We made it to the lovely, small & clean campground in Glencoe, Minnasota! The bathhouse was spotless! Not that most are bad, but this one was perfect – it’s obvious the Camp Host took pride in his work!
We chose this spot because we wanted to visit with old friends that were our neighbors during our nearly two years in Alaska. We had not seen John & Phyllis in nearly 36 years! This traveling proves to be a cool way to reconnect! Oh yes, the drive to Minnasota was smooth until the last half hour. There were detour signs all across the straight away we were on with no indication as to where to detour to – no connecting road in site. Perry stopped the RV & I snaked around said signs in the car to go “investigate” the situation. I drove 2 miles, not seeing any road work going on. There were road closure signs at the intersection where we were to turn but still no road work going on. I drove back to Perry & had him snake around the signs & follow me. We did the same at the other end & turned into the city park where we were going to stay. No LEOs came to take us to jail so we must have gone undetected.
On day two we drove up to Wayzata, Minnasota & had a very special day of visiting with our old friends. Perry was an Officer in the Navy on Adak Island & John & family (including their teen daughter Heather) moved in on the other side of our duplex about 6 months after we got there. We became fast friends & have kept somewhat in touch all these years. Facebook helps, of course. Heather was Robby’s first babysitter when he was just 2 months old & has been instrumental in keeping us connected. It was so fun to recall stories from our time together & compare turns in our lives since. This traveling the country is a HUGE blessing in reconnecting with people who have, & still do, make our lives whole!
A couple of my favorite recollections: Phyllis would pop over often with an empty coffee cup in hand & say, “Hey sista, got any coffee?” I always kept a pot on as I LOVED her visits! And John remembered Perry from his time as an assistant principal in the Philippines. Perry’s family was stationed there (his dad was a senior civil servant at the time). John was quick to point out that Perry was a good kid but his two older brothers were more “memorable” to the school staff due to their shenanigans. This is a small, wonderful world we live in & making close friends along life’s path is incredible. John even gave Robby his first razor … at the ripe age of 2 weeks. Oh the stories we recalled as we laughed & loved on one another!
After leaving Iowa & the extreme drought/dust bowl there, our car was in desperate need of a wash. We stopped at a gas station on the way back to camp to fill up & go through their automated car wash. Not ideal but we were getting desperate! It’s been awhile since I have used one & I giggled during most of the experience but broke out in gales of laughter when the car was sprayed with “tri-colored wax” that smelled of bubble gum. Whoever thought of adding such fragrance to the car wash experience is genius. I am easily amused.
On day three Perry & I drove into Minneapolis to visit The Mall of America. Although we are not much for malls -or shopping in general – we just HAD to make this place a destination. It is crazy huge with a complete amusement park smack in the center! We wandered about & did some serious people watching & loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, COVID made it necessary for the mall management to remove all the benches & such so these old folks only stayed a few hours. There was seating in the food court & the fabulous restaurants on the third floor (there were four floors in the mall) but one can only sit & watch people eat so much. I will say the roads in Minneapolis are insane – crazy fast & furious – & I will not be venturing back into the city at any time in the future.
Later, we met up with Heather, her handsome husband Lauren & their two awesome sons, Sam & Henry, for dinner in Waconia at Iron Tap. There was a table of folks nearby that were competing to see who could talk or laugh the loudest. Obviously having fun but no one else in the entire restaurant could hear their tablemates. I had my back to the group & was surprised when they trouped out after finishing their meal. All were of “advanced” age, not 20-somethings like I had imagined. Maybe they had left their hearing aids at home? No matter, they had a good time & so did we. Dinner was delish & ice cream from the shop next door was wonderful. We will visit again in the near future, for sure.
The next day was spent moving the RV upstate to Saginaw, Minnesota. I like driving the car ahead of Perry in the RV for several reasons … the main being I do NOT like being up so high, bouncing along & feeling as if we are swaying all over the place. It nearly makes me sick to my stomach & the pups hate it, too. I also like a quieter ride, alone with my thoughts for a few hours. We do keep a limited conversation going & alert one another by radio when something cool can be seen along the way but no pictures can be taken while driving so I just have to record them in writing here. This trip’s observations were … 1) Someone in a small town we passed through had a working Pepsi machine in their yard – a new way to make money?; 2) There was a HUGE back half of an arrow stuck in the ground at an angle in front of a country home – I guess they hit the bull’s eye; 3) Saw a GIANT 3-D Buffalo sculpture at one of the highway exits – maybe an advertisement but there was no sign explaining the purpose; 4) One country house, quite a drive from any town, had a HUGE (maybe 10 ft tall) rocking horse sitting proudly out front; 5) A carved 20 ft tall Trapper man as part of a roadside advertisement – I thought it was a pirate but Perry said it was a Trapper; 6) Followed a truck that looked like it would change into a creature like a transformer (took a picture while stopped behind it at an intersection; & 7) A big bunch of large rusted “things” made into some great yard art people (again, picture taken while waiting for the light to change). I love this crazy country!
We ventured over to Duluth, Minnesota for dinner once we were set up at Red Pine Campground. The drive there took us down a long road toward Lake Superior where the water looked as if it was an ocean – quite spectacular! The downtown area was hustling with activity – I wish we had spent more time wandering the shops there on another day. Maybe on a future trip! Our restaurant of choice for the evening meal was OMC Smokehouse in Duluth. (Oink, Moo, Cluck). They served fried pork rinds as an appetizer. Our server was an awesome, personable young man from Augusta, GA. That made it even more enjoyable. Fun, high energy place!
As soon as we got back to camp, the wind picked up a LOT, the sky turned dark & the rain came down heavy. The RV was rocking like we have never experienced before while parked – crazy! There was even thunder which put Spice into a shaking mess. 10 minutes later, the sun was out & all was well. Did I mention the sun came out after the short rain – at 8:30pm! Seriously – it stays light out until 10 pm & daybreak happens at 5am. Way different up here in the north than it is in Georgia.
On day two … breakfast while camping … coffee, ham & cheese omelet, bacon, sausage, biscuit, fruit & yogurt. We often skip lunch because it’s such a big breakfast. This is not every day but more often than needed.
Our Kureg coffeemaker stopped working. YIKES! So we bought a new one – a little different but slightly more compact. And it’s a Kureg so we can use the pods we like. I guess the older one served it’s time. Seems they only last 2 or 3 years.
As we walk around any campground we are staying in, we clean up as part of our exercise. Are you familiar with the broken window in the greenhouse affect? Basically, if one window is broken then other people will break all the rest of the windows. The same thing applies to trash. If the place is clean, then people are less likely to leave their trash. Plus, it feels good to be part of the solution instead of the problem. Just a share in case anyone else gets the urge to do the same at a public park or their home neighborhood – stop the greenhouse effect!
On another day we drove up Hwy 61 from Duluth to Grand Portage at the Canadian Boarder. The scenery was spectacular – Lake Superior was just off the side & there were wonderful little towns along the way! It was a 3.5 hour trip one way without all the stops so we took the pups along instead of leaving them in camp.
We find the most interesting & obscure things when we go touring. I use the app “Roadside America” for neat things to see that may be otherwise overlooked. We found Pierre, The Pantsless Voyageur in Two Harbors – a 20 ft tall carved wood statue who has been around since the 1960s, moved a couple times from his original location, neglected for a bit but currently reconstructed (he had lost an arm) & freshly painted. He, indeed, has no pants on.
We stopped in at the Twin Harbors train museum & took lots of photos of the harbor & other cool things. And we ate lunch in the car at a roadside sandwich shop since the dogs were with us. The temp was cool but I don’t like leaving them in the car. Driving further north we found lots of nice pull-off spots & snapped a picture of Perry with Lake Superior behind him.
The last stop before the border was at Grand Portage where there is a museum of sorts about the pioneers who settled there. I, unfortunately, didn’t get the full story as they were closing soon & we didn’t want to hold them up. We were sure glad we stopped though, potty breaks were needed! We did get to the Canadian Border but we had to turn around before we set eyes on the Border Patrol. Darn it! We wanted to see if they dress like Dudley Doright!
On the way back down the highway, we stopped at several places to take pictures of fun stuff. Here’s a few of the pictures …
Our evening was restful & we got up, ready for a move into Wisconsin. But as we pulled out of our campsite the RV was acting up. All the gauges on the dash stopped working & the transmission felt as if it wasn’t catching. Perry felt it would clear up quick but that was not the case. As soon as we pulled onto the 4-lane highway, he radioed that we needed to get a mechanic to have a look quick. I called around for truck or RV places & found one just 20 minutes away in Duluth that would take a look immediately. I assured the mechanic we were on our way slowly & it was definitely a slow go. About a quarter mile from the shop Perry radioed that he was smelling burning wires & I could have sworn there were flames coming from underneath the RV when I glanced in my rear view mirror. I started screaming “FIRE” into the radio. Perry stopped & turned off the engine. He came out with a fire extinguisher ready to put out the blaze. We were smack in the middle of the street so cars were passing us quickly. No fire was found so we limped on down the road to the shop.
The mechanics had a good look in & under the RV & determined we were out of transmission fluid. They could not find a leak anywhere so it’s presumed at least 2 quarts were lost & not replacedback in Louisiana when the drive shaft had to be rebuilt. The last of the fluid had finally been used up. I know I’m convoluting this diagnosis but that was the jest of what I was hearing in mechanical jargon. New fluid was put in, checks for leaks showed none immediately or after a drive around town by one of the amazing fix-it folks they declared we were all good. They also did a complete service on the RV while we were there, changing the oil (it was due) to make sure we were street safe.
We didn’t get out of there until nearly 5 so we just went back to the park we came from to stay one more night. I called the park we were going to & let them know we would see them the next day. Our set up for a one night stay was quick & then we went to Buffalo House for dinner. Anyone ever had a peanut butter & bacon burger? That doesn’t sound appealing to me but it was funny to see. It was located in campground in Minnasota but not where we were staying. Adorable place! The full size Buffalo statue was on the side of I-35 – definitely attention getting.
And on to Wisconsin for new adventures!
Not All Who Wander Are Lost! #whereswaldocamping