I'm back in Minnesota, don't cha know,,,

I left Swan Lake NWR at 9:45 on Monday with the plan to camp about half way to Minnesota in Des Moines, Iowa. As I arrived in Des Moines, about 2:30, I was pretty much still in the city and decided I didn't really want to stop yet. So, I headed on. I usually only travel about 200 miles a day, but I ended up traveling 385 miles and arrived at Rice Lake State Park around 7:30. It was a long day of driving, but all but 70 miles of it was on the interstate, which I think is a lot easier than driving back roads. I set up in the B-1 site that was my favorite during the seven years I camp hosted there before I retired.



A couple of interesting things happened along the way. I've never hit anything with the RV, but Monday was a first. A blackbird flew up from the median and smacked directly into my windshield. I'm afraid it was fatal for him and made me literally jump in my seat! Also, when I decided to bypass the campground in Des Moines, it kind of challenged my plans to arrive at Rice Lake with empty tanks. I had dumped the tanks on Saturday with the intention of dumping them again along the way to Rice Lake. You see Rice Lake doesn't have a dump station and I would be there for at least a week. Luckily, one of the rest areas that I pulled into in Iowa also had a trailer dump station, so I solved that problem...but not without a little bump. As I pulled the lever for the black tank, the connection at the receiving end separated and the contents started going outward rather than downward. It was a good thing that this particular dump station was set up to handle these kind of mishaps and things turned out better than I could have suspected. :)



I haven't been to Rice Lake in two years, and it was very apparent, as I filled the fresh water tank, that if anything, the mosquito population has increased! I got about six bites just filling the tank.

I decided not to take the satellite DISH with me on this trip, so , as I set up, I put up the antennae and turned on the TV to see what stations I could get. It was a shock to me to find I really couldn't receive any stations. The last time I used the aerial was before the official switch the digital TV. Luckily, the only station that sort of came in was a station explaining how to get some reception. Little did I know that I had to rescan for stations because stations now have different numbers. I did as suggested and was able to get quite a few stations, just not NBC, which is the station I like to watch in the morning. Any way, I'm settled in for a week.

Today, the first thing on the agenda was to find a vet for Emma. I called the vet I used when I lived in Kasson, MN, and was able to take her in for a 9:45 appointment. She is now on antibiotics and hopefully that and a dose of cranberry juice everyday will return her to normal.

Daniel, Crystal, Robyn, Avery, and I went out for lunch in Kasson, and then Robyn, Avery, and I headed for Rochester to find something for me to wear to the wedding and to run some errands for Robyn. We were successful all around, and got back to Robyn's dad's house around five. Emma spent the day playing with Dan's dog, Buddy, but was happy to hop into the car and return to the RV.

It has been a busy two days, and I'm pooped tonight. I hope I can sleep in a little tomorrow morning. I do need to get to the park office and register and pay for my site. It's a good thing they know me.... :)

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy