Day 6: Minnesota

Our day at Charles Lindbergh State Park ended up being a quiet one, with much time spent inside, out of the clouds of mosquitoes.  Dan used the time to get better acquainted with his GPS unit, while I made pasta salad for the upcoming days’ luncheons and vacuumed the RV to get out some of the mud and dirt of the past week.  We ventured out for a 30-minute walk along some of the trails, well-covered in insect repellent, which did some good but was not totally effective.

Ranger acted strange all day, trembling and panting as if a thunderstorm was imminent, which was not at all the case on a beautiful sunny day.  There was some sort of festival going on in the town of Little Falls, from which we occasionally heard loud booms, so maybe that was what was bothering him.  He seemed exhausted by the end of the day.

Our next-door neighbors in this park were a young couple with this unusual rig.  It is a combination camping trailer/ice house, so in the Minnesota winters they pull it out on the ice to fish.  It is beautifully finished off inside, with much insulation and wood paneling.  They said that they always spend their New Year’s Eves fishing, and last winter at one point, they were out in -40 degrees, fishing (and were quite snug in their little hut)!

We are officially west of the Mississippi now, though just barely as the “mighty Mississippi” flows through the town of Little Falls, where we’re camping.  Next stop: North Dakota.  I hope we leave the mosquitoes behind. 

Day 5: Wisconsin to Minnesota

Friday was another travel day, up I-94 through Eau Claire, crossing the Mississippi near the Twin Cities, and on to Little Falls, MN, where we have a campsite for the weekend. Except for very slow traffic going around Minneapolis  (no accidents, no road construction---a mystery backup), the trip was uneventful.

 This park was the summer home and farm of "Lucky Lindy's" family. (They lived in Washington DC in the winter, as his father was a congressman.)  It's right on the Mississippi River which, on this morning's walk with the dog, was invisible due to morning fog.  

We arrived to sunshine, finally, and we hope to have everything dry by the time we leave.  Unfortunately,  Minnesota has been having the same weather as Wisconsin----lots of rain---and this park is muddy with lots of standing water.  This is the site across the road from ours:

So this is an environment just lovely for mosquitoes, and we were hit with swarms of them as soon as we got out of the RV.   Back to long pants, long sleeves, with the addition of lots of repellent.   This was a great opportunity to try out a gift that Kelly gave to  Dan: a Thermacell mosquito repellent which burns some sort of cartridge and is supposed to clear an area  15 x15.  We lit it up while Dan grilled chicken last night, and it certainly seemed to work.  Now....as far as trying out the muddy hiking trails....we'll see.  The rangers were talking as we registered about which trails were just muddy and which were impassable. Not a good sign.  

Day 4: Blue Mound State Park, Wisconsin

And the rain continues….

There was steady rain and much thunder all night Wednesday, and we awoke to a soaking wet campsite.  It was a good morning to lounge around and read, have a big breakfast, and listen to the rain on the roof.

There was a break in the weather around noon, so we were able to get Ranger (and us) out for a bit of exercise.  We walked up the park road to the top of the “mound” where we were able to climb an observation tower that provided a view for miles around. In better weather it would have made a great picture!   A trail through the woods brought us back to the campsite where we were able to enjoy our recliners outside for a few hours of reading before all the Dorgans arrived for another visit.  It was too wet to sit at the picnic table so we all stood around for awhile, then headed into Mount Horeb for dinner at the Grumpy Troll Brewery and Restaurant.  By this time, the sky was black with an approaching storm, but fortunately it resulted in just more rain, no high winds or hail.

Early to bed, with another drive tomorrow, and again we listened to a steady drumming on the roof as we fell asleep. 

Day 3: Illinois to Wisconsin

Good day or bad day?  This third day was mostly positive, though it certainly had its challenges.

Driving north on I-39, we went through a big storm with heavy rain and high winds. This was not totally unexpected given the miserable weather forecast for the coming three days.  However, by the time we arrived at Blue Mound State Park, outside Mt. Horeb, WI, the rain had stopped, and there were even a few rays of sunshine peeking through the clouds.  After setting up, we had some time to relax outside and read in the much-more-comfortable low 80’s temperatures, a relief after the heat of the trip so far.  The site here is set back in the woods, with dense vegetation, and the area is muddy with the past few days' rains.

Tim, Mike, and Eugene Dorgan arrived around 4:30, having driven up from Iowa following Gene and Mike’s visit to Tim’s house.  Kak and her friend Susan arrived soon afterwards, giving us a full house of Dorgan siblings, all except Sean.  We visited, drank some cold beverages, and enjoyed some bratwursts for dinner, with the rain holding off all evening. 

However, shortly after everyone left, the rain began again and it continued, hard (and loud on the roof) all night, and into this morning.  The hourly forecast shows it stopping around noon----we can hope----but I don’t think this day will provide much opportunity for exploring the many hiking/cross-country skiing trails in the park.

Later in the day we’ll re-connect with all the relatives, probably going out for dinner somewhere in Mt. Horeb.

Meanwhile…..the rain continues.

Day 2: Kentucky to Illinois

As I said to Dan late yesterday afternoon, "I hate Indiana!"

That's probably not fair. It's the stretch of Indiana along I-65 between Louisville and Indianapolis that I hate.  (Then again, I'm not fond of the end by Gary, but we didn't have to travel through there yesterday.)  It's a boring  ride, and we were jarred by a road badly  in need of repair, with mugs clanking in the cabinet and the screen door vibrating.  And then there was the road construction (much needed, I admit)----it went on and on. We sat in back-ups repeatedly, and in the end it was over nine hours in the RV to get  out of Indiana and into Illinois.

We spent the night in a small Illinois state park which we visited two years ago: Moraine View State Recreation Area.  When we were here before, the weather was rainy  and cold---I  remember pulling out our winter squall jackets to walk Ranger!  On this trip, it was windy and hot.  While it did cool off a bit in the evening, we ran the AC (again) in order to get a good night's sleep.  (AH, camping!)

The campground was about 5% full on this Tuesday night, so there was plenty of privacy.  Somehow we managed to select a spot about 3 sites  away from someone with a large black dog that keeps barking at Ranger, but I think he considers it good entertainment. 

We both had much needed showers in preparation for tomorrow's travel to Wisconsin where we will  see the whole pack of Dorgan sibs (all except Sean).

Day 1: Virginia to Kentucky

After a busy weekend of preparing and packing, we set off on our Alaska adventure this morning, Monday, June 16, at 9 am. The start of the trip followed a familiar route: I-64 west to Staunton,  then picked up I-81/I-64 to Lexington, then back to 64 into West Virginia.  The weather was sunny and hot, despite some possible thunderstorms in the forecast.  About 30 miles into Kentucky, we got off the highway and stopped at Carter Caves  State Park for the night.    The campground is nice, but if it were full (as it is in July and August according to the young man at the registration desk) it would feel a bit crowded. As it is, we have no close neighbors.

Ranger settled right into the usual routine, enjoying today's two rest area stops---lots of interesting things to sniff!  I suspect he was more than ready to go, after following on our heels all weekend, perhaps making sure that we didn't leave him behind.  

We took a few nights' away, leaving right after church on Easter Sunday, heading for Westmoreland State Park, on the Potomac River.  The drive was only about an hour and a half, so it's a good location for future trips.  With it being a Sunday/Monday visit, there was no need for reservations and we had a good choice of sites.  We chose Campground A, Site 36.

A short walk took us to the bluffs above the river.  Sunday afternoon we walked to the swimming beach and came back on the Beach Trail which involved many steps up.  For Easter dinner, Dan cooked hotdogs over the campfire and we had a relaxing evening.  On Monday after breakfast, we headed out hiking, covering the Turkey Neck Trail which was a bit hilly but not difficult.  We stopped at one particularly good spot for birding where Dan saw a white-eyed vireo and a yellowthroat, and we added swamp sparrow to our life lists.  Continuing on the trail took us to an observation stand and then to Fossil Beach where people find sharks' teeth.

In the afternoon I graded papers while Dan relaxed, and we took a late afternoon hike along the Rock Spring Pond trail.  Along the way, Ranger saw a number of deer---very exciting.  Again, we grilled dinner over the fire.

Sunny weather, 40's at night, upper 60's in the day.  Lots of redbuds blooming in the woods and everything greening up---Finally spring!