When was the last time you had an Adventure?

Quote of the day: “Art flourishes where there is a sense of adventure.” —Alfred North Whitehead

White Trout Lily at Nerstrand Big Wood State Park

A few weeks ago I decided to plan one day a week to go out photographing at some new place. I decided to call that day my Adventure Day. Then one week went by and I didn’t do an Adventure Day. Same thing the next week. And the next.

“So what’s with this?” I asked myself. Did I not really want to go out to take photographs somewhere new? Nope. I still wanted to. Was I too busy? Nope. I created my schedule and I could plan a day to go somewhere new. Was there something else stopping me? Well, apparently.

Finally I realized that it was just habits, maybe a little fear of the unknown, the tendency to do what I’m used to doing, and a desire for my comfortable, known routine. Sunday, I decided I’m GOING to have an ADVENTURE this week!

I decided to lean into life, to change my habits, and to make it a priority to schedule and make my Adventure day happen. After checking the weather forecast and my commitments for the week, I concluded that Tuesday was the best day to schedule my Adventure Day.

I wasn’t quite comfortable setting out and just driving without a destination (that will be one of my Adventure Days soon), so I decided to go to Nerstrand Big Woods State Park to photograph wildflowers. I woke up early without an alarm clock, grabbed a quick breakfast, a cup of tea to go, and my camera equipment and headed south to Nerstrand Big Woods. Fortunately my route out of the Twin Cities was counter rush-hour flow, so I sailed out of town with ease.

I got to the park at 8:30 AM and instead of the promised sunshine, the sky was mostly cloudy—perfect light for capturing wildflowers in the woods. The park was almost deserted. One other car pulled in about the time I headed into the woods. No one else was there. The first thing I saw, even before I got out of the car, was a blanket of wildflowers right in front of my car. White trout lilies in such profusion! I stopped right there and made some photos.

As I headed out on the trails, everywhere I looked there were wildflowers and lovely ferns. Magical, mystical, beautiful! Oh, what an amazing hike! Photo ops everywhere I looked. Several wildflowers I’ve never seen before and 3 that I have yet to identify. Wonderful solitude and the gentle sound of the water running in the creek by the path.

Hidden Falls was gorgeous and I had it all to myself. I sat and listened, soaked in its beauty, and made a few photos of it. Then I headed back up the trail.

I spent only 90 minutes in the woods—that was all I could do physically—and I drove 90 minutes each way to get there. Was it worth it? Hell Yes!!!

Hmmmm…I wonder what I’ll do for Adventure Day next week.  How about you? Are you stuck in a rut? Maybe you need an Adventure Day too.

Dainty Wildflowers

Magical Ferns and Wildflowers Carpet the Woods

Mystery Wildflower - Anyone who knows what this is, please comment and tell me

I believe this is one of the "Mystery Wildflowers" in bloom

Hidden Falls