Two Nights with the Boys at Big Stone Lake State Park

Last week, the boys and I drove to FAAAR western MN. Because the drive was so far (3.5 hours), I told the boys we'd be spending 2 nights (as to not feel like we're unpacking just to pack up immediately again). We picked some cucumbers for Charlie to snack on before leaving home:

Some odd ones in there.


The "Biggest Ball of Twine in MN!"


Next to the twine ball.


Playing at a park across from the twine ball.

The Biggest Ball of Twine in MN was about half way to our state park, so after we got back in the car, the boys rested for the final 2 hours. As I noted in our post about camping at Kilen Woods 2 weeks ago, it's always great to be driving through rural MN in June:

Love you, MN.


Quiet for a while.


Some crop dusting happening up ahead.


Finally at Big Stone Lake! It's 0.5 mile wide and TWENTY SIX miles long!


Those cukes I mentioned...


... were snacks right away.


From just up the "ridge" from the campgrounds. Most of the
surrounding area is up this high before dropping down to the lake.


At a look out a few miles north of the state park
(on our way to another disconnected part of the state park).


10-11 miles north was the "Bonanza" area of the state park.


Down below the 50' (or so) bluff).


A short hike there over some damp areas.


Lots of frogs! And no snake sightings, but plenty of suspected snakes in the grass.


There were 2 deer (1 pictured here) watching us leave.
We spotted SOOO many deer (and turkeys and pheasants).


A goofy bin we found on the way back to the campground.

We drove into Ortonville for pizza for supper. Then we took a quick 2 minute drive into South Dakota (because we could). Ortonville is at the south edge of Big Stone Lake, and therefore SD is *right* there - just over a bridge that is the start of the Minnesota River. We came back into MN and got a photo:

Back at the campsite: Henry became obsessed with collecting
"grass seed," and Charlie had a handful of "cool rocks."


Trying our luck fishing off the boat-landing dock. No luck.


Charlie had a nibble right away, and then nothing.


The sun setting on the lake.


Probably the cleanest / most cobweb-free vault toilet I've ever been in.


I mis-placed a tent stake, so I had to tie the rainfly to the picnic table.


Our spot in a half full campgrounds.


Wacky fellas before bed.

It was a good night for sleeping. However, I woke up at 2:50 a.m. to the STINK of a skunk. A VERY nearby skunk. (I was a farm boy for 18 years before moving to the city, so I know what I'm talking about.) I had wondered if our tent was sprayed, and started thinking "Well, we got this tent 17 years ago, so if we have to throw it away after this, I guess that's OK." But I fell back asleep an hour later (with nothing really changing about the smell over that time) and awoke at 6:30 to NO smell of skunk. Whew.

Charlie at 6:30 a.m.


I put my open-fire-heated cast iron pan on this hot pad, and it BURNED. Oops.


Open-fire cooked bacon....


... and eggs...


... for breakfast sandwiches!




Spotting stuff on the lake.


Henry spotted a sign saying "fishing pier" just past the swimming beach!...


... so he led the way.


Still just a little dock. But cute.




There were big fish thrashing near the surface in a few areas a few
hundred feet from shore. For like 25 minutes. So strange!




Charlie's first decent cast! Direct link: youtu.be/NGynQLg9lVs


Heading out mid-morning.

This state park is about 8 miles (or so) from Ortonville, and about half way back to town were 2 "RV parks / resorts." We stopped at the bigger looking one to see if they rented canoes. They did, and they were cheap ($6 for the first half hour, and $2 every half hour after that). I mentioned the boys were going to get changed into their suits back in the car, and the woman said we could use the bathrooms around the corner. We found the bathrooms had 4 full shower stalls too, and being the shower buildings were closed at the state park (COVID-19 reasons), I thought I'd maybe shower off the boys after our canoe trip! Sweet!

4 shower stalls to the back/left.


Out on the lake! It was getting breezy, so we worked our way into the wind for a while.

The boys loved this. Henry had to do some work because of the wind. We stayed close to the MN shore as we worked our way south. Then we turned around and easily came back with the wind. It was a much more leisurely trip back.

Then, something amazing happened. I posted this on Facebook with the following 2 photos:

I’ve never seen anything like this before!

The boys and I were canoeing along the MN side of Big Stone Lake 2 days ago (it’s 0.5 miles wide and 26 miles long, and it is the southern part of the “nipple” of MN that sticks into SD) when something happened. I didn’t SEE it at first; I HEARD it. “Boys, look up!!” Just above our heads were thousands of bees flying at full speed across the lake. After about 15 seconds (when I felt like we weren’t in danger), I grabbed my phone and took a shot of the tail end of the swarm. One of these photos is the “normal” photo, and the other is drastically cropped and has the contrast pumped so you can see all the bees in the air. And this was when the swarm was getting much thinner at the very end! Over a big lake!

I bought 2000 bees in high school for my hive, and based on how this compared to that shipment, I’d venture a guess that we had 15,000 - 20,000 bees fly over us. (It could have been a lot more based on how much it stretched out.) It was amazing!

The boys couldn't wait to JUMP out of the canoe when we got close to the resort. So they splashed, jumped, and played in the boat landing for an hour:

The boys playing down there as I returned the life jackets.




Charlie jumping "to" Henry.

Well, when we left this resort, they had the bathrooms locked because they were cleaning them so we were out of luck with regards to our shower. Oh well.

Kitschy stuff on a little peninsula.


Paul Bunyan's 110 ton anchor (the largest piece of granite cut from local quarries).


Old engines at a history center.




The boys loved this place and wanted to stay forever.


This granite cutting machine was MASSIVE.


Daredevil Charlie walked a good length of this 6' off the ground.


A simple picnic lunch back at the campgrounds.


Carving sticks.


Me relaxing in my camp chair next to the lake as the boys ran around...


... there's Charlie on some rocks by the lake...


... and there's Henry to my right trying to catch 13 striped gophers with his grass seed...


... all while I lounged in my Dad hat.


Signs of wet fun hanging off our tent.

Then we hopped in the car for a bit. We were going to head to the north end of the lake to the continental divide. Every body of water to the north heads into Canada, and everything to the south heads into the Mississippi and ends up in the Gulf of Mexico. The landmark was about as exciting as you'd expect:

I stopped at a little bait shop in Brown's Valley to see if some waxies would help our luck. This tiny place had all you'd every need in 1 aisle! Just look: flashlights, fish fry batter, chili mix, Pringles, watch batteries, rifle ammo, shotgun shells, and work boots. AND a taxidermied northern with a croc head:

Beautiful.


We stopped back to try the waxies before supper. No luck.


In Madison MN visiting Lou T. Fisk: the biggest lutefisk in the world.


Playing on a nearby playground as we waited for our meal.


My Dad's cousin's wife (who's also our insurance agent)
recommended DeToy's Chicken in Madison. So we had to try it.
Here's Henry's grilled cheese (which he says is the best ever!).


My 1/4 chicken with fries, coleslaw, and bread.


I sent this to my Dad's cousin's wife saying something like
"bought this for your but ended up eating it myself. Sorry!" ;)


Roasting marshmallows back at our campsite.


Still "hunting" gophers.




S'mores with Chips Ahoy!


A final dip between some storms (it rained on the way back from getting chicken).

I have a video that I need to edit a bit before sharing... I told the boys since there were no showers that I'd hose them off with the hose at the fish cleaning station near the swimming beach. That water was pretty cold. Charlie kinda had a (hilarious) fit. I may edit that (to cover up his penis when he pulled that out) and share it in a bit.

Oiled and salted naan over the fire.


The sunset over the lake - colorful because of potential story skies.


The sky as we headed to the vault toliet for the last time.


Settling in at 9:30.

Just as I was thinking "Oh good - it will be dry enough that I won't have to set up the tent again at home to air it out" it started pouring. Oh well. It was just a nice shower at 5:30 a.m. Here's how it affected the boys:

Henry sleeping through it...


... and Charlie sleeping through it.

The boys were a bit tired that morning, so they stayed in the tent as I went for a run. More on that later. After a breakfast of oatmeal and fruit, we packed everything up and headed back into town. I had promised the boys that they could play at the history center again, because they LOVED that old machinery.

See Charlie way up the granite saw on the far left?


Posing.




Henry was being Captain Hook.


We found a tiny church just outside of Ortonville on our way back home...


... and it was open! It seats 12.


We stopped for a bite 90 minutes later, and this was the scene shortly after
that. Then I had to wake them up once we were in our driveway 2 hours later!


Airing out our quilts, sleeping bags, and sleeping mats.


The rainfly in the backyard.


The tent in the driveway.


The tarp in the backyard.

I might have some more videos in a week or 2. And I'll have more on my run out there shortly. For a park that I thought could be a "dud," it was pretty fun! Henry said that middle day was his favorite day of camping ever!! (Bacon and eggs for breakfast, a canoe ride, playing in the lake, taking in some sights, tasty supper, and more playing in the lake.)