Going Home

Our last stop was at Colleton State Park. We visited here before but this time we just did an overnighter without going into town. The park is on Edisto River that is part of a 57 mile blackwater trail (the river is dark with tannins).

My morning hike took me on a nature trail and a search for three geocaches.

This was a two month trip. To me, full-timing is easier than part-timing. We moved campgrounds more since we were trying to see more in a short period. That can be more stressful versus staying at places longer. Plus you are thinking about things going on at home and what you need to do when you get there.

Part of the reason for this trip was to visit Minnesota and Michigan, our 43^rd and 44^th state to see in an RV. I thought visiting in August and September would be great since it would be warmer and then kids would be back in school. It was warmer and it rained only a few times during our trip. However, we missed a few places since they closed after Labor Day. Most places stay open until sometime in September, but I had to keep checking to see if a place would be open or what their fall hours were. I guess there is no perfect time anywhere when campsites are plentiful, museums are open, and the weather is perfect.

We’re planning on some shorter RV trips over the winter so it may be awhile before I post again.

We saw a lot of places during this trip. Here are my personal favorites:

1.    The balls-of-twine! (1 and 2) – These are something we’ve talked about for years and we finally got to see them. Extra points to us for talking to the guy making his in Wisconsin.

2.    Canoeing the Mississippi – Wonderful day and how many people can say they safely canoed on the Mississippi River?

3.    Itasca State Park – Walking across the Mississippi River was a great part of the visit to this park. But we really enjoyed the bike trails here. There are lots of places to visit within one park.

4.    Spring Mill State Park – So much to do in one park: finding Donaldson Cave while lost and wandering through a pioneer village. The best for me was the Gus Grissom Memorial.

5.    Clear Lake State Park – The town is great here. Biking into town was fun. The area had some interesting stops but top stops were the Surf Ballroom and the Buddy Holly Crash Site which were both sad and fascinating.
6. Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park - Fabulous falls at one end of the park. At the other end was a great campground, walking the beach, and Lake of the Clouds.
7. Gooseberry Falls State Park - Falls, hikes, and even an outhouse! What's not to like at this state park?

8.    The geology – The Soudan Mine trip was great to see with both hematite and jasper together. The potholes at Interstate showed the work that water melting from the glaciers can do. The rocks around Lake Superior made for a fun walk on the beach.