State Parks and Fabric

One of our recent state park trips was to another northern Minnesota bog area - Big Bog State Recreation Area.  A few photos from that trip:

This is our friend Chip - the chipmunk that lives under the cabin deck.  It was SO hot and humid this day, that even Chip just laid on the deck most of the time. He looks quite tired, doesn't he?  Perked right up for a snack, though.

We went for a quick walk on this mosquito-infested trail (and I do mean infested! The mosquitoes were ruthless.  It's a bog area on an extremely humid, tropical day.)

This park area has a river on one side and a HUGE lake on the other.  At the river, we watched this doe for quite awhile just cooling herself in the water and eating wet grasses.  

 This was a great moment - the doe didn't see the boat and the boat didn't see the doe.  In the end, neither one cared anyway.  It was too dang hot.

And then our friend Peter rabbit stopped by for a snack.  I just love seeing these little creatures pop on in to see what we're doing, spying on us to see if we brought anything good to eat.

We climbed the fire tower for a good view of the lake.  It was actually cooler up there, so it was worth the climb.

 And the view was beautiful with a clear blue sky and the sun sparkling on the water.

We climbed back up there later in the evening to catch the sunset. The clouds were rolling in, so unfortunately we couldn't see that beautiful sun set right on the water.  We had to settle for this glimpse just before the clouds took over.

Which brings me to today's fabric shopping trip. Woo hoo!  State Parks and fabric - some of my favorite things all in one!

Each year, many of the Minnesota Quilt Shops participate in a two-week shop hop featuring Minnesota themed fabric designed just for this event.  I usually admire the fabric and get a few pieces, but today started the 2013 event and has this beautiful state park themed fabric.  I think it was designed just for me.  I wanted needed some.

I have lived all but about one year of my life in good old Minnesota. I love my home.  I am a city girl, but I do love the outdoors and our beautiful state parks for hiking and taking photos.

So how could I resist?  Looks like a beautiful start to a quilt of some kind.  I haven't made a quilt in a few years, but these soft, blended hues are inspiring.  I think I'll be digging in some quilting books over the weekend.