Our first stop in Minnesota, also our 5th camping location of 16, was Myre-Big Island State Park. The park was very quiet and not very full. Though it is surrounded by lakes, we were unable to find any access to the water for swimming or even taking photos. It seemed very odd, since we are from Michigan, where life revolves arund the lakes.
We were happy that we stocked up on supplies in Wisconsin. For lunches we had fresh baked sourdough from a bakery, really good turkey and cheese. Dinner was sweet corn, known as “candy corn” in WI., veggie burgers and tater tots. It was our 3rd day of temperatures in the 90s, so we cooked outside. the corn lived up to it’s name.
The next day we went to Blue Mounds State Park. It is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, near the South Dakota and Iowa borders. The park is surrounded by farms and features include prairie grasslands, rock formations, Buffalo herds, many trails and a wooded campground. This park was a little more full, but still very peaceful. We wish we had more time to enjoy the bike trails and plan to return.
Nearby was the sleepy town of Luverne, MN. The town motto “Love the life!” was everywhere. We found the microbrewery in town, Take 16 Brewing. They had converted their parking lot to a beer garden with well-spaced seating and live music. The entire town was there and it was clear everyone knew each other. The beer was fantastic and we enjoyed hearing live music for the first time in many weeks. It was so fun to enjoy a small town in a beautiful location.
Minnesota was far more flat and lake-free (at least where we were) than we expected on this trip. Minnesota campers seem to be far more mellow than Michigan campers. There were no family reunions and large groups of raucous partiers, playing loud music and drinking heavily into the wee hours, as in MI.
