Cabela's Stop and Shop - December 26,2010

Welcome to the Rogers, MN Cabela's. I had been passed this location before, but today would be my first visit to checkout the interior design.

The clouds disappeared and the sun beamed brightly as we came into the Minneapolis suburbs.New fallen snow added a great touch for the Christmas holiday.

Kayaks anyone?!? I know at least one person who has gotten into kayaking to be able to glide across the Iowa reservoirs and rivers  to watch the wildlife that frequents those habitats.

At this point I am not inclined to get that close to dipping into the rivers or reservoirs.

I was impressed with the collection of layout duck blinds hanging by the front door. Should I start hunting geese from my fields I would consider one of these to keep me concealed at the edge of the feeding decoys.

Cabela's was a very busy place for a Sunday forenoon, of course it was the day after Christmas. What should I expect?  The shopping experience for my Christmas present from Hubby was a good one. We shopped for a specific item and  was pleased with customer service, even on one of the busiest days of the season.

After our visit to Cabela's, we were off to Culver's for a bite to eat, and then it was time to get back on the road to complete the last part of our Christmas excursion that Hubby and I started late afternoon of Wednesday the 22nd.

Making our way past the Owatonna Cabela's we got back into the clouds we had escaped a couple hours to the north. Reaching this point I was glad to know that in 2 1/2 hours we would be arriving home. The 6 inches of new fallen snow, and wind, the day before our return brought into question the condition of our 1/2 mile long drive. Would our pick-up be able to get us from the road to the house? Unfortunately, we ended up walking  a little over a quarter of a mile...grabbing only the things that we could carry without too much added stress - drifts , balancing acts and all you know. We were uncertain of what lye ahead.

 The good thing, even with our little hike, we did make it home before dark as planned.It was time to unwind...

The Next Leg of the Journey Home - December 2010

Now that we got beyond the neck twisting deer stand watch, I was continually scouring the countryside for wildlife. It seemed at least the beasts of the timber and field were smarter than the humans in staying put during the cold.

A stray deer was not to be seen ,but I did happen to find a solitary elk grazing through the snow cover at a commercial elk farm next to the interstate.

In the distance I found a shooting club that provided fuel for my imagination - seeing the shooting lanes busy with hunters practicing in spring ,summertime and fall weather for the upcoming seasons.

This lake had two visible huts from my vantage point on the run. The ice fishing huts were starting to take their places on the lakes. I was entertained by seeing  some very nice - palatial palaces to spend hours participating in the long winter activity - ice fishing, passing us going the opposite direction.

In fact on a trailer following one of the huts there was a full sized sofa  and ice grinding paraphernalia that I assumed was accompanying this one particular hut I felt might be something I wouldn't mind using. As we passed one exit there was a huge sign advertising an upcoming ice fishing tournament with a top prize of $50,000.00. I see that as a great way  to to make some money doing the things you are passionate about.

Whoops! I guess there was one more deer stand on our route just west of Avon,MN...definitely in a spot where a lot of traffic is constantly moving. You wonder how things go for the hunters during the hunting seasons? I bet the deer are so used to extra activity, alarms may not often be apart of their behavior.

I would like to conclude today's post with a picture of the Red River Trails 3-D Archery Club woods by Avon,MN. My early fall travels have brought me past during some of their busy club activities, but the winter weather during this trip made the trails peacefully silent...