Camping Cabins – Valerie's Voice

“Frosty outside, toasty inside.”

Those were the words I wrote in a cabin journal, inviting guests to leave comments about their experience at a camping cabin where we recently stayed for a couple of nights. These camping cabins have heat and electricity. They have large bunkbeds, built-in shelves, table with benches, but no indoor plumbing. There was water available close to the cabin.

The newly built cabins were well-made with pine siding, and the wonderful smell of pine permeated them. They have a screen porch (not useful in winter) and great views. It wasn’t really “glamping”, but coming in from the freezing temperatures outside, into the warm, cozy temperatures inside the cabin felt luxurious.

We scheduled a few days away at the cabin long before we knew there would be below zero temperatures. We brought along hand warmers and toe warmers and all our outdoor, winter gear we needed to be comfortable outside.

We were hoping to cross-country ski and snowshoe, but there was little snow on the ground so that didn’t happen. We managed to get in a couple hikes and have a camp fire to grill hotdogs.

The sun glistening on the snow-covered lake and the golden prairie grass along the trails showed off the beauty of a Minnesota winter.

The full moon in January is called the wolf moon.

There was an added bonus of the full January wolf moon. Getting up in the middle of the night to walk outside to the restroom was made tolerable because of the moon shining down, casting a charming spell on the landscape. We didn’t even need a flashlight to light our way to the heated, shower house. It made walking in the below zero temperatures a little less painful. 😉

It was a fun get away, and most definitely…frosty outside and toasty inside.

July 2024

The month of July was a very unusual, emotional month for us – dramatic negatives interspersed with unique positives…

A Negative:
A family member has been very sick.
A Positive:
My second cousin and his wife from Norway stayed with us for five days and we enjoyed our time together.
A Positive:
Our youngest son and his wife and two children, Zoey & Ezra, came for a three-week visit. 
A Negative:
I tested positive for COVID, and needed to curtail some activities. Thankfully I didn’t get very sick, it didn’t linger, and no one else caught it.

A stand-out activity with our two grandchildren from North Carolina, was a camping trip. We made plans to go camping with Zoey and Ezra when we knew they would be visiting us in Minnesota. Their parents had planned a getaway by themselves to celebrate special birthdays, so we made reservations for a camping cabin in a state park, about an hour away.

Camping never disappoints to create unforgettable memories. And we created memories. The biggest problem we encountered were the mosquitos, of course, and it also rained a couple of times. But we were able to do all we wanted to. We ate well (and outside)…blueberry pancakes, roasted hot dogs, s’mores, hobo meals… and we sat around the campfire, relaxed and read in the screen porch, had ice cream for lunch…we had fun.

We made hobo meals to cook over the open fire.

One of my favorite activities with Zoey and Ezra was writing and creating a book about our camping experience after we returned home. Zoey took notes as we all sat together and made suggestions as to what to write about our two-night camping trip and all the mishaps…much like The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Vacation. Both Ezra and Zoey got into this activity and we spent several hours on it. And I must say, it turned out well.

Ezra dictated as Zoey typed it up in a Word document. Then I edited the six chapters, and it “went to press”. We printed copies to present to the parents when they arrived home from their mini-get away.

The book, The Very Crazy Camping Trip, became an instant success!

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.