Blog Buddy Meet-Up #5: The Shores of Lake Superior, Minnesota, USA

The Travel Architect

Jul 1

I don't recall how long I've been blog buddies with Diana from Handstands Around the World, but it's been at least a couple of years. In addition to reading my blog, Diana is an enthusiastic participant in the podcast's Travel Quizzes as well as the husband's ELC podcast. In turn, I regularly read about her adventures in her home state of Colorado (my favorite state), while trying to quell my envy as she scales 14er after 14er and travels with much more ease and frequency than I can manage to the rest of the Western US (my favorite region). As sure as I was that the husband and I would meet Diana one day, I was even surer that the meet-up would take place on one of our frequent forays to the Centennial State.

But why meet in glorious, mountainous Colorado when you can meet in the pine-covered, tick-infested wilds of northern Minnesota next to a lake that's too cold to dip a toe in, even in the middle of summer? (Said no one. Ever.)

Source: https://www.parksandtrails.org/portfolio/temperance-river/

Truth is, I knew from reading Diana's posts that she has a highpointing goal (that is to say, she aims reach—and do a handstand upon—each state's highest point) and that she's checked several states off her list already. This got the husband, who has his own nutty goal of cycling the highest road in each state, thinking: We should climb the highest point in Minnesota. A few minutes at the computer revealed the distance to (4½ hours from our house) and location of (absolute middle of nowhere) this hike. "Ahhhh . . . sure, honey. Someday," I replied noncommittally. But then he grabbed the keyboard and yipped with glee, eyes wide with excitement upon learning the highest road in Minnesota is in the same general area as the hike.

*sigh*

So it was that we made plans to "summit" one and ride the other. Knowing of Diana's goal, I suggested we invite her to travel the nearly 1100 miles it would take her to join us in our quest. I figured it was a long-shot, but I live by the credo:

You don't ask, you don't get.

So I did ask, and I did get. Diana and her husband, Pat, hopped on a plane, flew to Minnesota, rented a car, and drove to the shores of Lake Superior to meet us. (She may have done several other, much more exciting things between landing and meeting us, but I let her regale you with those adventures on her own site.) When Diana told me she'd nabbed the very last available campsite at Temperance River State Park, where we had a reservation for the Bobbie, the whole rendezvous felt like it was fated to happen.

I believe I'm being teased about my graying hair here.
He's lucky I'm laughing about it.

Normally I'd implore the husband to tone down his natural zaniness a bit, but given Diana's willingness to join us after listening to all our podcasts, I knew that she knew what she was getting into, and sure enough, we all hit it off from the very first moment.