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Leech Lake Campground (June 16-29) 2025
I’ll be honest, when Ed said we were going to stay at Leech Lake, I was not really excited about it! Turns out, there are no leeches at Leech Lake. *whew* We got a wonderful site! I really enjoyed this campground. It was peaceful and woodsy.
We set up the CLAM to hang out in. Scooby thinks this is his chair. He lets Ed use it on occasion.
We had lots of critter visitors. They enjoyed the peanuts and feeders I had around the site.
We had our first really severe weather, tornado sirens blaring and we took shelter in the campground bathrooms with everyone else in the place. A horrible tornado hit Bemidji and to the west of them. I believe there were also tornados south of us, but fortunately, we only got hard rain and winds. A tornado would be a devastating situation for us!
We discovered that there were several Dambo Trolls in the area, so we went in search of them all. We had a great time finding them!
We did a ton of walking while hunting the trolls. It was a great day!
We happened upon a Paul Bunyan along our way home!
While in the area, Ed found a place for me to get pasties! It is called Pasties Plus in Grand Rapids. I went there twice, once just to try them out and then again to pick up some to freeze for the road. They have breakfast pasties that are wonderful! The regular, beef & kraut and German were all great too! I wish I had called ahead to order, as she was out of the beef & kraut and German. Oh well, it gives me something to look forward to for the next time we are in the area.
We really enjoyed this area. There isn’t a ton to do, but we enjoyed the little town of Longville, they have a great ice cream shop. We went to Bemidji and Grand Rapid a few times, but mostly we just enjoyed the campground. One of the great things about this lifestyle is that we can do all the touristy things when we like and we can do absolutely nothing if we like! It is all about balance. Sometimes our best days are just driving around taking in the area around us or sitting outside and enjoying nature. This Texan loves to be able to sit around outside in late JUNE without melting!
Next stop, North Dakota!
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Sawmill Campground (May 18-June 16) 2025
We are getting the map filled in pretty good! We arrived in Mankato, Minnesota and got settled in a site at Sawmill Campground. I was apprehensive about this campground, as the reviews were pretty negative. Lots of complaints about the owner who apparently can be a real grump. When we checked in, the lady who was working the office was great. She was very friendly and accommodating. We got a nice site and never had any issues, which I was grateful for!
Here Scooby is enjoying his ‘perch’ on my desk, while I was sorting out my “Lil Jesus” in rainbow order. Ed ordered me 100 off Amazon. LOL! You can see the nice view we had, it is so green here!
I decided that I didn’t like the pull out shelf in the bar area, so Ed gutted it and put in shelving for me. He also put shelving in the area where the dishwasher was removed. I am thrilled to have more efficient use of the area! I had to snap these photos of Ed all squished up in the space under the bar! LOL! We spent the first two weeks here upgrading the kitchen stuff. It was all worth it and I love how organized everything is now! We also organized and upgraded several things throughout the camper during our stay here. I swear Menard’s started contemplating putting us on the payroll, we were there so often.
While driving around Mankato, probably heading to or from Menard’s, I spotted this Godzilla sculpture and thought of Michael and his love for all things Godzilla.
We discovered that the SPAM museum was not too far off, so we decided to make a day trip and go check it out. It was interesting, for sure. It also got us interested in having SPAM on occasion. I was shocked to see all the flavors they have now. I don’t think I have purchases SPAM since the late 90’s/early 2000’s.
That same day, we drove out to see the Green Giant statue. They have a museum and a Sprout, also. The town has Sprout statues at various businesses all over town, they had a map at the museum that would take you to each of them. It would be fun for kids, but we were a bit tired from our day and decided to forgo hunting down the Sprouts.
I think that last ‘Sprout’ may be an off brand! LOL!
Here is the former dishwasher area. We opted not to put a cabinet with a door in the space, as it is just as functional without it.
I flew to Dallas the first week of June. Took care of some doctor appointments and spent time visiting Mom, James and Michael. When I flew back to Minnesota, Ed and I stopped at Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store. I have to say, we have never been to a larger candy store. They had so much stuff!
While I was in Dallas, Ed updated the closet space. It is much more organized and functional. I’m really happy with how it turned out. Ed got the organizational bug while we were here!
The cottonwood was blooming like mad while we were here and Ed had to go up on the roof to clean out the A/C units. I had read that it can be a real problem.
We really enjoyed our stay here. I became friends with the camp host. She was delighted to get all our bits and pieces that we removed from the camper during the upgrades on the kitchen and closets. I always enjoy it when we can get the items that we don’t need to someone who can use them. Some of this RV stuff is so hard to find or is stupidly expensive, so throwing it out is senseless when we know there is someone who might be able to use it.
We are heading to Federal Damn, MN next.
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Neshonoc Lakeside Encore (May 16-18) 2025
We arrived at Neshonoc Lakeside campground which is an Encore campground. We got a nice shady site located at the top of a hill. I was initally put off by the lack of a real ‘pad’, no gravel, asphalt or concrete, but in all honesty, this was a great site. I was worried about how soft the ground might be, but it was no problem at all. This park has many annual sites and wasn’t quite welcoming, per se, but we didn’t have any problems either. I would stay here again and maybe with a longer stay I might feel a bit differently.
While looking up letterboxes in the area, we discovered a place called FAST that has a ‘fiberglass mold graveyard’. It is a really interesting place! We spent all afternoon exploring it. There wasn’t another soul around, which made it really fun, it kinda felt like our own little secret discovery!
We didn’t do a whole lot in the area, as we were only staying for a couple days, but it was fun to find this place. Now we head to Mankato, Minnesota.
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Milton KOA (May 15) 2025
Speaking of weather, this was a crazy windy night with a wild storm. It was nice to be in a secure area with a nice concrete pad and no really huge older trees to stress about. This KOA is really nice and I loved the site, it had a nice patio area that was secluded. It was, however, just a one night stayover.
On to Neshonoc Lakeside
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Kankakee South KOA (May 14) 2025
We drove to Chebanse, Illinois for a one night stay. We schedule for almost a year out, so when something like repairs interrupt our schedule, we have to do some overnight stays to ‘catch up’ to our reservations. We have a somewhat difficult to get reservation for Yellowstone’s Fishing Bridge campground, we had to forgo Yellowstone when Ed had his cancer treatment in Seattle, so we really have been looking forward to being there this year. Some reservations are very hard to get or to move, so we try to stay on schedule as much as possible. It is especially important when we are trying to stay ahead of weather.
On to Wisconsin!
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Shipshewana South (May 12-14) 2025
We picked up June and she is all repaired and pretty again! We stayed in Shipshewana for a couple days just to insure there were no issues with the repairs and also to be able to go to the market, as it was the first official weekend! I got two adorable wooden figures for outdoor decor. I had a terrible time picking just two, but Ed was adamant that we only ‘needed’ two. I love them! I plan on painting the bear’s jar to be a honey jar, since we are not drinkers…
I also HAD to have this cute hat…the ears flap up and down! LOL!
I did my last stock up of bulk items at the Amish market. I am sure I got way more than I need, but I’d rather get more than wish I had more! LOL!
We stayed at the same campground, but someone had my favorite site. I dealt with it since it was only a couple days (plus, I had no choice LOL). Next we start heading westward.
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Camperless Travel (May 5-11) 2025
May 5-We dropped off the camper for repairs and drove to Holland, Michigan to attend the tulip festival. It was beautiful and I took a billion photos of tulips, I will not post them all. LOL We stopped at couple of lighthouses and stayed the night in Muskegon at the Holiday Inn.
May 6-We drove to Traverse City. Along the way, we stopped in Manistee, saw the Point Betsie Lighthouse, saw the sand dune climb at Sleeping Bear Dunes, went to a FLAG at Glen Arbor, went to Northport Bay and Leelanau State Park. The train car and dinosaur in the last two photos are at a private residence right on the beach. We stayed overnight in Traverse City.
May 7-We drove to St. Ignace. Along the way we stopped to see TWO separate “World’s Largest Cherry Pie” pans/claims. One is in Traverse City and the other is in Charlevoix. We went to Michigan Beach Part and I met a couple who gave me a Petoskey stone!!! They were so kind. I had just stopped them to see what it was they were hunting. I mentioned that I had seen them in shops and might pick one up as a souvenir. The man didn’t want me to pay for a stone in a shop, so he gave me one. We had come to the area to see the ‘mushroom houses’ in Charlevoix. Ed found them online. They are quite quirky and fun. I could live in one! We then drove M22 to drive through the ‘Tunnel of Trees’. I think when the leaves are on the trees, it is probably spectacular. It actually was still a great drive.
We got a great hotel in St. Ignace. Being as we are at the edge of the season starting, it wasn’t busy which was nice. I love the view from our room and when we were walking in, I noticed the cute trim on the stairs! We learned about the gnats. They were crazy bad on the balcony!
May 8-We took the boat to Mackinac Island. I have heard so much about the island, so I was super excited to get to visit. Unfortunately, it was bitterly cold. We did take a horse drawn carriage ride, which was amazing. We didn’t do much else on the island, as it was just so cold and every shop was packed with people trying to get out of the cold & wind. We did get some Mackinac Fudge, it was quite good. I do want to return someday, however, we will plan it for a bit later in the season.
May 9-We left St. Ignace and drove to Sault Ste Marie. I stopped at Lehto’s Pasties as I had read so much about how you HAVE to get a pastie or you haven’t fully experienced the UP. It was really good! I had a regular pastie, go the gravy, but really wasn’t a fan of the gravy. Loved the pastie though. We drove up into the Upper Pennisula. There is one of the Dambo trolls in Germfask, so we had to go see him. He is Benny Beardfisher and he is located at a campground where you can take a short hike to see him. I love these trolls and we try to be sure to find them when in the areas they live. Each one is so unique and has a fun personality. Plus, it is a good way to get Ed to go for a walk with me.
We were on our way to Sable Creek Falls and we saw snow still on the ground! Scooby was not too thrilled to get photos in the snow.
We hiked up to the falls and they are gorgeous. There are A LOT of stairs to go up and down to get there. We had to laugh at the graffiti, Ed fully agreed! We went to the beach at Grand Marais. We met a guy who showed me what a Yooperlite is and he gave me a fossil stone! I admit that he told me what the fossil was, but I forgot. It was very sweet of him to give it to me. The photo below is my Petoskey stone, not the fossil stone. In town as we were leaving, we saw this huge barrel shaped building, it is the Pickle Barrel Museum. Unfortunately, it was not open.
We got to our hotel in Sault Ste Marie and I couldn’t stop thinking about the Yooperlite. Ed indulged my crazy and we went to get some UV flashlights to hut for Yooperlite! We didn’t have any luck finding Yooperlite, but we had a blast trying and it is one of my favorite things we did on this little side excursion! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man who encourages my silly antics. Life is good, no, life is GREAT!
May 10–I found my place! I am sure my brother’s would whole heartedly agree! LOL!
We took an early tour of the Soo Lock. This was such a cool experience! Things like this amaze me. Growing up landlocked and in a very small rural town, I had never even heard of this process. Even at 50, you can learn new things!
After the Lock tour, we started heading to Frankenmuth. We stopped in Cedarville and Cheboygan to visit the FLAG’s there. I picked up art that I felt would be good reminders of the area. I adore the style of the FLAG in Cheboygan! (I am updating the blog in December and realized I never mailed art to these two! I will ASAP)
We found this kitschy souvenir shop called Sea Shell City and had fun looking at all the wild stuff!
Ed had found this Gnome Village in Wolverine online, so of course, I had to find it! It is amazing. I had a blast looking at all the houses and the detail is great. I even made friends with a groundhog…well, he actually started yelling “GET OFF MY LAWN” in groundhog speak…but I think he liked me. LOL!
We arrived in Frankenmuth and settled into the hotel. It was a long day.
May 11-We spent the morning walking around Frankenmuth. I found the ‘Little Jesus’ figures at a shop and had to buy some! We have seen these around the Shipshewana area and I love the thought of giving people one and telling them the look/act like “they need a lil’ Jesus in their life”. **Side Story** Unfortunately, I found them after I had a run in with an idiot. I mentioned to Ed that I wish busy places like this would establish a no-smoking ordinance for those of us who hate the smell of cigarette smoke. This idiot was upset that I was ‘bitching’ about his elderly mother, who did, in fact, light up a cigarette while blocking the doorway of a bakery we were trying to enter. I LOATHE walking through cigarette smoke, as a non-smoker who cared for endless lung cancer patients, I truly loathe smoking in public areas. This woman was so fragile and weak that she was doubled over on a walker, yet could not even get out of the doorway of the establishment before she lit up. SO, yes, she was part of the problem, along with the group of 6-10 other folks who were smoking in the same general area (AGAIN, the doorway/porch of a bakery). This idiot walked up on me and cursed me out for being so insensitive to his mother…yes, the man who decided he was a big boy screaming profanity at a woman on a public sidewalk, which made his mother extremely upset. The elderly woman didn’t hear my comment to my husband so she didn’t even know what was going on. I just laughed at her idiot son and when I walked past her, I said “Happy Mother’s Day, I bet you are SO proud!” What a joke of a human. If I had the Jesus figures, this would have been the perfect opportunity to hand one out. Anyhoo! **End Side Story** We went along our merry way and had some beignets from N’Orlins, which are ironically amazingly good for Michigan. They also have gumbo, jambalaya and alligator nuggets, which I haven’t had the nerve to try. Maybe someday…
We drove back to Shipshewana and stayed the night in the Blue Gate hotel, tomorrow we will pick up the camper!
Charlevoix, Durango Gold, Fifth Wheel, Frankenmuth, Full Time Travel, Gnome Village, Holland Michigan, Lehto Pasties, Mackinac Island, Michigan, Mushroom Houses, Pasties, Petosky Stone, RV life, RV repairs, Sault Ste Marie, Soo Locks, St Ignace, Thousand Trails, Traverse City, Tulip Festival, UP Michigan, Upper Peninsula, Wolverine Michigan, Yooperlite -
Shipshewana South (April 13-May 5) 2025
We stayed the night at the Blue Gate Hotel while the new fridge was installed. We are getting a fully electric fridge that doesn’t require any propane.
After the fridge was installed, we settled into the Shipshewana South Campground. It is a nice campground. We originally were booked at a KOA, but it was not exactly what I wanted for a longer term stay, so we found a better fit at Shipshewana South.
We got a great corner site that backs up to an Amish farm next door. There are horses right out my window and I love it! It is early in the season, so there are not many other campers here, but we are enjoying the peace and quiet.
While here, we had a RV repairman come to do various projects. We are having the sealant on the outside all replaced, the shower door installed, the carpet pulled out of the slide outs and linoleum placed, all slide out awning material replaced, the water pump replaced. Not sure what other repairs were done, but it was a ton. LOL!
We spent much of our time here at the campground and in the area soaking up the local shops/restaurants. I love the area. The Amish community is so welcoming and their shops are wonderful. I love the local bulk food market. I stocked up on popcorn and pantry staples. I even stocked up on popcorn for Mama. If the winters here were not so ugly, I would consider settling in this area, Ed is not a fan of harsh winters, though.
One day while picking up some mail at the post office in Middlebury, I stumbled upon a FLAG. I got a great little piece that is called Amish Boys Walking. Later, I actually met the lady who owns the gallery. She is an artist named Linda Pieri. She is super kind and WAY talented! I enjoyed hanging out with her for the day.
We visited the Linton Enchanted Gardens. It is a fun and quirky place! The parrots are super friendly and fun. I loved all the fun houses.
We also visited the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo. We found a “James wuz here” that I swear, if I didn’t know any better, I would have put money that our James wrote it!
While in Kalamazoo, we also stopped by the Leila Arboretum to see the sculpture garden.
While having the camper worked on, we discovered the slide where my office is has a large crack and needed to be taken to a shop for repairs. There is also damage in the wall of the bedroom where KZ previously ‘repaired’ it. It turns out they did not properly repair it, so it is now going to be done properly. Since we have to leave the camper in the shop, we are going to travel to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
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TT Indian Lakes in Batesville, IN (April 2-13) 2025
We arrived to a pretty empty campground. It’s early in the season for this area and we were surprised, as when we have been here before, this campground has been pretty packed. We got a great corner site that had tons of room. The only drawback was that when we arrived, there was an issue with power at the site. Fortunately, the team they sent was able to get it repaired and back up in about an hour.
So empty! LOL!
When we arrived, the weather was a bit sketchy. The wind was insane and there were storms headed our way. The forecast warned of tornado activity in the area, so we pulled in the slides and rocked all night. Luckily, the tornado activity was close, but not in our area. We remained intact and undamaged. It was cold the entire visit and we had a couple nights where the water froze. It is wild how different the climate can be in a days drive!
We went to the Dayton, Ohio Air Force Museum. It is a huge museum and we spent most of the day there.
I found a few fun planes 😉
We went to Jungle Jim’s while in the area. I love that place. It is such an amazing store with tons of international products. I could spend days there!
While in the Cincinnati area, we got some work done on the Ram. Ed had to go alone, as I was not feeling well. It was super cold and my back was out, so I was not interested in going out. Then he had to go back the next two days again! I felt so badly for him. There were issues with the transmission that they were working on and they replaced the brakes. There were some parts issues, but honestly, I don’t know why it took 3 full days. I am so glad I have Ed to handle that kind of mess.
The campground has a reputation for having a golfcart parade every Friday night. Since the campground is not exactly busy right now, there was one, but it was pretty small. I enjoy them and need to remember to video one the next time we are here. We like this park and will certainly stay here anytime we are in the area.
It is now time to head to Shipshewana to get the new fridge!!
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Renfro Valley KOA in Mt. Vernon, KY (April 1) 2025
This was just an overnight stay on our way to a TT campground. Ed booked a nice site with our very own fenced in dog area. The patio was nice and we had a swing. The KOA is really nice and would stay here again if ever in the area.
We went to Berea to eat and found that they have a KY Craft Center. It was a cool place and had some really fun things, unfortunately, the prices were a bit inflated.
Onward to Indiana
