Sibley State Park: Hiking Mt. Tom (Saturday)

Hiking Trail: Mt. Tom Trail with Oak Hills Trail short cut
back to the camp site.
Distance: About 3 miles













What a rainy day! It was wet enough in the morning that we slept in and ate breakfast in the camper - the first time with all of us around the table (we need to do something to protect the upholstery from sticky fingers of excited little boys who refuse to sit still for a meal).

Finally we got dressed and headed out for a hike to Mt. Tom, said to be one of the highest points for at least 50 miles around and the product of a glacier.















The kids and Sofie did great on the hike inspite of the mist and rain. Finn was in the Piggyback carrier. [I still love that carrier! Hopefully we'll get one more year out of it before the boys have outgrown it for good.] The trails were really nice and well groomed walking paths.

By the time we returned from our hike, the rain had picked up. So, another meal in the camper - boys bouncing off the walls!

After lunch, Jay and Brek tried to fish between rain showers, but found the shop at the beach doesn't sell bait. I got Finn to nap (by force) and got my first chance to stretch out on the bench at the table and crack a book. The anglers returned and quietly played cards while Finn continued to nap.

We had promised the boys a campfire, sparklers and S'mores sometime. Since this was our last night, despite intermittent rain showers, Jay started a fire.

Finn was a pill to keep out of the road. We chose our campsite because of a large grassy spot away from the camper and fire ring. But, instead of playing in our little "yard," the road was a magnet for him. Finally we resorted to the creative parenting at which we can occasionally be so good... Finn discovered that a baseball bat made a good horse and a pail of water was the perfect "lake" for floating a large piece of bark and a toy boat.

We had brats over the fire and attempted (failed) roasting sweet corn. [We removed the silks, closed the husks back over the ear, soaked them in water, then put them around the edges of our small fire. Not enough heat or time, I guess.] Our zip pack potatoes turned out OK, though.

S'Mores. Oh, My! S-t-i-c-k-y! But we all enjoyed them. However, Finn was truly BOUNCING off the walls when we tried to put him to bed! (Maybe I shouldn't have included the chocolate on his S'mores?)

Lesson of the day: Light rains don't have to keep us indoors! It was a great day!

Sibley State Park: Glacial Lakes State Trail (Friday)

Bike Trail: Glacial Lakes State Trail
Route: From Sibley State Park to New London; New London to Spicer; return same route
Distance: About 18 miles round trip

On Friday, we packed a lunch and biked 4 miles to New London to catch the Glacial Lakes State Trail. The trail from the park to New London is actually the shoulder of a heavily traveled county road. It felt kind-of precarious at times and both Jay and I were sorry we didn't bring our orange flags for the tag-along and bike trailer to increase our visibility.

The countryside is rolling hills with ponds and wetlands as well as stands of trees.

After looking around town for the trail (not much in the way of signage), we ate our lunch and some ice cream and headed out for Spicer on a paved portion of the trail. We were not all that impressed with the trail. It just wasn't as scenic as the trails we're used to riding, I guess.

Spicer (on Green Lake) looked nice and New London has a few nice little shops and cafes, etc. I would love to spend more time in the knitting shop! We shopped at Big Market grocery store, which added weight to the trailer for Jay. That's significant because we rode back to the park straight into a headwind and threatening rain storms. That trailer is like dragging a kite into a headwind and the added weight didn't help.

In the evening we headed back to New London (by car) for the Little Crow Water Ski Show. It was OK and the kids liked it. They said it is a "rebuilding year" for the team.

We also drove through one of the county campgrounds on Green Lake. The trailers were PACKED in like sardines with only a few feet and no trees between. No thanks!

Going Dry: Sibley State Park (Thursday)

Location: Sibley State Park, MN (along the Glacial Lakes State Trail)
Oak Ridge Campground, Site #118
Dates: June 26-29
Camped with: Just our little fam of 4

We were lucky to get a site at this time of year without reservations. Thursday was pretty empty, but it looked like lots of people were coming for the weekend. We initially thought we'd like to be in the Lakeview Campground with electricity and close to the lake. But we found that Oak Ridge Campground is much more private with trees and space between sites. However, there are no electric sites there, so we ran the fridge on propane and used minimal electricity off our 2 deep cycle marine batteries. Hopefully they'll last.

We were so warm (hot, sticky, sweaty?) after setting up camp so we went down to the beach on our bikes and swam. It was so refreshing! The sun was beginning to set as we finished up our swim.

As we rode back to our site, the most awesome feeling overcame me, "We have arrived." Our little family camping and biking and swimming together - this is what I've dreamt for all of us, and here we are.