If You Won the Lottery

1. Pay off my debt & my parents & in-laws debt.
2. Build or buy my dream home.
3. Travel across the entire country for at least six month, probably a year in the most eco-friendly RV I can find.
4. Travel to other parts of the world.
5. Donate to my favorite non-profits.
6. Invest in green energy.
7. Open up an art gallery.

People who go RV'ing seem like they have so much fun! We used to go camping when I was a kid, and all the folks who did 6-month tours always had the neatest stories from all of the places they'd been. One year at Yellowstone, we met a couple who were on a mission to see all 48 national parks in the lower 48-- they had pictures of manatees in Florida, sand dunes in Colorado, all sorts of cool stuff!

Doing something like this is my hope when my hubs and I are older/retired. National parks are right up my alley. We actually have been on a mission since we got married to camp all of Minnesota's State Parks. We've only been to maybe 1/4 of the 60 something parks. We tend to visit a lot of the same ones that are our favorites.

Camping is a huge part of our summers still. Although, we've never had an RV or camper. We have a tent. I grew up camping and haven't stopped. My daughter is five and we took her for her first camping trip when she was five months old. She loves it as much as we do.

The Minnesota outdoors are gorgeous!! Most of my relatives are in MN and northwest IA and I absolutely love it up around there. I'd love to have a cabin on one of the lakes someday!

I agree. While I really dislike the harsh winters it all is worth it once the weather gets nice. There are so many types of landscapes here: Lake Superior along with all the regular lakes & rivers, caves, waterfalls, grasslands, lots of forests (including some virgin woods), large areas of bog/peatland, and more.

One of my favorite places to go camping is Big Bog State Park (it is truly in the middle of nowhere). The bog walk takes you a mile out into one of the largest bogs in the US. There are "islands" of tamarack trees, mosses, carnivorous plants (including the beautiful pitcher plant), and orchids. 

I'm going to have to check that park out this summer - I tend to go to Itasca a lot, and just discovered Tamarac Wildlife Refuge (the one North of DL) last summer.  My favorite thing to do is to take a day off of work in the middle of the week and go exploring on one the trails through the parks.  Dunton Locks County Park is only about a mile and a half walking from where I live, and there's a walking trail there, so I go there almost every day.  I especially love early morning when I can watch the sun come up over the water.

It's a little over an hour north of Bemidji, but so worth it. I have totally explored Tamarac Wildlife Refuge. I have a friend who has a house & acreage in the woods right on the border of the refuge.

My MIL lives in Osage about 30 miles east of DL and her house is just on the outskirts of town and only a mile from the Two Inlets State Forest & only about 15 miles from the southern part of Itasca State Park. We visit Itasca at least once a summer and also try to make it up there during peak autumn leaf season so we can climb the fire tower and be blown away by the explosion of fall colors as far as the eye can see. If you go our there on a clear or mostly clear day the lakes that are visible in the distance are bright blue/aqua and that contrast is so stunning. It is such a large park and has so much to offer.

Oh yeah, I've been to the top of that fire tower myself - stunning view!

Do you watch Heartland Table on Food Network?  The star is Amy Thielen, who lives in Two Inlets, and they film from her house!

I don't have cable, but I have seen an episode or two. Two Inlets is only about 10 miles from my MIL's house. I love that they have a show filmed in such an unpopulated area of the state. I might have to find some episodes online.

I live in an RV 5 months of the year in Minnesota!  It doesn't go anywhere except the campground, but it's still heaven on earth to me.