Departure never goes as planned
We planned on a 10:30 AM departure from home. But… we didn’t get fuel in the truck the day before, didn’t add water to the trailer tank the day before, and we didn’t finish packing the day before. So, we left home closer to noon.
We had a wind all the way up and that cut the fuel economy nearly to single digits. At least road construction was minimal. We stopped in a rest area to grab a quick lunch in the trailer. It was so hot outside that neither of us finished our sandwiches.
Arrival made up for it, almost…
I had the easiest time backing into site that I have experienced at Lamb’s Resort. We got in about 4:00 PM. Then the hookups started. The electric went well, but the water hookup showed a leak at the water heater. The pressure valve was open! Oops! Fixed that and discovered that the heater drain plug was leaking. I put the 12-point socket on the nylon plug and immediately stripped it. I was now impossible to remove with the tools I had.
A neighbor had a nut driver to remove the baffle and we were able to get a channel-lock to have room to grip it and remove it. Put in a new one with teflon tape and the leak was gone.
Things to do:
- Add nut drivers to the tool bag
- Replace the tool roll with a box. There is no longer enough room in the tool roll.
We went to lower the awning to hookup the wind socks and we found a broken piece. No awning for the trip.
Things to do:
- Take trailer in for repair of the awning.
I’m not having a good day. I am also nursing a blister.
Dinner was sliders, chips & dip, and rice salad. Easy fare for the first night after set-up. Also, like last year, Steve and Andrea were joining us at Lamb’s.
The morning started with Steve and Andrea making a bakery run for lattes. That was breakfast instead of the planned bacon and eggs.
We decided that the bugs were so bad that we would setup the screen tent over the picnic table. Our neighbors commented that the bugs were the worst they had seen in 16 years of coming here. Having the table tented worked for a while — then the wind got stronger. Staking to the rocky ground is very difficult. So we tied it to the table. That sort of worked. The wind took it over but it could not fly away. So, we used the water bag weights. We have 4 of them. The 6 legs of the screen tent still inched around. Each water bag weighs 22 pounds full and with 4, that means we had 88 pounds of weight being pushed around by the wind. I guess it was good that the awning was out of service.
The screen tent was soon taken down. We did get to have lunch in the screen tent first. That lunch was DIY sandwiches.
A little later, thoughts turned to Jambalaya. The neighbors offered us some firewood and we were happy to get more than enough for a cooking fire. They go home every year with the entire box of their pickup truck full of wood that they get from a friend in the area.
The jambalaya prep was done inside the trailer — those bugs and wind.
- Note to do prep at home – chop meat and veggies and bag them, mix the dry ingredients and spices and bag them.
Lynn made cornbread in the oven. Once the fire got going, things were ready to cook. It was a good batch even if the cayenne pepper was accidentally omitted.
After dinner the telescope was set up just waiting for dark. At first siting of a star, Steve and I focused in on it. We decided to quit soon after because there simply wasn’t that much interesting – no moon or planets. The planets were nicely lined up for morning viewing.
Morning viewing was not happening. Lynn and I woke about 8:00 AM. Coffee was flowing soon afterward.
A little while later, I made Eggs in a Frame. The griddle was slightly downhill in the wrong direction and flamed out making it difficult to cook. The eggs were accompanied by thick cut ham warmed on the grill. It’s good to have options for cooking.
More laziness and comments about less bugs and less wind.
Just before noon I decided to take care of the empty gas tank. Lutsen has a Mobil station that was supposed to have 89 octane fuel. They don’t. So, on to Grand Marais to the Speedway.
Oops, it is now a Marathon, but it has the 89 octane. As a bonus it was 18¢ cheaper than my fill up at home. We also stopped and bought more bread and chips.
When we returned, we stopped at the office and registered for next year. June 29, 2023 – July 3, 2023 Site 12B. I also bought a hat. Steve and Andrea had brats ready for us when we got back to the site.
Later, for dinner we had grilled salmon with rice salad, little potatoes, green beans, and a good hardy bread from Canada.
I had an early evening, while the others had s’mores by the fire and talked until about 10:00 PM.
We woke to a bright crisp day just before 7:00 AM. However, the forecast is for rain continuing over night and though the morning. After a breakfast of French Toast and sausage, we decided to move up dinner and leave in the afternoon.
So, about 2:30 we had a lunch of pork tenderloin, wedge salad, and gnocchi with Brussels sprouts. The packing then began in earnest, even though some was been done earlier.
Around 3:45 we pulled out of Lamb’s. The drive home was most uneventful. We stopped at the rest area overlooking Duluth and again for gas in Pine City. We got home just before 8:00 PM and decided to empty the trailer of food and clothing before we would have to do it in the rain the next day.
Trailer mileage
| Date | Start Location | Start City | End Location | End City | Miles |
| Previous miles | 3,081.8 | ||||
| 6/30/2022 | Home | White Bear Twp., MN | Lamb’s Resort | Schroeder, MN | 219.0 |
| 7/3/2022 | Lamb’s Resort | Schroeder, MN | Home | White Bear Twp., MN | 220.0 |
| Total miles | 3,520.8 |
Meals Planned
| Date | Meal | Menu |
| Thursday, June 30 | Lunch – rest area | Turkey & cheese sandwich Chips Iced Tea |
| Dinner | Sliders Chips & dip Rice salad | |
| Friday, July 1 | Breakfast | Long John Latte |
| Lunch | Tuna Sandwiches Chips and Dip Grapes | |
| Dinner | Jambalaya Corn Bread | |
| Saturday, July 2 | Breakfast | Eggs in a Frame Smoked Ham Corn Bread Coffee V8 |
| Lunch | Brats Chips | |
| Dinner | Grilled Salmon Rice Salad Little Potatoes Green Beans | |
| Sunday, July 3 | Breakfast | French Toast Sausage Coffee V8 |
| Lunch | Pork Tenderloin Gnocchi w/Brussels Sprouts Wedge Salad |
Man of Wy 