A drive down Minnesota Highway 23 from Superior, Wisconsin offers not only a beautiful road, but wonderful scenery. We stopped at a roadside Scenic Overlook. The area is dedicated to the people, who served in World War II, from Carlton, Pine, and St. Louis County. Stopping there was one of those sudden decisions. You know the kind, you get a wild hare and decide to do something different. I’m glad we stopped.

So often in our daily lives we don’t take the time to just get out of the car and stroll around. A lot of information is lost to us, a well as the panorama of beauty that is ours in Minnesota. We live in one of the most beautiful of the fifty states. All around us, here in this northern corridor of the USA are fantastic vistas of granite boulders, large pines, and The Lake. We all know The Lake. It’s the big one, Lake Superior. Many of its vistas have been made familiar by the Blacklock family and their famous photographs.

This spring, take a drive up north. Use the back roads, or roads like Highway 23. Many of them have been resurfaced with the Put America To Work Funds. Both 23 and County Road 4 have excellent road beds. Hardly a ripple since last summer’s resurfacing. Get yourselves off the freeway and take a weekend drive.

Since we have been enjoying a high pressure area for some time now, it’s the perfect time to take day trips. You can pack a lunch or stop at one of the many eateries available as you follow your wanderlust. Take a drive either up the north shore or the south shore, both will offer splendorous views.

It is too soon to start digging up the garden, and it’s not quite good enough weather to hike the roadside. In another month or so there will be pussy willows starting to bloom, and the subtle presence of green under those bud caps. For right now, though, its time to travel within the car, enjoying the heat and comfort of upholstered seating.

If you have the time, head out for a weekend trip. Head up to Cove Point or to Grand Marais to spend an overnight. Stop in the galleries and browse around looking at pottery and art designed by local northland artists. Walk along the beach and watch those waves hit the shore.

An evening spent in a restaurant up near Blue Fin or head up to Bayfield. Have an evening dinner by candlelight and enjoy the ambiance of the area. There is nothing that smells so fresh as wind off Lake Superior. We have it basically at our fingertips, so it’s a readily available journey.

If you’re anything like me, your probably thinking there is nothing that can beat getting out of the house. Winter sports have become more difficult with age and some disability. For me, just driving and enjoying the countryside fills me with joy. Don and I were so intent on enjoying the scenery we hardly said a word while we drove. I find that talking isn’t necessary when you are enjoying someone’s company. It’s just a good thing to appreciate nature and all it’s beauty.

Winter scenery reminds me of Japanese paintings. Sometimes its just a line of a dark tree against the snow and rocks; or the green touch of pine needles nestled beside golden grasses; these simple pictures are what I take home in my memory of a day trip to Superior.