone clipping!
We LOVE this park. Waterfalls! History! Hilariously direct signs! Canada!
The trail to the High Falls IS wheelchair accessible. The tribe is Grand Portage Band Of Lake Superior Chippewa, NOT Ojibwe as we say in the episode.
Oh no! We ran into a hurdle at this one. David extols the virtues of winter hiking and Kelly laughs a lot.
Lettuce be clear. We talk a lot about our picnic in this one. Also a review of the HCT, peak color, and a new segment!
Apologies folks, my (Kelly) allergies were out of control (in October! In MINNESOTA!) during this one so I sound a little dopey and very stuffy.
Episode Seven of seven from our Summer 2022 State Park Tour! We LOVE this park and its HCT, pristine lake, and gorgeous trail center.
We make some embarrassing admissions about our diets while camping and review the hiking club trail in this one
Episode Five from our Summer 2022 Minnesota State Park Tour! McCarthy Beach and its great water sports, a digression into owl calls, and a quick trip to Hibbing.
Kelly loves this park so much she asked David something very special at it. Also includes a review of the HCT and some on-trail recordings we took!
Episode three from our Summer 2022 State Park Tour! We learn what "rustic" means at a campground, talk about side quests, and really enjoyed this HCT.
A gem of a State Recreation Area in this one, folks! Plus our first ever guests on the podcast. We forgot to mention--the Passport Club Stamp for this one is located at the DNR Office in Ironton!
The first episode from our Summer 2022 State Park Tour! We talk about Crow Wing, camping supplies, and how to cash in those dang Free Night of Camping passes.
This was a hot day! Catch our last episode before our mega camping trip. The Hiking Club Trail, wildlife observation, and a long digression about potato chips.
We talk about our usual highlights and discuss the pleasure and value in connecting with your fellow park-goers.
We love this park and New Ulm! Two Thumbs up on the hiking trail, flowers, birds, and Schells Beer!
A letter from long, long ago kicks off this episode. Aside from that it's all our normal stuff about a great little gem of a park, Lake Louise.
We go deep (deep into an awesome cave!) in this one, folks. A review of an outstanding and huge park, lots of bird talk, and if you've ever wondered what Kelly sounds like on six doses of Benadryl, here's your chance!
It's all about bison, baby! Hear one of Minnesota's greatest conservation success stories (in our humble opinion), get the bird report, and learn the Lakota meaning of Minneopa
In this episode, Kelly reclaims her Minneopa tshirt, we talk about Scientific and Natural Areas, geek out over a lifer wildflower, and talk about the beauties of the Driftless Area of Minnesota
It's a camping episode at Beaver Creek Valley! Get a birding report and hear us go nuts over wildflowers (the ones I couldn't remember are called Dutchman's Breeches.)
This is a fun one, folks! We visit one of our favorite Minnesota State Parks, give hot tips on blackberries and hikes, have two contests, and go a little off the rails.
In this episode we visit Fort Ridgely State Park. David gives a birding report (including a lifer!) and we talk about the historical site and a little about the US-Dakota War of 1862.
Donate to a culturally specific Native American Domestic Violence Shelter: http://women-of-nations.org/donate/
Learn about murdered and missing indigenous women: https://www.csvanw.org/mmiw
We have a misadventure in this one folks! We talk about Savanna Portage State Park, the pros/cons of winter hiking, and the need for more silence in our lives.
In this episode we explore Sakatah State Park. We discuss the benefits of visiting parks multiple times, the hiking club trail, the glory of having a State Park entirely to yourself, and announce a new contest!
Today we talk about Minnesota's largest state park and our favorite federal government projects.
Today we tell you some fun facts about Eastern Bluebirds, an interesting invasive plant eradication project, and other highlights from Afton State Park
In this episode we introduce our podcast, talk about the trails and birding at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park, and begin to discuss the impact Climate Change is going to have on our beloved park system.
State Park Information: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00241#homepage
Information on Big Woods: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/222Mb/index.html