PicklesTravel

Piscifactoria (Fish Factory/Farm) may be my new favorite Spanish word. It just rolls off the tongue, plus it looks cool.

The Puente Baden Piscifactoria sits at the foot of the trout stream, Rio Borosa, near the town of Cazorla in rural Jaen and while the fish farm may not be worth the trip- the hike past it, following the river, certainly is!

The first thing you notice, walking along this fresh water trout stream is the color of the water. Brilliant blues and greens swirl all around- begging you to jump in and enjoy its beauty (while signs warn against doing just that!)

The water is so fresh that they have several natural springs set up for drinking or refilling your water bottle. Sweet, fresh water from the mountain- while I was wary at first, after watching masses of people drink from them and having nothing happen I too gulped it down!

It’s a 9 km walk to do the hike, some of it is easy walking, some more rocky and less groomed, but all of it beautiful (and you can bring along your dog!)

The Borosa River itself is gorgeous, but you are also surrounded by mountains. Looking up at the mountain folds (pliegues) and considering the years it took to form into the beauty it is today is as much a joy as looking down at the rushing water.

Whatever draws you about the walk – just make sure to enjoy every second of being out in this natural paradise!

A great day trip – as far as I know the only way to arrive to this isolated spot is by car (by renting one, or by hiring a driver).

DIRECTIONS: Head toward the Mountain town of Cazorla and from there you’ll wrap your way around and into the mountains on A-319, just a ways past the Torre del Vinagre. There is plenty of parking so you shouldn’t have any problem finding a spot. Go early in the day to beat the heat of the sun!

“Cold” ice fishing on Lake Francis

Remember that part in the bible where it talks about Jesus walking on water… Well I’ve driven on water.

Winter in Minnesota gets cold, ridiculously cold. The lakes freeze over so you can walk out on it. Once the ice gets to about 18″ thick then I’m even comfortable driving out on it (without my seat belt, of course, just in case).

And you can’t enjoy a lake in Minnesota without doing some fishing… which is where ice fishing comes into play.

The adventure begins by purchasing bait – a local run shop is best. Get insights into what’s biting and where. White’s Corner Bait in Madison Lake is one of those stores!

There are three ways to ice fish- a hole in the ice and a bucket upon which to sit: “extremely cold” fishing, a portable ice house with or without heater: “cold” fishing (like the one above) or a tricked out trailer version, complete with heater, TV, bed, oven, whatever: “warm” fishing (below)

Pick a spot and Drill through all that ice to start catching dinner!

The ice holes once covered with their respective ice homes. (“cold and “warm” versions)

Then just sit back, relax and wait for the fish to come to you (there’s obviously more to it, but we’ll save that for another day, another post)

When traveling to or in Mankato, most people know about the Betsy-Tacy homes and stories in Mankato. Some will even walk the ArtWalk, but a lot of the great sights of Mankato get lost to the casual visitor.

This is in no way meant to a comprehensive list, but rather something by which to get started on your adventure! Mankato has a lot of offer. So, Enjoy!

1. Glenwood Cemetery

The Glenwood Cemetery is situated up on a hill on one of the most beautiful streets on Mankato, this cemetery is home to some semi-famous people, including the children’s book author, Maud Hart Lovelace. As well as a few others. It’s also a really great place to get away for some peace and quiet. The gravestones and Oak trees are a sight to behold, any time of year, though probably more so in the fall or after a fresh snowfall.

2. Carnegie Art Center

The Carnegie Art Center is a fantastic visual arts gallery located in an equally impressive and beautiful building built in 1902. Go for an exhibit and enjoy yourself exploring, or venture into the gift shop, which has goodies from local artists! (the top image is also of the center)

3. Bike Trails

Mankato has several amazing bike paths. My favorites include the Sakatah and Red-Jacket Trails. You can ride or walk along the river valley in town, or take them further, out to Minneopa Falls or the Rapidan Dam. There are so many options that you might not want to choose one and just do them all!

4. Sibley Park

While you’re out walking or on your bike, more than likely you will follow the river to the Sibley Park grounds. Sibley Park is where to be in the winter if you want some cheap sledding fun down a steep hill! It’s the place where the Blue Earth and Minnesota Rivers meet, which means a lot of scenery and even some wildlife. If you’re looking for some tamed down animals, there is also a “petting zoo” at the Sibley Farm. (Not to mention it’s a terrific place for photography!)

5. Reconciliation Park

Mankato has some dark spots on its history; home of the mass execution and hanging of 38 Native Americans for their parts in the uprising during the Dakota War of 1862. In 1997 the city of Mankato installed a bison sculpture in remembrance of this terrible event. The nearby Dakota Warrior sculpture is also in commemoration.

A stormy night commemorates the night the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sunk

On November 10, 1975 the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sunk in Lake Superior during a brutal storm. Split Rock Lighthouse in Northern Minnesota commemorated the day with a lighting ceremony of the lighthouse beacon, which has been out of use since 1969.

A storm rolls in on Lake Superior, just in case we were wondering how a ship could get lost on THE Lake.



Touring the Lighthouse means climbing up and down a thin and steep set of stairs. I was just imagining trying to run up them in the dead of night, during a crazy, cold rainstorm to re-light the lighthouse… Not fun.

The actual beacon didn’t get lit until after our tour (see shot below) but watching the mechanicals of it turning sure was impressive!

Chasing my tail again by Matt Miller

It’s Thanksgiving, you’re surrounded by family and friends, you’ve just had a ton to eat, and perhaps even a nap, but there’s still some light to the day (the weather’s great)…

What to do? How about a stroll around downtown Mankato, MN- An Art Walk!

North Mankato and Mankato have over 30 sculptures placed along the main streets of town- easy to view and enjoy day or night, rain or shine. There are 34 in all and they are so well nestled into the two cities that you may not even notice them all. The installations change from year to year, so for a tour of this year’s CityArt Walk make sure to check out the tour guide.

Below is a short photo essay of some of my favorites.

Reflections by D.C. McDermott (and my personal favorite!)
To Love is to Be by Martin Eichinger — Pure, raw emotion…
Aplomb by Luke Achterberg — Swirls, motion and color, what’s not to love!
Circle of Friends by Karen Crain — Makes me want to curl up with a good book!

Since most of the year in Minnesota is spent cold or wrapped to the gills in warm clothes, the warm months are especially appreciated. One of the best ways to enjoy the warm weather is to pick fruit, starting with strawberries and raspberries, then graduating to blueberries and ending with apples. There is always something to pick in the summer and plenty of farms that allow you to come and pick your own berries!

But what happens when you pick too much? Or better yet- How do you keep the summer shining deep into winter?

By picking too much and then freezing them!

Here’s how: (Blueberries are the example, but you can do this with any berry)

1- Pick the berries. How many do you eat in a year? How much do you love them? I eat blueberries on everything, so I knew that I needed to freeze a ton. I usually pick and freeze around 10 1-gallon pails (ice cream pails are my favorite, since they have a handle, but you can use whatever)

2- Let the lighter colored berries ripen overnight. Lay them all out newspaper, or as in the photo above, heavy-duty wrapping paper so that they’re in one safe spot. Don’t let them sit out longer than one night, as they could start to go bad (raspberries and strawberries ripen especially quickly)

3- Sort through the berries. Even before washing the berries it’s important to start to sort out the bad ones. This is also the time when to cut off or pull off stems and/or bad parts of the berries.

4- Wash the berries. Using a strainer wash a handful at a time, in order to keep on sorting and make sure they’re all clean. Then put them on a towel to dry.

5- Freeze berries. To freeze the berries Lay them on a single layer on a cookie tin. This way all the berries freeze through evenly. Leave them like this for 8 to 24 hours. Then put the berries in zip locking freezer bags, suck out all the air from the bag (this helps keep out moisture), seal it and pop it in the freezer for some winter-time enjoyment!

Safe driving on the empty rural roads

As a photographer, I’ve found that I just really shouldn’t drive. As I’ve gotten more and more into photography, I’ve become a worse and worse driver… I’m composing photos, rather than concentrating on the road.

1. Next Great Shot
The photographer is always looking for his/her next shot – which probably isn’t the road, or even in that direction…

A Bald Eagle flys overhead

2. Distractions
There’s always something.

The Nature Photographer is busy looking at the hawks and bald eagles perched upon the light posts, awaiting their flight.

The Street Photographer is eyeing all the colorful outfits and odd behaviors of the pedestrians as they stroll the sidewalk.

The Lost Photographer is probably on his/her phone asking for directions, watching the GPS and house numbers and everything else but driving.

The setting sun makes magic on the Minnesota State Capitol Building

3. Trained to see the light, not the traffic
They’ve trained themselves to see light, to see pictures as they unfold themselves, and once they see the “picture”, they need to photograph it. Which leads into the fourth reason.

4. Split-Second Decisions
A photographer will be excited about the photo they have just composed as they drove by something spectacular. Which means a turn at the last second, or un-expected road stop. Depending on how concentrated they are on their subject, they may not be paying much attention to other drivers behind them.

5. Preferences
The plain and simple truth is that they would rather be photographing what they see- not driving and just dreaming about what that building would have looked like in a photo.