Day 24

Mainstreet
Rush City, MN

Dear lord it happened, finally. My motivation is back! Here is what happened.

This morning I worked for the City and then I came home and worked for my new job. Then I had some dinner. As I was cleaning up, I realized I had forgotten something. Oh crap! My blog! I was so happy and focused today that it completely slipped my mind.

I sat on my couch and was holding my phone in my hands. I thought about how happy I am now and how much of a relief it would be to just throw in the towel and focus on the new things in my life. How it would feel like a weight off my shoulders and I could get back to living my life. As I was about to write my exit post, nine words came screaming into my head like a freight train.

IF IT DOESN'T CHALLENGE YOU

 IT DOESN'T CHANGE YOU. 

I was taken off guard by this thought. Those nine words have been staring at me from my fridge for over a month. I finally know what they mean. I stood up and I decided in that moment- I want to change! And I will not change if I do not change what I do. Quitting this blog would not be akin to "getting back to my life." In fact it would be the opposite. It would send me backwards. It would re-affirm my old belief that quitting is ok.

To truly change, we have to dig REALLY deep and do what we are most resisting, our toughest challenges. There will always be a battle between the old you with the old paradigm, and the new you with the new paradigm. The truly best things in life require work, they are not easy. To get from the old you to the new you, you have to change that paradigm, by fighting those urges to take the easy way out and meeting those toughest of challenges head-on with your gladiator war cry!

What do I want? I want to keep making positive changes in my life. I want a positive attitude, and I want positive results. I want to get better every day. I want to chase my dreams. And i'm sorry, girl, but those dreams do not come wrapped in TV and ice cream. They do not come wrapped in over-doing it at the bar. They do not come from being insecure.

Dreams come to those who work hard and push through their challenges. We are here on earth to learn lessons, to grow, to change, to make changes in the world, and to inspire others to do the same! I want to show up in the world doing just that! And I hope from deep within, that I will leave a positive mark on this world and maybe inspire someone who used to be like the old me- thinking nothing is possible.

Baby, anything is possible!

XOXO,
Jamie Lynn

ECRL
Rush City, MN

Day 22

Freddy
He's seen better days.

I have been sitting here for 15 minutes. I am having complete writers block right now. It is hard to describe but it's like the words have disappeared from me. I am forcing myself to write this.

............

After I finally wrote that first paragraph a topic idea came to me. Staying power. Staying power is "the ability to maintain an activity or commitment despite fatigue or difficulty; stamina" (Google, 2015). Wow I just had a horrible college paper-writing flashback. Chills.

I think since the moment I landed my job (which removed one of the main reasons for this blog) I have lost motivation slowly. The reason why is good- I am happy, content, want to put all my energy into my new job, am no longer in limbo, etc. But I am no longer ok with starting something and not finishing it. I am ok with changing it along the way (remember- something is better than nothing) but I am not ok with quitting.

I think that I owe it to myself (and those of you still following) to finish this blog and finish it strong! I am so grateful to have gotten a job that is already bringing me joy, that I am going to put all those happy feelings into finishing this project strong. This blog happened right when it needed to. I was on the edge of hope. It brought me back. Wow...I am kind of a drama queen! ;)

So from now on, no half-a**ing, whining, excuse making or anything of the like! The next eight days are going to be amazing. See you on the other side!

Ryder's Find of the Day

Gratefully,
Jamie Lynn

Day 21

W 2nd St, Rush City, MN

I am starting to see a pattern....cold, dreary Mondays and a lack of motivation. As if they aren't bad enough already! ;) 

Today I think that I went through every excuse in the book before I hit the pavement. I considered ending my blog early with some lame excuse. I thought about writing every other day for the rest of my blog. The list goes on.

I was talking to a friend a while back and I told her that I think that I am lazy sometimes and I'm not OK with it. She asked me one question. Are you lazy or are you experiencing a lack of motivation? I knew the answer right away. I am not by nature a lazy person. But sometimes I lack motivation! I am sure you can relate. 

So (being the nerd I am) I asked myself- what can you do to fix this problem? What will get you out there hiking and living your life on a tough day when all you want to do is park it in front of the TV and numb out? I thought of a few solutions. 

1. Reach out to an accountability partner. That's you Jasmine- you made it happen today, thank you! 

2. Take a deep breath. Then think about who you used to be and who you want to be. Who will you choose to be in this moment? The girl who used to numb herself out of feeling anything uncomfortable? Or the girl who was brave enough to start a blog? 

3. Stop and think about how you will feel after you make your decision. If you choose to stay inside and watch TV all night, you will feel even worse than you did before. If you choose to go out there and just do it, you will INSTANTLY feel better. The second I stepped outside I felt a feeling of pride wash over me. 

4. Something is better than nothing. Do what you committed to. But if you aren't going to walk 3.33 miles....at least walk one mile. At least 20 minutes. Something, anything. The second you get out there you will walk longer than you originally thought you would, because it isn't as bad as you are making yourself believe it is. 

5. Either make a list or write yourself a letter, of all of the reasons WHY you are doing what you committed to. If you just take the time to remind yourself, that might be just the thing to get you going. It's easy to forget the "why" when our brain is busy having a battle of willpower. 

Today, reaching out to a friend was all it took. I got out there and I walked down to 2nd street, the street I grew up on. On my way back as I passed a bush, that cat scared the living daylights out of me! Sorry it's a blurry picture. 

Hope you somewhat related to the post! Also hoping we have better weather tomorrow!

Gratefully,

Jamie Lynn

Days 18, 19 & 20

Swamp, Scheffer Residence

Things rarely happen the way that we think they will happen. Because we are born with visualization skills, we can sit and imagine the various ways that a situation can play out. We can fantasize the ideal situation or fret about our worst nightmares. But no matter how much we sit and try to imagine the way something will go, good or bad, it never seems to happen how we thought it would.

For the past 11 months, I have been visualizing over and over the day that I would yell the words "I got the job!" I thought of where I would be, what I would be doing, who I would call first, what I would say, how it would feel, etc. I can't even guess how many times I played it out in my head. But I can tell you this- what I imagined was nothing like what really happened.

I imagined that I would interview with a City in Minnesota. And I imagined that I would be at home or at my desk at work and I would get a phone call. I thought I would barely be able to contain my emotions as I accepted the offer over the phone. I pictured myself falling to my knees in gratitude, crying loudly and feeling a huge sense of relief wash over me. I would call my mom, my dad, Jasmine, Jenna, etc. etc. and yell those four amazing words "I got the job!" into their ear. I would feel like all of a sudden everything was right in the world. The feeling I pictured was akin to the immense joy the man feels in The Pursuit of Happyness. A part of me felt like this was a far away dream, like it was almost unimaginable. It didn't feel real to me, like it was a stretch- too good to be true.

What did happen felt even better than what I imagined. Want to know why? Because it felt very real. It felt very imaginable. It felt right. Like every single thing in my life had led me to that moment. It wasn't a dramatic zero to one hundred, everything is ok now, feeling. It was just right. Almost like the last piece of a very hard puzzle clicking into place with so much ease. Instead of everything going from right to wrong- it felt like everything was already right and one more wonderful thing was added to my life.

You know how they say that 90% of jobs are landed through networking? It's not what you know, it's who you know? Well, even though my past two jobs were landed that way, I STILL didn't believe that! I thought, nope- i'm going to be one of the very small percentage that gets a job by interviewing. Hell or high water I will get that dream job with the perfect City! I am already looking back and laughing.

The job that I got was landed directly because of meeting someone through work and because of a former supervisor. The business owner that is hiring me did a project with me for the City of Rush City and also did a project with my former supervisor at the County. She was impressed with the way I handled the project. She met my former supervisor, asked about me, was told that I was looking for work and was told I have a knack for marketing. BOOM. We met for coffee and the rest is history.

I can't tell you all of the details yet. But the moral of the story is, life is never the way we plan or imagine it to be, but sometimes it is better than we could ever imagine. And networking and doing your best is super important!!!

Very very very gratefully,
Jamie Lynn

P.S. I know my posts have been barely about my actual hiking lately, but I hope you are still enjoying them :) Friday I took my niece puppy Bella for a walk. Yesterday I took Ryder for a walk. And today I went to Lindstrom and Interstate Park in Taylors Falls with Janie!

Jamie & Janie the Explorers!
Shout-out to Janie (my brother Jordan's girlfriend)- had a great time today girl!

Day 17

Big a** deer in da house!

Hey there! I hope everyone had a great day! What gorgeous weather we had. I hear tomorrow is going to be the complete opposite so I am glad I had the chance to get outside today!

Today I had a full day at work and then I went to my parents place (again). Wow, I am starting to sound like one of those people that is way too old to be living with their parents. Just to clarify- I DON'T! Haha.

Actually, I feel no shame talking about my parents all of the time. They are really great people and they are not afraid to chase their dreams. Their courage has stirred courage in me, and I am grateful for that, 100%!

After checking out the beautiful ceremony spot in the woods, we found a ton of tracks in the field. To the left you can see one of the monster deer tracks we found. Wowza. Congrats to whoever lands that one!

Sorry the post is so short today, but for once I don't have a lot on my mind. Just sitting here happy!

Gratefully,
Jamie Lynn
P.S. 1,000 page views- WOW, THANK YOU!

Day 16

Black Bear
Fires of 1918 Museum
Moose Lake, MN

Okay, my title may have been misleading. I did see a bear, but it was stuffed and in a museum. It was still pretty cool.

What an exciting day at work! I represent the City of Rush City on the Old Highway 61 Coalition Steering Committee. Today we had two meetings that were open to the public to discuss what the coalition is, how it was formed, and it's mission. Then we had discussion on how we can work together to promote the region. The first meeting was held at the Fires of 1918 Museum in Moose Lake. The second meeting was held in The Spare Room at Chucker's Bowl & Lounge in Rush City. Both are great venues for all of your event needs!

The Old Highway 61 Coalition's mission is to promote and preserve Old Highway 61 in Carlton, Pine and Chisago Counties. An interesting fact is that the effort was started by local Rush City Residents- Tim and Pam Hagen and Mike Robinson. Tim and Pam thought that it would be great to have "Old 61" signs installed along the highway in the County. Mike Robinson, our County Commissioner, helped make it happen. Once the signs were installed, the Chisago County EDA decided to pursue grant funding and put a coalition together with representatives from all three counties. The other two counties had their signs installed, and the effort began. You can learn more at the website. Speaking of the website, here are a few ways that you can get involved with and support the effort:

Model T
Fires of 1918 Museum
Moose Lake, MN

1. Like Old Highway 61 on Facebook
2. Use hashtag #OldHwy61 on Instagram
3. Visit the website www.oldhwy61.com
4. Share your photos and stories!
    Send them to us at intern@chisagocounty.org
5. Buy an Old Highway 61 sign for $61.00.
    You can contact myself or the Rush City Chamber to
    obtain a sign.
6. Take a roadtrip up the route! Shop local in the businesses along Old Highway 61!

Stay tuned for exciting things to come! Sorry that I am on my soap box again, but I just can't help it.

Old Highway 61 Quilt
Spare Room, Chucker's Bowl & Lounge
Rush City, MN

With gratitude,
Jamie Lynn

Day 15

S Jay Ave, Rush City, MN

I had such a great time tonight! This blog is not only getting me off my butt and outside hiking, it is strengthening my relationships with people. This is the perfect excuse to get out and have amazing one on one conversations with friends and colleagues alike.  

After work today I walked around town with Nicole Sly, who is a very active community member and business owner (Perreault Chiropractic). Turns out, Nicole and I have a TON in common. We talked and talked and talked about the community for almost two hours and we had to set another day to talk even more about it! We are both so passionate about Rush City and work hard at making it a better place to live than it already is. 

Nicole sits on the Economic Development Authority for the City so we work closely together on a lot of projects. One of the projects that she has volunteered a ton of time for is the Thriving Communities Initiative that has been taking place, and we co-chair the resulting Shop Local Campaign together. 

Economic Development is quite the challenge these days but one of the reasons that I know Rush City will continue to thrive is because it is made up of community members like Nicole who give their heart and soul to their business/work and put even more of their time into volunteering. In my opinion there is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer. 

It is so easy to get caught up in negativity, to post useless comments on Facebook, to demonstrate ignorance and to belittle the work of others. The harder path, which takes more strength and character, is staying positive, speaking kindly about and to your neighbors, and showing up for your community in constructive ways- instead of standing on the sidelines pointing fingers and passing judgement. I have been privileged to meet and work alongside many community champions like Nicole, who take those positive strides towards building their community. 

To Nicole and all of the other community champions- thank you for daring greatly. 

With gratitude, 

Jamie Lynn

Day 14

St. James Lake
St. James, Minnesota

Today I had my 8th interview and it was with the City of St. James. The town is about 75 miles SW of Mankato, two counties up from Iowa. It was a three hour drive one-way. What a gorgeous day to be out and about driving! No complaints here.

If you read my first post, you are aware that one of the reasons I started this blog was to ground myself during my job search. Let me tell you, it is working like a charm! Before I had this blog, when I went on an interview, it was all I could think about, talk about, and mainly WORRY about. Is this the one? This has GOT to be the one. 3rd times the charm! 4th times the charm! You get the picture. After the rejection, depression would ensue for a short while. Then I would get JUST as excited and anxious about the next job prospect.

This time, it feels different. I don't feel like my whole life is hanging by a thread anymore. Jenna (my sister) once told me that I am like the man in the Pursuit of Happyness. All I need is the job, and my life will fall into place. Well I decided to say screw that- I am going to live now. Hence the blog!

I prepared for my interview like any other, and I did my research. But I didn't feel desperate. And I have zero anxiety now, afterward. I know this may sound lame, but just having this blog is making me feel so alive and I have something to look forward to everyday. I feel like I have purpose. I no longer feel like I am in limbo.

And the greatest part is- if I didn't have this blog, I probably wouldn't have even thought to ask my old roommate from college, Natalie, if she wanted to grab a bite and walk around Minneapolis as I came back through in the evening. Natalie lives near Nicollet Mall, so we took a stroll there, had a bite, and walked around.

If you know me at all, you know that I am like a kid in Disney World when I am in the Cities. I get so excited to be there and I want to take a ton of pictures just like a tourist with a fanny pack! The weirdest part was that the Target there has escalators in it. I kind of felt like I was on another planet there. Everyone only buys what they can carry, which is pretty cool. I would love to live in a walkable neighborhood like Natalie does someday. That's every City Planner's dream. <3

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Shorter post today- I am exhausted from all the fun! Catch you tomorrow!
With gratitude,
Jamie Lynn

Day 13

Dennis Frandsen County Park
Northern Trail

Ah, Sundays. The best day of the week, especially in the fall. Sundays in the fall are relaxing, and include Vikings Football and awesome TV shows (Once Upon a Time and the Walking Dead anyone?!). My day started out peaceful and relaxing. I love sleeping in and putzing around the house at my own leisurely pace.

I wasn't sure exactly where I wanted to walk today, but I headed out to my parents and ended up helping my dad with some things for the new barn. I was still in a really good mood, nice and relaxed. My dad ended up getting called out for work and my mom was taking pictures so I decided to head out to the lake. Something was just calling my name.

I went up the Northern trail and was enjoying the walk greatly. I even got a great picture of a huge flock of ducks on the water! Isn't it great? They are so cute and fun to watch. I continued down the path, all happy and peaceful. I had even thought to myself, "wow, i'm not even slightly scared of bears or anything right now." Then it happened.

A huge snake- probably over four feet long- came out of nowhere from the left in the woods and was making a very fast beeline toward the lake on the right, five freaking feet in front of me!!!!! Have you ever seen a girl scream and high step it like Adrian Peterson when he is running into the end-zone, also looking back to see if anyone is coming? Well, that's exactly what I did. My heart was racing and I was so grossed out and just plain terrified. Right when I stopped high stepping, guess what? I heard a huge rustling of leaves and another freaking snake came out of the woods right behind me! So I continued to shriek and high stepped it further up the trail. And AGAIN I heard rustling, and a freaking snake came out of the woods behind me! I decided to run and probably went a good 20 yards without stopping. I came to a halt and checked my 6:00 and called the first person I could think of- Jasmine.

She answered the phone and I breathlessly told her the story, all while trying not to cry, walking forward and looking in all directions like a mad person. As I came around the loop, the fall leaves on the ground became heavier and I just wouldn't calm down. Imagine how many snakes could be under those leaves!!! Eventually I did calm down, but it took awhile. Poor Jasmine- thanks again girl!

So, being the nerd that I am. I remembered something that I learned- fear comes from a lack of knowledge and understanding. If you fear something, get to know it. Afraid of stairs? Climb more stairs. You get the picture. So for the past 20 minutes I have been looking up snakes on the DNR website. I don't feel any better yet, especially since it started talking about finding them in homes with cracks in the foundation. Whimper.

Anyways...i'll stop being a baby now....I have the species narrowed down to two- either the North American Water Snake (the only water snake in Minnesota) or the North American Racer. Both are the only ones large enough to fit the description. The first, very large snake was what looked to be a solid gray color and about four feet long. That thing was cruising like an Eagle was on its a**! The other two I barely saw because I was looking back at them while moving forward, and I didn't keep looking. My educated guess is that it is the water snake. Since they were clearly headed toward the water. It also looked thicker than the racer snake. And in the description it says really old water snakes may appear to be a solid color.

Well, I tried. I still don't feel better. This is what I get for hoping for something to write about. Be careful what you wish for, people! I know I will be from now on.

With all my unease (ok and gratitude),
Jamie Lynn

P.S. You're welcome for not including any pictures. 

Day 12

Creek...in the swamp.

Hey there! I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend! I sure am. This morning I finished things that I have been putting off, and boy did it feel great. Then I just felt like being "home" so I went to my parents and took Ryder for a walk. Side-note - holy crap is the barn venue going to be huge! The frame is up and it looks spectacular.

I gotta say, it was so nice to not be counting miles during my walk today. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire walk. I took my time, checked things out, and of course got some dance moves in. When you are trying to power walk to "finish your miles" you definitely don't have time for dancing. What's fun about that???! Ryder and I spent a lot of time in the swamp. It's a great workout to trudge through the tall grass. You really have to step carefully because you have no idea what is under all that grass!

Whenever I go for walks or spend time in the creek, I am constantly searching for treasure. My version of treasure is a little different than everyone else's. In fact I have a 3 gallon bucket full of what you can pretty much call old crap, and I call it my treasure. Idk maybe I was an archaeologist in another life, who knows? Or maybe a pirate. That sounds cooler.

So anyways, since I was on more of an exploratory hike today, I took the back trails through the woods and came upon the logs that are fallen over the creek that we used to play on as kids. Lo and behold, I saw a shiny piece of treasure halfway across the log! Ok it is just an old glass soda bottle, but still, it will go nicely with the old coke bottles i've found ;)

Treasure Find of the Day

This log and I had a bit of a "falling" out a few years back....I kind of fell off of it into the icy water. My entire family thought it was SO hilarious. I thought differently. But they say that comedy is just tragedy plus time, and they are right, because now I think it's funny! Today I did not fall of the log, so we are square once again haha.

I'm going to wrap this up by saying how strong I feel. It's only been 12 days and I see a huge improvement. I am less huffy, I don't get sore anymore, and I feel energized as I am walking. So happy about this!!!

That's all for now. Catch ya later!
Gratefully,
Jamie Lynn

Days 10 & 11

Sunrise Prairie Trail
North Branch, MN
Parallel to Old Highway 61

I bet that some of you can relate to what i'm going to talk about today. That topic is perfectionism, specifically the toxic all-or-nothing mindset. I had a cathartic realization today and I am glad that it happened. I wasn't aware, until a discussion I had with a friend today, that all my life I have been striving towards unattainable goals and then beating myself up after not reaching them.

Our great friend Wikipedia defines perfectionism as "a personality trait characterized by a person's striving for flawlessness and setting excessively high performance standards, accompanied by overly critical self-evaluation and concerns regarding others' evaluations." After the discussion with my friend, I looked up this definition to learn more about perfectionism and was shocked at how true it felt to me.

One example after another flooded my head and I became overwhelmed with the knowledge that this has affected me my entire life. Granted, I knew that I had all or nothing tendencies. But the extent that I thought it went to was that my house is either a disaster area or spotless. I didn't realize that it was affecting my work and my blog as well, and that accompanying this trait is enormous guilt if perfection is not reached.

The reason that I believe some of you may relate to this is because of the amount of crash dieting and crazy exercise programs there are out there today. I am sure that not only I, but you, have tried a few of them. And when I or you failed to stick to the plan, we beat ourselves up afterwards and felt worse than we did before we started the thing.

Interstate Park
Taylors Falls, MN

To truly change your life, you have to change your habits. It is nearly impossible (from my experience) to wake up one day and change ten habits at once. We've all been there. "Tomorrow I am going to eat no carbs and start training for a 5k. I am going to wake up at 5am..." and the list goes on. Does that ever happen? Nope. Maybe you will last a few days. My point is, why do we constantly set such high standards on ourselves only to feel worse about ourselves when we don't meet them? Why not start small, gain momentum, and build on that? Try one healthy meal a week, then two the next week if you liked it. Walk for 15 minutes a day, etc. etc.

When I started this blog, I set one of those high standards. 100 miles in 30 days. Because if i'm going to hike, i'm going to hike my a** off! Oh, and the challenge I saw online that gave me inspiration- they were counting steps the entire day, not adding on another 3.3 to whatever they did that day anyway. So not only did I pick a very high goal, I made it even harder, because I think I have to be perfect ;)

Is hiking 3.3 miles a day bringing me joy? The answer is no. Is hiking every day and writing about it bringing me joy? Yes. Did starting this blog bring me joy? Tons. My point is, I am done counting. Lately I have been noticing that I check my phone over and over on my hikes to see how many miles are left and calculate how much time is remaining. That is not what I want this journey to be about, absolutely not. The second you put a number on something, the pressure goes up and the enjoyment goes down! From now on I am going to focus on the process, the present moment.

I will continue to explore, which by the way I am realizing is two-fold. I am not only exploring Minnesota, I am doing a bit of self exploration as well. I will finish my 30 days, and I will hike/explore an area every day and I will write about it, even if it is not perfect and even if it's more about me than where I hiked. I'm sure you've noticed, me and this blog, we are in beta! I have some musings about a future blog that will be more focused. If you are still following this one, thank you and buckle up because who knows what I will write about? You can count on it being real, from the heart, and honest, because that is me.

I won't go into too much detail because this post has already become quite long, but yesterday and today I did not finish 3.3 miles. Guess what did happen though? I hiked the Sunrise Prairie Trail, I got to hang out with my awesome cousin who rescued me because I had another blood sugar incident in the middle of nowhere (due to lack of preparation), I went to Interstate Park and really enjoyed myself, and I got an awesome MN magnet for my fridge. So, am I mad at myself? Heck no! If I wasn't on this journey I would have been sitting on the couch watching re-runs. So I will forgive myself and keep plugging along because, hey, no one is perfect, especially me.

With gratitude,
Jamie Lynn

Day 9

Fish Lake County Park
Harris, MN

Today I pondered the true purpose of my blog. If you are one of the people that have been regularly following me, you may have noticed a different theme to yesterday's post. I spent my time writing a description of Frandsen Park. Maybe it was because I had never hiked there and all the other places I have, who knows? Usually as I sit down to write I have a topic in mind by that time already. I do not stress about it, as it has always come to me before or during my hike. So far I have covered reasons for the blog, my birthday, crocs, town, the shindig, having a bad day, and DFCP. None of these topics were planned, they were just what was going on in my life in that moment, or what was occupying my thoughts.

To reiterate, the reasons I listed before that I am doing a hiking challenge and writing about it were: I love to explore, I love MN, I love to write, I want to ground myself during my job search, and I would like to get in shape. So I combined those things, created a challenge and started the blog. But if I am perfectly honest, the writing has occupied my thoughts much longer than the actual hike. What does that mean? Well, if I am completely honest, I wanted a reason to start writing. This blog is not truly about the hike. It is not truly about the great places to go to to hike in the area. It's not about how challenging it is to spend over two hours a day hiking and writing. Ok, it kind of is on the surface. But below the surface is what really matters. And what lies there is a girl that grew up always wanting to be a writer.

I clearly remember sitting at my mother's computer, typing up Disney stories word for word. For a short time I was pen pals with one of my favorite authors. I used to dream about working for Frommers and exploring the world while getting paid to write. I used to imagine writing a series as great as Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. I took what was supposed to be a three page writing assignment and wrote 16 pages without blinking and decided I should stop or the teacher might get mad. And the list goes on. And on. And on.

Somewhere along the way, most of us give up on our dreams. Maybe we simply forget what those dreams are as we drudge along trying to be an adult. Well, after getting my latest rejection from Staples and feeling completed defeated, I decided to make a change and go after something with all my energy and all my heart. So I started this blog. Yes, it conveniently blends all of my favorite things together and is challenging me to get in shape. But, at the end of the day, I am proud of myself for writing. The best part of my day is when I cozy up to my computer, put my geeky glasses on, take a sip of water, and start to type. It doesn't matter how good the writing is, all that matters is that I am here and I am writing. And maybe along the way I will inspire someone to start writing or to take a hike at their local County Park.

I can't tell you what I will write about because even I don't know. What I can tell you is that I will hike 3.3 miles every day and I will sit at this computer and write about it. I am hoping to improve upon both my average walking speed and the quality of my writing. So far, I haven't pushed myself on either. I basically walk at whatever speed is comfortable and I write what I think without editing. Both require constant muscle movement to improve upon, which is why this is a daily blog, not a once a month or whenever I feel like it blog ;)

Well, I hope you enjoyed the post today. Give me some love on Facebook and let me know what you think so far! If anyone wants to join me for a hike let me know!

Gratefully,
Jamie Lynn 

P.S. Fish Lake Park is awesome and most of you already know that. There is a hiking trail across the road that doubles as a cross country ski trail in the winter. It is magnificent. 

Day 8

Dennis Frandsen County Park on West Rush Lake

What a gorgeous day! I was so excited to get outside for my hike today. I got off of work around 3:00 so with my extra time I decided to drive to a new location, finally! It did not disappoint!

Dennis Frandsen County Park is on the North shore of Rush Lake, about a 13 minute drive West of downtown Rush City. The park has 117 acres and features a fishing pier, a gazebo, a frisbee golf course, canoe access, picnic tables and grills, a playground, bathrooms, and two walking trails. A fun fact for you is that I am on the Chisago County Park Board, representing District 5. The district covers the Rush City and Harris areas which includes this park and Fish Lake Park. I thought it was about time I checked out the hiking trails that the parks have to offer! First up, DFCP, and on deck is Fish Lake!

Trail on North Shore of West Rush Lake

I already had a high opinion of this park, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there was not one, but two excellent walking trails. The first trail goes North of the common area of the park and wraps around the very top of West Rush Lake. To find the trail head, look on the North side of the bathrooms where you will see a sign that reads "hiking trail" with an arrow. It is pretty self explanatory ;). This trail is about 1.5 miles long. After a short trek you come upon another common area with tables and grills. You can park here as well but there is no signage on the road directing you to it. Past the common area is a loop. Stick to the right and you have beautiful lake views and a nice gravel path (with no logs to climb over I might add). When you loop back you are surrounded by young maple and birch trees and hear the crunching sound of thousands of leaves at your feet. Don't you just love the smell of dead leaves?

Island Trail

The second trail is on the island portion of the park. If you walk farther than the parking lot on the road you will find yourself on a dirt road that just circles around and comes back. There are two trail heads off of the dirt road loop. It is one connected trail. I started on the left and came out on the right. The trail here is a nice and grassy, with very open lake views. This was my favorite part of the whole park. The grass is more forgiving on your feet and the lake view was just incredible. This loop is much smaller than the other trail, but is definitely worth your time. To get to my total of 3.3 miles I walked the 1.5 mile Northern trail and then did this loop a couple times.

I can't believe that 8 days have already gone by on this journey. The time is just flying! Like I said before I plan to go to Fish Lake tomorrow and on Thursday I will be walking the Sunrise Prairie Trail in North Branch. I'm excited to get out and explore more places! Stay tuned :)

With lots and lots of gratitude,
Jamie Lynn

Day 7

Do you ever just have one of those days? You know the day where the negativity piles up and by the end of the day you have zero energy, want to throw sweats on the minute you get home, tune out the whole world and watch TV? Of course you do, you are human! Well I had a day like that today. I think it was this freezing cold, cut to the bone, windy weather we had! It's always easy to blame it on the weather in Minnesota.

The absolutely amazing thing is that I still accomplished my goals for the day. I walked 3.3 miles outside in the biting wind and now I am writing about it! Days like these are the most important to push through. "If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you." Those are the words I have been saying over and over to myself this past week and especially tonight. Well, challenge accepted!

Today I walked in the (don't get creeped out) cemetary across from my parents place. Sounds a little weird, but the path is really great and the scenery is gorgeous. There are a lot of brilliant maple trees to gaze at. I just didn't feel like taking on the elements any more than I already was with that frisky wind.

Well today's is short and sweet! Some days I will have more time to write than others, that's just the way of it. Ta ta for now!
With Gratitude,
Jamie Lynn

Days 5 & 6

The Shinler Family (well, half of them).

This weekend was absolutely amazing! I had such a great time with my family. Every fall my parents host the Shinler Shindig. It is basically a redneck tournament. We are split into teams and are tasked with activities to complete and then are timed in an obstacle course. Activities include trap shooting, blow gun, darts, hatchet throwing, nerf gun, wrist rocket, etc. Basically a lot of shooting shit! Excuse the language. Points are added up and the winners earn bragging rights for the next year. After the tournament we eat (way too much) delicious food and end the day with a fun hayride to the river. Only about half the family was able to attend this year, so it was quite small. We have a huge family that is loud, crazy, and really fun! The best part is everyone's sense of humor. During the obstacle course all of the cackling is just hilarious. If you don't have tough skin and a good sense of humor, chances are you won't fit in ;)

Driveway

If you are following my blog you might be wondering if I got my miles in and why I didn't post yesterday. I'll start off by saying YES I got my miles in! I was going to get my hike in in the morning yesterday but I ended up cleaning my house (haha- I can't stand a mess!). I fit my miles in when I had downtime and was walking around all day anyways. About 2 of my miles were an on-purpose walk around the property. I walked about three more just from being on my feet all day, so I called it good and decided not to feel guilty about it. The reason I didn't write yesterday is because I was having too much fun, and that's ok with me!

My sister-in-law and best friend Jasmine was gracious enough to accompany me on my hike this morning. It was great to have an hour together to chat about life. The weather was beautiful and the time flew by. It was a very nice change of pace to have a walking buddy. Music gets old after a while and it's always nice to shake things up! When we got back to the house we felt bad because we realized we forgot to bring Ryder with- OOPS!! I don't even think she noticed!

I just can't get over how beautiful everything is this time of year. I love how the leaves are different every single day. What I love even more is how my endurance is improving! I can't believe how fast I am seeing changes in myself. I mean, I still get all huffy after walking up a hill, but I am feeling stronger every day. I already feel like I could go for another 3.3 right now! My first couple of days, I would have never considered a second hike. I feel more alive, if that makes sense. Which is why I wanted to do this, so that is great news!

Swampish Area 

I hope you are all enjoying the blog! Until tomorrow and with gratitude,
Jamie Lynn

Day 4

Main Street, Rush City

Today I walked around town in Rush City. It was quite the change for me. I am used to being able to sing and maybe bust out a dance move or two (who am I kidding- I dance the whole time!) because there is no one around. Well, in town you need to be on your best behavior. I liked the change of pace, waving at people I knew and having no logs to climb over or mud to slip on.

Town is a different adventure than the woods. In town if you look over a bridge you may see a young man in cowboy boots sitting on the pylon staring at the water. In town you see litter here, litter there, litter everywhere (much more noticeable on foot). In town when you hear a snarling dog you have to look over to see if it's on a chain or if maybe you should start running. In town if your music is too loud you don't hear the skateboarder approaching from behind and you may jump up and curse when they wiz past you.

The weather wasn't the best today, it was a bit chilly. I walked slower than yesterday, averaging 2.5 mph. I was so cold that I was wearing winter boots which slowed me down and made my feet sore. I need to buy a pair of insulated Crocs!

Overall, this experience has been really great so far. It is hard to adjust to having something planned that will take 2 hours of my day with walking and writing combined. But all I would be doing if I didn't have this challenge is watching tv or reading a book as usual. So I am not missing anything important!

Below is a picture of the new trail in town! Way to go Rush City Park Board! Doesn't it look great?

Sorry today's post was shorter but I have to get ready for a fancy fundraiser in the Cities tonight! I hope you all have a great weekend! Enjoy the great weather we are supposed to have!

With gratitude,

Jamie Lynn

Day 3

My feet smiling in Crocs

I would like to start this post off by talking about my favorite pair of shoes. There is no greater pair of shoes than a good ole pair of Crocs! I bought this beautiful knock-off pair in Grand Rapids four years ago for the whopping price of $8.00. College students love a good deal and these shoes have never failed me. We have had many great adventures together and there is no sign of wear and tear, so there will be many more to come! Not only are they durable, comfortable, and easy to slip into, but they are a fashion statement as well. You have to be confident to pull off Crocs because by wearing them you are literally telling the world that you don't care what you look like. People have criticized the Croc in blogs and you-tube videos alike. But I say screw 'em! They obviously haven't tried a pair on or done anything interesting enough to need a pair (camping, hiking, tubing down the river, etc). You go out and you wear those Crocs, loud and proud! Yesterday I made the grave mistake of wearing my Nike tennis shoes. My feet suffered. Today I was back in my Crocs and my feet were smiling again. ;) Since it was rainy today, and my parents field is half tore up for the wedding venue, it was muddy and I had a bit of slipping and sliding going on. Nothing my Crocs couldn't handle. Ok ok i'll stop.

I looked forward to my walk all day today! It feels great to have something positive to look forward to every day. I just went to the folks place again because of the weather. And because Ryder called and said she wanted to go on a walk again today. I couldn't turn her down! I started my walk off at a very brisk pace today and I reached a top speed of 4.5 mph. I may have accidentally looked at my average speed yesterday instead of my top speed, but oh well. My average speed today was around 3 mph- an improvement!

About halfway through my walk (at this point my average speed was 3.5 mph so pretty brisk for me) I had a blood sugar incident. I got blurry vision, weak, hungry, and faint all within a couple of minutes. The reason this happened is because I have been eating crappy, no-good food all week long and used my birthday as an excuse to do it. Today was probably the worst I've eaten in a very long time. I won't bore you with the details. When I started my walk I actually thought about how I need to stop that behavior and get back to eating healthy! Well, that idea was definitely affirmed when I had to veer towards the house to eat a banana and some trail mix and wait for my hands to stop shaking. Lesson learned. There is NO excuse to put trash in your body. It makes me feel tired, lethargic, bloated, and cranky on top of the blood sugar spikes and dives!

I finished my walk at a more leisurely pace, which brought my average speed down. I was ok with that. You can't go from zero to one hundred with something like this. It will take time, but I will get there!

P.S. No new items to add to the Lost & Found today.

With gratitude,
Jamie Lynn

Day 2

St. Croix River, Rush City, Minnesota.
Oh and that land across the water is Cheese-head territory. Enter with caution.

 Hi guys! Wow, today was such an incredible day! As you know, I turned 26. I pondered buying a couple cats... but then I remembered I don't like them. Before I say anything else I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you. Thank you for supporting me on this journey called blogging, thank you for all the birthday wishes, and most of all thank you for being you. I cannot find the words to express the immense gratitude I felt today to have so much support.

The highlights of my birthday included Grant House for breakfast with some fellow Chamber board members, Subway with my coworkers, seeing the directional signage finally go up in town, MY HIKE!, surprise flowers from my sister-in-law Jasmine (and Dan), and dinner with my parents. The icing on the cake was eating caramel right out of the container with my parents. Don't judge. It was awesome.

Trail going South of RR Landing

Now, concerning this 100 miles in 30 days challenge, am I crazy or what? The fact that I am sore and that my top speed is 2.4 mph really put things into perspective for me. Since I used to walk 4 mph easily, my goal is to be able to walk the full 3.3 miles at that speed by the end of the 30 days. I am not sure how realistic that is, but if you push yourself, anything is possible! At least that's what all those inspirational Facebook memes tell me.

Today I started my hike at the Railroad Bridge landing at the St. Croix river just out of Rush City. I grew up walking these trails with my family. It is such gorgeous place to take a walk. There are a lot of trails to choose from down by the river, but this one I remembered most and felt the most comfortable with. The weather was perfect for hiking and the sky was a gorgeous blue color that reflected perfectly on the water.

It was mostly magical. I say mostly because the entire time I was afraid of bears. And creepy people. And vampires. Just kidding about the vampires, but you get the point. Yesterday I told you that I would talk more about my fears today. Well, I think it is normal to be a little weary of wild animals when you are in their territory, the wild. But my fear became greater as I went deeper into the woods. I ended up using the excuse that I was sick of climbing over fallen trees (there were a lot about a half a mile in) and turned around about 0.6 miles in, went to my parents, and finished my miles there. I thought that I would be made fun of for this but after consulting a few people they agreed that I should have a walking buddy "down by da river." What are your thoughts on this? Just curious what some of you may think of that.

Speaking of what people think, that is also a fear of mine (and based on the stats, probably one of yours too). And I am facing that fear in a huge way by writing this blog. They say that you should care what people think, but you should care what you think more. I believe that and I am trying to practice that every day. You can't please everyone so why not start by doing what is right for you? Keep "doing you" and whoever is left or ends up on the trail with you is who you will be most authentically happy hanging around with anyway. But, that's just my two cents.

I hope you enjoyed the post today! Before you leave, see my lost and found section below.

Are these your gross tighty whities?
If so, they can be found a quarter mile south of the RR bridge landing.
Namaste.

With gratitude,

Jamie Lynn

Day 1

 Hello there and welcome to my blog! There is a phrase I never thought I would say. For over eight months now I have had the urge to start an exploration blog, but my fears have always gotten in the way. Today I am facing those fears and it feels amazing!

Why do I want to start a blog, you ask? There are many, many reasons that I have been wanting to do this. For starters (let's call this my main reason) I love Minnesota just as much as I love to travel and explore. I was born with wanderlust and have been blessed to see some great corners of the world. My passion is not only in travelling to exotic, distant lands but also lies in exploring the outdoors in my backyard. Let's just say that no one else will ever be as excited as I am when I find a bone or an old golf ball or an old lure in the creek at my parents house or snorkeling under a bridge in Grand Rapids. I once found a large cow leg bone and thought it was a Dinosaur bone- have never been happier. Yep, that's me. Hiking, kayaking, digging in the creek or the dirt- I love to explore! P.S. creek is pronounced crick where I come from ;) .

Another reason that I wanted to start this blog is that I have been in a bit of "limbo" since I graduated college in December. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Planning & Community Development. I absolutely love the career field that I am in and have been blessed to work for my hometown and county. The reason I feel as though I am in limbo is because when I graduated in December, I fully expected that my two years of experience and my degree would be enough to land me a full time job with benefits immediately. Well, it's ten months, countless applications, and 7 great interviews later and I am still working part time for my hometown. Don't get me wrong, I love where I work. I could not be more grateful that I am getting more and more experience. But it's not enough. I want to spread my wings, and I definitely, definitely want to be working full time. So, back to my point, this blog is a way for me to ground myself. The roller-coaster of getting calls for interviews to being rejected to getting another call for an interview is exhausting. I need something to distract myself- something to live for in the here and now that will take my mind off all of that.

Some of the other reasons include my love for writing, my love for walking, the fact that I turn 26 tomorrow and am not happy about it (i'm an old maid), and my health and fitness goals. The latter has also been a bit of a roller coaster my entire life. Okay, maybe more like the mad mouse roller coaster at warp speed. In other words, never consistent and with crazy ups and downs. This blog is a chance for me to set a goal, track it every day, and have a ton of accountability (that's you!). Which leads me to my first challenge. I have decided to walk 100 miles in 30 days. I will walk 3.333 miles every day for 30 days, in the great outdoors of Minnesota!

Today I walked at my parent's property, which, in my opinion is the most beautiful piece of land in Chisago County! It is so gorgeous that it is the backdrop for many professional photos and is going to be the site of a brand new wedding venue next year. (My parents like to work). The best part of walking at my parents is that I get to walk with their brown lab, Ryder. She is such a beautiful dog and LOVES to walk as much as I do. She also loves to explore and look for things but the difference between us is that I don't eat everything that I find!

During my walk today I felt more confident and excited about my life than I have in awhile. I think this will be one of the best things I ever decided to do. And it will help me get over my fear of what people think of me! But more on my fears tomorrow. I hope you liked the post and hope that you will help keep me accountable! 3.33 miles is longer than I thought ;)

With gratitude,
Jamie Lynn