Our second park visit was to Flandrau State Park just on the edge of New Ulm, Minnesota. It was a balmy January day, topping off at around 40°F, but even that wasn’t going to do it for one of the main features of this park. Situated on the gorgeous banks of the Cottonwood River, we wound up on a trail winding through the forest on the edge of the water. It was a lovely walk. I do think, though, that a summertime visit would be better for Flandrau. It has a really interesting sandy bottom, chlorinated swimming pool that I’d love to have a dip in on a warmer day.

Highlights:

• Pileated woodpecker, and a ton of deer tracks of all different sizes
• J fell asleep in the backpack, head lolling all about. I don’t think this is something that’s likely to happen too much more. She’s getting so big!

Lessons learned:

• We had a bit of a rocky start when J chugged down more orange juice than she should have and it all came back up. A quick detour to Target in Mankato and we were back on our way. We were pretty dang sure that it wasn’t anything more serious. Pack spare clothes. I should probably just have a set or two in the car. Just in case, but especially for these little trips.

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Alison Bents is a Minnesota photographer specializing in Family and Senior portraits and Wedding Photography. She lives in Rosemount with her husband, two children and dog who have all put up with her lens pointing their way for a long, long time. Alison is now booking 2019 and 2020 weddings and portrait sessions on an ongoing basis. Serving Minneapolis, St. Paul and the greater metro area, she is also available for travel nationwide.