We braved damp, chilly Minnesota weather to sneak in one last outdoorsy weekend. We went camping at Jay Cooke State Park–one of our favorite Minnesota parks. The temps were in the 40s and 50s, but thankfully the rain stopped before we arrived and the rest of the weekend was sunny and crisp.
Husband and son on swinging bridge.
We aren’t hardy enough to go tent camping in such cold weather. (Although we s
aw several brave souls attempting it, brrr!) Instead we had reserved one of the camper cabins—rustic log cabins with bunk beds and a table—and thankfully in this case: heat and electricity. We still had to walk a long way to the bathroom and cook outside, but at least we could plug in our Keurig coffee maker for lots of hot chocolate and coffee. Now, that’s my kind of roughing it!
During the day, we demonstrated our skills (or lack thereof) in a ladder ball tournament (or as we call it, “clatter ball”).
We hiked to admire the scenery and fall colors. (Are you like me? Sometimes I just need to walk in the woods! It refreshes my soul.)
At night, we played games inside the cabin like Risk for the guys, and Boggle for me, and even slipped into town to watch a boy-movie. Overall, it was a great weekend. At least I thought so. If the teenagers agree, they’re not admitting it. 🙂
Did you go camping while growing up? Any fun fall plans to share?
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Camp more now as an adult than I did as a kid. We do usually have a teenage daughter with us. Our family is into cooking with camp Dutch ovens so we always eat well when we camp. The majority of our camping is with a group of friends from around the state of MN and a couple from IA who also enjoy this hobby. Our daughter and I weren’t able to go (she wanted to be at the homecoming football game), but my husband was camping (in a tent) with this group at Whitewater State Park last week-end. In September we gathered at a campground in IA with a couple hundred people from around the country and Canada, who enjoy this style of cooking. Always lots of fun.
Oh, dutch oven cooking sounds wonderful. Sounds like you eat well. (I don’t blame you–that’s one of the best parts of camping!) Thanks for sharing, MaryAnn.
Is something going on with “Blogger” tonight? I’ve lost my comment 3 or 4 times and my computer screen is “jittery”( for lack of a better word.).
Is anyone else having the same problem?
I enjoyed reading your Post, Julie.:)
Sorry you had trouble, Rosie. Thanks for persisting and leaving a comment!
Some of my best family memories growing up is camping. My husband and I camp often today in our class C RV. We’re planning a trip for the week of Thanksgiving through the Nachez Trace.
Sounds great, Gail. I really like the Class Cs! (Maybe someday… especially now that our ’74 Winnebago seems to be finally biting the dust.)
Can you believe I’ve never been to Jay Cooke State Park? That’s going on my bucket list.
As for camping, camp is a four-letter word. 🙂 Every time we pitched a tent, there were thunderstorms or tornado warnings, so we prefer camping condo-style.
Yes, you should check it out sometime. Less than 2 hours from you, so you could even make a day trip out of it. (No condos, though :)) Thanks, Brenda.
Julie, you guys sound like you have this camping thing down pat! You make it sound so fun and easy. Well, Ken and I went camping on our honeymoon! DUMB decision when neither of us had ever so much as pitched a tent before! We almost got arrested for setting up our tent in a no-overnights park in Texas. Had to show the officer my wedding ring as proof we were married (those were the days, huh?) and the nice officer let us stay that one night, promising to keep an eye on us. LOL! (I think he meant for safety’s sake, but we weren’t taking any chances. NOT conducive to a happy honeymoon!) We spent the next few nights in hotels and 40 years later, I’m proud to say we have not camped since! 😉
Oh, no, Deb. That is HILARIOUS! Thanks for the good laugh. Poor Ken! And how funny that you have never camped since–I guess I can’t blame you with a beginning like that!
I love Jay Cooke! I was just hiking there this weekend.
Oh, fun, Jodi! And a beautiful weekend you had for it, too!
My family is the tough-it-out type of campers. We tented in Yellowstone with 6 inches of snow on our tent and the nights were below 30 degrees out. We’ve only broken down twice to get hotel rooms; once because the motorhome’s engine started on fire and we were stranded in the middle of Kansas, and once because it downpoured for three days straight on our way to Maine and our tents and sleeping bags were soaked through. Jay Cooke looks like a beautiful park to visit! I’ll have to add it to my places to stay next time I take a trip to Minnesota!
Wow, you are tough, Tricia. I’m impressed!
Camping with a Keurig sounds like perfection! Glad you had fun 🙂
I didn’t do any camping growing up. However, we had woods right behind our house and up at the top of the hill we lived on. My girlfriends and I walked through the woods a lot plus we found caves in there which we explored. It was such fun!
And that Keurig you took camping; well, all right with me! I wouldn’t mind camping that way too much at all. LOL