Girls Weekend!

What a great start to the month! I spent last weekend hanging out with a couple friends. They came to visit me YAY! We did the high ropes course and I introduced them to some of the education animals we have. Following lunch, we  went for a walk at Banning State Park. It was great to show off this part of the state and contrary to what they may tell you, I did not try to kill them :)

Getting ready for the high ropes course!

Hiking in Banning

Some amazing colors!

After bumming around here on Saturday, we headed down to the cities to cheer on a couple friends who were running the twins cities marathon. They did AMAZING and it was a fun experience for me to watch. By the end of the race, runners were even recognizing us along the sidelines. I think that's a sign we were a great cheer squad!

Runners at mile 6 of 26.2

Cheering folks on!

Friends running the race

Cheering squad along the lake!

All in all, a fantastic weekend and a great way to start the month of October. I can't wait to do it again :)

Banning State Park

Today, I went to Banning State Park with a couple of the interns. We did the Quarry Loop Trail which is about a 2 mile walk. Along the trail are remnants of buildings that were built when there was a quarry. The sandstone found in the area was chiseled down into blocks for buildings.

 Kettle River

Ring Neck Snake

While we were walking, we came across a snake. I am not a huge fan of snakes usually but this guy was really still and let us take a bunch of pictures. I had not seen one of these in the wild before but the yellow band around the neck made it easy to identify. When I got home, the geek in me looked up some information about the species. This non-venomous snake is found in wet forests along the eastern border of Minnesota. It also turns out that these snakes are usually nocturnal. I guess that explains why the guy was a bit slow on moving!  It also means that I was lucky to have spotted one in the wild!!

Banning by Snowshoe

Today at work I got the chance to go play in the woods - literally. Shayna, Clarissa and most of the interns went on a snowshoe hike in Banning State Park. For those of us taking Hamline courses, this was considered a class. This meant I did have to pay attention and take some notes while having fun.

Our hike followed the creek beds and was close to 3 miles. The rock around here is sandstone which is a rather soft rock - this makers for some interesting rock formations and views as it weathers. Along the way we saw some animal signs like coyote tracks and scat, bits of deer remains, mouse homes and some woodpeckers. We also came across some amazing views and frozen waterfalls (as you can see behind us in the picture).

We stopped, built a fire and ate lunch over looking one of the creeks. The steep incline also provided a perfect hill for sliding. Which we did...several times while exploring other inlets in the area. Its not often that we all get off site so when we do, we are sure to make the most of it. After smores, we headed back to the cars. All in all, not a bad day at the office!