Tag Archives: Birds

Lodging, Parks, Sights, Travel

Lake Maria State Park, Silver Creek Township, MN

Lake Maria State Park, Silver Creek Township, MN

We booked a cabin at Lake Maria State Park near Monticello, MN.  It is a short drive northwest of the cities.

We parked near the lake and started, what we thought would be, a short walk to our cabin.  Needless to say I miscalculated where we were on the map.  We walked along the lake and directly towards a marsh.  We finally stopped when it looked like the marsh might take us if we went any further.

View of the pond outside of our cabin

Eventually we wound around until we ended up at our cabin.  It was a great spot next to a little pond of it’s own.  There was a light inside that ran on a solar panel just outside of the cabin.  It would run for about half an hour before it turned off on its own.  It was really nice at night.

Outside of the cabin there was a privy off to the side, almost behind the cabin, but close.  It came with a fire pit, a couple of logs to sit on, and a picnic table.  It was perfect.

It turns out our parking space was hundreds of yards instead of over a mile.  We found it when we took a short walk around our pond.  My only other complaint was the wood heat was too much for that little cabin.  That was of course our fault.  We didn’t really need a fire inside at all.  I really liked this cabin setup.

The park was nice.  It is a great place to do some bird watching.  At least one person was there just to catch a glimpse of the larger birds in the area.  I didn’t get a clean shot, but there were some nice looking birds in the area.

This is what I would call a relaxing cabin location and park.

Parks, Sights, Travel

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, MN

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, 3815 American Blvd. East, Bloomington, MN 55425

I saw signs for the Wildlife Refuge from time to time, but I could never figure out how to get there.  Then one day I was visiting the Hilton in Bloomington for an event and I finally saw it.

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge 55

This refuge extends from Bloomington all the way down to Burnsville and beyond really.

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge July 008

Despite the fact that a good portion of this is river and swamp the mosquitoes aren’t bad at all.  In fact the path isn’t really near the swamp areas

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge July 011

You get to walk through flowers to start your journey down the path along the refuge.  If you are lucky you will spot a bird or two.  I have seen cranes and turkeys and hawks.  Most of the path is shaded and cool.  There are stretches that are open.

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge July 001

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge July 025

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge July 047

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge July 035

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge July 041

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge July 045

It really is a great place.