June in Minnesota

June has been a relatively quiet month. And that suits me just fine. It's a welcome respite from the hectic first few months.

We arrived at Joel and Beth's on June 1. Since the last time we were there, Joel installed a 50 amp electric outlet for his pole barn and allowed us to plug into it for the duration. That meant that our parking spot was moved from the driveway to the back lot. We traded a view of the pond for a view of the field. It turned out to be better in the long run, since we were separated from their house by a line of trees, which afforded more privacy for us and for them, as well as less light "pollution". We also traded water access for electricity. We were able to run our grey water out into the field, but there was no fresh water access in this location. That meant that every three or four days (since we were not being very conservative) we had to pull in the slides, drive the coach up the dirt road to the house, and hook up to their water spigot to fill our fresh water tank. But it was a tolerable trade-off.

A nice view of the field

Looking toward the house, which is at the end of
the road behind the second line of trees

They have quite an assortment of wildlife on their property. We saw deer and pheasant on a couple occasions. One morning three sandhill cranes moseyed across the road right in front of our coach on their way to the field. As generally happens, I didn't have my camera handy for a picture before they were out of sight. 

We also discovered another sort of wildlife, several of which decided to visit the inside of our humble abode. Mice! Not one mouse. Probably a veritable family of mice. We found droppings everywhere-- in drawers, along baseboards, on the kitchen counter. Every day I cleaned them up. Every morning I found copious amounts yet again. After several failed attempts to rid them with mousetraps, both modern and old-fashioned, Joel loaned us his homemade 5-gallon bucket trap--guaranteed to work. The mice run up the ramp, and when they step foot on the can, which is suspended on a wire and covered in peanut butter, the can spins and they fall into the bucket. Ingenious. By the way, if you need to make one of these, you can find a "how to" video on YouTube.

The 5-gallon bucket mouse trap
 (before the peanut butter was applied)

We set it out for two nights in a row just before we were ready to leave, and got nothing. Everyone was surprised, since this trap is more or less fool proof. Our guess is that the mice discovered some "food" not meant for them which turned out to be their sad demise.

One of three ant baits devoured by the mice

While we were parked in Isanti, we were able to get our bad leveling jack repaired. Mark's son-in-law, Brian Mayo, owns a machine shop in the St. Peter area. One of his guys had some particular experience with that sort of repair, so Brian told Mark to bring it in and they'd fix it for him. They cut it apart, replaced the seal, and welded it back together again. He did a great job and the jack works beautifully. And, bless them all, they didn't charge us a dime.

George and Bev, my brother and sister-in-law, (Joel's folks) also live in Isanti. They are retired now, too, and making plans to travel in a few weeks, but they were still around and we enjoyed a couple visits while we were in the neighborhood. 

Our next stop was Lake Washington campground in Kasota, MN, near St. Peter. Lake Washington is a regional park-- not very big, but very well kept. The roads are excellent and the grounds are beautifully manicured. 

Lake Washington Regional Park

The only drawback is there is no water or sewer at the individual campsites. They have a dump station and two water spigots near the front of the park. We spent a week there because it is close to Mark's daughter and son-in-law and the grandkids. On arrival, we dumped our tanks and filled our fresh water, and determined to conserve our water usage through the week so we wouldn't have to move the coach again until we were ready to go.

I'm happy to say we were successful. We used the campground facility for showers and let the laundry pile up, and managed to leave Lake Washington with a half tank of fresh water and a half-full grey water tank. 

Mark was able to get in a few good visits with his family during the week. And the Sunday before we left, they took their pontoon boat out on the lake for the afternoon. I didn't join them, but they had a very enjoyable time.

Zoom in for a good look at the Mayo clan left to right:
Caitlin (Arick's girlfriend), Heidi, Mari (Riley's girlfriend), Brian, Riley, Maegan, and Arick

On the pontoon with Brian, Riley, and Maegan in the back
and Riley's girlfriend, Mari, and Arick's feet in the front

While we were parked in Kasota, Mark took his two grandsons to the "Back to the 50's" car show at the state fairgrounds. I'm told they had a great time looking at all the fancy old cars. They also met up with my brother, George, and Joel, who both had cars there. As a matter of fact, their cars are among the nominations for Minnesota Street Rod Association's Car of the Year. George was showing a 1939 orange and cream colored Chevy coup, and Joel has a flat black 1955 International pickup.

Where are the cars???

Earlier this month we also had another interesting experience. I was prepared to take pictures, but picture taking was not allowed. Our church home, Wooddale in Eden Prairie, was doing a sermon series on the Tabernacle, and partnered with The Tabernacle Experience to give us an opportunity to get up close and personal. It was a full size replica with a self-guided tour that moved the participant from point to point throughout the Tabernacle, explaining each element, what it meant to the Jewish people and it's corresponding significance to God's plan of redemption through Jesus Christ, the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. Though we had the misfortune of attending on the hottest day in June, it was a moving experience and one I will remember for a long time.

The Tabernacle Experience, from the outside

We left Lake Washington Monday morning on our way to Dakota Meadows (by Mystic Lake Casino) to spend a few days "camping" with Mark's, brother Joe and his wife Bev. More to follow...

Happy camping & safe travels to all!