Stamp & Camp with Mary Weekly Update June 6, 2019

I started this last week but had no cell or internet.  I am at Kayla's today and hope to be able to get the pictures uploaded.

May 27, 2019  St Croix River Resort Midwest Outdoor Resorts, Hinkley MN

Happy Memorial Day I remember my Grandfather Trautner who served in World War 1 he loved Memorial Day and the parades and going to the cemetery.  We always seemed to have a family picnic either at Henes Park or at home. 

Rainy day today where did our sun go.  Well time to start the day.

Rain, rain go away come back when we are not here.  We moved campsites so we now have full hook ups when they close the showers again to finish them.  I am working mostly in my workspace creating some great cards and making some videos.

It is Memorial day and everyone seemed to leave early as we could change campsites by 2 PM  everyone was gone. 

We were going to have Brats but not in the rain.  Don made friend potatoes which was nice for a cold rainy day.

I tried to get some work done so went up to the club house for internet and uploaded my videos for the week.  When I got back to the campsite and we moved I tried to work more but with the Data throttled down it was hard so we played 500 Rummy and watched a little PBS Antiques Road Show. Just a laid back day.

 May 28, 2019  St Croix River Resort Midwest Outdoor Resorts, Hinkley MN

Got up and the sun was shining so it will be a nice day.  Headed to the clubhouse to get my newsletter out and Don went to do laundry.  Maybe a long walk this after noon or a nap.

It was a beautiful day all day.  I got my newsletter out and Don got the Laundry done.  We had a few conversations with Meigan about Australia mainly about insurance, when can she be out of her dorm etc. 

Don tried to put some disinfectant in our holding tank and after a few tries we got the right one. 

The lights went off and we scrambled to see what was wrong.  Don finally found the GFI reset.  He is so good at those things.

WE still hate the smell of cigarettes and at times it seems to get worse.  WE opened the Jack Knife couch and got a face full.  Have to find a way to get rid of it if possible or we may get another RV. 

Walked around the campground only about 5 campers still here though the long term trailers are still here. 

Finally had our Brats this evening and have a few for lunch tomorrow.  Rain again.  Well one day out of 4 not to bad  I guess.

May 29, 2019  St Croix River Resort Midwest Outdoor Resorts, Hinkley MN

Today was another beautiful day.  Sun out and I actually  got into shorts after dinner. 

Went for a drive around the area and looked at a few beautiful areas around some lakes.  There are a lot of lakes in this are.  Came home and started getting ready to leave tomorrow.  So a laid back day until Stampin’ Up! threw a sale at me at the last minute.  SO now I am working.

May 30, 2019  Moving day going to Blue Mounds State Park WI

Today was moving day.  Had a few drips of ran at each place but not bad. Was a long drive and the GPS took us through a lot of back roads which is not bad but before we got to the Blue Mounds State Park  I thought we were again in Bandera and on the long trek out to Holiday Villages and are we really going the right way, can we turn around if the road stops.  But we made it fine.

We were ready to leave the St Croix River Resort.

As we were leaving I noticed that most of the trees now were full of leaves.  When we were coming in they all had buds on and now they are bright green with new leaves.  It is great to see that and really notice it happening.

So we headed down the road to Blue Mounds State Park.  Not the smoothest check in not the fault of the Park, in fact Maria was very helpful.

We went to our first campsite and realized that it was no electricity. And not very level.  So we walked around and found a few sites with Electricity staying over a week we really needed electricity. Then back up to the entrance station and working with Maria we got a site for 2 nights then back to our no electric site for 1 night then back to a different site for the rest of the stay.  Well when we moved into the site for 2 nights it is not the most level site.  We put our atomically levels down and it lifted everything up to the highest.  So we took it down and started over.  This time we did it manually and still it had the front wheels off the ground.  So we walked around the  campground and it is a beautiful campground but not very level in fact we found only about 3 sites that might be level.  They have a lot of tenters here.  The sites are beautiful and the area is nice.  The Shower bathrooms are beautiful and really clean.

We didn’t get to see Kayla as she had dancing.  I hope we can spend some time with her tomorrow.

May 31, 2019  Blue Mounds State Park WI

Beautiful morning this morning went for a walk around the campground and there are a few more folks than when we went for a walk last night well at least 2 more for a total of 7 we will see what we will have this evening. 

Tried the shower loved the shower room but could not find the hot water.  It was warm but not hot. But it was a nice and clean shower. 

Went to Mt Horeb to do some shopping after our morning walk and found a grocery store.  As we were going through Mt Horeb we realized that there was an Art Tour today and this weekend.  So we went back and started to walk around the cutest downtown we have seen in awhile. Trolls are a big thing here and we found out why.  It seems when the highway went around the town in the 1980s the town tried to find a way to get people to come into the town so they choose Trolls.  They are all over and everything is named trolls.  We ate the Grumpy Trolls.

 

We saw some great art work  the first place we went was a potter and he did some great work.  He told us about the Trolls and the Grumpy Troll for lunch.  Lunch was good though a little long to come.  We finished our walk around town and then headed back to the campground and we had a nap.

Around 3:10 we headed out to see Kayla.  Was not a bad drive except for the construction.  She was off work and home.  She has a nice apartment and in a nice area.  We had to go and pick up a UPS package we thought was for Don and it was not but for Kayla, well she would have gotten it sooner or later. 

She didn’t want to go out to eat so we made plans for tomorrow and headed out for some big shopping found a great grocery store that Kayla recommended – Woodmans.  It is huge.

So got back to the campground and it is filling up. We move tomorrow and Kayla will be here to go to the Art Tour.    I wished we got to spend more time with her tonight but we will have all day tomorrow.

June 1, 2019 Blued Mounds State Park WI

Today we had to change campsites to a no electric one.  We are on a down hill sloop and really didn’t try to level it was only going to be one night and I hate that it jiggles when it is of it’s wheels but we definitely roll forward.

Kayla was looking at fish tanks so we went into her place instead of her coming to the campsite and we going on the Art Tour.  It was a fun day.  Not just once but 3 times her and Emily went to the Petsmart store for fish related stuff. 

As we were driving in I noticed that the same fields I saw yesterday some today had little green shoots in them.  Some you could see the farmer still planting and tilling on.  But it was amazing what 1 warm sunny day could do.

After we did some fish tank things we went to a Chinese Dumpling Restaurant for  lunch.  Was that really good. It was nice as Kayla paid for it.  She really has grown up a lot lately.  Usually if we teased that she should buy she would have said she wasn’t hungry and would not order anything this time she said OK  I will.  So proud of that.

We got back to their apartment and they finished the fish tanks.  Then Patrick came home Emily’s boyfriend and the third roommate.  WE had a good time putting a puzzle together and it was so much fun.  We left after 6 so we could get home and BBQ pork chops but once we got back here decided not to. 

We hope all three will come out tomorrow and walk around the area and have Brats with us. 

June1.  Went to Church this morning to Immaculata Conception or St  Bernadette.  Was very small only 1 mass on Sunday about 100 folks there it was at 8:30 so surprised I saw a lot of kids and young folks.  Was a very friendly place.

We switch campsites again to an electric site.  They should hate us as we were going into one but wanted another so change again.  Maria was very helpful.

Kayla, her friends and roommates Emily and Patrick.  We took a ride around the park and then went into Mt Horeb and had a great time.  Kayla and Emily liked the Art Show and bought a few things.  We walked around and had a great time.

Headed back to the campground.  I did my live event and we got ready to have brats.  It was so fun to have a great conversation and dinner.  We had a fire and play Cards Against humanity.  Spent all day with 3 amazing young people today.  I was really glad to see how much Kayla has grown up and that she has some amazing friends. 

Stamp & Camp with Mary - May 27, 2019 - Weekly Updates.

Some people have been asking for more details on how we are doing and where we are and what it is like to be on the road full time.  So I have decided to try and post at least once a week and keep a journal to help me.  So I will be posting my Journal either Sunday or Monday.

May 24, 2019 St Croix River Resort Midwest Outdoor Resorts, Hinkley MN

Today was an overcast rainy day.  The campground has been relatively empty until today and they are streaming in.  The bathrooms still are not open and I am beginning to stink, they say sometime today.  Everything is wet and muddy.  Don went and did laundry this morning and went into town he said they had huge washers and driers so only one big load. 

The guy next to us was backing his rig in and hit a tree, then Don Said he tried again and tore off the awning.  He finally just went in straight. Of course then their car is now in the middle of the circle.  Each camping area has an entrance and campsites all around a small circle drive, so if one person parks in the circle it is hard to get in and out.  They also had friends just arrive so now we are a parking lot. 

The Bathroom situation.  They have almost 200 camp sites and a lot of tent sites and just Water & Electricity.  They have port-a-potties all over.  Their main bathroom is under construction putting in new bathroom and showers but not near done.  They hope to get 2 showers in men and women open sometime today.  But just 1 bath house is not enough for this kind of campground.  They are still trying to get rid of their long term campers that have a lease when Midwest Resorts bought it but most of the full hook ups are taken by them.  I would put another maybe small bathhouse down by the tent areas so they wouldn’t have to walk so far.

I relented and took a quickie shower in our trailer, which in itself is another paragraph.  It was after 7 and still no shower though they were cleaning the area and not doing construction.

Our RV bathroom.  In the Jayco we had a nice bathroom.  2 doors which I didn’t think was necessary until we had them and a shower a good size triangle.  Had room to dress and turn around in it.  Well our Leprechaun bathroom is small you can not turn around in the bathroom and the toilet is up against the sink.  The shower oh how I miss our Jayco Shower.  This is a rectangle small rectangle maybe 2 feet across. They put the plastic shelve on the long side opposite the door.  So you don’t even get the full width.  The shower head is at the end where the door opens and they have added something I think is strange.  I liked having the ability to take down the shower head to get the water all around me but this one they have a holder a circle not just a partial that you can take it out but a full circle that holds the hose so it is hard to take the shower head and use it other than on the hook.  Also the problem with the hose or maybe that is the reason for the circle is that the shower head either points at the wall or the door not in the middle.  You have to spend half your shower to keep moving it to get you wet.  Note to Self-next Trailer RV you look at test the shower.

Don started to take apart the bunks for my workspace, but the top bunk has this great wood base beautiful, so we took the mattress off and I am going to use the area as a stand-up work counter. Problem next we have to solve is lighting it is horrible in this trailer.  WE will first try to get LED bulbs for all the lights and then try and find some extra lighting for my workspace. Also looking for some shelving to be able to store my supplies on the lower bunk and some on the workspace.  Don Said I can get a bar stool but it is the perfect height for standing I don’t have to bend over at all. 

May 25, 2019 St Croix River Resort Midwest Outdoor Resorts, Hinkley MN

Woke up to the sun shinning and it being a bit warmer than yesterday.  The bathrooms are open or at least 2 showers a piece and the toilets.  Campground has filled up The parking lot in our section is still here.  Ton’s of kids biking and running around.  Went for our morning walk and they were all up playing soccer, volleyball on the swings etc.  Was great to see them out doing things. 

We are heading out this afternoon to visit some wineries.

Kayla drove over to East Lansing to visit Meigan this weekend and made it safely last night.  They are up and heading to the zoo.  Will worry again tomorrow when she heads back to Madison.  Meigan has a ticket to Hamilton for tomorrow night, she paid $120 for one, no student discount.  I really hope she enjoys it. 

We made it to one winery Tommy’s Too High Winery.  They had some good wines so we really didn’t go to any other place.  Came out with 6 bottles and a pouch of Mango Wine Slushy.  Tommy started making wine as a hobby and as he said it just go out of hand.  Their fruit wines were really good.  They just sell in some local bars and restaurants and at there hopping winery.  The place was really hopping and a ton of people in and out.  I liked it as there was no charge for tasting.  I think that made us buy a little more than we would have.  We are now all stocked up again.

  

This afternoon We worked on my my workspace I brought in some of my things and organized my space.  Problem is the lighting.  Having a bunch of candles around would be brighter than the light in this trailer.  We will fix that hopefully soon and get some LED lights in the trailer, maybe a lamp or two or a light bar for the top of the bunk..I am so excited  I can’t wait to start creating.

So the bathroom issue at this campground.  They finally opened the bathroom.  Women’s side 4 stalls one was already out of order and one was overflowing so down to 2.  3 showers all looked to be working, no place to hang your stuff or a bench to sit on or put your stuff.  So still not impressed.  Though I did love the color they choose in the women’s a Balmy Blue color.

Went to mass tonight at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Danbury WI,  the closest town  about 7 miles away.  We rode by the church a few times and it was small, so I wanted to get there early.  Well got there about 3:40 for 4 PM mass and it was an outside mass.  All the chairs were out and they had a little building for the altar and musicians.  Was very nice, I wish I knew it was outside as it was a little cooler than I was prepared for.  The sun did come out during the Sermon which was kind of fun.  I guess they hold mass out side in the summer on busy weekends as the church will not hold a lot of people.  The priest handle 3 parishes and this one only has a small congregation so only mass in 4 PM on Saturday.

Went for a walk around the camp after dinner and it sure is crowded.  Still has some space available in the tent area, I am amazed at the tenters as the weather has not been that great but they are here.  Recall our tenting days and the fun we had.  A lot of kids playing and biking this is a great place for ATVs as there are a few major trails near by.  I pity the tenters with little bathrooms available. 

  

So I guess they do have more bathrooms though I really don’t consider a Port-A-Potty a bathroom.

We also saw this tree fluff flying around tonight and noticed this pile that looked almost like snow. 

Had a call from the girls Kayla will be heading home tomorrow and Meigan is going to Hamilton. 

May 26, 2019 St Croix River Resort Midwest Outdoor Resorts, Hinkley MN

Woke up this morning and the sun was shining.  Took our morning walk around the campground not as busy as yesterday but folks up walking and talking.  I guess this is the place for kids to learn to ride bikes.  We  1 trip just over 1000 steps.

had one across from us yesterday and today a mother was out trying to get her son up on one. Things are drying out so not as muddy on our trips around.

Went into Pine City to get some additional items to make my workspace work out.  Got a show rack to put my boxes and 2 lamps and other things from Walmart.  Then stopped at Dollar tree and got items for storage for the rest of the trailer.  It was a nice drive not many people out yet. 

Got back and ready for my Stamp & Camp With Mary Facebook Live event.  Went well got most everything organized but didn’t have time to design a card so made it up on the fly I thought it looked fine.  Had 5 people attend so it was good.

Kayla headed back to Madison and Meigan was getting ready to go to Hamilton. I am proud of her going on her own.  I know I would never had that confidence at that age to go by myself. 

Don made burgers on the grill.  Neighbors packed up and left so folks are starting to leave from the long weekend.

Kayla Made it home OK, Meigan loved her Musical and called to tell us about it.  She was really excited.  Don and I had a campfire and I created parted of the evening. 

Hopefully we will be able to move into a full hook up tomorrow since they will probably closing the showers and bathrooms again.

Hope you enjoy our stories.