This photograph was taken on Saturday, October 24th, 2009.  The entire Flentje family dressed up for a Halloween party excursion located in the Cannon Falls area.  Boo.

2009 Happy Halloween

A very scary Flentje family.

I really struggle with these made up holidays; Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, you get the picture.  When Nene mentioned to me that we'd be doing something outside today as a family my interest was piqued.  When I was told that it was decided we'd go for a bike ride along the Cannon Valley Trail, I was elated, and tried with all my might to keep from showing my excitement.  This wasn't going to be a geocaching trip but it was the next best thing.

I've been on the Cannon Valley Trail before but only in short fragments while exploring around.  If canoeing the Cannon River was any indication of the views and scenery I could expect, I knew I would not be disappointed.  And I wasn't.  The trip today made clear to me that the required trail pass for this excursion is well worth the $3/each we should have paid.

The Cannon Valley Trail is a privately owned, paved bike trail, along a former railroad bed.  It stretches from Cannon Falls to Red Wing which is roughly a 16 mile ride.  Nene, Sheila, Anna, Laura and Matthew rode the first 3 miles of the trail and then headed back for a 6 mile round trip.  Molly, Ryan and me continued on and rode the trail to the Welch station for a ride of 12.25 miles.  While Molly sat and rested, Ryan and I continued another mile down the trail to grab a nearby Hybrid Letterbox (geocache).  The total distance for Ryan and myself was 13.75 miles.  Nene and Sheila drove around to Welch where we all met to make our way home.

The 13.75 mile route we followed along the Cannon Valley Trail

A graph of the elevation profile along our route.  I'd like to point out that the first 3 miles were all up hill.  The little ones peddled that distance on their own using their training wheels.

After a family dinner at Famous Daves, I called on my own mother to wish her Happy Mother's.  It was only by coincidence that a brand new cache had just been published in Farmington.  I picked her up and attempted to score the FTF on the cache.  Not only did we score FTF, but we managed to score a FTF on another cache published in the same area yesterday.

So, all in a days work, an extended bike trip, dinner at Famous Daves, geocaching with a pair of FTF's to boot..  it really is, Happy Mother's Day to me.  Thank you to my beautiful family.

While Nene and Anna were away at Catholic Youth Camp, Molly, Laura and I made a quick geocache stop in Blue Earth, MN on our way to Omaha, NE.

For the first time ever, the three Flentje siblings that geocache were able to hit the trail together.  Geocachers bflentje, ckflentje and 3zimmers were able to gather for a caching tour of Eagan and Burnsville.  And to top it off, the mother of these three, norvina, also geocaches and accompanied us on the tour along with children Leo, Devon and Dominic.

We were able to hit the following geocaches before ckflentje and family had to peel away for another obligation:  Halloween 2007: Give me a hand, Le Bassin Aux Nympheas, Caching Challenge: Trapp Farm Park, Caching Challenge: Clear Water Park, Halloween 2007: Rest in piece, and MNGCA July 2008 Cache of the Month winner Shrinky Dinks.

Norvina, 3zimmers and I then proceeded to grab the following geocaches:  Miesville Ravine #1, Miesville Ravine #2, End of the Line, Yo, Anyone Home, Caching Challenge:  Biscayne Park, followed by the missing Caching Challenge: Birch Park.

As you've probably noticed, every geocache on the tour is owned by yours truly.  I admit, there may be some excessive pride in being able to take people to my geocaches.  But my sister, 3zimmers, did request that she be taken to some geocaches that were memorable.

This photograph was taken on Sunday, July 13th, 2008.  We were on a week long vacation enjoying the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  This was Laura's first ever visit to the ocean.

This photograph was taken on Wednesday, July 12th, 2008.  It was taken near the stables on Washington's estate, Mount Vernon, VA.

This photograph was taken on Saturday, July 14th, 2007.  I've travelled the world while in the service but nothing compares to the passion I have for Minnesota's north shore.

This photograph was taken on Saturday, December 13th, 1997.  On our way home from Grandpa Howard's 85th birthday party in Blue Earth, MN, Chad and I decided to join in on the caroling fun.  The rare moment where we're both in the same picture together.