We definitely pushed
ourselves to get back to our Midwest roots and the ability to see family, specifically Jeff’s Mom
who is 97-1/2. Three days of travel
racked up the 1,030 miles (or 25.55 over-the-road hours) on this trip, so when
we pulled into our first rest stop outside of Fairmont it was indeed a welcome
sight to stretch our legs.
Finding a SA gas station
further up the road that had an area for big rigs so that we could stay overnight was a relief as we were
tired. There weren’t many trucks parked
as of yet and we were told by the cashier that it was first come, first serve. We’ll have to make sure that we let other
RV’s know about this free, overnight site via the Day’s End Directory of
boondocking that we belong to as Escapee RV Club members.
Rested and ready to travel
the mere 91 miles to Hutchinson, we arrived at River’s End Masonic
Campground. The date was April 29, and
the park didn’t officially open until May 1; just a slight bump in the
road. Jeff called the Police Department
to see if it would be okay for us to park and dry camp in one of the sites until
that following Monday. They were definitely okay
with it but made a call to the person who managed the park (and this was on a
weekend) to get the “thumbs-up” for us to park.
Once this was done, we were able to make the Jeep trip to Albertville
(57 miles one way) to see Jeff’s Mom for our first visit of the year. It was good to see her, but we definitely needed to get parked closer to her assisted living apartment.
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One of our visits to see Dorothy with granddaughter, Julia |
A phone call to Baker Park
Campground, in Maple Plain (about 19 miles away from Albertville) was
made and good news was that they had a site available for a 10 day period. This was very good as the weekends are
usually booked up by on-line reservations way before we come into town. The best part was that we were so much closer
to Jeff’s Mom and that was our goal.
When we left Baker Park, we
had an appointment at Gary’s Diesel in Loretto, Minnesota. We wanted to get the coach hooked up
to their computers to help us determine what codes were setting off the alarms
in our home. This can be especially frustrating when everything that Jeff was reading on our gauges was reading just fine. The bottom line
was that one code went off 126 times because of a loose wire on the
engine pre-heat solenoid - an easy fix. The price for the scan test was $80 with the
½ hour of labor at $47.50. If we would
have had this done in the Minneapolis area, we probably would have to double
that price so we are glad that it’s been
resolved.
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Okay, which wire is it now? |
Our destination at this
point in our travels was for a spot next to daughter, Jill, who lives in St.
Louis Park (a first-ring western suburb of Minneapolis). It is here where grandkids, Joe (14-1/2) and
Julia (4-1/2) live. Our 6 day stay was
very uneventful as we were parked on her side street. Not one police car drove by to check us out
and that was a good thing. Her
neighbors were so nice and accommodating and we thanked them for letting us stay, but it was time to travel into Wisconsin.
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Time to read a book to Julia before bedtime. |
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Mother's Day brunch at Doug's (Jill's boyfriend) with family |
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Had to stop for a Dago in NE Minneapolis -
where Kay grew up |
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And a cold Grain Belt on tap |
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Julia, busy in the water with swimming lessons |
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Grandpa's little girl |
We had planned to
stay at Hoffman Park, in River Falls, Wisconsin so that we could be close to the town of Hudson for a scheduled doctor appointment.
At this time of the year, there were several sites open so this was good. The park is a first come, first serve 15-site park with electricity only
at each site. Water and a dump location
are nearby. A 14-day maximum
stay (14 in & 7 out) at a mere $15/night is very reasonable. There is a beautiful ball field,
ample play areas for the kids with Frisbee golf, volleyball and soccer areas that makes this one of the best community parks that we have stayed at.
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Memorial Day get-together with Jill & Doug and grandkids Joe & Julia |
Our time here will end on
June 1, and new plans are to travel to the
ranch of our good friends, Karen & Ron, who live in Mondovi,
Wisconsin. We will then get a chance to be see son Eric and daughter Jena and the rest of the grandkids. It will be good to see them.
God Bless America!
Hugs,
Kay and Jeff