Autumn in the Northwoods

The Northwoods are perfect place to enjoy the autumn colors. With the trees creating tunnels of red, yellow, and orange leaves, you kind of feel like you're in a fairy tale. And there's the added benefit of little to no crowds. 

“The Northwoods lie between the true boreal forest to the north and the temperate broadleaf forests to the south and contain species from each, such as Balsam Fir and Sugar Maple, living in a landscape that was recently glaciated. It is the land of maple syrup and Christmas trees.”

—John Pastor, Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota-Duluth

Even though we used to live here, I never forget how the Northwoods is definitely an underrated escape to nature. The dense trees remind you of how much Mother Nature has to offer, making even just driving down the highway scenic and reflective. You can see the age of the forest all around you. It's easily been one of my favorite places to take walks or just go for a drive. Just be sure to stay alert as you'll be sure to see a deer or two every time you go out.

Tobias definitely approves the country life!

Even though we are back in Josh's hometown, our sense of adventure has not lessened. It's the weekend, and we wanted to go enjoy the beautiful, crisp fall weather, so we're off to one of the state parks. 

Amnicon Falls State Park

• Distance: 2.7 miles loop
• Difficulty: Easy
• Duration: 1 hour
• Parking: Multiple parking lots at various locations of trail.
• Note: The trails have been known to be overgrown with poison ivy, so wear long pants.

Amnicon Falls is located in Douglas County, just south of Superior, on the Amnicon River. It's known for its beautiful waterfalls and photogenic covered bridge. It was the perfect, lowkey afternoon walk in nature.

Josh and I had visited Amnicon Falls in the spring before we moved to Virginia. The spring was a great time to visit because the melted snow and rain makes the waterfall more impressive. But I enjoyed this visit as the fall colors are my favorite, even if the waterfall was a little sparse. Overall, Amnicon Falls is a great park to visit year-round, as each season offers different beauties.

Friday Fish Fry

It is our first Friday back in the Northwoods, so you know we have to have our Friday fish fry! Josh and I met in Wisconsin, so being back is definitely nostalgic. And being away for the last 5 years means we've missed our Friday fish fries.

If you're not from Wisconsin, Friday fish fry happens at almost every local restaurant all year long, not just during Lent. And like most Wisconsinites, Josh and I had our favorite fish fry restaurant all picked out and ready to enjoy!

Roadside Difficulty

Josh and I are enjoying our life on the road so far, but that doesn't mean it's all sunshine and rainbows. During our travel time this round, our front left skirt panel flew off in the middle of the highway. Luckily, no cars were around, but it did cause a slight detour to Menards to make a replacement. This easily added 3 hours to our trip, and our travel day turned into a travel weekend.

Wall Drug Redo

After extending our original plan of staying for 2 weeks to 1 month, we're heading out of South Dakota, on our way to visit family in Wisconsin. If you're looking for your next travel destination, the Black Hills of South Dakota will not disappoint. It really was an amazing experience!

But we couldn't leave the state without truly visiting Wall Drug. After our flop visiting after 6:00 p.m., we needed a redo. 

We started this visit with breakfast the diner. It had pretty typical diner food options. And in tourist-trap fashion, the prices were much higher than their quality. 

After eating breakfast, we walked around the various stores. And I must say, if you were looking for something, you'll probably find it here, especially souvenirs.

The most notable part of Wall Drug is the decor. There were multiple mannequins/statues in Old Western attire, fortune teller machines, wood carvings, mounted deer heads, penny press machines, and a barrel with a saddle. 

If you head into the backyard, you'll find its famed giant jackalope, which you must take the time to ride!

And don't forget to check out the animatic T-rex in the back building. 

Taking It Easy

Although I love sharing all the places we visit and the sights we see, living on the road while you're still working isn't just jumping from attraction to attraction. In fact, that's not a life style we can sustain for very long. 

So most nights are spent hanging out at our campsite, enjoying each other's company. That's actually a big reason we wanted to live in a camper full-time. It gives us the ability to "stay home." We love our cozy hobbies and sleeping in our own bed.

Tonight was just simply participating in some hobbies (for me, it was watercoloring with some wine), followed by cooking some hot dogs on a campfire. It may not be glamorous, but it is happiness!

Dakotan Foods

We'll be heading out of South Dakota this weekend, and we wanted to try some traditional Dakotan foods. So we picked Dakota Steakhouse as our restaurant for the evening, and we were not disappointed. 

Appetizers

We started the night with two appetizers: fry bread with honey butter and chislic. Fry bread is a traditional Native American bread made by frying a dough mixture of flour, water, and salt until golden brown. It can be served on the sweeter side with powdered sugar or honey, or it can used as part of a savory dish, served under meat, beans, or chili. We are familiar with fry bread from Wisconsin, but we're always ready to try other versions. 

Chislic is cubed red meat, usually beef, deep-fried or grilled and served with dipping sauce. Our specific chislic was steak tips, skewered, and served with cilantro-lime sour cream. This ended up being my favorite part of the meal.

Soup

My meal came with a choice of soup, so I had the Three Sisters Soup. The three sisters of the vegetable world are beans, corn, and squash. They earned the name "three sisters" by the Lakota Sioux because they are grown together. The soup had the perfect flavors for the fall.

Entree

Josh's entree was rib eye steak with fried mac and cheese. 

Bison, or buffalo, is a staple South Dakotan meat, and it is much leaner and more tender meat than beef without being gamey. Since I wanted to try bison, I ordered the "Tatanka filet," which was a bacon-wrapped buffalo tenderloin, with a side of Brussel sprouts. The bison was beautifully cooked, tender and delicious.

Dessert

For dessert, Josh tried their apple crisp with vanilla ice cream.

And I tried kuchen, which is South Dakota's state dessert. Kuchen, pronounced as "koo-ken," is German for "cake." It is a mixture of cake, pie, creamy custard, and usually fruit. This one, in particular, reminded me more of custard, and it was served with berry sauce and fresh whipped cream.

After a meal like these, I'm considering a career in reviewing restaurants! Anyone hiring?