Labor Day Weekend Excursion with Trav
The Journey
With the long, Labor Day weekend, Sam and I decided what better to do than spend the long weekend in our amazing tiny home on a lake somewhere. So, after Sam did some research, we made a reservation at Highview Campground in Breezy Point, MN. We also invited one of my best friends and college buddy, Travis, to come along for the long weekend. Once again, we brought the boat with us for this trip so Sam and I drove separately, Sam pulling the boat in my parents truck, and Travis and I towing the camper. Both dogs naturally jumped into the Envoy, so Sam had to drive alone. After working a half day Friday, we left the house in the early afternoon to head north to Lake Country. The drive was fairly uneventful except for a little rain in the last half hour of the trip and poorly lit roads after sunset. By the time we arrived, the rain had stopped and we set about the task of setting up the camper. This was the first time we set up in the dark, but it went smoothly with the help of the campground owner who helped guide me into the site and Sam and Travis holding up a variety of lights to illuminate the way. We spent the rest of the evening sitting by the fire sipping some of the great beer we brought from home.
Sam enjoys having Travis around and calls him her other husband because he talks to me so she can read her book, and he happily takes orders from her. She gets two husbands to boss around!
The Campground
Highview Campground was pretty nice campground and the people who work there were very helpful. Our site was huge – even with the Labor Day weekend press, we still had a ton of space. They have two levels — up and lower — with the lower level being lake side. They had full hookups and pets were allowed so we had everything we needed. The restrooms were clean, the only problem was the stalls were very small. My shoulders were too broad, each shoulder touched a side wall when I used the toilet. My knees were also touching the door. The lakeside sites at the campground were all seasonal and they had a great view. But, the lower level, with the lake view and access does not allow dogs! Needless to say, we will never look into a seasonal site there. No dogs, no deal. The rest of the campground had decent sized sites and they had a parking area for boat trailers which is always useful. The staff was very helpful and accommodating. I will get more into that later.
Great Day for Biking
On Saturday morning, once we got up and moving, we made our usual camping breakfast of sausage and eggs and decided we needed to take advantage of the beautiful weather and get on our bikes. We rode on the country roads through the rolling hills around the lakes for about 8 miles into the town of Crosslake, MN. We arrived in town in the late morning so we rode directly to Zorbaz. Our third appearance this summer at a Zorbaz. We enjoyed a couple of good beers and their amazing pizza and nachos. After lunch, with stomachs full, we rode around the town a little to see some of the sights.
Just down the street from Zorbaz there is a nice city park along the river so we wandered around there for a little while. Then we crossed the road to the Crosslake Historic Village, a replica of the original buildings from the late 1800s in Crosslake. The history was very interesting. According to their rules, teachers who use liquor or get shaved in public will be fired, so I guess I wouldn’t make it a week!
Being a teacher in 1872 wouldn’t have worked for me…
We also learned that the mail was delivered to lake front homes on a Chris Craft – good work if you can find it! I’d recommend that if you are planning a trip to the area.
US Mail Chris Craft…Niiiice
We took a brief pause to pose with some Paul Bunyan things and went on our way.
Paul and Ms. Bunyan?!?! Or the Wandering Weidos???
After the touristy activities, it was time to get back to the campground to Toby and Buddy so we made the short return ride. Once the dogs were let out, since the weather was perfect, it was time to take the boat out for a cruise on Ossawinnamakee Lake, on which the campground lies. We loaded ourselves and the dogs into the Envoy and headed to the boat launch. It is a very long and semi narrow lake so the cruise from one end to the other took slightly over an hour. After the early evening cruise, it was time to get back to the camper to fire up the grill for dinner. After a delicious burger, chips, and coleslaw dinner we got the campfire going and enjoyed some great conversation and some more great beer. Finally, we decided to turn in for the night in the wee hours of the morning. Whenever we get together with Travis, the nights are late since we don’t see each other all the time.
Day on the Water
On Sunday morning, once we were up and functional, we ate our usual camping breakfast, made sandwiches, packed a cooler, loaded up the dogs, hooked up the boat and drove the few miles over to Big Pelican Lake to launch the boat. Once we got the boat in the water and the vehicle parked we started cruising the lake. Pelican Lake is ENORMOUS and we cruised around for a long time admiring the views. There were some very large homes on the lake that we were able to see from the water. After taking a lap around the lake, we found a sandbar where lots of other boats were parked and people were hanging out. So we found an open spot and parked our boat and dove into our picnic lunch and beverages and spend a couple hours hanging out at the sandbar. Lots of people had their dogs as well so Toby and Buddy were able to have a few conversations with others of their species.
Toby and I at the sandbar
After lunch at the sandbar, we continued to cruise a little more around the lake and we found a narrow spillway that took us into a cool little neighborhood on the water.
The Spillway
We then cruised back to the boat launch, trailered the boat, then we headed back to the campground. Once we got back, we fired up the grill and did some delicious brats and had chips, coleslaw, and other leftovers from the previous couple of nights. Have I ever mentioned that I enjoy grilling? After dinner, we got the campfire going and sat around and enjoyed s’mores and a few of the great beers we brought along. Sam turned in early and Travis and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning having some great conversation before finally calling it a night.
On Monday morning, Labor Day, we got up and moving and had a camping breakfast. We began the process of tearing down the campsite which Sam and I have gotten down to a science. When we got to the point where it was time to empty the sewer tanks, things got interesting. We had a full hookup site at the campground so I was going to empty the tanks at the site. I began to drain the black water tank and suddenly sewage overflowed from the sewer hole in the ground!!!!! Not pleasant by any means. I didn’t think it was anything I did wrong but I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I had to swallow my pride and go into the office and ask the campground staff for help. Did I mention that they were super helpful? They came out and tried a few things to clear the sewer line without success. So they came back with a camera that went down the sewer line. What they found was, needless to say, surprising. Someone who had previously stayed at our campsite had put a bocce ball down the sewer line, completely clogging it.
Trying to comprehend what went wrong with the sewer
The super awesome staff assured me that I didn’t do anything wrong and told us that we’d have to use the dump station at the campground. We emptied our tanks there and hooked up the boat to my parents truck and we were on our way home. We made a quick stop for lunch along the way and the drive home was uneventful. We arrived home in the late afternoon and unloaded and put the camper away ending yet another super fun camping trip.
