Visiting early Saturday afternoon in downtown Wanamingo.
I NEEDED A DAY TRIP. A day to explore small town and rural Minnesota. A day to pull my Canon DSLR out of winter hibernation. A day to document life in this place I call home.
My husband, Randy, crosses the bridge across Shingle Creek in Wanamingo.
So my husband and I headed east on Saturday, through Kenyon and then on to Wanamingo for lunch, a tour of a church, a stop in Riverside Park and a short walk through the woods along Shingle Creek.
Water rushing over limestone. Sun shining. The smell of creosote on a bridge deck. Blue sky striped with thin white clouds.
Lovely.
Walking the puppy in downtown Wanamingo.
Walking with the baby and the dog in Northfield.
And everywhere, people. Walking. Alone. In pairs. With babies and dogs.
Going fishing in the North Fork of the Zumbro River, Wanamingo.
Fishing.
Biking along Goodhue County Road 30 past Riverside Park in Wanamingo.
Or biking.
This bike was parked outside the elementary school in Wanamingo on Saturday.
From Faribault to Wanamingo to Nerstrand to Northfield and back home.
Two bikers stopped at Nerstrand Meats.
In the throngs of people outdoors, I saw spring. Glorious spring, here unseasonably early with temps nearing 70 degrees. Saturday was the sort of day that we Minnesotans think impossible in mid March.
Rollerblading near St. Olaf College in Northfield late Saturday afternoon.
It was a day for lying in a hammock stretched between trees on the campus of St. Olaf College in Northfield. Or walking hand-in-hand. Or for rollerblading back to campus.
Motorcycles were out everywhere, including this biker on Division Street in downtown Northfield late Saturday afternoon.
It was a day for riding motorcycle. It was a day to do anything that took you outdoors.
A scene more like May than March in Nerstrand.
It was perfect.
© Copyright 2016 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
SPRING
is
Risen!
LOooooooooooVE your photos! Lets talk soon! xx
PS. can’t wait for the TULIPS))
I love your joyfulness. My tulips and daffodils are beginning to poke through the earth. I hope they don’t freeze.
Yes, let’s talk.
You will be getting more and more of those lovely days now and isn’t it wonderful? Soak it up.
I certainly soaked up yesterday because this week it will be back to reality with the usual March weather in Minnesota.
Sometimes you just need a day to get out of town and drive, see some new sights and hopefully arrive home with a new perspective.
That’s true. A day trip gives me a break from reality, a time to appreciate nature (and more) and simply a carefree day with my husband.
Beautiful weather. Hopefully that S word doesn’t reappear until fall.
Oh, I think the S word may be in the forecast for later this week.
Yes, it was certainly a glorious day. It might hold us for a little while, but I am already suffering from spring fever. I love that area. Did you tour the church in Berne? I spent several years as a teenager not too far from that area, and my aunt and uncle were teachers, then one a principal, at Wanamingo. Road trips are so much fun. Glad you got out.
This is a beautiful area of Minnesota. That’s what I really love about Minnesota, the diverse geography. We toured Trinity Lutheran in Wanamingo and Holden Lutheran to the west.
I’ve been to the Swiss Fest at Berne, but not inside the church. Swiss Fest is no longer held. Instead, Zwingili does a pizza night using an outdoor oven during the summer months. I want to try that sometime.
I was a bit homesick reading your post. I miss the change and the excitement of having a fabulous weather day and it being only being mid March. i am looking forward to a Minnesota return no matter what the weather.
And we’ll be happy to have you back. I never thought about missing that excitement factor. Apparently I’m so accustomed that I take this for granted as a native Minnesotan.
Thank you for coming to our beautiful little town of Wanamingo. I love your posts.
Best regards, Eric
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Thank you, Eric. I will be writing a series of posts from Wanamingo. I just checked out your blog. We share similar interests. I need to know the location of that round barn and red elevator.
I have really noticed the motorcycles the last few nice days, they are eager to get out and ride.
I could see the “look” in Randy’s eyes. He owned a Harley, until a car hit his bike and totaled it.