A weekend away with family, but not far
– note that this is posted almost a full year late in August 2022
This campground is probably the closest to our house. It is kid’s play to get to the campground. In fact, this trip was planned as a kid’s trip for our son’s niece. She backed out of the trip but our son and daughter-in-law still came and so did other family.
We were in site 11. This is the first time we have had a back-in site at Rice Creek. They have many pull-thrus and we tend to prefer the ease of setup that they afford. I got into the site after much maneuvering. Soon after our son and daughter-in-law arrived. Lynn got to the campground much later since she was babysitting in Chaska.
I had arrived at the site about 3:30 PM and found my sister already set up across the road in site 10B. Our son set up their tent behind our trailer. The electric connection was a little wacky. The surge protector was intermittently reporting ‘no ground’ so we plugged into the 50 amp plug and it seems more stable.
We had a nice dinner of Lou Malnati’s pizza from Chicago. We found that we can fit 2 of them on the grill, but we do have to take care to not burn the bottom. I also made margaritas for our daughter-in-law and myself. Lynn wanted wine when she arrived, so we had a Cannon River Millstream Red.
The next morning we got up about 6:30 AM and the coffee was started. This drew our son over to the trailer. There was enough of a chill that we thought about the furnace, but the LP gas regulator recall kept us wary about using the gas. Lynn left to run home and feed the cats. She stopped at Dunkin and brought back a box of donuts.
Then it was breakfast time consisting of bacon and eggs. Soon afterward our daughter arrived with her kids. We went on a ‘nature hike’ to the beach and back. My sister and her husband headed out on bike ride about that same time.
Soon it was time for lunch — brats & hot dogs, corn on the cob, grapes, pineapple, and a caprese salad. Then to take advantage of the post-lunch naps the kids would take, our daughter departed for home. It was also naptime in the campsite. Lynn took part of this time to feed the cats at home.
Dinner was somewhat late after being entertained by our nephew taking apart a Bic lighter and losing the spring. Fun can be found in the little things out camping. Once we got going with dinner it was burgers, zucchini fries, and chips. We followed dinner with a campfire at my sister’s site and went back to our trailer about 10:00 PM for the night.
Sunday morning we got moving at 6:00 AM. The coffee was ready when I got back from taking Crosby for a walk around the loop. We had a French toast and sausage breakfast. Then the process of packing up to go home began.
By 11:15 we were leaving the dump station and arrived home about 11:30. It was one of the best jobs of parking the trailer that I have had. It must have been all that practice getting into the site.
Trailer mileage
| Date | Start Location | Start City | End Location | End City | Miles |
| Previous miles | 2,932.0 | ||||
| 9/17/2021 | Home | White Bear Twp., MN | Rice Creek | Centerville, MN | 9.0 |
| 9/19/2021 | Rice Creek | Centerville, MN | Home | White Bear Twp., MN | 9.0 |
| Total miles | 2,950.0 |
Meals Planned
| Date | Meal | Menu |
| Friday, September 17 | Dinner | Lou Malnati’s Pizza Salad |
| Saturday, September 18 | Breakfast | Eggs Bacon Coffee |
| Lunch | Hot dogs/Brats Corn on the cob | |
| Dinner | Hamburgers Zucchini Fries | |
| Sunday, September 19 | Breakfast | French Toast Sausage Coffee |
Man of Wy 