![Camp Mercier is a pure xc ski-and-snowshoe resort with fabulous terrain surrounded by a coniferous forest. [P] Camp Mercier](http://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/mercier_097-298x257.jpg "Camp Mercier is a pure xc ski-and-snowshoe resort with fabulous terrain surrounded by a coniferous forest. [P] Camp Mercier")
![K-Country: stunning terrain and amazing ski options will keep you coming back for more. [P] Kananaskis Country](http://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/77_0249-298x205.jpg "K-Country: stunning terrain and amazing ski options will keep you coming back for more. [P] Kananaskis Country")
![Kids and families are welcome. [P] Trapp Family Lodge](http://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/5553a-298x221.jpg "Kids and families are welcome. [P] Trapp Family Lodge")
![A cross-country skiers paradise... endless trails, breathtaking scenery and fabulous accommodations[P]Don Portman"](http://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/sunmtn1-298x197.jpg "A cross-country skiers paradise... endless trails, breathtaking scenery and fabulous accommodations[P]Don Portman\"")
![Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway scores at Fort Kent. [P] Herb Swanson](http://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Sevendsen-10KM-Sprint-FK_004.2-125x125.jpg "Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway scores at Fort Kent. [P] Herb Swanson")
![Perianne Jones (Nakkertok/NST) [P] Jesse Winter file photo](http://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Perianne-Jones.2-125x125.jpg "Perianne Jones (Nakkertok/NST) [P] Jesse Winter file photo")
![Russia celebrates relay victory... [P] Judy Geer](http://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Russia-Celebrates-IMG_2630-125x125.jpg "Russia celebrates relay victory... [P] Judy Geer")
September 29, 2012 (Afton, MN) – Wow, I LOVE being home! I forget sometimes how wonderful fall is in Minnesota, and it’s so beautiful driving through Afton with the trees turning leaves and hanging over the road. Especially since there’s so many people out enjoying the good weather – I must have seen at least 30 rollerskiers and bikers out yesterday in the 10 minutes I drove through Afton.
The Beech family invited a bunch of the skiers and friends from the Stillwater High School team over to help pick apples and press them into cider, and they have this really cool cider press that takes at least three people to work at once. It tasted delicious!
Everyone’s hands got super sticky sweet, and there were little bits of apple flying all over whenever the wheel got turned really energetically.
At the Art in the Park fair going on in downtown Afton, I got the most delicious acorn squash from my favorite booth… Siri and Carl Bohacek! I had the honor of going for a roll with their mom, Kris, earlier – a good Sunday morning tradition that I look forward to every time I come home.
Then I got to plant some bright fall flowers in the garden and help my Dad wash the deck and burn buckthorn… some fall chores that I was excited to be home to help with, since I’m never around to do my share normally!
My Dad had returned home just before I did, from a hunting trip down in South Africa, just outside of Kimberly. We all piled on the couch as my Dad scrolled through the amazing pictures of wildlife he took, including lions, zebras, warthogs, giraffes, impala, wildebeest, and springbok. He also had cool stories of the culture he experienced down there, and it was so neat to hear about a place that skiing will never take me but would be really fun to visit and learn more about.
