Camping Marshall by Ourselves and Redwood Falls with Friends

Scott had to do a reshoot in Marshall so we planned on camping for the night since he had to drive all the way out there.

It's a three hour drive. I suggest not screwing up like this.

Anna asked if we wanted to camp with them and as it turns out they were planning to go a half hour east of where we were. 

After my shoot was done we went to D's Thai. It was basically the Chipotle of Thai food. Very good even if it's in an old KFC.

We then went to Runnings. It looked like Fleet Farm and we just had to stop by. They sold jigs in bulk and had an amazing selection of camping gear!

We settled on Camden State Park for the night. The park wasn't busy at all. Only one other camper was on the tent side, it felt like we had the place to ourselves. 

We needed to set up camp quickly as a big storm was rolling in.

Ever since the tornado I still get nervous during storms. This time I was more worried about a tree falling on us. 

I suggested we run to the very sturdy cement outhouse.

After booking it to the outhouse the storm died down and turned to light rain.

Nothing to be scared of after all.

It was windy and hailed a little, but nothing too serious.

I did Brain Quest with Meadow. I was surprised at how many answers she got correct. She apparently knows more than I thought.

That's because I let her watch "Little Einsteins."

I was getting bored in the tent and when I peeked outside I noticed the sun was starting to come through.

I called to Scott to come out because the lighting was awesome.

Brooke was right. The prairie was glowing while the storm passed in the distance.

I was hoping to see a rainbow at the top of the hill.

It seems like most Minnesotans go to all the cliche state parks when some of my favorites have been the ones no one goes to. 

I wanted to keep going, but the boardwalk was really slippery and Scott wasn't wearing shoes.

Sorry.

We will come back tomorrow.

No rainbow ever came out.

Back down the valley we went.

Meadow rode her bike while Scott took advantage of the showers. She's getting really good at balancing.

I think this was the first time we've taken eggs camping.

Why not? Just put them in a cooler and cross your fingers.

We usually don't bring coolers.

I studied my fishing book while we ate.

Berry oatmeal and eggs. Meadow approved.

We had plans to meet Anna and Aaron in Redwood Falls in the afternoon. I wanted to do some hiking and Scott wanted to fish. Meadow came hiking with me while Scott hiked to the lake.

We only had one map so Scott took a picture.

Off an unmarked trail were the remains of Jones Mill. 

 "An American Fur Company trading post was established in the valley in the middle 1830s. LaFramboise, a Frenchman, was hired to trade with the local American Indians from this post and manage the company's affairs in the Coteau des Prairies region. American and European settlers began coming to the valley by the late 1850s. In 1874 the village of Camden was established. By the late 1880s, Camden was thriving with a general store, hotel, blacksmith shop and a sawmill that was later converted to a grist mill. The town grew until 1888 when the railroad decided not to place a depot in Camden. By the early 1930s, the town of Camden was a memory."

Then we came upon this random patch of wildflowers. 

Our friends are borrowing our Ergo so I told Meadow she was going to have to walk the whole way by herself. Near the end of the hike she was starting to get tired and kept stopping to do yoga.

I went the opposite way and enjoyed the prairie and gnarly clouds.

I got to chatting with this fellow from rural southwest Minnesota. He was fishing with minnows and catching a decent sized fish every few minutes.

I caught a nice sized large mouth bass. 

Meadow and I packed up camp and headed over to the lake to pick up Scott. I texted Anna to see if they had arrived and off we went to Redwood Falls.

It was quite the change between last nights campsite to this one.

Hello Alexander Ramsey Park.

Also notice the awesome tipi tent way in the background.

Hey dudes.

This became Meadow's favorite spot for our stay.

Aaron had mentioned that there was a zoo at the park. The kids loved it.

Apparently Aaron had come here every summer growing up.

Lydia's just the cutest baby.

We went back to the campsite and I watched Aaron chop some wood.

We've been impressed by Aaron's campfire building skills, until we learned his secret.

He usually uses lighter fluid, but not this time.

I made a classic cabbage and sausage pasta on our camp stove. Anna had an extra potato or two, which I threw in.

We combined our meals and ate together.

We also took advantage of Aaron's fire and made s'mores.

Aaron, Roman and I tried our hand a fishing on the river. I embarrassed myself by casting my jig into a tree and then got stuck on a rock. Note to self: use a bobber, spinner bait or floating lure on rivers. 

We made popcorn while our friends hit the hay early. 

Apparently Meadow and I were tired and slept in way longer than everyone else.

Anna and Aaron had already drank a cup of coffee by the time I was up.

I drove over to the local Runnings, my new favorite store, only to be disappointed that they didn't have the camp fuel I needed. I sadly had to head to Walmart instead. The shame.

Scott made french toast for breakfast. I don't think I've ever woken up and had breakfast waiting for me.

Your welcome, love.

Aaron played his band's new album on their boom box while we all ate.

Wanna go see a waterfall Lydia?

After cleaning up from breakfast we walked over to see the waterfall. The moby wrap is definitely not very easy and the poor kid wasn't in tight enough.

I can't believe I never heard of this park before.

We went two different directions to get to the waterfall and met with them once there.

Brooke and Anna were getting nervous as we stepped near the ledge.

I think everyone was looking at an inchworm instead of the waterfall.

I was telling Meadow how I used to climb the giant rocks like this in my Grandma's yard when I was a kid and maybe someday she could play on them too.

These two.

The zoo had a goat feeding mechanism that Meadow thought was the bees knees. She happily picked up all the kernels that had dropped to the ground.

I thought we'd try one more attempt at fishing. I was having trouble tying my lure so Aaron finished it for me. I need to learn a different knot.

It was really warm and buggy along the river and we soon called it a day.

Meadow told Anna she wanted to take a nap with her and Lydia. I read my book on the picnic table and could hear them having conversations. I was actually shocked that Meadow even wanted to nap.

We spent a lot of time at the playground.

Meadow could have played on these swings all day.

We had to get back to the cities. Wish we could've stayed for another camp fire. Next time.

Driving home for dinner we stopped and ate at The Country Drive In in Winthrop. We had tried to stop here last year, but didn't have cash.

We were going to go to the Dairy King in Redwood Falls, but weren't impressed by the menu. This place wasn't all that different. Next time we'll have to try out the Dairy King.

Meadow's kids meal included a mini shake.

Lucky dog.

For the first time in the car Meadow said she had to pee. We quickly pulled over and got out her potty chair. That's quite the view.

 Driving by this old farmhouse they were giving away a few things. I thought I had seen a hose reel, which we have been needing. We turned around and grabbed it. Scott also noticed an old radio flyer car that we also grabbed.

What a find!