First Family Camping Trip

My hubby and I had bought a tent at Venture's going-out-of-business sale over a decade ago, vowing to some day "rough it" in the "wilderness" with our children when they were older. We both enjoyed tent camping while growing up, but trying to find a happy medium of where to actually pound our pegs looked dubious. That is, until we visited Hok-Si-La in Lake City, MN.

"I like what I see!" said my hubby. I agreed. "Really? Do you really think this is doable for you? We can get you an air mattress, and a warmer sleeping bag. You really like this?" This doubt comes from a decade of declines partly due to my chronic (myofascial) pain, allergies, and fibromyalgia (all well managed, now), but more because of over-crowded, noisy campsites we had looked at in the past. In my opinion, when you're trying to get away to relax and unwind, you need more nature and less civilization.

A week later, we were back at this beautiful park. The time had come! It was to be the first tent camping experience for our family of five, and we were all excited! Fido came along with us and was on cloud nine--he'd never gone anywhere with us, except to the vet's--oh, and to puppy lessons (to train the kids more than the dog, mind you!).

We had a beautiful view overlooking Lake Pepin (aka the Mississippi River). Gulls, bald eagles, and fishing herons entertained us while we ate at our campsite. There were lots of frogs, too, and fish were active and visible, as you can see in the top left photo.

The weather was warm, and even hot, in spite of it being overcast the first two days. The predicted thunderstorms were nothing more than a few distant rumbles accompanied by a light shower that lasted maybe an hour. The third day was absolutely gorgeous, and none of us wanted to leave. We can't wait to go back! --LKR

Red Wing, MN

We had a lovely lunch at the Smokey Row Cafe in Red Wing, which is north of Lake City where we were vacationing. Their River City Days was in full swing, but we decided to tour the town, instead. My hubby, of course, had to stop at their Caribou Coffee, and I, of course, had to get out of the van to take a few pics of the building, a former train station.

This town, which stretches along the Mississippi River, has a Menard's, Walmart, and Target. I'm sure there's more, but that's what I remember seeing. Having lived near big cities my whole life, it's seemed strange not having larger stores in several near-by towns out here in much of WI and MN.

One evening, we ate dinner at Applebees which had a cool steamboat shoe in front of it. In fact, there were lots of decorated shoes sprinkled around town, just like Chicago's bears and Eau Claire's hands. It's very fitting since Red Wing is famous for the shoes made there.

We later found out that as of February, 2005, Red Wing is also home to the largest leather boot, built by the Red Wing Shoe Company. According to the Guinness World Records, it stands at 16 ft, is 20 ft long, 7 ft wide, and weighs 2,300 lbs!!!

Was that made for Paul Bunyan??? --LKR

Frontenac State Park

Frontenac State Park towers 350 feet above the Mississippi River. The view from the top is absolutely spectacular!

We took lunch with us, one day, and picnicked at the top. It was thrilling watching eagles and other raptors soaring above us as well as over the water!

We came here two times while staying in Lake City, MN. Hiking down to the shore was very steep, and I'll just add that going down was much easier than going back up! However, it was well worth the effort!

We made it worth our while and stayed down by the shore and explored. The longer we could put off going back up, the better!

There are also more horizontal trails, but we didn't do them--yet! I want to go back!

A really nice thing about purchasing a permit for the state parks in MN is that they are good for a year from the month you pay for it.

In some states like WI, you buy them for the calendar year which makes it harder if you don't start going to the parks 'til the summer months. --LKR

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