the lakes
June 18 – July 8, 2021
After cutting a trail (literally) out of our campground near Wisconsin Dells, we headed west to the land o’ lakes. In our song at the top, Taylor sings “Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die”. I’m not sure which lakes she’s specifically referring to, but with ten thousand chances in the state of Minnesota, I’d guess a poet has died at a few of them.
Our first stop was Lebanon Hills Regional Park Campground, on the southern edge of the Twin Cities. This is a pretty unique campground as it is situated in a large park with 2,000 acres of forests and lakes, but is also right next to a major metro. Of course, we took the opportunity to go shopping. We popped into REI, because we can never have enough outdoor gear and clothing. Then we stopped by IKEA as is required anytime we’re within a 100-mile radius.
After IKEA, we headed across the street to largest mall in the United States. The Mall of America was a pretty big deal when it opened up back in 1992 and was then the largest mall in the world. I grew up in Fargo which is about four hours away. Back in the day, you were cool if you wore t-shirts showing off exclusive brands like Old Navy and American Eagle which were available at the Mall of America but hadn’t yet made it to North Dakota.
The big mall has seen a few changes. A lot of stores have been swapped out. Knott’s Berry Farm is now Nickelodeon Universe, but the cool Lego store is still there.
After three nights it was time to move on. We headed northwest up to West Battle Lake where we parked outside of a lake cabin we had rented from a friend for the week.
We rented a whole cabin so that we could meet up with family. We had a great time spending the week with my parents, brother, aunt and uncle, and cousin.
The cabin was surrounded by lots of birds and dragonflies. Izzy enjoyed learning about them.
We went kayaking one afternoon. Charlotte had to work, so my cousin Christine joined Izzy and me in our new inflatable kayak. It did pretty well, but it would have been even better if I had remembered to close the drain hole. It turns out that while a drain hole lets water drain out of a boat, it will also work in the opposite direction. My dad and uncle joined us on the lake with a pair of kayaks from the cabin.
We of course shared plenty of meals, played some games, and even enjoyed some music together.
The town of West Battle Lake hosts a weekly turtle race during the summer. Charlotte and I had to work, so everyone else headed into town. Izzy rented a turtle and gave it a shot.
It was great to spend the week with family right next to the water. Our time together was over all too quickly. Everyone else headed back to Fargo, Nebraska, Vermont, or Chicago, while we drove just a little bit north up to Detroit Lakes.
We had a nice site that backed up to a pond at Forest Hills Golf & RV Resort. This is a big park with sites located around an 18-hole golf course. The park is mostly full of seasonal residents. Minnesota is famous for its terrible mosquitoes, but they weren’t so bad here until it got dark. Then they came out in numbers and were very aggressive. If I took a shower at night I couldn’t open the exhaust fan because they would somehow find a way through the screen and would attack me at my most vulnerable.
The weather was great while we were there, and we found plenty to do in the area.
One day Izzy and I met up with some of my old friends from Fargo, who were in the area at their family lake cabin. We grabbed some lunch and beers and Zorbaz then headed over to the cabin where Charlotte joined us and we did some swimming, kayaking, cranked some foamers, and had a very nice dinner.
Zach & Ashley – I think I said this after we met up down in Arizona, but let’s not forget to snap a photo next time.
One of our favorite activities back when we lived in our sticks and bricks home in Omaha was putting together a picnic and attending outdoor concerts at the park just a few blocks away from our house. While in Detroit Lakes, we lucked out by finding a free concert at the park near the lake. We packed some drinks and then hit up the food trucks that were setup nearby. The music by The Cropdusters was great, the food was alright, and there was a playground nearby for when Izzy got bored. She made a friend on the playground and had so much fun that she didn’t want to stop to visit the ice cream truck. Of course she was then devastated when her new friend had to leave and the ice cream truck was already closed up.
Detroit Lakes is a short drive to Fargo, so we made the trip a couple of times. One day we spent the day with my brother Galen. We drove around north Fargo so I could reminisce and point out all my old schools and houses to Charlotte and Izzy. We also stopped by Trollwood Park to let Izzy burn off some energy on the playground and so we could test out the cool motorized paper airplane uncle Galen gave her.
We then grabbed some dinner at a bar & grill near the NDSU campus where Izzy got a little rest in.
After dinner we headed onto campus to catch a Redhawks baseball game. This was Izzy’s first baseball game and she had a great time. Uncle Galen kept buying her sugary treats. There was an inflatable obstacle course she got to run on. She overcame her shyness and got to meet Hawkeye. There were even fireworks after the game.
Another day, Galen made the drive to Detroit Lakes. In addition to the 18-hole regular-sized golf course, our RV park also had a mini-golf course.
After a Fargo shopping trip, we had to stop by the walk-up Dairy Queen in Moorhead, MN. The opening and closing of this DQ signals the changing of the seasons for the area and fans line up on March 1st for opening day regardless of the weather. It’s quite a bit nicer these days than when I was a kid.
That will do it for our time at the lakes. Join us for our next adventure as we continue heading west. Until then, see you down the road!