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Upcoming Minnesota Adventure


roadmaven
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As mentioned in a thread on the Route 66 subforum, we've decided to pass on the 66 Festival in Litchfield and head north to "Land of 10,000 Lakes." Aside from starting to have our fill of car shows, we've decided to take a different road trip this year. Back in the 70's when I was a youngin', the fam would vacation in northern Minnesota. Once I got a job, I did the same thing a few times in the early-mid 90's. Well, I've had a hankering for the area where I spent some of my youthful summer days, and where I haven't been since 1995. So, we'll be leaving next Wednesday night for Park Rapids, MN for an extended weekend mini-vacation. Jennifer's excited about it I think even more than I am since 1.) she's never been there, and 2.) after we saw an exhibit at a local Native American Museum that had a display of Yosemite photos (many by Ansel Adams) and artwork, her photogenic mojo got going with the thought of shooting some truly great lakeside scenery. So, thanks to Uncle Sam, we're planning on doing our part as proud Americans and stimulate the economy of this place, deep in the woods in Cabin #1.

 

Due to the obvious time constraints of driving 750 miles for a 4 day weekend, we'll be leaving Wednesday evening, June 18th and slab it to around Madison, WI, get up early on Thursday and drive the remaining 400-some miles to Park Rapids, arriving sometime mid afternoon. We'll be at the cabin Thursday & Friday, check out Saturday, and hang around the area most of the day Saturday before starting our way towards home that afternoon, and arriving home Sunday evening. Crazy? Yup, but as the kids say, "that's how we roll". :rolleyes: I've been looking into some of the places from the mid-1970's when mom & dad would load all 6 of the kids in the old '68 Bel Air wagon and make our way up to Park Rapids. Fortunately, many are still there, such as this fine place:

wimpys.JPG

 

Should be a fun trip, regardless of the weather. I'm not planning on fishing, but I might have to go out to my dad's and unearth my old pole and tackle box, just in case. Hopefully we can find a place to check in while we're up there!

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Pat,

 

Sounds like a great trip! Even in 4 days. Looking forward to photos, especially Jennifer's :lol::P:rolleyes:

 

Our home is on a little lake like that one...couldn't pry us off with a bomb! If you ever get west, bring your pole and gear. I don't fish, but some folks catch some nice bass and trout just off our dock…and we extend all American Road moderators fishing privileges!

 

I bet there are lots of folks who have no idea where the Wimpys image and name came from.

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

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I bet there are lots of folks who have no idea where the Wimpys image and name came from.

 

You're most certainly correct! Popeye was one of my favorite 'toons when I was a kid. I'm getting organized in my head where we'll have most of our meals while we're up there. Wimpy's will have to be a lunch trip (not sure if they're open for dinner, and our breakfasts are set for elsewhere). And as you can imagine, a hamburger will be the feast. :burgereater: Hmmm, now that I think about it, we won't be in town on Tuesday. :P

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Back from the north woods! We had a fantastic time in Minnesota. Although it was somewhat abbreviated, we were there long enough to take in what the Land of 10,000 Lakes has to offer (We counted 10,002 lakes, so we need to go back up to see which ones we counted twice). The drive to Madison, WI last Wednesday night was fairly bland as we slabbed it all the way. We messed around on the way up Thursday and didn't get to our cabin until after 5pm, but it was an enjoyable trip after we got off the interstate outside of the Twin Cities where we picked up US 10. The trip home starting Saturday was really nice. We hooked up with US 2 outside of Grand Rapids, MN and took it into Duluth/Superior, then took advantage of an American Road sponsor (insert cash register sound here) and took US 51 south for the better part of Wisconsin Saturday afternoon and most of the day Sunday. We stayed at a really cool little motel in Mercer, WI on 51 Saturday night. Lots of bars in the little towns up there.....we figured 1 for every 50 people in most of them! Sunday we made a detour and cruised through Wisconsin Dells, got into a hail storm south of there in Baraboo, and it rained most of the rest of the way into Illinois before we *finally* got home 11:30 Sunday night. We're looking at doing this again in a couple of months. We really enjoyed our time up there and the Sleeping Fawn Resort was a nice, homey little place with fantastic hosts.

 

Jennifer took some 500-plus photos those four days, and they're starting to pop up on her Flickr site here. Keep checking back on it the next few days, as there are a slew that will make it on the site once she does her editing of them.

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Pat,

 

Looks like just the place to relax. The cabin is perfect, the lake tranquil, and the sunsets spectacular! You are fortunate to know of such a nice retreat!

 

Let us know when Jennifer posts some more shots. Oh, BTW, does she have "a thing" for water towers? :D

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

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Glad to see you're back. Sounds like a great time but what we all want to know is...

 

Did you get a hamburger at Wimpy's?

 

Doh! Forgot to mention that part! Due to the fact Wimpy's is apparently a breakfast & lunch hole, the timing didn't work out, darn it. The time or two we intended to go there, they were closed. No hours visible, so next time we're up, we'll make a point to be there between 11-noon. But wow, is that place small in there! Maybe a dozen or so stools and about 3 talbes. My dad told me the other night that we ate there back in the 70's with all 8 of us, but obviously mom & dad probably got it "to go"! :lol:

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Jennifer took some 500-plus photos those four days, and they're starting to pop up on her Flickr site here.

I just got some time to go through the photo set. Jennifer took some great shots!

 

I thought the "Cookies" day care building was quite amusing. I liked how the photo of Wimpy's Cafe was done in Black & White--a nice touch.

 

That cabin is beautiful. It looks like a wonderful place to get away for a while. Did you make it up there before mosquito season? Or is it always mosquito season in Minnesota? That was the one thing that stood out most, passing through northern Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Manitoba: the tremendous number of annoying insects in the air. I used to think Indiana was bad with mosquitos and flying pests, but now I have a better perspective...

 

Chris

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I just got some time to go through the photo set. Jennifer took some great shots!

 

I thought the "Cookies" day care building was quite amusing. I liked how the photo of Wimpy's Cafe was done in Black & White--a nice touch.

 

That cabin is beautiful. It looks like a wonderful place to get away for a while. Did you make it up there before mosquito season? Or is it always mosquito season in Minnesota? That was the one thing that stood out most, passing through northern Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Manitoba: the tremendous number of annoying insects in the air. I used to think Indiana was bad with mosquitos and flying pests, but now I have a better perspective...

 

Chris

 

She is quite the photo bug. So much so, I don't even bother bringing my camera on most of our trips. She likes playing around with settings & that's why she ended up with nearly 600 shots over those four days (A dozen or so were added to the set tonight).

 

We absolutely loved the resort where we stayed. The lake is somewhat small for Minnesota standards (112 acres) and there's no public access, so it was very quiet there. Our vacations typically involve driving from place to place to place, and rarely do we stay in one place on a trip. But the peacefulness and beauty of the area is a huge relief from the daily grind of city living. We loved it so much we're taking the same trip at the same resort in mid-August! She wants to bring her daughter up with us before she starts her junior year (junior year!?) at IUPUI. I think this time I'm going to get my pole & tackle box out of storage at my dad's and get a 72 hour MN fishing license.

 

And yes, the "skeeters" were pesky! Nothing like laying in bed trying to get to sleep when one buzzes your ear. But, it's all a part of "the great outdoors"! Listening to the call of the loons as I was sitting in front of our fire pit at dusk while staring out at the still lake was something I could do every night the rest of my life. However, those -40 degree winters might change those dreams. :lol:

 

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