For a Good Time

well. high gas prices are upon us.. and it sucks.. but there are cool oppurtunities for day trips and small vacations all over.. we just have to be aware of them…
for instance I happen to live in just such an area!..
about 35 miles NE of the Twin Cities right along the beautiful Saint Croix River are two small towns, on the Mn side is Taylors Falls and on the Wisconsin side is Saint Croix Falls.. guess they couldnt decide what to call the falls.. but they buried it under a hydroelectric dam long ago anyway.. so who cares? lol
anyhoo… right at this juncture is the almost unknown “Dalles” and interstate park.. basically there is an awesome state park on BOTH sides of the river.. there is an extrusion of trap rock that forces the Saint Croix through a narrow range of canyons and its really cool! there are paddleboat rides available from the Minnesota side and its a lot of fun… its also a lot of fun to explore the cliffs on both sides of the croix.. its truly beautiful and unique!.. then there is Taylors Falls. this tiny town is really jumping on weekends.. there are only 3 bars but they are busy.. a LOT of bikers come up here.. in fact a GREAT road trip is start out in Stillwater.. or even Prescott and come up along the Saint Croix River.. this is almost a 2 day thing… there are lots of things to see and do along this historic waterway… with the towns of Prescott, bayport, hudson, stillwater, marine on the saint croix, osceola, and TF/SCF up in my neck of the woods.. In Marine there is a tiny restaruant that is RIGHT on the water.. and you can eat on a deck basically right on the river.. its great!.. on Sundays they have live music in one of the bars there.. a really fun place to visit… in Osceola there is the cascade falls which is right there in Osceola just to the left of the stopsigng when you first come across the bridge from Osceola.. there is a bar called PYs. they have a deck out back that overlooks the falls from WAY up!.. its really awesome!.. and they have great burgers and onion rings… (and probably other stuff!)….
in Saint Croix falls.. but up the hill from the river is a great place to bring kids.. called Fawn-doe-rosa.. its a deer park.. with lots of other animals.. basically a really nice petting zoo.. kids love it.. and to tell the truth Ive done some really nice photography there as well. (my Honey is related to the owners! but Im not plugging the place cuz of that… I just think its cool)… there are also TWO trout hatcheries in the area…. one near Osceola.. and the other right IN Saint Croix Falls…. both can be visited… on the Wi side.. just south on hwy 35 you can rent canoes and kayaks for a wonderful float from interstate park down to Oscoela.. this is GREAT fun…. Ive done it before and its a BLAST…. of course you can always do you OWN float.. but sometimes its just fun to be totally taken care of.. they drop you off and pick you up.. YOU provide the fun… its all good!!!
Saint Croix Falls also is a suprising little town… there is a tiny park there that overlooks the dam and its pretty cool…. there are some interesting shops in town.. its quite a bit bigger then Taylors Falls.. but its still a wonderful small town and just has that unbeatable small town feel!.. its a river town too… and that is great…. just up the road from Saint Croix Falls is the Chateau Saint Croix… a winery!.. they have FREE samples.. an art Gallery… and its just an interesting place to visit.. and taste some great wisconsin wine…..
just to the east on HWY 8 is Balsam lake.. a really nice and BIG lake…. and a bit east of there is Turtle Lake.. yep.. a Casino… so let me tell you… its all good around here… and if you cant have fun here… then I question your ability to have fun anywhere.. cuz there is such a great variety of things to do… oh.. and yeah.. there is fishing.. all around here… from the river to the lakes.. from Musky to panfish, and in fact… you like cats? the Saint Croix ABOVE the dam in TF/SCF is FULL of HUGE channel cats!!!.. there is a big local tourney here every year.. its a BLAST…. come up for that.. bring the wife and kids.. fish the tourney.. give them some $$ and let them have fun all around here.. you of course will be out fishing ALL night…. but hey.. is THAT a bad thing?