how to have fun in the tundra.
i don't know if you've read this page that i have sitting up there at the top of this site, but if you do, you'll see that i live in minnesota. minnesota is in the northern part of this country, right smack dab underneath canada. this means we have four seasons. one of them is winter. this season normally arrives around thanksgiving and sticks around until april or so. a couple years ago, there was a giant snowpile in a parking lot here that didn't melt until june. JUNE.
these photos are from last year. it's pretty where i live, even when being outside could kill you.
there is no snow here yet (although i could really go for some), but it will happen, so i thought i should preemptively prepare myself. and when you live in the tundra, you need to get a little creative if you want your fun to exist past movies and game nights. that's a good way to go nuts. some awesome people i know at work did a little presentation on this very topic (yes, it's that important!), and it made me want to share my favorite winter activities i'm planning on attending in st. paul this year. bundle up, they're all outside.winter carnival
the st. paul winter carnival, started in 1886, was the result of a new york journalist laying some smack talk down and calling st. paul "the next siberia". oh no you did not. so the city created a 10-day outdoor event that takes place every january, with ice sculpting competitions, a marathon, skating, you name it. they also made up a legend about how the carnival came to be, complete with characters to go with it. you can read the legend here. did you read it? you should, it's pretty awesome. i've met the vulcans in real life, and let me tell you, they are the scariest things ever. they give you what they call the vulcan "kiss", which is basically writing a big v on your face with grease paint. that'll scar you if you're, say, 8 years old and they run through your school tagging people.beer dabbler
this is my favorite winter event of them all, for obvious reasons. i've been going for the last two years and it is a doozy. the beer dabbler is an outdoor beer tasting event. held in january. in minnesota. so it is imperative that you bundle up in as many layers as possible, with all your warmest winter gear. this is not the time to wear your cute riding boots, you are definitely going to need your sorels. and your long underwear (everyone has them here, it's totally normal. i wear mine to work sometimes). the beer you'll be drinking all evening will eventually help keep you warm as well. you are also going to need a pretzel necklace, for soaking up the alcohol until you feel like buying some food from one of the food trucks that will be there. there is nothing worse than drinking too much at the beer dabbler because you're cold, then unexpectedly running into your future in-laws at a downtown bar. not that i know from experience...red bull crashed ice
you guys may have heard about this one over the past year or so. i can't even begin to describe the madness that is red bull crashed ice. part skating, part downhill racing, part contact sport, it's one of the craziest things i've ever witnessed. you should probably youtube it. last year's event was held in st. paul, right in front of Mister Man's apartment, so we had prime spots to watch all the chaos go down. well, red bull decided that they liked our little city so much that they are coming back this year. i will definitely be mixing up a thermos of bailey's and coffee, putting on my beer dabbler outfit, and trucking over to watch people sacrifice their bodies in the name of extreme sport. my friend's boyfriend participated last year, so we'll see if we have someone to cheer on again this year....what do you think anna?so this is the way we do it up in the tundra. we obviously take some pride in our ability to enjoy ourselves in the midst of weather that would make most people weep. part of it is because we are a hardy people, but part of it is just survival instinct and the desire to not go crazy being cooped up in your house. now bring on the snow! please and thank you.
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