Perpetual Ruminations

October Camping

We packed up the mobile tent (pop-up camper) and headed out Friday for likely our last camping adventure of the season. It was damp and chilly, but a nice day for our three-hour drive. The leave's brilliant fall colors were in contrast to the gray, cloudy sky, and the drive was beautiful. It started raining about a half-hour before we reached the campground but stopped just as we arrived.

I backed the mobile tent into the site and assisted my wife in getting set up and our gear inside. With my back acting up, she had to do most of the bending and lifting, but we packed our gear in multiple bags and tubs to keep them lighter just for this reason, and the mobile tent is pretty easy to set up.

She had just about everything inside by the time I finished hooking up the water, electricity, and sewer. Just as I was going in I felt a few raindrops; it rained for about an hour and the wind picked up to about thirty miles per hour. I started the furnace (the temperature only reached the mid-forties Friday) while she put things in their place. Once we had everything put away, the rain stopped so we took the dogs for a walk, then carried the few remaining items in. Shortly after, it began to rain again.

We took out some food, put on a pot of coffee, and enjoyed our first meal at Camp Bagoo listening to the wind blowing and the rain on the tenting. It was cozy, warm, and very relaxing.

Saturday I was up early and was able to log in to WdC for a short time, but the WiFi at the campground was intermittent, and since I have a difficult time typing on my tablet, didn't post very much. It got cold at night, down to about freezing, so we waited until it was warmer (it got up to fifty) to start a fire and sit outside while the dogs roamed the area and explored their new surroundings. The campground was about half full, but nobody was camped near us, so we had quiet and the dogs had plenty of room to explore and run.

We cooked a simple lunch over an open fire and enjoyed it inside the camper as the wind picked up a little and more rain passed over. But, by the time we finished eating and cleaning up, the rain had passed. Still, it was pretty wet out, so we decided to load up and go for a scenic drive. The fall colors were splendid as we drove the backroads into Bemidji. The furnace did great at heating the camper, but we wanted to get a small, electric heater to save on propane. We found a small, about two feet wide and a foot and a half high, electric fireplace with infrared heat that was perfect to use in the camper. We took a different route back and enjoyed the scenery, some deer, a couple of eagles, and a lot of squirrels.

Once back we set the heater up, decided on our dinner, and I got another fire going. Later, we enjoyed hamburgers, baked beans, and sweet potatoes cooked over the fire. After eating, we built the fire up and watched a very beautiful sunset before returning to the warmth of the camper. Unfortunately, we forgot to charge our phones so we didn't get any pictures that evening.

We started Sunday the same; a warm fire to cook brunch and relax while it warmed up into the fifties. By early afternoon we had most of the campground to ourselves and enjoyed watching the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks going around the various campsites searching out tidbits of food while the fire burned down.

My back was doing better, so we went for a short hike on one of the easier trails. When we came to a split in the trail, I was still doing well and decided to tackle the inclined side up to an overlook. The trail was nice with a gentle slope, and about halfway we found a place to sit on a downed tree and take a short break while the dogs explored around us.

This was the only bad experience we had! After a short rest, we started walking and called for the dogs who were a short distance away, in the woods. Bellah came right away, but Max was distracted and after we walked a bit further, I called him again. He came this time, but we were further up the hill and the sun was behind us. He looked towards us, but I think he was blinded by the sun and didn't recognize us because he started running around the area he had last seen us in. I started walking towards him, and he panicked and started running back the way we had come.

I called him a few times, and each time he would stop and look, but then start running in circles looking for me. He's not quite a year old yet and got very confused until I was in a position where the sun wasn't hitting him straight in the face. Once he could see me, he bolted straight at me! At over sixty pounds, and moving fast, there wasn't anything I could do except brace for the impact... But, at the last minute, he put the brakes on and didn't jump. He stood up against me and licked my face before running over to see the rest of our group, giving them Husky kisses before we continued on.

When we crested the hill, we discovered a large meadow on top, the foundation of an old structure, and an old wooden fire lookout station. The dogs ran around the meadow while we enjoyed the view. The tower stood another twenty or thirty feet high and would have made for an awesome view, but it was closed off; not that I would have been able to climb the ladder anyway.

We took a different trail back down, this one a bit steeper and more difficult, and by the time we reached the bottom my back was getting pretty sore, so we returned to camp and lounged around in the camper while I waited for the Advil to take effect. Then it was another fire and roasting sausages on forks to go with chips and dip for dinner.

In the evenings, since it was a bit too chilly to sit out, we enjoyed the comforts of our mobile tent and played Backgammon. Well, we had brought a Backgammon set along, with the intent of learning how to play, but the directions were very confusing and written so small we couldn't really read them. So, using what we knew, taking what we could from the directions, we improvised our own version of the game.

Monday was another beautiful day, no clouds at all, a bit windy, but warmer. There were only two other campers and they were at the far end, so we walked the dogs around the campground a bit, built a fire to cook lunch then started packing things away. Knowing we are in for temperatures below freezing, and it's not very likely we'll get out camping again this season, we stripped down bedding and packed it in the truck, removed all the food items and put them in the cooler, and removed any liquids, so we could bring them inside when we got home.

We cooked stew and ham over the fire, enjoyed one last meal in the mobile tent, and then closed it down. We took our time and let the fire burn down and go out, then hooked up the camper and headed for home. Knowing we wouldn't get here until late, we stopped in Park Rapids at the  A&W and enjoyed some very good food. I should have taken a picture, but didn't think about it; they still have the carport in the back with car-hop service!

Now, after my wife gets home to help me (my back is still acting up) well pull the camper into the lawn and set it up to clean it real good, drain the water, and get it ready to hibernate for the winter. Still, if the weather isn't too cold, I may be tempted to take it out for a weekend, one last time; I can hope.