Saturday, May 26th to Tuesday, May 29th, 2007Memorial Day Weekend
Marclay Point Resort
Cass Lake, MN
What a fantastically great, beautiful weekend we had! The weather was almost perfect. Warm during the day and cool at night. A few bugs, including a wood tick that Tom found in our bed and all the little bugs that we had to vacuum up on Monday night inside the camper. Here’s a day-by-day account.
Saturday
Got out of town on time and did not have any traffic. Leaving today versus last night was a good idea. We started to have some issues with the truck on the way. Tried to use the cruise control on the interstate and it started bucking, like the transmission was shifting but not catching the next gear. Stopped using the cruise control and it seemed to make it go away. Thought that was the last of it until just after Little Falls when Mike noticed the Service Engine Soon light was on. We pulled over and went through the owners manual to see what might be causing it. It wasn’t the fuel cap being loose and topping of the fuel tank didn’t help either so we decided to push on but the light bothered both of us. The last thing we wanted was to damage the truck or ruin our vacation. We made it into Brainerd and right on the highway was a Ford dealer. We pulled in and Mike went in to see how long we’d have to wait for them to look at it. Turns out they could look at right away so we dropped the camper in their parking lot and pulled in.
It took a little over an hour for them to fix the problem. It was the EGR valve and our warranty covered it. What a relief. The part alone was $225 plus labor to install and the diagnostic test runs something like $100 too.
Hitched-up and back on the road the truck is running great. That bucking from before is gone and both of us are feeling much, much better. Both of us are very glad that we stopped and had it looked at.
Arrived at Marclay Point Resort without any further incidents. Cass Lake is just as small and bleak as Mike remembers it from his days fishing Winnie with Dan.
Parking the camper was a slight challenge. The camp was full so it was all eyes on the new arrival which didn’t help Mike’s confidence level at all. Decided to go to the end of the loop and come back at the site from the other direction. Big mistake! The curve at the loop was tighter than it looked. Thanks to the two guys who came out and moved their trucks so we could make it.
Our site was basically behind a tree so you had to come in at an angle ending up with the camper being aligned with the site and the truck at about a 45 degree angle. But we did it! We were right on the harbor with a view of the lake from our picnic table and campfire. Very nice, all in all.
A trip back into town to the grocery store and then dinner of chili and chips ended the day. It was cool and sleeping was great. The new pillow top that we bought for the mattress along with the foam topper has actually made the mattress very comfortable. That first night on the mattress was like sleeping on a piece of plywood. No Serta Sleeper there. No wonder there’s all kinds of ads in the camping magazines for mattresses. The ones supplied by the factory suck!
Sunday
Slept in. Boy was that nice! Once we got up and going, we headed out to do some bike riding.
The weather was perfect as we headed over to the Mi-Ge-Zi trail just east of Cass Lake. We biked over to and through the Chippewa National Forest and campground. Made a stop at the visitors center where we got the scoop on the beautiful fireplace in the building and Tom picked-up a book on wildflowers. We biked back to the truck and then drove back to the campground and checked out campsites for a trip next year. Found a nice one with electricity and that looks easy to back into. Then it was back to the camper to unpack the new Weber grill and cook some chicken. We ended the day with a campfire and watching the stars come out. What a great day.
Monday
Breakfast outside! Fired up the new Weber grill and cooked bacon on it. (Yes, we bought the griddle option.) Made some pancakes and with a pot of coffee it was just like (well, almost like) the horseback ride breakfast we had in Wyoming. Why does the food always taste better when you’re camping or outdoors?
After breakfast it was time to do some fishing. Got the boat, the gear, the minnows (No leaches yet. Tom was not happy.) and away we went. Got about halfway to our destination and the alarm on the motor went off. Here we go again we thought. So we stopped, turned off the motor, waited a minute and then started up again. No more than two minutes later the alarm was going off again so we decided to head back. Got into the resort and had the owner take a look. Seems the head gasket was leaking water at high RPMs so he told us to keep it at half throttle and we should be fine.
Back in for lunch of bacon cheeseburgers on the grill, a short nap, and back out we went. Not only did Tom catch the first fish (a Perch), but he also caught the first walleye (not a keeper), a Northern (also not a keeper) and the most fish. Mike only caught two little Perch. But it didn’t matter. We had steaks waiting for us to grill and we were having the best time.
We fished until dark and headed in to make dinner. Mike grilled some steaks and we ate outside by the campfire. Again we finished the night by the campfire watching the stars come out. Another perfect day.
Marclay Point Resort
Cass Lake, MN
What a fantastically great, beautiful weekend we had! The weather was almost perfect. Warm during the day and cool at night. A few bugs, including a wood tick that Tom found in our bed and all the little bugs that we had to vacuum up on Monday night inside the camper. Here’s a day-by-day account.
Saturday
Got out of town on time and did not have any traffic. Leaving today versus last night was a good idea. We started to have some issues with the truck on the way. Tried to use the cruise control on the interstate and it started bucking, like the transmission was shifting but not catching the next gear. Stopped using the cruise control and it seemed to make it go away. Thought that was the last of it until just after Little Falls when Mike noticed the Service Engine Soon light was on. We pulled over and went through the owners manual to see what might be causing it. It wasn’t the fuel cap being loose and topping of the fuel tank didn’t help either so we decided to push on but the light bothered both of us. The last thing we wanted was to damage the truck or ruin our vacation. We made it into Brainerd and right on the highway was a Ford dealer. We pulled in and Mike went in to see how long we’d have to wait for them to look at it. Turns out they could look at right away so we dropped the camper in their parking lot and pulled in.
It took a little over an hour for them to fix the problem. It was the EGR valve and our warranty covered it. What a relief. The part alone was $225 plus labor to install and the diagnostic test runs something like $100 too.
Hitched-up and back on the road the truck is running great. That bucking from before is gone and both of us are feeling much, much better. Both of us are very glad that we stopped and had it looked at.
Arrived at Marclay Point Resort without any further incidents. Cass Lake is just as small and bleak as Mike remembers it from his days fishing Winnie with Dan.
Parking the camper was a slight challenge. The camp was full so it was all eyes on the new arrival which didn’t help Mike’s confidence level at all. Decided to go to the end of the loop and come back at the site from the other direction. Big mistake! The curve at the loop was tighter than it looked. Thanks to the two guys who came out and moved their trucks so we could make it.
Our site was basically behind a tree so you had to come in at an angle ending up with the camper being aligned with the site and the truck at about a 45 degree angle. But we did it! We were right on the harbor with a view of the lake from our picnic table and campfire. Very nice, all in all.A trip back into town to the grocery store and then dinner of chili and chips ended the day. It was cool and sleeping was great. The new pillow top that we bought for the mattress along with the foam topper has actually made the mattress very comfortable. That first night on the mattress was like sleeping on a piece of plywood. No Serta Sleeper there. No wonder there’s all kinds of ads in the camping magazines for mattresses. The ones supplied by the factory suck!
Sunday
Slept in. Boy was that nice! Once we got up and going, we headed out to do some bike riding.
The weather was perfect as we headed over to the Mi-Ge-Zi trail just east of Cass Lake. We biked over to and through the Chippewa National Forest and campground. Made a stop at the visitors center where we got the scoop on the beautiful fireplace in the building and Tom picked-up a book on wildflowers. We biked back to the truck and then drove back to the campground and checked out campsites for a trip next year. Found a nice one with electricity and that looks easy to back into. Then it was back to the camper to unpack the new Weber grill and cook some chicken. We ended the day with a campfire and watching the stars come out. What a great day.Monday
Breakfast outside! Fired up the new Weber grill and cooked bacon on it. (Yes, we bought the griddle option.) Made some pancakes and with a pot of coffee it was just like (well, almost like) the horseback ride breakfast we had in Wyoming. Why does the food always taste better when you’re camping or outdoors?
After breakfast it was time to do some fishing. Got the boat, the gear, the minnows (No leaches yet. Tom was not happy.) and away we went. Got about halfway to our destination and the alarm on the motor went off. Here we go again we thought. So we stopped, turned off the motor, waited a minute and then started up again. No more than two minutes later the alarm was going off again so we decided to head back. Got into the resort and had the owner take a look. Seems the head gasket was leaking water at high RPMs so he told us to keep it at half throttle and we should be fine.
Back in for lunch of bacon cheeseburgers on the grill, a short nap, and back out we went. Not only did Tom catch the first fish (a Perch), but he also caught the first walleye (not a keeper), a Northern (also not a keeper) and the most fish. Mike only caught two little Perch. But it didn’t matter. We had steaks waiting for us to grill and we were having the best time.
We fished until dark and headed in to make dinner. Mike grilled some steaks and we ate outside by the campfire. Again we finished the night by the campfire watching the stars come out. Another perfect day.
Tuesday
Up early, had a quick breakfast and packed-up. The drive home was uneventful. Unpacked and took the camper to the storage lot. And, ugh, back to work tomorrow.
Next trip, June 16th to Long Lake Park in Bagley, MN where Mike is hoping to do some diving.
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