The First Stops

We started our journey at Lebanon Hills Campground in Eagan, Minnesota. We needed a site that was close to home so we could transition slowly out of our house. Lebanon was a jackpot find. It is less than a 20-minute drive from Minneapolis, but still private and quiet, with a stellar playground (always key) and great running and hiking trails.

For our first stop we strategically booked a pull-through site that had full hook-ups. That means we could pull the entire rig into the site without having to back it up. And we could connect our water, sewer and electricity directly to the campground utilities without having to move the rig around. This was a good choice. For as many hours and hours of YouTube videos that we (mostly Alex) watched, we really couldn’t learn how exactly to dump the sewer line without just going for it with our own RV. Luckily, we planned two weeks at Lebanon as we were moving out so we could learn the basics of how the RV worked without the stress of moving campsites or locations.

The move to the RV was fairly seamless, and thinking back now, the last few weeks in our house went by in a blur as we packed up, finished school and work, and dramatically downsized our life.

We left Lebanon on June 17th and ventured North to the North Shore of Lake Superior. I have always had a soft spot for Lake Superior and its great shore, having grown up visiting my grandparents’ cabin on the lake many times each year. It has become a favorite destination for the whole family, and we try to make it up north at least twice each year. On our drive between Duluth and Two Harbors, Alex joked that we could wrap up the whole trip after that weekend because I was so clearly in my happy place.

Our first out of town campground was Penmarallter Campsite, a sweet little family-owned campground just South of Two Harbors. It was the perfect spot to park to get to and from Duluth for the marathon festivities and the hotel where family was staying. We had cool evenings and warm, sunny days – truly enviable weather compared to the heat that much of the country was facing. The campground was awfully close to the highway, which was a reality check into the dichotomy of camping in an RV. Sure, with an RV you can go “camping” out “in nature,” but man, it really helps to have a well-paved road smoothing the way to your full hook-up campsite. I’m sure that wasn’t the last time we will hear the roar of the highway during our stays.

Most of the time we were parked at Penmarallter we were with family and our time was centered around the marathon events and entertaining the kids in the hotel pool. We also found time for some rock-throwing, a hang out with friends who came to visit, and a dip in the icy lake. We ate the requisite Father’s Day Brunch at Betty’s Pies and stopped at Cedar Coffee Company in Two Harbors (a favorite) not once but twice.

After I ran Grandma’s half marathon (in 1:36, which was fine, all things considered, though I would love to break 1:30 someday), we went about an hour north to Schroeder, Minnesota to Lambs Resort. If you are familiar with the area, Schroeder is the tiny town at the bridge over Cross River; you may know it as the river that is so close that when you drive over it feels like you could reach out and touch it. By the time you realize how amazing the view is and wonder if you should stop, Schroeder is in the rearview mirror and you’re looking ahead for the next best hiking spot.

Before this trip I had never heard of Lambs Resort, but it must be one of the oldest family-run “resorts” on the North Shore. Some of its sites are right on the water, like no-way-you-could-get-permitted-to-do-this-today on the water. I wonder if they have lost some of the original campsites as the water levels have risen and storms have eroded the shores.

For our family, the playground at Lambs, which consisted of a rainbow playset and a frighteningly tall slide, was a huge hit. We made several passes on the family-friendly hiking trail that hugs the lake and river and ends at the bakery. The girls were introduced to video games at the campground’s arcade. Elsie’s initial thrill over a huge glass case of stuffed animals (for only 50 cents!) slowly faded as each of her attempts to claw out one of those animals left her empty handed. As we walked away Willa said: “you know what would make that game really fun? If we put in our money and then at the end of the game, it gave us our money back.” If only life were so perfectly fair.

We made a few trips to Grand Marais, another beloved North Shore town that couldn’t be missed. If it weren’t for their long, bitterly cold winters, I think we would live in Grand Marais. Yes, it is a total tourist town, but the views are incredible, the proximity and access to the lake is unreal, and the opportunities for outdoors, off-grid adventures are many.

About a month before we left home, we found out that our neighbor friends would overlap one night at Lambs with us. We spent our last day and night at Lambs with our friends and we all had such a good time playing on the beach,* throwing rocks, and catching up. What luck that we were in the same place at the same time! (*Audrey may have fell on the rocks, leading me to drive back to Grand Marais for a quick ER check-in, a little bit of glue on her forehead, and an okay from the Doctor while Alex had to pack up the RV and explain to the campground why we would be needing a late check-out- NBD).

We ended our North Shore tour with one night at the Two Harbors municipal Burlington Bay campground. We lucked out or perhaps planned well (!) at both Lambs and Burlington with great sites with water views. It’s hard to beat Lake Superior views and I was happy to soak up every last minute.

After leaving the North Shore we traveled to the Wisconsin side of Superior and stayed at the Apostle Island Area Campground, near Bayfield, Wisconsin. As we pulled into the campground we were welcomed by a black bear as it wandered across the road in front of us. I made a mental note to not go running while we were there.

What a different Superior experience the south shore was! The shore was sandy, the water swim-able and there were no pine trees in sight. The highlights were the morning we spent strawberry picking and the ferry ride to Madeline Island. It took all I had to convince Alex not to bring the truck and RV on the ferry “just because.” Next time, I guess.

The girls are quickly learning how to be flexible. One afternoon in Bayfield we packed up sand toys and swimsuits and headed to the beach only to have it rain the minute we stepped onto the sand. The girls were upset, wet and hungry. We ended up eating a lunch of rotisserie chicken from a bag (microwaved, I’m sure), chips, and pickles, while sitting on a partially dry picnic table. I can’t help but wonder what the restaurant diners across the street were thinking as our soggy children stabbed tepid chicken with plastic forks and fingers.

All in all, we were glad to spend a few days exploring the Bayfield area and seeing the lake from an unfamiliar angle.

From Bayfield we journeyed to my family cabin near Webb Lake, Wisconsin. We had our first panicky moment on the way there when our directions brought us right up to a bridge with a 13’ clearance. Extra annoying because we plan routes based on bridge height but this one was not recorded in the app we used.

We are somewhere between 13’4 and 13’6 tall (details, right?!), so we knew that we weren’t going to fit under the bridge. The double whammy came when we also did not have service on our phones to look up alternate routes. Good thing we are both super calm in stressful situations. Ok, so I sort of panicked. Alex stayed calm. We turned down the only other option of a road and followed the railroad tracks that we eventually needed to cross. At some point we came to a fork in the road where we opted against the “Rough Road – Next 8 Miles” route and decided to try our luck the other way. As you may have guessed, we survived. We made it to the highway rather uneventfully. In hindsight, it was a smooth introduction to the types of problem solving we will inevitably face along the way. I have high hopes that I will be more calm and helpful next time.

We had the usual wonderful time at the cabin. We tend to be highly active while we are there, and this trip was no different. We swam a ton, ran, walked, biked, played volleyball and soccer, learned how to play pickleball, and some of us golfed. We went tubing, paddle boarded, kayaked, boated, and went in the sauna for good measure. It was everything the 4th of July weekend should be and then some. We were sad to say goodbye to my family for a few months, but also excited knowing our real adventure was about to start.

We then drove from the cabin to Litchfield, Minnesota – Alex’s hometown. We stayed with Alex’s family there and were happy to have a break from the heat. It was great to see more family and play around the beautiful property where Alex’s parents live. We stayed for a short time and said our goodbyes – though not for long since we will meet up with the Kopplin’s in the Black Hills of South Dakota in no time.

We left Minnesota on Wednesday, July 6th and entered South Dakota – our 3rd state! The girls were very excited to add another sticker to the map.