Itasca State Park
North of Park Rapids, MN
North of Park Rapids, MN
Thursday
We had a nice drive up today. Our friend Jan has joined us on this trip. We’re all sitting if front of the campfire after having wild rice brats and potato salad for dinner. The weather is cool, calm and slightly overcast.
The campsite is nice. Backed the camper in on the first try. It’s a tight squeeze between the trees with just enough space to open the sliders. We can kind of see the lake between the trees. So far it’s been quiet, but it’s a Thursday. We’ll see what the weekend brings.
We toured the visitors center this afternoon. It’s very nice. Lots of exhibits on the history and the geology of the area. First animal sighting was a deer in the parking lot. Tom fell in love with a quilt that they had on one of the walls. Here are some pictures of it.
We managed to take the kayaks along on this trip. We put them on top of the bed, strapped them together, and then put pillows all around to keep them from damaging the walls.
It worked, but it’s not the way we want to carry them from now on. We’ve got a price on a roof rack for the truck and will place that order next week. They’ll fit real nice there and we won’t have to worry about damaging the camper. Plus, when we want to use them in the city, it’ll be easier.
It’s cooling off nice tonight. It’ll make for good sleeping. May even have to fire up the furnace!
Lots to get in this weekend. It’ll be interesting to see if we get it all done. We’ve got to do at least one kayak trip on the lake!
Friday
June 29th
What a great day!! The weather was perfect. Warm, slight breeze, a few clouds in the sky. Just perfect.
We started the day with pancakes and thick cut bacon cooked outside on the grill. That Weber Q grill is the best money we’ve spent so far on the camper. With the griddle attachment it works wonders!
After breakfast we headed out on the bikes for a day of exploring the park. We took the bike trail up to Douglas Lodge and checked out the Forest Inn and then Douglas Lodge itself. The lodge is beautiful. All of the buildings up here are beautiful with their log construction and stone foundations.
While walking around the area of the lodge we found a bunch of Lady Slippers in bloom down by where the tour boat launches from. Our timing was just right as the boat was leaving in 30 minutes so we bought tickets and took a lovely 2 hour cruise on Lake Itasca.
We had a nice drive up today. Our friend Jan has joined us on this trip. We’re all sitting if front of the campfire after having wild rice brats and potato salad for dinner. The weather is cool, calm and slightly overcast.
The campsite is nice. Backed the camper in on the first try. It’s a tight squeeze between the trees with just enough space to open the sliders. We can kind of see the lake between the trees. So far it’s been quiet, but it’s a Thursday. We’ll see what the weekend brings.We toured the visitors center this afternoon. It’s very nice. Lots of exhibits on the history and the geology of the area. First animal sighting was a deer in the parking lot. Tom fell in love with a quilt that they had on one of the walls. Here are some pictures of it.
We managed to take the kayaks along on this trip. We put them on top of the bed, strapped them together, and then put pillows all around to keep them from damaging the walls.
It worked, but it’s not the way we want to carry them from now on. We’ve got a price on a roof rack for the truck and will place that order next week. They’ll fit real nice there and we won’t have to worry about damaging the camper. Plus, when we want to use them in the city, it’ll be easier.It’s cooling off nice tonight. It’ll make for good sleeping. May even have to fire up the furnace!
Lots to get in this weekend. It’ll be interesting to see if we get it all done. We’ve got to do at least one kayak trip on the lake!
Friday
June 29th
What a great day!! The weather was perfect. Warm, slight breeze, a few clouds in the sky. Just perfect.
We started the day with pancakes and thick cut bacon cooked outside on the grill. That Weber Q grill is the best money we’ve spent so far on the camper. With the griddle attachment it works wonders!
After breakfast we headed out on the bikes for a day of exploring the park. We took the bike trail up to Douglas Lodge and checked out the Forest Inn and then Douglas Lodge itself. The lodge is beautiful. All of the buildings up here are beautiful with their log construction and stone foundations.
While walking around the area of the lodge we found a bunch of Lady Slippers in bloom down by where the tour boat launches from. Our timing was just right as the boat was leaving in 30 minutes so we bought tickets and took a lovely 2 hour cruise on Lake Itasca. We heard all about the “discoverer” of the headwaters, Henry Schoolcraft. The boat followed his route from the south end of the lake to the island, and then on to the headwaters.
I say discoverer in quotes as the American Indians knew where the headwaters were, and they were the ones to show Schoolcraft where it was. So in truth, Schoolcraft was not the one to discover the headwaters, but he was the first white man to document it’s location.
After the boat ride we biked back to camp with a stop at Peace Pipe Vista for some pictures of the lake.
Dinner tonight is in Dorset so we all got cleaned up and drove over to the Mexican restaurant for dinner. Back at the camper, it’s time to watch the news and go to bed. No campfire tonight as we’re all tired.
Saturday Morning
Mike cooked breakfast again this morning. He’s really getting the hang of it and enjoying it a lot. We had scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon, toast and coffee. It was great!
After the boat ride we biked back to camp with a stop at Peace Pipe Vista for some pictures of the lake.
Dinner tonight is in Dorset so we all got cleaned up and drove over to the Mexican restaurant for dinner. Back at the camper, it’s time to watch the news and go to bed. No campfire tonight as we’re all tired.
Saturday Morning
Mike cooked breakfast again this morning. He’s really getting the hang of it and enjoying it a lot. We had scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon, toast and coffee. It was great!
Tom is making fun of Jan and Mike as they work on their laptops. Mike is downloading the photos that he and Jan took yesterday and Jan is working on organizing her work photos.
We’re all enjoying just relaxing right now as we try to get up enough energy to pack up the kayaks and head for the lake.
Nancy is going to join us at the campsite tonight for dinner. We’re going to celebrate her birthday. We bought an ice cream cake at Dairy Queen on the way home last night and Tom found a really nice garden decoration for her house in Park Rapids. It has a celestial design with glass orbs, a moon and stars. He bought it at one of the gift shops in Dorset last night.
The camping here has been great. The sites are not too wooded, or to far apart, but everyone here is quiet. Not at all like William O’Brian. I think that’s because of the distance from the cities. The people up here seem to be a little less party-oriented than the folks in town.
It’s going on 1 o’clock so time to get our butts out on the lake and do some kayaking!!
Saturday Evening
What a great day we had today! First stop was the Headwaters of the Mississippi. We hit the gift shop and Mike found a set of coffee mugs that he just had to have.
Then we hit the actual headwaters. We walked across the Mississippi twice and took some pictures. From there we headed to the boat rental shop to rent Jan a kayak and go out on the lake.
We spent two hours on Lake Itasca kayaking around. Tom was in all his glory, just have a super great time. His smile reached from ear-to-ear. We kayaked from the rental center, past the beach, down to the headwaters and then back to the rental center. It was a blast! 
Back at the camp we met up with our friend Nancy. She drove up from Park Rapids to have dinner with us. Actually it’s a little surprise party for her as we’re celebrating her birthday. We grilled up some steaks for dinner and then surprised her with the Dairy Queen cake we bought last night and Tom gave her her gift. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and talking by the campfire until almost 11 PM.
SundayIt’s pack up time. We broke camp and got on the road.
We made a slight detour on the way home. Tom wanted to check out the town where his Dad grew up. So we headed off the main road and found the town of Clotho, population 25. The old farm house was gone but the church was there. We also found the cemetary where a number of Tom's relatives are buried.
Traffic wasn’t to bad until we hit St. Cloud where there has been an accident. The tow trucks were just loading up the vehicles as we drove by. We arrived at home around 5 PM, safe and sound.
That's it for this trip. Until next time....
1 comment:
I've also camped at both Itasca and William O'Brien State Parks, so I got a chuckle out of your comparison. William O'Brien is so loud and cramped, but you just can't beat Itasca for activities and beauty.
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