Curry Park where we
camped last night is right along US 2, the main road into Ironwood. It has a good deal of sites with electric
nestled in among the trees along with a section of full hook-ups. Find a site, fill out the registration form,
drop it in the envelope with money and settle in for your stay. A pretty sweet
set-up. I wasn’t aware that some towns
offered these kind of camping parks…thought the only options were state park,
national park/forest, BLM Land or private campground.
We got to the park with plenty of daylight
left and took our time picking out just the right campsite…the primary
consideration was that it be level. The site we picked was near the road but we
figured traffic would die down after 11 or so and besides it was the best of
the bunch in the level department. So we
set up camp, met up with the kids for supper and returned after dark. Sat outside a bit until it got
After climbing into bed I turned my back to the lights and despite the slight chill in the air I fell asleep fairly quickly. Kim’s internal thermostat usually runs about 10o hotter than mine and snuggling up to him to steal his warmth certainly helped cut the chill. However sometime during the night I woke up because my feet were cold. My solution for warmth was to tuck the extra length of blankets underneath my feet so they were in between layers of blanket. This worked best if I was on my left side which put me facing the lights. So then I had to figure out how to position the blankets so I could block out the lights but not suffocate myself…because of the amount of light coming at me this took longer than I would have liked.
So….cold feet plus lights plus the noise of the occasional semi-truck gearing down as it came into town equals a very long restless night. But the campsite only cost $10 so there is that. 😏
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First words out of Kim’s mouth this morning upon waking were “I was thinking we should have bought an electric blanket.” Apparently he felt the chill during the night also.
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Stopped in Ashland, WI, for some minor supplies including another blanket, fleece not electric.
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The day started out sunny so I sunscreened my face a couple of times before heading out. Not gonna let those UV rays compound my failure of yesterday. Sunscreened my arms even though I wore a long sleeve shirt because you never know what the day's weather may be.
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Called Lake Itasca State Park to see about campsites…only ones available for our time frame were without electric and we need a site with electric because Kim uses a sleep machine. So in my search for campgrounds I saw that Bemidji has a KOA and is fairly close to the headwaters of the Mississippi. Went online and reserved a campsite with arriving today and leaving Sunday. Staying in the Bemidji area for 3 nights. Heading out Sunday...maybe.
After we’d ridden in the rain for an hour or so, Kim came on the radio to ask about the possibility of getting a cabin for tonight at the KOA…he wasn’t in the mood to set up camp in the rain and possibly the dark at the rate we were going. I was in agreement. Stopped to make a phone call about a possible upgrade to a cabin for tonight. One cabin available so we took it. Not only do we not have to set up in the rain (or so we hope) but it’ll also give our gear a chance to dry out.
I know we’d decided to camp on this trip but I’m not going to complain about sleeping on a bed in a warm cabin with solid walls and curtains that block out the light…no bathroom, TV or microwave though. And bonus! It’s away from the road so minimal traffic noise. We’ll be back at the mercy of our natural surroundings tomorrow night.
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Kim bought a 3-day fishing license so he’s legal in that regard. Weather looks to be slightly overcast tomorrow but hopefully no rain. We’ll probably seek out the Mississippi Headwaters first then look for a fishing hole. I’ll bring my camera while Kim brings his LDB Custom Rod and a well-stocked tackle box. However, he did buy a can of Spam so we have something to eat just in case he doesn’t catch our food. There’s also a container of trail mix left and I’m not opposed to eating that as a meal.
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We crossed over the Mississippi River 3 or 4 times as we traveled along US 2 in Minnesota. I have to say it didn’t look like so mighty up here...it was narrow and looked to be lazily meandering through the countryside. Like a river with a small ‘r’.
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To spare my arms further damage I started today with a long-sleeved shirt. Added a sweatshirt and gloves after lunch because my sunburned arms were feeling rather cool when riding. Last 3 hours of today’s ride I upgraded again.
At a gas/bathroom stop we noticed some sprinkling and upon checking the weather radar found that there was a large green and yellow cloud coming our way. Ding Dang!! Rain gear time. So for the last 3 hours of the trip I was all snuggly warm and dry from layers despite the rain….just couldn’t do anything about the needle sharp raindrops hitting my face. Hate it when the rain is sharp like that. Goggles got rain spattered also but thankfully didn’t steam up. I can usually find a way to see around the raindrops but not the fogginess…that usually requires us to stop. So we were able to keep going, not quite up to the speed limit but forward progress is what mattered.
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Thursday’s miles: 272
Total miles: 656
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Called Lake Itasca State Park to see about campsites…only ones available for our time frame were without electric and we need a site with electric because Kim uses a sleep machine. So in my search for campgrounds I saw that Bemidji has a KOA and is fairly close to the headwaters of the Mississippi. Went online and reserved a campsite with arriving today and leaving Sunday. Staying in the Bemidji area for 3 nights. Heading out Sunday...maybe.
After we’d ridden in the rain for an hour or so, Kim came on the radio to ask about the possibility of getting a cabin for tonight at the KOA…he wasn’t in the mood to set up camp in the rain and possibly the dark at the rate we were going. I was in agreement. Stopped to make a phone call about a possible upgrade to a cabin for tonight. One cabin available so we took it. Not only do we not have to set up in the rain (or so we hope) but it’ll also give our gear a chance to dry out.
I know we’d decided to camp on this trip but I’m not going to complain about sleeping on a bed in a warm cabin with solid walls and curtains that block out the light…no bathroom, TV or microwave though. And bonus! It’s away from the road so minimal traffic noise. We’ll be back at the mercy of our natural surroundings tomorrow night.
----------
Kim bought a 3-day fishing license so he’s legal in that regard. Weather looks to be slightly overcast tomorrow but hopefully no rain. We’ll probably seek out the Mississippi Headwaters first then look for a fishing hole. I’ll bring my camera while Kim brings his LDB Custom Rod and a well-stocked tackle box. However, he did buy a can of Spam so we have something to eat just in case he doesn’t catch our food. There’s also a container of trail mix left and I’m not opposed to eating that as a meal.
----------
We crossed over the Mississippi River 3 or 4 times as we traveled along US 2 in Minnesota. I have to say it didn’t look like so mighty up here...it was narrow and looked to be lazily meandering through the countryside. Like a river with a small ‘r’.
----------
To spare my arms further damage I started today with a long-sleeved shirt. Added a sweatshirt and gloves after lunch because my sunburned arms were feeling rather cool when riding. Last 3 hours of today’s ride I upgraded again.
At a gas/bathroom stop we noticed some sprinkling and upon checking the weather radar found that there was a large green and yellow cloud coming our way. Ding Dang!! Rain gear time. So for the last 3 hours of the trip I was all snuggly warm and dry from layers despite the rain….just couldn’t do anything about the needle sharp raindrops hitting my face. Hate it when the rain is sharp like that. Goggles got rain spattered also but thankfully didn’t steam up. I can usually find a way to see around the raindrops but not the fogginess…that usually requires us to stop. So we were able to keep going, not quite up to the speed limit but forward progress is what mattered.
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Thursday’s miles: 272
Total miles: 656
"The Mississipi's mighty but it starts in Minnesota
ReplyDeleteAt a place where you could walk across five steps down..."
Indigo Girls - Ghost
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