Perfect Fall Day

A little slice of Minnesota and Wisconsin

We stored the boat on Saturday. This is usually a quick "allez-retour" because we usually take the Corvette at the same time. However, the weather has been so lovely this fall that we decided to keep the little Vette for another week and do a little day trip after dropping off the boat.

Kanabec County farmland (I think)

Isanti is a kind of gateway to the north, so we had a few choices for the day's ride. We settled on St. Croix State Park, where we once spent many weekends in the long ago motorhome days of the nineties.

The drive to Hinckley on Highways 47 and 23 was unfamiliar to us, rolling in Kanabec county past colorful trees and farmland. Cattle grazed in apparent contentment as temperatures rose rapidly to the fifties. We reached St. Croix State Park before noon. The air was filled with the scent of pine, dried leaves and sensory memories of camping days.

St. Croix State Park landscape

We walked along the still familiar St. Croix River bluff trail and rode over to the old swimming beach, where I could still, in my mind's eye, see kids playing and a little fawn lying quietly beside the water on the other side. A couple of cyclists were resting on an empty bench.

We reluctantly left the park and crossed to the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix. By now we were getting hungry and happy to stop at the Pour House in Siren for a BLT lunch. Traffic was much heavier as we rode into the sun began its evening descent in the west.

I closed my eyes for a few minutes and enjoyed the delicious luxury of sleeping in the car as Bob drove toward home. The gloriously perfect fall day was total gift.