Tag Archives: Featured

Schroeder Baking Company, Schroeder, MN

April 15, 2018 Linda

Schroeder Baking Company, Schroeder, MN

Schroeder Baking Company is one of those little gems that you hope to find in your travels. Every small town has a place where the locals go to visit and eat and drink coffee. Schroeder Baking Company is one of those places. Granted I am pretty sure this bakery is possibly the only places in Schroeder, but if there were fifty places you could go, this would still be the place to go.

The food, wow, you cannot go wrong with whatever you decide to order. We ordered breakfast sandwiches one morning. They heat them up when you order them and hand them to you in a foil wrapper. We took ours outside and wiped the morning dew of the picnic table so that we could sit and enjoy these mouthwatering sandwiches.

Jon sampled a few of their different coffees and he loved them. That says a lot about the taste and quality. They have a few different beans and flavors. It is imported from wherever and clearly the good beans. It is way more than you would expect from a small town and better than a lot of chain coffee shops.

The coffee section of Schroeder Baking Company

The establishment calls themselves a bakery and they deliver on that statement. Every morning a new selection of baked goods is displayed so that you may make your selection. The thing is, when it is gone, it is gone, and they sell everything, everyday, so get there early.

Baked goods section of Schroeder Baking Company

The food selections don’t end there. Schroeder Baking Company also offers pizza, really good pizza. It is a thinner crust pizza with an incredibly delicious red sauce. The toppings aren’t “fresh”, the mushrooms come out of a can, but you are in the middle of nowhere and it isn’t a frozen pizza that they are unwrapping and cooking for you. They put it all together and cook you a fresh pizza which was delicious. They do simple pizzas so much better up north.

The place is small. Inside you will find two tables and some chairs. If you sit at one expect to share it with others. Outside there is a picnic table or you could put down a blanket and have a picnic. It is a completely picnic worthy area and there is a very a nice view of nature all around you.

The bakery is just down the street from Superior Ridge Resort Motel if you decide to stay there and not far from the Lutsen Resort. Temperance River State Park is right in that area as well. If you are looking for a trail to hike the locals or the staff can point you in the right direction. They have hiked them all.

The place is busy all the time, but not chaos busy, more like a steady stream. Again, the food is really, really good, and reasonably priced. Eat there or take it to go, but stop if you get a chance. You will not be disappointed.

Parks, Sights, Travel

Itasca State Park, Park Rapids, MN

April 8, 2018 Linda 2 Comments

Itasca State Park, Park Rapids, MN

Itasca State Park is probably the best park in Minnesota outside of the north shore area. It was established in 1979, which was a great year for beginnings. It is the location of the headwaters of the Mississippi river. You can actually walk across the beginning of that river via the rock formation that was created or a wooden plank, or both. There is a plaque that reads, “Here 1475 ft above the ocean the mighty Mississippi begins to flow on its winding way 2552 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.”

Bicycling is a big thing in this park. You can rent a bike right in the park. The entire park is a loop, and a good portion of it is one way, which I think makes bicycling safer for those spinning their way around this park.

Another thing that you will want to do is take a boat ride on the Chester Charles II Tour Boat. It is possible to go fishing on the lake. We took a boat tour. It was very informative. We learned all about the wild rice growing on the lake and the history of the Indian tribes fighting over the land, until the white man came along and won the argument.

We saw several loons which are the state bird of Minnesota. Their call sounds more like a wolf’s howl than a bird’s song. You should never disturb a loon while it is nesting, not even by making its call, because it will abandon the nest, and it will only try twice in a season. We also saw some bald eagles which were amazing.

If you travel around the park there are several places to stop and see some impressive trees. There is a white pine tree that stands 250 feet tall.

There is also a fire tower, Aiton Heights Fire Tower, that you will want to ascend it. The view at the top is great. You can see everything from up there. It is all enclosed so you do not need to worry about falling. None-the-less the climb can be a bit scary. It is rather high. I am afraid of heights so my muscles ached when I get back to the bottom.

View from the top of Aiton Heights Fire Tower

Another stop while visiting Itasca State Park should be Douglas Lodge. There is a great little restaurant inside. Try the wild rice soup. There will probably be a wait, but it is something that you will want to do. The prices aren’t bad and the food is good.

You can see the entire park in a couple of days despite the fact that there really is a lot to see. Eat at the Douglas Lodge, take the Chester Charles II boat tour, climb the Aiton Heights Fire Tower, hike some of the trails (apply bug spray), find the cabin made of massive logs, stand on the headwaters of the Mississippi, and if you want, bike around the entire park. It is a great park and I highly recommend it. It really is one of the best in Minnesota.

Lodging, Restaurant, Travel

Hungry Jack Lodge, Grand Marais, MN

August 14, 2016 Linda

Hungry Jack Lodge, 372 Hungry Jack Rd, Grand Marais, MN 55604

A man who once lived in California returns home to run his father’s lodge, Hungry Jack Lodge. The boy isn’t necessarily the most outgoing, but I do like his influence on the menu.

Let’s start with the restaurant in the lodge. It is downstairs. They have pizza. They are more famous for their burger and fries, particularly their fries. I agree that they are very good. Our waitress was new and inexperienced, but the food was good so who cares. You can get drinks at the bar or the tables. You can even eat outside is you wish.

The cabins are great. They are right on the lake. You get your own private dock. They come with all of the items you need for cooking in the tiny kitchen area. It has a little kitchen, a bed and fireplace, and a really nice bathroom. You have deck to hang out on and enjoy the evening sunset or morning sunrise. They are pretty close to the lodge so you can pop out to get a bite to eat.

One thing about being this far north, in the summer for sure, is the northern lights. It never gets dark. It hardly gets darker inside at night than it is during the day. Oh, you can hear the loons at night.

You can fish off the dock or rent a boat. We caught a couple of small fish, but honestly we needed to be out just a little bit further than we could manage to cast.

Near the lodge there is some playground equipment if you have children. The swimming area is straight out from the lodge.

The have many campsites that you can rent. The sites look pretty nice. You can even get a shower if you rent a campsite. The single shower is really nice, better than the one in my cabin.

The best part of this particular lodge is the distance to the nearest trail. Just a little bit down the road you can walk up to a lookout that allows you to see Hungry Jack Lake.

Walk past this and you will find Caribou Rock Trail and Moss Lake Trail. Caribou Rock Trail is where it is at between the two, but even if you only get to the lookout point you will enjoy the view.

Hungry Jack Lodge is actually a ways past Grand Marias. If you are looking for a great place to stay I would say this is possibly the place.

Entertainment, Event

Pucifer

May 29, 2016 Linda

Pucifer, 2016

I have never been to a rock concert with a wrestling match built into it before. Maynard James Keenan is a theatrical genius and has an amazing ear for sounds.

When you attend a Pucifer concert you get the experience of that particular album. The sounds flow in a particular sequence. The album tells a story and the concert is the visual representation of that story. There are acts and scenes. The imagery is carefully put together.

The female counterpart to Maynard in this particular show was a perfect complement to his voice. She was amazing. Maynard is shy and in the art of hiding himself on stage the two main singers dressed in such a way as to seem like shadows on the stage. At least to me it seemed like I was watching shadows in the shadows.

You were to focus on the wrestlers and not the musicians for most of the show. Wow, the wrestling and energy of those performers was amazing. The little guy was so talented. I think he was a gymnast.

If you have a chance to attend a Pucifer concert grab it. Between the show and the music I promise you will find something that you love.

We saw this concert performed at the Northrop Auditorium in Minneapolis. The venue was amazing and the perfect place to see such a performance.

Lodging

Jailhouse Inn, Preston, MN

April 27, 2016 Linda

Jailhouse Inn, 109 Houston St NW, Preston, MN 55965

Spending the night in jail is not necessarily the worst thing that could happen to you. Well, as long as your stay is in Preston at the Jailhouse Inn.

The inn is an old court house with actual jail cells that were converted into a single room. The old courtroom is another room. You can stay in the old living quarters of the sheriff. Some rooms are a bit more special than others and harder to rent.

We stayed in the Sun Room. I had plenty of windows. Some of the rooms on the second floor have access to a balcony that you can sit on and rock away.

You can check in between 3-6. There are a lot of great bike paths around this area. You can also go hiking or fishing or golfing or check out the Amish community. Trout seems to be the fish off choice in the area.

We went hiking in Forestville State Park. It isn’t for the easing going hiker. You can go a short while on an easy path, but most of the paths seem to be horse trails and they go up and down the hillside.

In another part of the park you can see Mystery Cave. If you are lucky you might even see a few bats. The bats are very small. The cave is a constant 48 degrees so bring a jacket.

At the end of the stay or each morning you will receive a wonderful breakfast. The eating area is downstairs. There are plenty of tables for you and your friends. They serve fresh fruit and a platter with hot food. We ended up getting an cheesy omelet and herb potatoes and ham. It was delicious and very pretty.

Parks, Sights, Travel

Yellowstone National Park

November 22, 2015 Linda 1 Comment

Yellowstone National Park – northern corner of Wyoming.

Sure Yellowstone National Park is just a huge volcano, but really who doesn’t enjoy risking their own lives walking on the crust of a giant volcano. No risk, no reward and let me tell you the sights inside Yellowstone National Park are worth every moment of risk.

Bring your sunscreen! I cannot stress this enough. You will be outside walking around near pools of water all day. Oh, and how incredibly beautiful these pools of water are, and dangerous. The water is so hot and deadly that if you fall in you are dead. The microbes that live in the water are nothing to be messed with either. They are what gives the water its beautiful coloration.

Let’s walk you through the park.

The first thing you need to know is do not try to get near the wildlife! The locals take bets on whether the first tourist injured will be eaten by a bear or gourd by a buffalo. DO NOT BE THAT GUY! You can get out of your vehicle if the animal is far away, but not if they are close. Do not get closer in an attempt to take a selfie with the nice buffalo. They may look peaceful, but they are a huge destructive force of nature.

OK, now I can take you through the park. You could easily spend a week in this park taking everything in. There is both food and lodging in the park, but get a reservation for the lodging.

I will take you in through the East entrance. The first thing you will come across is the fishing bridge, which you cannot fish at ironically enough. Park, get our, and walk across it. Take a photo, get back in your car.

Now you have a choice. You can travel north to the mud volcano and Uncle Tom’s Trail or south to Old Faithful. I would go north first. Stop at the mud volcano. It sticks of sulfur so prepare yourself for that. Once you have your fill of the bubbles move north.

You are heading to Canyon Village and upper and lower falls. This is where you will find Uncle Tom’s trail. 328 steps down to the bottom. I hope you are in shape. Really I have done this trail twice and the second time nearly killed me. On the other hand I have seen a 60 year old make it all the way down and back up with less trouble than I had. I tend to overheat and it was just too hot for me that day. The upper falls are easier to get to if you want a short walk. This hike is something to brag about so try it.

I am not a huge fan of the northern loop. If you have time check it out. The mammoth hot springs are kind of neat. Lots of animals along the road.

OK, now get yourself down to the main attraction, Old Faithful. You can tell your friends to what you on the webcam. Wave and smile. Wait for Old Faithful to go off so that you can say that you saw her. OK, now for the cool geysers. What? Yeah, behind Old Faithful is a trail that walks past some of the coolest geysers out there. Sure Old Faithful is big and regular so you know you will see her go off, but some of the ones on the trail are amazing. It takes some luck and timing to see these guys in all of their glory, but there are many smaller ones to see as well. Sunscreen, I must reiterate, have sunscreen for this walk.

No this isn’t everything. There are so many things to see in this park you really do need about a week to see it all properly. If you are short on time hit the big attractions: Old Faithful and basically any place along the lower circle. These will be your must sees. Check out the lake. Stop and walk around whatever looks interesting to you. Maybe take a quick pass through the top half and check out the mammoth hot springs. I feel like you see more animals in the top half and more water attractions in the bottom half.

Stay on the trails at all times. Bring a camera. Enjoy yourself.

*Camera tip: to get your camera to focus in steam include a railing or something that it can focus on and the rest will magically become clear.

Dilettante Requiem of Chaos

Tag Archives: Featured

Schroeder Baking Company, Schroeder, MN

Itasca State Park, Park Rapids, MN

Hungry Jack Lodge, Grand Marais, MN

Pucifer

Jailhouse Inn, Preston, MN

Yellowstone National Park

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