Camping – Valerie's Voice

A New Camp Stove

We were camping recently in a Minnesota State Park camping cabin. The cabins are so cute, as only camping cabins can be. HA They have two large bunk beds, a table with benches, electricity, a ceiling fan, and a screened-in front porch. Compared to a tent, it’s luxurious.

A camping cabin in a Minnesota State Park.

Gary and I have always enjoyed camping, and have camped many times over the years, using a tent. Now we like the camping cabins.

When Gary and I first got married one of our first major purchases were sleeping bags. We paid a lot of money for good ones forty-four years ago, and they are still in great condition, and have served us well.

Another camp supply that held up well was the green, Coleman camp stove. Gary owned it even before we were married. We used it a lot over the years, even converting it to the new canister-style propane mini-tanks a few years back. But, finally, it started to rust out and we decided it was time to buy a new one.

So, on our recent camping trip we had the inaugural test run of our new Triton Coleman camp stove. It is so sleek and clean, and it passed with high marks!

Our new Triton Coleman stove with our very old, nesting camp pots and pans. Hmmm…

We will not be using this stove for forty-four more years, but we think it will serve us well when we need it in the coming years…

Our Camp Stove

We have had success putting unwanted items on the curb, free for the taking. I like that it helps keep things out of the landfill, and people can find another use for what we no longer want. Our latest item on the curb was our old Coleman camp stove…the classic old-style green one. It still worked, but was in rough shape so we thought some young folks might like it as a starter stove for camping. Apparently, someone did – it was gone the next day.

The camp stove served us well. Gary already owned it when got married, and we finally replaced it last year, in 2021, therefore it was over 44 years old. A few years ago, it converted easily to using one-pound propane tanks.

The camp stove holds fond memories. We used it on numerous camping trips over the years. Mostly when our two sons were younger. We liked to camp in Minnesota State Parks, and we liked to take road trips to the National Parks throughout the United States; from Acadia, to Great Smokey Mountains, to Yellowstone, to Zion, to name a few. We had many good times together on our camping trips…sometimes with friends, sometimes just the four of us.

Our firstborn son was three-months-old when we decided to go away for a camping weekend. We didn’t go far from home but one still needs to pack the almost the same amount of gear as for a longer stay. We made it to the campsite and got the tent (we always used a tent) and site all set up. After dinner, it started to rain…pour…so we quickly took the tent down, in the rain, and headed home. Camping in the rain is never fun, camping in the rain with a three-month-old is even more not fun.

But, we made up for it by taking several camping trips over the years…instilling a love of nature and the outdoors in ourselves, and in our sons.

We did buy a replacement stove, but doubt it will get the same use. Although we love to camp, we like being off the ground these days, so we try to stay in camper cabins. We discovered you need to collect the same amount of gear -just minus the tent- for camper cabins, but it’s much more comfortable than sleeping on the ground which we did all those years.

I’m grateful we were able to take these camping vacations. It made great memories for Gary and I to look back on now that our sons are on their own, making memories with their own families.

Tent Camping

When our son and his family moved to Colorado last spring we sent along our strong and durable nylon tent we’ve used for many years. It was bittersweet. It felt good to pass it on, but a bit sad knowing we probably won’t go tent camping again.

We have enjoyed camping cabins in Minnesota State Parks lately so we still get to go camping, but it requires a bit more intentionality to plan and reserve a cabin verses picking up the tent (and all the equipment) and heading out.

There are many fond and fun memories that go along with tent camping. We took several family vacations when our boys were younger: to state parks in Minnesota for weekend getaways, and longer vacations to national parks. I have kept a vacation journal over the years. It’s enjoyable to look back to the places we’ve been and to remember the wonderful times we shared as a family.

In addition to experiencing the amazing national treasures, the rituals of camping are dear to us: planning the trip, loading the car, finding a site, setting up the tent and possibly the screen tent, getting the sleeping bags and pillows and suitcases arranged in the tent, packing/unpacking the camping box with all the cooking paraphernalia that’s needed including dishes and wash basin, setting up the camp stove, placing the tablecloth on the table, finding the lanterns, keeping the cooler in the vehicle, filling the water jug, remembering towels, setting up camp chairs, gathering wood for the bonfire and finding the matches and all the ingredients for s’mores and on and on and on…so much fun…so much work…so worth it!

This past week our son and his wife and two children, age 4 (almost 5) and 3 years old, took the tent to Rocky Mountain National Park and camped for two nights there. It was exciting to think about the new memories they will make with the tent.

And…our older son and his wife and daughter went camping in a Minnesota State Park over the weekend.

Here’s to making more camping memories…

Whitewater State Park

A change in plans for family members opened up an opportunity for Gary & I to go camping over the weekend at Whitewater State Park, in one of their camper cabins.

This is Rainbow Trout, the name of the camper cabin we stayed in.

The camper cabins are cute…there isn’t a better word…just like baby animals…baby cabins are cute! The one we stayed in was only a year old. The cabins are like children’s playhouses. Inside are two bunk beds, a small picnic table with two benches, large, screened windows, electric lights and a ceiling fan and extra outlets. Each cabin has a small screen porch attached. Everything is built with knotty pine. The cabins are simple but functional and are a lot of fun to stay in.

Inside the camper cabin, from the porch.

Growing up in a kid-friendly neighborhood we had a shack in our backyard. It was a great place to play with the neighborhood gang. This camper cabin, which of course, is larger and much nicer than our backyard shack, brought back some fun memories of playing in, and on top of, the shack.

It doesn’t take long to get settled in to a camper cabin. Soon we were enjoying the great Minnesota outdoors. Whitewater State Park is in southeastern Minnesota, in a valley. The Whitewater River runs through the park, and beautiful, rocky bluffs surround the river and park.

One morning our hike took us up the bluffs with vistas at the top overlooking the valley. As we ascended so did our body temperatures, and at the same time the outside temperatures were climbing… into the 90’s, very unusual for our spring season.

Gary hiking on the trail. An interesting cavity in the tree.

Needless to say, we were very hot at the end of our hike so we quickly changed into our bathing suits and jumped into the spring-fed swimming hole in the river. It felt wonderful. This is something I rarely do anymore, but our bodies needed to cool down. I believe there is something very healing having your body surrounded completely by cool water. We could almost feel our body temperatures lowering to normal as we lingered in the water. Of course, many others in the park were also enjoying the swimming hole, but surprisingly it wasn’t crowded. It seems people stayed in the water just long enough to cool their bodies down.

Looking down on the park from our hike up the bluff. The swimming hole is the opening in the river with a sandy beach.

After we got out of the water we took showers in the shower house and then went out for an ice cream treat.

We found some fun ways to beat this unseasonable heat.

BWCA – Day Three

On our third day we paddled out of the BWCA and back to the Falls Lake boat landing where our cars were parked.

We woke up to cloudy skies, and a few mosquitoes. Before this morning we had no issues with mosquitoes or the nasty black flies, and we didn’t need to use our netting or bug spray. After a delicious breakfast of oatmeal with red quinoa, we packed our gear and “left no trace” and paddled away. The wind was picking up.

We paddled through the first lake with a slight wind. We paddled through the second lake with more wind but no rain. We paddled through the third lake in the wind and rain…so it made my adventure complete…I experienced the BWCA in the beautiful sunshine and in a dismal rain. Both were beautiful but I was thankful the rain came on our last day – on our way out.

My time in the BWCA was a great adventure and it was so good to experience the great wilderness of Northern Minnesota in this way. I am grateful.

BWCA – Day Two

After breakfast on the second day of our BWCA trip two of us from our group went out paddling for several hours. It was another beautiful, sunny day. We paddled up a peninsula and around the bend, stopped for lunch and paddled back down on a different lake. I became a great navigator with the map. We planned to portage back into the lake where we were staying through a portage that we had been told was very short (lesson learned – look for yourself how long the portage is…it tells on the maps.)

The portage ended up being very narrow, rocky, hilly, muddy, full of roots, dangerous and four times longer than we thought it would be. It was the worse portage my paddling partner had ever crossed with his experience in the BWCA.

Still thinking the portage was only 15 rods we kept hauling the canoe forward, but it was very difficult. Neither of us could not carry it on our shoulders and we could only carry it so far without stopping to rest. After struggling and thinking we were close to the end of the portage we met a young man coming towards us, checking out the portage from the other direction. We asked if we were almost to the end and he said about half way! O my…so we picked up the canoe again and started walking. Then the young man turned around and asked if we wanted help, so he carried the front of the canoe and we carried the back. We were very grateful for our “Portage Angel.” When we finally made it to the other side his young son was waiting with their canoe. I told him his dad was very kind and helped us very much. He seemed pleased and proud of his dad.

We settled into the canoe and took off again, paddling back to our Island, ready to be back at camp, relax and make dinner.

It was another one of those traveling adventures where one seems to get in a situation not knowing how you will get out of the situation and being relieved when you finally get back to “your place” – with prayers of thanksgiving – and all is right with the world again.

We did not have any night visitors the second evening. We slept well.

BWCA trip – to be continued.

BWCA – Day One

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) is a destination for many outdoor enthusiasts. I love nature and being outdoors so I consider myself an enthusiast but I had never experienced a trip in the BWCA. It is something I have often thought of doing so I made a commitment to go on the annual Faribault Flyers BWCA trip this year.

A foggy morning! Valerie & Gary’s first BWCA adventure.

Ten of us met up in Ely. We had dinner together and made everything ready for our departure the next morning. After a good night’s sleep we woke up early, went out for breakfast, and then took off to the Falls Lake boat landing to load our canoes and start our adventure. It was very foggy.

We loaded our gear into five canoes and the fog started to lift, thankfully. We took off paddling to the first portage. Our group split up; six guys took off for five days and the other group of four, the one I was in, took off for three days. By this time the sun was shining in a blue, cloudless sky and it was a glorious day to be in the wilderness!

We paddled across a second lake and portaged again to the third lake where we found our campsite. Since this was my first time in the Boundary Waters, and the others had been there before, they let me choose the campsite. I wanted to be on an island. We found a campsite on the west end of a small island with a slight, rocky incline. It was perfect. There is a fire pit with an iron grate, and a latrine at each official campsite in the BWCA. (The latrines are several yards back from the fire pit and are numbered for emergency location identification.)

We noticed this island on the map but it didn’t have a name. There was a larger island nearby named Gary’s Island so we named our island “Valerie’s Island.”

After setting up camp we had lots of time to sit and relax, read, gather firewood, make dinner, enjoy a beautiful sunset, and go to bed early.

We crawled into our tents and fell asleep but in the middle of the night we were awakened by voices…it was very disorienting at first, and then kind of scary, and then we learned it was a medical emergency. The campers across the lake, to the south of us, had paddled by the island earlier in the day so they knew there was someone occupying the campsite on the island. One of the two men was having an asthma attack and forgot his inhaler back in his truck. His friend loaded him into the canoe, paddled out into the dark night and dark waters to our island and used the sounds of snoring to find our site. I don’t remember the words exactly but in essence he said “We need help. Do you have an inhaler?” His talking woke us up and he repeated what he said and added “I’m just a social worker and I don’t know what to do.” After regaining our wits, a woman in our group, who is a nurse, got up and went out to talk with them. She suggested a breathing technique since we didn’t have an inhaler. The “patient” was talking and she said that was a good sign. The two men paddled back into the dark waters, to their campsite. They said they would return in the morning with a report. All this time the “token male” in our group slept through it all!

It wonderful to see the starry, starry sky but, of course, it was very hard to get back to sleep after all the excitement.

The next morning the two guys did come back. We recognized both of them, and their dog. We had seen them at the boat launch the day we left Falls Lake boat launch. They let us know the patient was doing OK. Being away from the smoke of the fire, propping himself up against a tree for the night, and special breathing made it easier for him to breath. We were thankful!

BWCA trip….to be continued.

A few photos from our camping trip

Pfeiffer Lake, near Ely, MN
The lake was like glass each morning.

We spent a couple of days camping up north near Ely, MN and then a couple more days on the north shore, near Tofte, MN. Since we were tent camping we did not have electricity to charge our phones…we could only charge them when we were in the car driving somewhere. Here are a few snippets from when I had my phone charged, and when I had my phone with me, and when the photos turned out; three big stipulations! Although it looks cloudy in several photos, we did have nice weather most of the time.

Wild rice growing in Rice Lake, near Ely, MN.

A rocky beach on Lake Superior. The big lake was calm and was also like glass this day.

Inviting Adirondack chairs at Naniboujou Lodge.

Off the pier at Grand Marais a schooner, the Hjordis, sails from the North House Folk School.
A couple of years ago we went for a ride on this sailboat.

Four Raccoons and a Cooler

We rented a camping cabin in Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park. This is not our first experience with camping cabins but it is our first time staying in a MN State Park camping cabin. Can I say they are adorable?

The “main room” has two built-in bunk beds with room to sleep 6 (single on top and double on bottom – both sides). It also has a small, built-in table with two benches and an overhead, electric light fixture that looks like a camping lantern. The furniture is made of pine logs and the entire cabin lined with knotty pine. There are many hooks and electrical outlets. A small screened- in porch is attached to the main cabin with a door between the two rooms. The door between is solid and lockable but the screen door to the outside only has a hook which locks from the inside.

As we unloaded our gear from the provided, pull-in cart we put our small cooler with our drinks on the porch. Then I noticed the freshly-made banana bread I brought along and last minute put the bread in the “drink cooler” to get it out of the heat.

Off we went, hiking with friends and had a campfire after that so we didn’t walk back to our cabin until later that evening, after dark. We had forgotten our flashlight so my husband used his iPhone’s flashlight feature. (My phone was charging inside the cabin…that’s modern camping!)

As we opened the screen door my husband said “look!” He shined the light in the corner and there were four raccoons backed against the wall…caught! They had successfully opened the screen door (did one hold it open for the others???) and all four raccoons entered the porch, somehow turned the handle on the cooler from the closed position to the open position, took off the cooler cover and proceeded to eat all two bags of banana bread! Immediately one of the bigger guys bravely walked right past us and out the door we held open, but the other three were still cowered in the corner. My husband had to shoo them out the door. I wish I had a photo but the picture is clear in our minds of the four guilty raccoons and two empty bags of banana bread. I hope they liked it!

Tenting

On our recent trip to Canada we camped one night in a city park on our way home to Minnesota. We enjoyed a campfire then crawled into our sleeping bags about 10ish, but since it was the 4^th of July weekend fireworks sounded late into the night and we didn’t fall asleep right away. So when we woke up in the morning we were surprised to see a tent in the site next to us. The owner must have pulled in late and set up the little tent. When I came back from the bathroom a tall, young man crawled out of the tent. We nodded at each other and I wondered if he’s traveling with anyone. As I was getting breakfast ready another young man crawled out of this tent. I thought that’s nice, he is traveling with someone but I thought the tent must have been cozy. Then to my surprise a third man crawled out of this two man tent and I started to giggle. They rolled up their sleeping bags, lifted the little tent right off the ground, took apart the two poles, folded the tent and put it all into the trunk of their car without saying a word, then drove off. It was comical to think we used our big family tent for the two of us and they had a small two person tent for three of them! What a fun way to start the day.