I’ll admit that my entire life I’ve used Jewish stereotypes to get out of doing things many other Minnesotans do. For example… I’ve never owned a pickup truck. I’ve never gone camping. I’ve never eaten venison. I’ve never gone ice fishing. I’ve never hung drywall. I’ve never gone hunting. Following these stereotypes has mostly kept me close to Minneapolis and other big cities with only limited exposure to outstate Minnesota. Not never, just limited. And when I do, I have always followed the idea that “roughing it” means a hotel without room service.
Okay, before I go on… baby steps. I’m not going to book a trip to the BWCA, walk around with a canoe over my head, and fish for my dinner. I’m not going to spend a weekend in a tiny ice fishing house with a hole in the ice, trunk full of beer, and a deck of cards. And I’m not going to snowmobile from bar to bar in a bright yellow jacket with matching gloves and helmet.
But later this week I am actually going to leave the Twin Cities metropolitan area and head a couple hours west. For New Year’s, I rented a three bedroom cabin at a tiny resort in New London for myself, my children, and another family. It may not be considered roughing it, but come on, they probably don’t even have wi-fi!
The plan is to spend time in the cabin, playing games, cooking our meals, maybe head to the main lodge for ping pong or Foosball. One day we might venture into New London or Spicer for a movie or some other activity. My dislike of cold has prevented me from considering outdoor activities, other then that there is a small sliding hill for the kids near the cabin.
It’s a start, right? Two nights away from the city, focusing on fun with friends and family, and maybe even turning off my iPhone for a few hours at a time. I’m not looking to totally unplug, as I am going to let the kids bring the Wii and some DVDs. But despite my unwillingness to unplug completely, it’s probably the closest thing my family will come to observing a traditional Shabbat, with a focus on family time and less of a focus on electronics, separate activities, and other things that fill up a typical weekend.
But what if I do want to take a few more steps, do you have any ideas? Should we play on the lake (I don’t think I’ve ever walked across a frozen lake), rent cross country skis or snowmobiles, go snowshoeing? I’m asking you if I should take this opportunity to stretch myself even further, and explore more of what outstate Minnesota has to offer. Leave a comment below, and I’ll be sure to keep checking the comments up until the time I leave Friday morning, and as far west as cell towers cover.
I look forward to hearing from you, and can’t wait for my weekend getaway. I hope all of you have a fun and safe New Year, and an adventurous 2011 ahead.
P.S. By the way, if you think the sheltered Jew from the Twin Cities will be somewhat out of place in New London, hear this – the family we’re traveling with is Indian, and grew up in South India (average temperatures in the 90’s) and then lived in mostly urban areas in the United States. They arrived in Minnesota only a year ago, and are still getting used to saying “pop” instead of “soda.” So I need to be the guide, the local who appears to know what I’m doing, at ease in the vast snowy wilderness. So c’mon my Minnesota brethren, help me out.
(Photo: Lars Hammer – Flickr)
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I have NO tips to offer whatsoever, but wanted to say I loved this post!
Jason, here’s a yasher koach from an outdoors-loving Minnesota Jew — good for you!
I’m glad that you’re starting to do your bit to banish this stereotype that Jews aren’t into the outdoors. Having lived in MN for eight years, I just heard about that stereotype from a gentile co-worker last year and I was floored to hear that there’s such an opinion out there! But I guess you’re saying that it’s somewhat justified, huh.
Well, I say in Minnesota we should overturn that trope. I suppose all these Jews who live in NYC, LA, Chicago, and have to drive for hours just to get out of city traffic have an excuse, but we Minnesotans do not. So let’s get out there and enjoy nature! I’ll tell you — for my money (and time, and everything), it’s the most relaxing get-away-froom-it-all kind of vacation.
As far as winter outdoor activities, I highly recommend snowshoeing. If the snow is deep, it really improves an winter nature walk. It’s a little like being your own all-terrain-vehicle — for instance, you can go up and down slopes that you would not normally be able to.
And, of course, kids love sledding. And so can you 🙂
Familiarize yourself with what a moose looks like. Then, if you see one, grab my grandchildren and run like hell.
Oh, Jason, Jason, Jason…
So Jews don’t camp, huh?
That’s really funny to me, given that Israelis are some of the most outdoorsy people I’ve ever met. In fact, most people (even the very fashionable, urban types) take a few months off when young, specifically to go trekking in some extremely remote location (like New Zealand, Nepal, or Peru – not exactly the height of chic urban living…) In fact, I’ve heard from a friend that there’s even a saying in Nepal that the Israelis are the craziest climbers out there, and that even the guides won’t go where some of them will go. And I’ve seen a place in backwoods Peru that accepted Israeli Shekels right along with US Dollars and Euros – as the 3 most common international currencies to hit backwoods Peru, of course. Not to mention that the Jews of the Soviet Union were known to go on major climbing expeditions to study Hebrew (apparently, the KGB had some rule against going higher than 2 kilometers above sea level… I guess the Torah has no such restrictions). So maybe it’s not quite a “Jewish” problem you’ve got there? Maybe just an “urban cowboy” problem? 🙂
Well, as a Jew who grew up in a family of extreme outdoorsmen (and women), climbing and hiking everything in sight (often with pre-schoolers along) let me just say “welcome to the outdoors!” and let’s see if I can’t make this “venture” just a bit more fun for ya. 🙂
Having just spent a fabulous long weekend up at the North Shore (spent primarily outdoors), and happy to share tips, let me start by saying: don’t bother with the cross-country skiing. It’s tough enough to master that if you haven’t done it before, and have to figure it out for yourself, while also teaching a bunch of kids, and trying to keep your friends from falling over, it can quickly get mighty frustrating. Unless you’re into motorcycles, loud noises, and going fast, I wouldn’t bother with the snowmobiling, either.
On the other hand, playing on the frozen lake can be pretty fun – especially the first time around – but does wear thin pretty fast. Sliding is *definitely* a great one – for young and old alike! Try that. No skill required, tons of fun guaranteed. Sleds help (the plastic or foam ones at Target are perfectly fine). Frankly, pieces of flat cardboard work pretty well, too, if you don’t have enough sleds. Or even your butt. (Yes, I said it.) Wear waterproof snow pants if you can. Waterproof skiing gloves, too. You’ll thank me later.
Finally, snowshoeing. This one’s a definite yes. It’s the great winter sport that anyone can do, requires no special skills or training, and you can just get up and go. Snowshoes let you go off trail, and basically just walk right into the forest – right on top of the snow. Easy to master, and can be enjoyed right away. One small tip – get ski poles to go with your snowshoes, especially if it’s your first time out. They make things easier, especially for a first-timer. Small kids are probably just fine without them.
One final thought – if you don’t want to bother with snowshoes, another terrific way to go is simple tramping. Just grab a pair of good waterproof snow boots, some snow pants, and ideally a waterproof jacket and gloves (you’ll thank me later), and set out right across the snow. Most places, especially around the ski trails or deer trails (look for V-shaped tracks on the ground), are not too deep, and you can just set out walking. Look for the more trampled patches to make walking easier, and put your foot all the way down before shifting your weight to avoid sinking in. The kids can use your footmarks to avoid sinking (talk about following in dad’s footsteps!) Perfect blue skies, pristine snow, songbirds, and maybe even the occasional deer, await!
One final thing – make sure you have lots of hot chocolate, and even more importantly, hot soup, available in the cabin when you return. It will make or break the experience!
And don’t forget – with the early sunsets we have now and the very cold mornings, you can easily spend 4-5 hours outside at the height of the afternoon, and still have plenty of time in the evenings for more “urbane” pursuits. So full speed ahead! Maybe next year, we can get you canoeing… 🙂
I have been on multi-day bike trips where you can either hotel or camp. I like to camp on those trips. It is great being with a large group with lots of tents.
So Jason… how’d it go?
What’d you end up trying?
And most importantly – did you survive?
And would you do it again?
~Jenna
The weekend out west was great, everything I was hoping for and more. Probably my favorite New Years ever.
Even though we came prepared, we were not able to get outside. The first day there was ice falling from the sky, the second day the wind was so bad that just walking to the lodge was a huge chore. So we were prepared to play on the lake and sled and stuff, but it didn’t happen.
And that’s okay, because we had all sorts of fun inside. We played games, kids did creative things like dancing and skits and drawing, we had time together and in smaller groups, even got a short nap in one day. Everything was just so relaxing and nice, I would absolutely do it again, especially in the summer. Even the drive through all the small towns on the way up and back was fun and unique in its own way.
And I was proven wrong in one area… the tiny resort in the tiny town had Wi-Fi after all. But, while I didn’t totally unplugged, I definitely wasn’t constantly checking my phone.