2024

In person

Community and friendship! Laughter and good memories! Enjoy an opportunity to connect with your old and new Rovers friends before the busy holidays! Talk about or plan an upcoming trip or reminisce about your Rovers memories from 2024.

Bring something to share for a holiday potluck. We will provide some non-alcoholic beverages, but bring your favorite adult beverage, if you prefer. Come starting after 5:30. We’ll plan to start eating after 6:00.

This meeting will be held in person only and will be held in the St. Louis Park area. Please RSVP to [email protected] and indicate what you want to bring. The address will be provided at that time.

Hybrid program
In person at the Gallery Room in the St. Louis Park Rec Center, 3700 Monterey Drive, St. Louis Park, MN 55416 and also being presented over Zoom.

Germana and nine other people (plus two toddlers and a baby!) converged by train and car from Europe and the US to stay at a villa with a surprising history. From there, they did sightseeing, hiked to a few castles, Etruscan ruins, and pine forests, searched for pink flamingos, and enjoyed very delicious food. Come and learn about some of the lesser-known parts of Italy, from the Monferrato region in the north, to the Maremma region in Tuscany.

Presented by Germana P.

Online via Zoom

The weather may be cold but all the bright planets are out this month. Get to know them now and they’ll be your cosmic buddies for life.

Bob K. fell in love with the night sky and astronomy when he was a kid and loves to share his passion with people of all ages. Bob writes the Explore the Night column and Celestial Calendar for Sky & Telescope, teaches community education astronomy in Duluth and pens the Astro Bob blog. Join us tonight to hear from Bob!

Presented by AstroBob (Bob K.)

Online via Zoom

What started thousands of years ago as a mode of transportation has evolved into a great way to get out and enjoy the winter. Relatively inexpensive and easy to learn, snowshoeing offers an invigorating cardio workout for people of all ages and fitness levels. Join us and learn more about it.

Presented by Barry S.

Online via Zoom

If you follow the Gunflint Trail to Saganaga Lake, you will discover the Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center, a place to learn about the cultural and natural history of the Gunflint Trail. The Chik-Wauk Museum is housed in the old Chik-Wauk Lodge that was built back in 1934. Bonnie’s presentation will include information on the earlier resort up to present day as the Chik-Wauk Museum. Bonnie will also include information about the Chik-Wauk Campus and how it has grown to include four more exhibit buildings. In addition to the Museum and Nature Center, the Chik-Wauk campus includes picnic areas, overlooks, and hiking trails. Come learn more about Chik-Wauk and why you may want to include a visit to the end of the Gunflint Trail on your next visit to the Arrowhead!

Presented by Bonnie S.

Hybrid program
In person at the Gallery Room in the St. Louis Park Rec Center, 3700 Monterey Drive, St. Louis Park, MN 55416 and also being presented over Zoom

Hear about our August 2024, 7 day backpacking trip in the Eastern Sierra Nevada of California. Starting at the 10,000′ Cottonwood Pass trailhead we hiked and camped at elevations between 10,000- 14,000′ for 7 days.

During the hike we camped at alpine lakes, hiked on the Pacific Crest Trail, and summited Mt. Langley, a 14,032 ‘ peak with stunning views of Mt. Whitney, the lower 48’s highest peak.

Photos and videos will be shared along with map overviews and logistics regarding permits for entry into the Inyo National Forest.

Presented by Venke and Chris D.

Cancelled to allow time for all to vote.

Online via Zoom

Join Voyageurs Conservancy’s Education & Dark Sky Specialist, Jesse Gates to learn about what Voyageurs’ dark skies can offer. In this presentation we will learn about the dazzling colors and motion of the mysterious aurora borealis, beginner constellations that are steeped in adventure and tragedy, and how the night sky is an expansive environment that challenges our sense of imagination. Additionally, you can mark your calendars as we will review all the dark sky events that will be happening at Voyageurs National Park throughout 2025 so that you can experience a truly beautiful and starry night sky.

Presented by Jesse Gates

Online via Zoom

Voyageurs National Park is Minnesota’s own National Park and true to our waterfront state, it is accessible only by water. The bedrock there underlies the North American continent and is more than 2 billion years old. Voyageurs has a rich human history from Indigenous populations to fur traders to logging to tourism and has many historic sites. Ways to visit the park from water taxis to hiking into back country sites to houseboats to my favorite, kayak camping. It is a safer place than Superior for newer kayak campers and the water is warmer. Fishing is spectacular. It is designated a Dark Skies area. Meteor showers there are stunning and Northern Lights are often active. It also is a place for wildlife research from wolves to beavers.  Fran L. will describe the park, its history and the range of ways that visitors can enjoy it.

Presented by Fran L.

Online via Zoom

Every year, Pat E. spends three weeks hiking the Appalachian Trail with the goal of completing the entire trial in nine years. This is the third year of his journey. So far, he has completed 671 miles of the trail. This year was special because he made the first five days of it a Rovers trip.

Presented by Pat E.

Hybrid program
In person at the Gallery Room in the St. Louis Park Rec Center, 3700 Monterey Drive, St. Louis Park, MN 55416 and also being presented over Zoom

Hear about our June 2024 hike along the ridge of the Cotswold Hills from Chipping Campden in the north to Bath in the south. Along the way we went through pretty villages, sheep farms, forests and by historic sites like Neolithic burial chambers, English Civil War battlefields, manor houses and ending up in Bath near the medieval abbey and Roman baths. See photos from the hike and hear about the logistics of doing a hike like this.

Presented by Jen and Barry

Cancelled so that interested members may watch the vice presidential debates.

Online via Zoom

Join Mandy as she describes what it was like going on guided hiking trips in two National Parks this year. She’ll discuss why she chose a guide, the pro’s and con’s of guided trips, and if she’ll do it again!

Online via Zoom

A program all about the MN Rovers, with a slide show featuring the amazing activities that our members coordinate. Come check out our favorite pictures, hear about our wide variety of outdoor adventures as well as the many ways you can participate: join a trip, learn or teach new skills, help with conservation and trail clearing, and other fun events. You’ll also have an opportunity to visit with Rovers afterwards about your favorite way to play outside.

Cancelled so that interested members may watch the presidential debates.

In person at Como Park in St. Paul – West Picnic Grounds, near the SE corner of the parking lot (near the restroom building).

No presentation – come to the Gear Swap! Twice a year the Minnesota Rovers host a gear swap at one of the regular Tuesday night meetings. Anyone who has any type of gear that they are no longer using can bring it to the swap and either sell it outright or make a trade with someone else. The gear is in good shape, and usually, the owners have simply chosen to upgrade or no longer have a need for that particular piece of equipment. It is a great way to get your hands on some gear if you just want to try it out without having to make a huge investment in brand new equipment.

Note: If you are a seller, you may want to start setting up before 7:00 p.m. Some buyers come before 7:00 to start shopping early.

P.S. Tell your outdoor friends about this great opportunity to buy gear they need OR sell gear they no longer need!

In person at Como Park in St. Paul – West Picnic Grounds, near the SE corner of the parking lot (near the restroom building).

Join Joan McKearnan for a walk through the Como Woodland Outdoor Classroom, just south of the Como Park Picnic Area, and discuss ways to enjoy nature. We will walk through prairie and wooded habitats to look for flowers, fungi, insects and birds. We will practice using i-Naturalist, Merlin and other identification apps.

Joan McKearnan is a recently retired community college instructor in biology and has a Phd in wildlife ecology. She has taught all three Master Naturalist biome classes She can frequently be seen walking her dog in the Como Park neighborhood.

In person at Como Park in St. Paul – West Picnic Grounds, near the SE corner of the parking lot (near the restroom building).

Have you wondered how people actually GET stuff to all of our fun activities? Bikes, canoes or kayaks, all that stuff for the weekend, themselves? And, yeah, you have a vague idea that the Equipment Locker has tie-downs for that kayak you’d love to borrow, but would you like to learn a bit more about how they actually work?????

This is an opportunity for members to show how they transport their stuff. We need folks to show off how they get their stuff from their house to their cool outdoor destination. Bike racks (cartop, hitch, back of the car), kayak/canoe racks (Hullivators, racks on the top of the car, etc.), carriers for all of that stuff (car-top, hitch-mounted). Do you use a folding bike or an inflatable kayak? Have you converted your van into a cool travel van?

Please let Stacey know at [email protected] if you are willing to present and what you would be showing off. As in the past, we’d just plan to move from car to car and let people talk for a few minutes.