Frozen Waterfalls

     We had a really lovely, fantastic weekend this weekend. Valentine's Day we spent at home making homemade pizza and cuddling up on the couch watching Netflix and eating Ben & Jerry's. Saturday was spent adventuring at Vertical Endeavors rock climbing (although of course it happened to be the day that I wasn't feeling well so I spectated instead of actually climbing) and eating fantastic Greek food in Minneapolis. On Sunday I felt the itch to explore and the need for an adventure. Then I thought of the frozen Minnehaha Falls that I had never seen. I often say things that I want to do and then never put them into action. Well, I decided to just go for it and do what I say I want to do! It was about a 20 minute drive from our place in St. Paul and well worth it.

    Technically you're not really supposed to go back behind the water fall, it's quite icy and can be very dangerous if you're not careful and have at least a little bit of athleticism. You have to hold on to ropes and pretty much slide along a steep ice covered hill to get back there. But it's oh so worth it. A beautiful and unique experience for sure.  

(Remember to click the photos to view a larger version!)

Behind the falls:

    Driving home I felt so good about going out and exploring the amazing world we live in. So often I feel like I'm wanting a beautiful adventure some place far, far away and forgetting about the amazing cities I live in and all the interesting things we can do here. Advice for myself and for others who feel stuck- especially in these chilly winter months- be a tourist. Be an adventurer. For free. There's a million things you can do if you just look around. Feel young and naive and wide-eyed and let your heart be open. Sometimes it's as simple as that.

Silver Bay

     Our mini winter vacation concluded with a little road trip up to the North Shore. We stayed with Tanner's grandma up in Silver Bay (as we do almost every year), a beautiful little town nestled in amongst the snowy bluffs and Lake Superior. It ended up being extremely cold while we were up there, most of the days were -10 below and colder. So as you can imagine much of our time was spent inside, which was actually quite nice. Lots of HGTV, mexican train dominoes (which I WHOOPED Tanner at) and so much delicious food. Most of these photos were taken during the commute to or from there, out the car window. 

 It was hard to capture the majesty of the lake on camera, but it had steam rolling off of its waves.

Sweet deer right out side the house!

The marina.

Lukewarm car ride there and back.

The Quarries

A couple of weekends ago we went with a group of friends out to St. Cloud, MN where we cliff jumped and swam at the Quarries! It's a little bit of a walk through the woods to the actual quarry. For those of you who have never been there (this was my first time!) it's an old quarry they used to mine in, and after they were done with it they filled it up with water. Nowadays its used for cliff jumping and swimming. It's legal and safe because there is no gradual slope into the water, its pretty much a straight cut in the rock and it's super deep. We had so much fun. It was the perfect day for it too, hot and sunny! 

The big cliff- it was probably around 25 feet high. It feels like much more when you're on top of it convincing yourself to jump!

This is cute, right..?

Me jumping off the big cliff! 

Mini photoshoot with the beautiful Kathleen!

My love.

Love those ear freckles.

Can I just finish this post by saying how much I love Minnesota? I love it a lot. Like really.