#'i am missing the true facts of huge portions of my life' and simultaneously 'my parents left a lot of memories of them being awful

[alltimewhat]

wound dehiscence can quickly escalate to infection or even evisceration

[theknudsencasa-blog]

big woods, small adventure.

This past weekend was an idyllic insight to what autumn means to the Knudsen casa. It’s been raining 50% of the time the last few days, with cloudy skies and low temperatures settling in Friday and not vacating until mid-afternoon today. To set the mood indoors accordingly, I’ve been burning candles with the lights down low, the fireplace glimmering a slow flicker with its gentle click-click-click patter filling my ears, indicating it’s still functioning after a summer without use. Nate and Kunu napped away the afternoon on Sunday, and I spent the day sitting at the computer desk working on some freelance work as we prepared for yet another busy week before a long Labor Day weekend.

The fact that it is already basically September and I’m writing my first blog post of the year isn’t lost on me. From relatives to coworkers to friends, I’ve received a few comments - some intrigued, some snide, all from a place of genuine interest - indicating people miss my posts. It’s heartwarming and frustrating all at the same time, and while there’s been no shortage of material to write about, the wheels just haven’t been clicking for me the past few months.

Since my last blog posting, a lot has been buzzing at the Knudsen casa and beyond. To catch you up to speed, here’s what you missed:

I celebrated the new year with wonderful people and was actually able to stay up until 3AM, much to my ancient and decrepit body’s surprise

Donald Trump took office and my Twitter feed lost its mind

I was offered a transition to full-time from part-time at my workplace

I intimately high-fived Matt Damon and subsequently got gangrene after not washing my hand for four months (half of this is a lie – and not the more fantastical half, either)

Nate and I were both sick for a combined total of two months straight

I drove an unwilling but supportive Nathan through a blizzard to see Brendon Urie live – for free

I went back to Las Vegas and experienced a real What Happens in Vegas moment by getting escorted out of a swim resort after getting way too drunk at 2 in the afternoon (sorry, workplace that thought hiring me as a full-time representative of their company was a good idea)

I lost 20 pounds (but kept my gigantic calves in the process)

Nate passed his Principles & Practices of Engineering exam after a few hard weeks of studying

I raised $300 to help animals in the greater Twin Cities area and found my true calling in life

Nate and I visited Wisconsin and actually had a good time, probably because there was cheese and beer involved as well as terrific company

We finally landscaped our yard in front and truly became part of the north-facing neighborhood by including hostas in our foliage

I accomplished my first animal foster situation by bringing home a stray kitten and caring for him before finding him a loving home with my little sis, Kara

We stained our deck and experienced three straight days of rain afterward, because we are really good at adulting and homeowning

… among other things.

There’s not much justification for me to explain about the lack of posts aside from I just didn’t want to do it. Honestly. My whole life, I’ve been the kind of person who gets so wound up and overwhelmed by something minimal, I’ll react one of two ways: either I will go all out and do way more than I need to to compensate for feeling so overwhelmed (trip/PTO planning, employment searches, meal planning) OR I will give up on all things entirely and just let it die a sudden death (thank you cards, filling photo frames with pictures of people I actually care about instead of weird candid black-and-white shots of people I don’t know, blog posts, calling to schedule my car an oil change oh goodness I’m over 2,000 miles over and I should really make that call).

HOWEVER, here for your reading pleasure is the ULTIMATE JUSTIFICATION PARAGRAPH(s), commence: I actually started a blog post about our California trip in March when the weather started getting nicer, but I left the draft to rot in my composer due to lack of interest. The post, titled “my life as a California raisin” because I literally don’t know anything about California except for the fact that animated dancing raisins from the 80s use its namesake, apparently?, was intentionally left alone as an act of defiance; I had a lot of people nicely asking when my next blog post was coming out, and I went through one of those teenage angsty “I DON’T HAVE TO BE WHO ANYBODY ELSE WANTS ME TO BE! IT���S MY BLOG AND I’LL DO WHAT I WANT!” phases and just turned off my computer and left it. I also was a little nervous, because we didn’t really take any photos of our California trip, and I didn’t have clear documentation of much of anything – especially the event everybody wanted to hear about most, when Matt Damon and I fell in love while simultaneously touching hands for a split second in a television studio.

We also didn’t do anything monstrous or overly awe-inspiring in Cali – or at least nothing physical like the struggle of hiking Angels Landing, which I’ve been told was one of my better entries – but it was a solid, long, well-deserved vacation for both of us. A mixture of relaxation, crashing on futons owned by long-distance friends, and enjoying happy hour drinks (priority), our California trip was a great way to begin our adventures in 2017. I, however, am not going to document it �� just because honestly, I don’t remember half of what we did now. It was nearly seven months ago (oh my GOD!) and we have other things to get through, like the awesome nature of the last two camping trips Nate and I took as well as whatever else I want, because this is my blog and you can’t tell me what to do! So if you came here looking for that, I guess I have disappointed you once again and I am not sorry.

One thing I do remember, however, was the true starting point of our summer this year: our first camping trip, accomplished in May. We enjoyed some time in Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park near Faribault, a brand new state park for us, mixing car camping with delicious downtown dinners to make a really delightful weekend away.

NERSTRAND-BIG WOODS STATE PARK MAY 12-14

Friday – Day 0.5 I left work around 4:30 on Friday to meet Nate at the North Star Park and Ride in Elk River, our meeting destination that only made sense as we needed to drop off a car before venturing south. We left his pickup and jumped in the Kia, beginning our travels to Northfield for some grub before arriving in the park. Our plan was to go to The Tavern, because they seemed to have a wide variety of 21 Day Fix-approved food, and my hopes were high to get a salad instead of a salt-coma inducing gut bomb of a burger, because I’d been doing very well on my portion-controlled diet plan as of late and had even planned out all the camp food for the weekend to be fix-approved.

However, after stopping at the Cabelas in Rogers, my hunger had quickly escalated for greasy, delicious, artery-clogging food, and I threw my healthy eating plans aside to order a Spin Dip burger and fries because I have never had much self control. I also added a tall Angry Orchard to my bill for good measure, as I’m definitely the kind of person who is all or nothing, y’know?

After inhaling most of my meal in less than 10 minutes because I am an animal, Nate looked at me very concerned across the table as I instantly puffed up to the size of Violet Beauregarde and turned roughly the same color. My body was turning on me real quick and we finished our beers, leaving as speedily as possible so I could lay flat in the car and hug my pillow whilst moaning on our way to Nerstrand-Big Woods SP.

The drive from Northfield to NBW was about 20 minutes, just enough time for me to stretch out my oversized belly and Nate to lay out our game plan. We would get to the park and utilize the remaining light of the day to set-up our sleeping situation and snuggle in for the night. Then, we’d go to bed and wake up at our leisure, making a prime breakfast before a morning of hiking and an afternoon of paddling on the Cannon River.

Just a little before bed tent selfie! You can see up the corner, we like to tie our lantern to the top of the tent, much like recessed lighting.

After I snapped that selfie, I quickly passed out, and the day was done.

Saturday – Day 1 The next morning had a bit of a chill to it when I woke up, but hints of warm summer day lingered in the breeze, waiting for the sun to peek out from behind the clouds. As I lounged in the warmth of the sleeping bags Nate was already out of the tent, sipping some steaming caramel hot cocoa and setting up his hammock. Once I put on some warmer clothes, I left the tent to help aid with breakfast.

Our set-up. I am getting breakfast ready.

As you can see from our campsite photo there, our tent is huge! If you follow along really closely with any of our adventures, you may note the tent you’ve seen us use before is small and orange. This Coleman tent was my parents’ hand-me-down and it’s our car camping tent. Because it’s so large, it doesn’t work well when it comes to backpacking, but car camping.. that’s another story.

First and foremost, I love car camping. It’s easy, it’s safe, and most importantly, you have SO MANY FOOD POSSIBILITIES. Let’s be real, over half the fun of camping is the food. Right?! But when you’re backpacking it, you have limited options due to not being able to keep food cold, as well as spacing issues. And sometimes it really sucks when you just want to down a ton of food after a grueling hike, and all you have is a Clif bar.

WELL, when we went to Big Woods, we did not have that problem.

For once I planned most of the trip’s meals, trying to stay to my 21 Day Fix portions and planning method as best as I could. I tried to make protein a priority throughout the day, as well as including hard veggies that could take a beating on the trail for snacks, and we ended up with this for breakfast. Eggs with cheese and salsa and lil smokies. What a way to start the day, right?!

After our power breakfast, which I do have to say was a bit more filling than a donut, we tidied up our campsite and set off on the trails. Nate and I were both excited to explore Big Woods for a few reasons. One, it was our first camping trip of the year, and we were eager to dust off our hiking boots and stretch our legs in the woods; and two, it was blooming season! We got to the park a week or so too late for the really intense flowering period, but still caught many beautiful insights to the season’s change. Neither of us had really been to a park that so prominently featured flowers as a “must see”, so we were intent on grabbing some prime photos on our trip. Luckily, the day delivered.

We first ventured down the Hidden Falls Trail on the east side of the park. We’d talked to the park ranger in the visitor center right away, asking for tips, and had been informed that most of the trails on the south end were downtrodden with mud as a result of the intense rain they’d had the week prior. The north end of the park was more or less the same. But the central portions of the park were where the flowers were blooming anyway, and he recommended we hit that up before anything else. So we did.

Endangered dwarf trout lily on the Hidden Falls Trail, found exclusively in Minnesota (known as “endemic”).

I’m actually not very experienced when it comes to flower photography, so I’m not kidding when I tell you I was a little unnerved at the thought of getting good shots for a blog or our own personal use. I’m the same way whenever I try photographing something severely beautiful. I always convince myself I’m not quite good enough at it and when I get home my photos will be crap and it’ll be like I didn’t even go. Sort of like FOMO, but PTSD style? Luckily, I like how this batch turned out.

One of my favorite shots of the day. This flower is bloodroot, if I’m not mistaken.

However, aside from spring flowers, there’s a lot of reason to go visit Nerstrand Big Woods. How about, for instance, the big woods?

Along each of the trails we did throughout the weekend, we were both in awe of the trees. They were so easy to get lost in! We absolutely loved it. Canopies lined the paths and engulfed you, covering you just enough that you felt like a part of the nature that surrounded you, but not enough that you felt cut off from civilization/on the verge of living with wolves.

Nate, reading every sign on every path. As you can imagine, going to museums with him is really fun.

Once we finished the first loop of the Hidden Falls Trail, we decided to go for loop two. After all, we absolutely needed to, or so we’d been told. There was a waterfall to see!

While the waterfall at NBWSP isn’t big, especially compared to those on the North Shore (see ya this fall!), it was still a sight to behold. With all the fresh green on the trees, the gushing water was truly spectacular! By the time we reached the falls, the park was hopping. Many families were taking photos in front of the falls, and kids were playing in the cool water, throwing rocks. We backed away from the falls at first, entering further back into the river that flowed from them. I crossed some rocks and we both took some center of the river shots before admiring the other beauty around us.

Once we took a seat on the rocks just outside of the waterfall, Nate and I watched countless people come in and admire the falls, breaking open our pack to snack on veggies and trail mix. I remember we were both very happy and content. 

Once we stood up and had prepared to move on, we decided to take a few final photos by the falls before heading out on our way. We had more of the day to get through, anyway: we wanted to finish up the trail systems relatively quickly to make it to Cannon Falls to canoe down the river  on time.

We did not leave, however, until I skirted the waterfall and stood right in the middle of it like a super nerd. P.S., if you’re wondering? YES, this was exceptionally cold on my toes.

Then we continued on our merry way.

We made our way back to the campsite quickly, but still took the time to pause and look at flowers, too. We encountered a naturalist along the path and he took his time explaining the flowers to us, telling us what to hunt for and pointing out examples of each thing with careful consideration. In case you haven’t, please talk to your local naturalist when you go to a state park. Generally, they are awesome, and they know their stuff.

Also along our path, we discovered this: one of the weirdest tree formations I’ve ever seen.

This little fellow is called jack-in-the-pulpit! They are truly beautiful (and quite hard to spot).

Once we made it back to our camp, we gathered our belongings, tidied our tent, and left to drive to Cannon Falls. We had decided to work our arms a little by canoeing down the Cannon River, since I mean who really loves leg day, anyway?

Yeah, that’s my husband. I guess he has a tendency of looking sort of like a hippie when we’re on the water if this photo speaks any truth at all.

Our trip down the river was relatively unremarkable. If I remember correctly, we went about six miles, and it went very quickly. The trees along the river were starting to fill, but there wasn’t much wildlife, so the paddle was primarily us (me) floating and eating. We did encounter some people who were swinging into the river via two old, ratchety-looking ropes, and they tried hard to convince us to join them. We both politely declined and watched them as we continued to float down the way.

Once finished with our paddle, we were escorted back on a bus, which picked up a handful of other people at the same time. I tried to make friends with a dog on the way back and by the time we had reached the vehicle, I was so grief-stricken by the fact that we didn’t have a dog Nate took me out for ice cream from a vintage, drive-up diner and I annihilated a shake like it was absolutely nobody’s business.

We arrived back at our campsite in Nerstrand Big Woods in the early afternoon. We’d gotten out of bed quite early that morning in anticipation of a big day and now found ourselves at camp with a lot of time on our hands. Before cooking, we both settled in - Nate in his hammock and me at the picnic table - for some naps and reading time.

Before long, however, the hunger started creeping in. It was probably because we knew what our meal was going to be: steak and potato foil packets.

We seasoned our packets - steak, onion, red peppers, and red potatoes - with montreal steak seasoning and garlic powder. Then, we put them in the fire to roast!

The finished product.

After we ate, Nate was stuffed, but I was severely upset. I didn’t bring s’mores stuff - remember, I had packed only food that was 21 Day Fix approved because I foolishly thought I could make it a whole weekend at camp without S’MORES!!!! - and began whining for dessert almost instantly. Luckily, I did know my self control would be relatively bad, so we did have a delicious dessert - camp style.

First, I cut into two bananas (peel on) just enough we could use it as a boat. We stuffed peanut butter and dark chocolate chips into the crevices, then wrapped them in foil and put them on the fire.

The end result was delicious! A warm, gooey, delectable - albeit slightly healthy - version of camp dessert.

The rest of the night we huddled in next to the fire and watched the light dwindle. Once the sun went down, we reflected on our day before going to shower and wash some of the dirt off of our tired bodies. We then retreated into the tent and fell asleep to the sound of coyotes howling in the distance.

Sunday – Day 2 Early on in the morning we awoke and ate some food: eggs and leftover steak/onions/peppers. Feeling replenished, we quickly tore down the tent and vacated the campsite, ready for the next person to take our spot and enjoy the tranquility of the big woods.

After moving our vehicle, we decided to go an additional few miles on the trails to the south of the park before heading home. We didn’t have a timeline to adhere to but knew we wanted to get out of the park before afternoon as to get home at a decent time. We also had to drive back to Elk River and grab the vehicles, which was a little out of the way and added onto our journey time.

On the trails, the sun rose up high, and we both began to sweat. It seemed like summer was here!  But we still enjoyed some spring blooms as we made our way into the wetter portions of the park.

The further south we got into the park, we realized we were hiking quite a bit more than we had anticipated. Turns out, we’d incorrectly navigated the skiing trails, and had ended up walking directly past our turn-around point. At that time we both decided, me in quite a frustrated manner, that we would be putting on a few more miles than anticipated. As we continued along, however, I tried to focus in and take more photos, alleviating the stress I felt.

We both decided to look for an orange flower to keep us busy. Spoiler: Nate won.

Me, in what I hope is my secondary element. I would venture to guess my primary element is on the couch under a fluffy blanket watching Parks and Recreation or The Office whilst eating cheez-its. #balance?

As we made our way back up the far side of NBW, Nate asked very sweetly if we could take the Prairie Trail, as he wanted to see some wide open spaces after being caught in masses of trees for longer than expected. I, if you’ll recall, absolutely despise the plains, and was outwardly frustrated with this development. I reluctantly agreed and we went on our way to the Prairie Trail.

The trail ended up being probably half a mile longer than marked, and I absolutely gave up and sat on a bench once we reached what looked like the end. Nate, however, continued venturing up the sloped prairie to snap some photos. I do have to admit, he got some nice pictures. But I was pretty done with everything by that time and I just wanted some substantial food.

After we left the Prairie Trail we walked as quickly as possible back to the car. By the time we reached it and parked near the visitor center, the picnic area was packed and cars lined the driveways twofold. Springtime is always when Nerstrand peaks in its visitor count, and it’s because of the beautiful views like we saw - including but not limited to flowers and huge, towering trees.

Once we left the park, we drove through Faribault to fuel up, and then were on our merry way. We stopped in Elk River to get some good old-fashioned ice cream and then drove the remaining 50 miles home, to a happy Kunu bean and a warm, comfortable bed.

And so our first camping weekend of the year was complete.