Minneapolis was a nice change from being, what felt like, so deep away from any sort of city for so long.  We saw Obama bumper stickers! And there were whole foods and Trader Joes!  We stayed in a KOA in a suburb of Minneapolis, Maple Grove.  The KOA was fine — we had a full hook-up site, but after we walked through the campground, realized we would have been much happier in an electric-only site. Those were in the back of the campground, and really felt like they were in the woods. In Minneapolis, we did some shopping, and went to the Mall of America, because that’s what you do.  It was… a mall. With all the same stores as any other mall, except more of them.  We covered it in a couple of hours, because we really aren’t into a whole lot of mall stores, so we hardly stopped anywhere, except for an Orange Julius and a Caribou Coffee. (Caribou Cofee is identical to Starbucks in every way except that it’s called Caribou Coffee, and that sometimes they remember to put a chocolate-covered espresso bean on the top of your coffee cup). I was impressed, however, with the massive Lego scultures that literally wrapped around the lego store. Here’s a shot of some of them from floor three of the four-story mall. Also, there’s a full on amusement park in the middle.

Lego sculptures in the Mall of America — at least a story tall.

We spent some time walking around some charming neighborhoods in Saint Paul — up Summit Avenue and its parallel streets, with stately residences that once housed the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dillinger and Robber Barons. (Garrison Keiller lives in one of those houses now). Up the hill to the Cathedral of Saint Paul, a truly awe-inspiring piece of architecture.

Beautiful St. Paul Cathedral

We also had our first taste of White Castle.  Can’t say it’s something we’ll be repeating. And we found this label on the bottom of the packaging quite baffling:

Why design matters.

The KOA couldn’t keep us through the weekend (Labor Day, all booked up), and then I had remembered that there was an Airstream-only park somewhere in Minnesota. It turned out to be about an hour north of Minneapolis, and they had plenty of room for us. The park is made up of owners who own lots, some of which are available for “rent” for short-termers like us.  Owners generally keep their Airstreams parked there for the three-seasons that the park is opened (they’re required to move them out for winter). So it made for a very quiet, almost too quiet, stay — lots of Airstreams, very few people. Great place to stay, though. Quiet, great prices, heated pool, free golf, and you get an enclosed gazebo on your site if you’re lucky (we weren’t lucky).

Albino Squirrel at MN Airstream Park

From there, we were off to Lake Bemidji State Park, Northeast of Minneapolis. It was a great stay — a walk to the very large lake, right on the Paul Bunyan Trail (great for bike rides), and the park had on-site WiFi. At a state park! And it was fast and reliable, too! (Stay near a restroom building; that’s where the repeaters are).  We met a family who wanted to tour the airstream, and the guy, Dan, ended up being a tournament fisherman, who took Dennis on a late-night fishing trip for walleye on the lake.  We just ate the results of that trip — delicious!  We got a great site at this park, too — at the end, with forest on our “yard” side.  Quite lovely.  The squirrels are in full-gear getting ready for winter, and one industrious little guy was on a non-stop trip back-and-forth between the woods and a tree, stocking up for days on end.  We also had a marmot for a neighbor, who lived in the base of a nearby tree, and would come out for some snacks and fresh air at about 3:00 on most days.

Lake Bemidji State Park campsite

Paul Bunyan Statue in Bemidji — not as big as ours in Northern CA, and theirs it mute, but it’s more vintagey!

A stop at Big Bass Lake on the Paul Bunyan Trail

When we were in Grand Tetons, we got the kayaking bug and have bee waiting/planning for the right opportunity to get set up with some kayaks since then.  We got racks installed on the shell of the truck while staying at the MN Airstream Park. And while in Bemidji, (after realizing that ordering the kayaks we wanted would be impossible with this lifestyle), we found The Ski Hut in Duluth, which had a good selection, so we reserved some kayaks to pick up there.  I’m not sure if we would have ended up in Duluth had we not had to go there for our kayaks, but I’m glad we did.  That’s next…

Roof of French Creek’s Office building

Our site — had the bathroom structure on one side, so we only had neighbors on the road side.

Since I haven’t posted in about three months (and didn’t start this blog until after six months into our trip), I have a lot of catching up to do with campground reviews.  But I wanted to make sure I got this one in.  We picked French Creek RV Park, right in the town of Custer, once we realized we couldn’t get decent 3G in the state park, and after we read some good reviews about it (and the mention of Friday night barbecues!).

Porch decorations

When we first drove in, we weren’t so sure — it’s a very small park, and sites a close together, and I like a bit more privacy.  But we decided to give it a shot.  We drove into the wrong park first — there are two right next to each other, then drove in and parked the wrong way, but finally got situated and hooked up.  The website doesn’t say so (they’re working on it), but there is cable at every site, and WiFi is free. Both are the most quality and reliable we’ve had.

Rock, making fries: a Friday night barbecue staple

But the real thing that makes this park special is Rock, the manager.  Gun totin’, barbecue throwin’ Rock, and his wife Diane.  They made us feel right at home, and by the first night, Rock had shared with me his stash of what he called “whisky” — but it was clear — his moonshine, which hit me hard!  We hung out on the porch of the office nearly every night, where aside from his official Friday night barbecues, there was almost always something else good cooking.   One day he had harvested a bunch of rhubarb from the property, to which I was able to experiment with my first ever baked rhubarb item — a rhubarb-orange galette (which turned out pretty well I must say).  Diane made a rhubarb upside down cake.  I also got to try some rhubarb wine that guests Stephanie and Mike had purchased from the winery near town.

Rock and Diane, King and Queen of French Creek

We ended up extending our stay here, because the company was so great.  We had just recently gotten our fishing poles and had barely managed to catch anything yet.  Rick, who also works at French Creek, took Dennis out and showed him the ropes, and for the first time he came back with a bagful of fish!

Rick shows off his newly finished walking stick

More handiwork from Rick

Good times at this place, and lots of good people.  In terms of all the practical stuff that should be in a review: like I said, everything worked excellently, and the sites were close together.  Regardless of how close the other sites were, and how many people were hanging out with Rock on the porch, it was always quite and restful.

Friday night barbecue kicks off (half the neighborhood shows up too)

Friday night barbecue after dark

Talking around the table

We just had two days of fall weather, officially after Labor Day.  Time to summarize everything else that has happened since Spring.

We spent time in Salt Lake City, where we had some of the best food of the trip so far — not what we expected.  Amazing mole at the Red Iguana, which was just down the street from the KOA we stayed at. And one of the most tasty, beautiful and memorable prix fixed meals we’ve ever had at Forage (for about half the price a meal like that would have cost in the SF Bay Area). I still think about that egg custard. My God.

Then we went up to Bear Lake State Park, UT, as a sort of halfway-point to our next destination, and had a lovely time there.  Campsite with a view of the lake. So quiet.

Sunset at Bear Lake, Utah

Elk Statue on the top deck of the Virginian Lodge (we were in the RV park in the back)

After that, we stayed in Jackson Hole, WY. A nice stop, but a little chi-chi and touristy —  even for me.  Had another great meal there, and enjoyed the stay, but nothing too memorable.

Then onto some of America’s treasures— the whole chain of national parks that goes North from Wyoming through Montana, all the way up into Canada.  Starting with the Grand Tetons, then Yellowstone, and Glacier.  All three were gorgeous — from the scenery to the wildlife.  Though Yellowstone’s the main attraction, I think we were even more impressed with the Grand Tetons and Glacier.  Grand tetons is where we got the kayaking bug.  We just got a roof rack installed, and have a deposit down for two kayaks that are waiting for us in Duluth, MN!

Wildflowers near Jenny Lake

Pristine waters in the Grand Tetons

Microorganisms color the waters in Yellowstone

Otherworldly landscapes at Yellowstone

Sunset over farmland from our campsite in Bozeman, MT

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

After Glacier, we made the very long and isolated drive across Eastern Montana to Miles City.  There’s not much to say about Miles City.  Another long drive from Miles City took us to Custer, South Dakota.  We stayed the weekend at the State Park, which was large enough and had enough features that it seemed like a National Park.  We couldn’t stay longer due to lack of 3G receptions.  Where we moved to deserves its own post, so I’ll leave that for next post…

Someone had built a tiny “cabin” at our Custer State Park campsite. Byron took right to it.

Badger Clark, Poet Laureate’s, cabin (“Badger Hole”) in Custer State Park

Crazy Horse. Four Mount Rushmores could fit inside his head (which it still the only part finished).

Need to get somewhere? Anywhere? Just follow the sign(s)

This has got to me the most interesting place we’ve stayed in so far, character-wise at least. When we checked in, the office, which is sort of a combination garage, workplace and possibly store or pawn shop (? I couldn’t tell if a bunch of the stuff displayed — or strewn around — was for sales or just the owners’)… anyway, the office was empty.  I went through a bunch of open doors and didn’t see anyone, until finally a plump older woman walked in and said, “Has anyone helped you? I’ll go find Dan for you, honey.” She was one of the residents. There are only about 5 spots for travelers, the rest are all permanent spots that I think are mostly taken by seasonal vacationers who actually keep their RVs permanently here, though there are full-time residents, too.  Anyway, the woman let me know that one of the “family” (of people who stay/live here) just passed away of cancer, and once she found Dan, and had him sign a condolence card, we finally got checked in.  Dan is a whitty old guy, very hospitable.

The sites are side-by-side, typical RV park layout, but what makes them unique is that each comes with a covered structure that is something like a rough-hewn two-sided cabin.  Ours not only had a picnic bench, but handmade shelving. Byron enjoyed hanging out in there.  There’s a nice sized rock fire pit too.

Campsite with covered structure

The interesting thing is that each of the permanent guests also appeared to have one of these at some point, but just about every single resident had expanded and customized theirs a completely different way.  Some were enlarged and turned into something akin to a open-air bar, some were enclosed for storage, some were as big as little houses, and a couple were even built all the way over and to the other side of the RV.  All had the same rough-hewn log cabin style and finish, so there must be something equivalent to an HOA for these things.

This isn't the best example, but I felt weird taking pictures of peoples' "residences"

Aside from the interesting structures all around, there were also lots of public structures, including a playground in the same rough style, a “schoolhouse” which had bunk beds with real mattresses in it — kinda creepy, and plenty of shade structures with picnic benches everywhere.

"Fort Beaver" contained a bunch of fire pits and a pit barbecue

Looks like real "Travelers" have been here…

Also onsite is a Mexican Restaurant called “Maria’s Cocina”.  (Maria is Dan’s wife).  This place got rave reviews online.  The atmosphere was great — quirky like everything else — in a cabin with maybe ten tables of varying sizes, and lots of tchotchkes and stuff hangning from the ceiling.  It sort of felt like a Mexican version of the Tiki Room. The food was actually just OK — but the salsa was great.  It’s nice to have it so convenient to where you’re staying, at least.

A redneck's mecca

Also on this route is  the Roadside tourist stop, Moqui Cave, built into the side of a rock, which purportedly has the largest collection of fluorescent rocks (naturally displayed under black light) in the U.S.   The story goes, too, that the original owner, Garth Chamberlain, had built a giant triceratops  head over the entrance (perfect for a roadside attraction, right?), but when he died and the family took over, they didn’t think this was classy enough, so they tore it down and made it look like a cliff dwelling. It was closed, so we didn’t have the honor of going inside, but I’m sure it’s plenty classy now.

Plenty of parking

Even the tourist traps in Utah are closed on Sundays

I found out the backstory of this place from Roadside America, which has an excellent iPhone app that lets you know about all of the weird and wacky things nearby.

The drive into Zion National Park was just as thrilling.  We ended up at the wrong park entrance, so got to pay an extra $15 to be “escorted” through a too-narrow-for-RVs tunnel, then drove down the most switchbacky switchback ever, but we got an auto tour of the entire length of the park before setting up camp, at least.

I'm sure that big rock back there has a name — they all do.

It was 100°+ in Zion the entire time we were there, so we didn’t go hiking at all and didn’t seem much of anything. (We melt in the heat).

Byron finds some shade

There were at least two people who recommended to me that we do Angel’s Landing— are you kidding me?!  These folks obviously don’t know about my vertigo. And by vertigo, I don’t just mean Acrophobia, though yeah, after the fiasco on the drive up Pike’s Peak, I finally admit I have that too — but actual, clinical Vertigo (Labyrinthitis), in which I lose balance and fall down while the entire world spins around me.  Angels Landing, which is basically a very tall fin with a trail across its ridiculously narrow peak, is not something I will be experiencing, even if we do return in more agreeable weather!

View facing Hwy 9

View facing opposite the highway, into the campground

Really, we should have enjoyed this campground much more than we actually did. But we arrived in a heat wave (100°+ temps every day), and both of us malfunction in heat.  This was the first time we’ve dry camped in a while, and ironically, the first time we really, really could have have used a plug-in site to run the A/C.  But, provided that you go in weather you can manage, this is a good place to stay.  It’s right next door to Watchman Campground, which I do believe has hookup sites (don’t quote me on it), but that place was booked solid for weeks.

Some trees do offer shade from the heat, and a river runs through the back of the campground, so swimming holes are very close by.  The only trail in the park that allows dogs also borders the campground, so in terms of National Parks, this is probably as pet-friendly as you’re going to get.

Our site was not private at all, and we “lucked out” in getting a spot next to a cab-camper that an alarm system that went off every time someone drove by.

Verizon 3G was speedy most of the time, but erratic, it would go from four bars to two bars to four to no-signal with no rhyme or reason.  Sprint was barely hanging on, mostly not hanging on at all.

I wish I could have told you how amazing some of the hikes here were, but really, other than the just-before-sunset walks with the dog, the only thing I can really say it that the milkshakes in Springdale are tasty and cooling.

We need to come back again sometime, because we missed a lot languishing in the heat…

Oh, tip — don’t rely on just your GPS to get you into the park. We intended to drive through Springdale and straight to the campground, but our GPS took us through the East Entrance instead (on the opposite side of the park).  Driving an RV through this side, you have to pay and extra $15 to be “escorted” through a too-small tunnel, after which you go downhill through a series of extreme switchback.  Our umbilical (the power cord that connects the trailer lights/brakes to the truck, for those of you not in the know) is too short and came unplugged on the first switchback, so we had to stop a big line of traffic while I got out and re-connected it, as that hill would have killed our brakes like that that if left unaided by the trailer brakes.

Our site had plenty of space on one side and backed up to a Ponderosa Pine forest

Kaibob Camper Village was lovely and wooded, and the closest place to stay from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon that has hookups. North Rim is notably less frenetic and filled with tourists than the South Rim, though you also might find the views less dramatic. We called a week before Memorial Day and were surprised to have been able to reserve a spot through the weekend.  The first night, we were supposed to have a water-only site, then move to a full hook-up site when one opened up the next day, but one had opened up before we got there, and they had already re-arranged our reservation for that site (nice to not have to move!). The hosts were very friendly and hospitable, and had plenty of recommendations and stories about the area.

Many of the sites are pretty close together, but the wooded setting somehow makes you feel like you have a bit more privacy.  We were lucky enough to have more space than most on our porch side.  If you’re staying here, I recommend you stay in a back-in site on the outer-rim furthest away from the road, because all of those sites back up into the forest, which affords you some extra privacy and a nice view.

Great dog-walking areas on the forest lands just outside the campground.  Jacob Lake (which is actually barely a pond) is a five-minute walk from the campground.  There is also a mile-long trail to Jacob Lake Inn (a five minute drive), which is the only place for miles to get some basic supplies besides the campground store.

Verizon 3G here was stable, though not speedy.  Sprint 3G was just baaaarely there (with a booster).

RV sites don’t have fire pits and fires are only allowed in the common area in the middle of the grounds.  Actually, while we were there, fires (and even charcoal grills) were banned due to draught and fire danger.  This was a National Parks ban (not a campground ban).

From the forest outside the campground: this gives a better idea of the general spacing between sites

Nothing but trees from the rear view

Three-day weekends always make it harder for me to get back in the groove of working.  I can’t say that the four official days of this work-week were my most productive.  But hey, today was Saturday again, so I got to lay off myself for while.  We decided to take a drive down one of the forest roads, but could tell that we were going nowhere, really, except through more trees.  We came back asked the campground hosts where there was to go around here other than the Grand Canyon, and they told us, “Oh everywhere! Take any of the forest roads!”  ”Where do they go?”  ”Oh, this one will take you out to this highway, that one will take you to that highway.” Quite a destination.  So we hung out at the campsite, played some Scrabble, some You Don’t Know Jack on the XBOX, and read a bit.  We’ll try (emphasis on “try”) to make it an early morning tomorrow, so we can get to a campsite in Zion National Park early enough to do a little exploring there.

We’re staying in Jacob Lake, a little less than an hour drive from the Grand Canyon’s North Rim.  A lake — you’d think, “You can always go hang out at the lake.”  Well, here it is:

Our neighbors have ponds bigger than that back in Nevada County (notice it's fenced off too)

This is apparently one of the only water sources up here on the Kaibob Plateu, and it was somehow enough to get early settlers by.  ”It waters more deer than the entire Pacific Ocean,” locals apparently like to say. Now they truck water in for all of us tourists.

Happy, healthy horses. Horseback rides are just across the street.

Oldest existing ranger station in the US

We had plans to barbecue ribs for dinner — well, more than plans. We had started to barbecue ribs for dinner when a camp host came along and had us put out the coals, saying no coals allowed because of the fire danger (there’s a draught).  Well, that’d be all fine, if all of the signs didn’t say, “No open fires. Charcoal in metal containers only.” (which our grill obviously is). Oh well, ribs tomorrow night. I improvised with a black bean and chorizo bake.

This place is swarming with hummingbirds, which took a particular liking to our new bike rack, because of the bright red knobs, which also happen to have deceptive little holes in them that are shaped suspiciously like hummingbird feeders.  My “office” window is a couple feet from the rack, so I got a lot of bird-watching in.  Unfortunately, I never got an “action shot”, and got less visitors each day; they must be wising up.

Hummingbird taking a rest after coming up empty at the bike rack bar

It was nice to be back in the woods, and out of the desert for a spell.  The smells (Ponderosa Pines) reminded me of Nevada County, where I grew up.  Back to the desert tomorrow (though it looks like there are some trees there too)!

Considering it’s Memorial Day weekend, it’s incredibly calm and quiet here.  I’m glad we’re on the North Rim, as I bet the South Rim was a madhouse this weekend.  We decided to go to the Canyon today, and I wanted to have breakfast at the Lodge. I also was having an extremely “relaxed” morning, but we managed to get there 8 minutes before they stopped serving breakfast a 10am (who stops serving breakfast at 10am on a Saturday?!).  The cooks showed their appreciation for our last-minute arrival by not even attempting to cook the eggs in my Benedict. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed a hot breakfast in a big historic old building with an amazing view.

Nothing makes me happier than breakfast out

The lodge was built in the 20s, burned down and rebuilt in the 30s. All the actual lodging is in separate cabins.

Brighty: A special mule, though I didn't bother to read why…

After we filled our tummies, we headed out to the lodge’s patio, which has one of the best views of the canyon. We sat in the adirondack chairs for a while and enjoyed the view and the warm sun.

Chillaxin'. Yes, I did just say that.

We started down a path to a small lookout area, and I was disappointed again to learn that my vertigo prevented me from getting very far.  I hung back and sat against a rock wall while Dennis enjoyed the view.  We learned that pretty much all the trails are too close to an edge (with no guardrails) for me to manage, so we didn’t do a whole lot of walking.  Dennis managed to take a few more short walks out to viewpoints. I wish I could have joined him!

Dennis looks out from Point Imperial

That is some deep ravine.

The Drive-In

Shooting Star Drive-In is a hard one to review as an RV Park. But I’ll start by talking about just that.  Were it just an RV park, I’d've probably driven right by it.  When we arrived, the RV “field” (that’s pretty much what it is) was vacant. That sort of thing is usually a sign to me to keep on driving, but I knew what else this place had to offer.

Site #11 — at the very end of the water/electric row

Check-in was easy. Mark, the owner, was ready for us, gave us the run-down of the place and lead us to our spot (basically, our choice of any of the non-sewer spots — you can choose full hookups or just water/electric).  We took the spot at the very end, with a nice view of the butte across the road. Then we started trying to level.  The sites are anything but level front-to-back. “No problem” we thought:  our Airstream has a trusty hydrolic jack that makes leveling a breeze.  First we tried with the front facing downhill, but we had to lift the front so high that when you poked the trailer the whole thing swayed. We weren’t comfortable at all with that at all, so we tried a few more positions  without making progress.  We finally turned the trailer 180 degress, with the front facing uphill.  We had a little better success, but we took the front all the way down to the ground and still couldn’t get completely level.  Did I mention there was a heat wave when we arrived?  The last attempt was all we had in us in that heat, so unlevel we stayed.  We hooked up. Water pressure and electric were sure and steady.

The stay was peaceful and quite. Even though it’s close to Highway 12, it doesn’t get a whole lot of traffic, and I really never noticed the noise (and I’m one to notice).  The dark skies at night were lovely, and if it’s as empty as when we stayed, you can keep your blinds open and enjoy.

There is no WiFi in the campground, but you can sit in the office during office hours to use the WiFi there. We had cell phone reception through Verizon and the *tiniest* bit of Verizon 3G (very, very slow).  No Sprint 3G.

The foxtails in the campground were out of control during the time of year we were there.  They were all over just about everything, inside and out, and managed to get inside my shoes every time I stepped outside. If you have dog, do a between-the-toes and ear check frequently.  We know from experience that a foxtail that gets into your dog’s skin can be dangerous and costly!

One great amenity Mark offers are “Grill Packs”.  For somewhere just over $10 each, you get a complete meal ready to grill: Your choice of steak, chicken, salmon with potatoes, corn on the cob, salad, dressings and BBQ sauce.  We took him up on the offer one night and got a steak and salmon pack that we grilled at our campsite.  It was just right. This is a boon if you didn’t come stocked with a lot of food.  The grocery store in town is a decent size, considering, and has enough to get by, but we found the meat there iffy — it wasn’t even dated!

I very much appreciated the spotless bathroom (only open during office hours) with a full shower, hot, hot water, and even a bathtub.  You don’t know how tempted I was to grab my lavender bath salts and take a long, hot bath (full-timing, bathtubs are the #1 thing I miss the most).  But there’s only one shower/bathtub, and I’d've felt awkward hogging it like that!

So to sum it up, the RV part of the picture, alone, has some good and bad.  I probably wouldn’t stay again if it were just that.  But the nightly drive-in movie was such a charming  and fun novelty, it makes the quality RV park almost irrelevant.  The set-up is great — several vintage convertibles permanently parked in front of the screen.  Pick up some popcorn, sodas and candy at the “Snack Shack” (a remodeled airstream), pick a car, and get comfy.  The sound is broadcast through an FM band in each car’s stereo.  You can keep the top up or put it down and enjoy the truly impressive stars. The movies are all circa 40/50/60s, and range from classics to kitsch. We saw North by Northwest, The Long Long Trailer, Overexposed and It Came From Outer Space.

The true draw of the place is the “Airstream Hotel”.  Several Airstreams have been permanently parked an remodeled as luxury lodging meant to imitate the dressing room of a classic movie star — Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, etc.  I got to tour several, and “The Duke” was my favorite.  I would *highly* recommend anyone not travelling by an Airstream of their own to stay in one of these.  The setting, rooms and amenities are fabulous.  This is where Mark puts the focus of his business and it shows.  The RV park is a bit of the ugly stepsister, but even she gets to play with the fun toys, so it’s worth it.

I wouldn’t necessarily stay at the RV Park for an entire week like we did, but it’s well worth an overnight stop (especially if you don’t need to unhitch and level!)

An Airstream Rally stopped in for a night

There's a reservoir less than a mile away that's a good respite on a hot day. Take the dirt road to the left right before the state park for free access