And, We're Off! 
Yesterday we finished packing and left the house a bit before 12. We stopped in Duluth to pick up the surf boards, then worked our way out of town to Highway 2. Highway 2 actually goes right through Kalispell, so we decided to try that route (it's shorter in miles than the interstate) since we hadn't taken that way yet.

Our aim yesterday we for the Chippewa National Forest. There looked like there were probably lots of spots we could have stayed. We picked a road and went down it. At the end, it was close to the lake in the area and a nice clearing that even had a fire pit. Unfortunately, there was also some garbage there, but not terrible. It's probably a popular place on the weekends. The cats had fun playing outside and we even used our little triangle chairs we bought at REI last year, to eat dinner down by the lake.

This morning, we left by around 10ish. We stopped in Bemidji and had a wonderful lunch at a cafe in, what I assume was, downtown. The food was excellent. They even had a homemade veggie burger, which is not always easy to find.

We're on our way again now and hope to make it to a patch of National Forest in North Dakota, but don't know if we'll make it. My allergies have been acting up a lot, so my eyes are heavy and Joe can't drive too long anymore. Who knows, we may end up at a rest area tonight. We'll see.

-Miranda

[ 3 comments ] ( 4 views )
Almost? 
A few days ago, Joe decided to pull out the fridge and the oven. We now only have a stove top for an appliance. We figured we never, or rarely, used either, so might as well gain the space. Now we'll have a place to store the drinking water, which will be a huge help. The area under the stove top is a little awkward right now, but I'm sure we'll find something to do with it.

Joe really wants to leave tomorrow morning, but considering we haven't even started packing, I can't see that happening. We'll see. Who knows.

-Miranda

[ add comment ]
Getting Ready To Go 
Well, we're about to head out again. We plan on leaving by the 13th and head out to Montana. There we'll work on outfitting the RV a little better while visiting with Pat and Nancy (especially since we left in a bit of a hurry in Feb). After that, we'll head to Washington, possibly spend some time there visiting, then we'll be back on the coast like our first trip.

During our last trip we were having lots of issues with the power. We aren't really sure if it was the battery, the solar, the fact that it was winter or the laptops. Possibly a combination of everything. Joe's going to pull the solar panels off the old RV and put them on this one since there is room on the roof for them. We also really want to bring the surf boards. It would be far too frustrating to be on the coast and not be able to surf. So, he's trying to figure out the best way to get the surf boards on the RV and the solar panels mounted. We also decided to pull out the fridge. We only used it a couple times, so the space that will be created by removing it will be really nice. Also, we're probably going to get a DC cooler which will hopefully be more efficient and smaller for when we do want some cold things.

-Miranda

[ 1 comment ] ( 3 views )
Finally Live! 
After 2.5 years of work, Horse Isle 2 is finally live! We worked long and hard to finally get to this point. It seems to be doing all right so far. Only time will tell I guess. Once we put out any fires that pop up, we can hopefully start relaxing some and get out traveling again.
-Miranda


A screenshot and Joe and I in the game. (Click to enlarge)

[ 3 comments ] ( 36 views )
Apostle Islands Camping 
Joe, Sarah (a friend of Joe's) and I all went camping on the mainland of the Apostle Islands from Thursday to Friday. The weather on Friday was pretty much perfect. A nice temperature to not get too hot, but not get too cold either. Parts of the trail were very muddy though. The campsite is a 4.5 mile (so they say) hike from the parking lot. Unfortunately, it's a lot of up and down, but it was still fun. We reached the campsite around 4:30 and started working on dinner. It was really windy by the lake, so that was chilly. After dinner we hung out in the tent and played Bananagrams.

The only sleeping bag Sarah had was one only rated for 55 degrees.... Needless to say, it was colder than that. Joe kindly gave her his sleeping bag and he slept in hers. He was pretty cold most of the night.

We woke up to a chilly, cloudy morning. It got a little better as the trail moved away from the lake some. I got a few blisters on my feet the first day, but mole skin really helped that for the hike back. When we got to the swampy section (last half mile or so) it got hot! It was so weird. You could definitely tell when the breeze was coming from inland or from the lake. The inland breeze did not help one bit.

I can't speak for Sarah, but Joe and I are definitely sore.

-Miranda



Our packs during our rest.

Sarah and I hanging out before heading out again.

Ice still hanging on to the edge of the sea caves.

The three of us on our last leg of the hike.

[ 1 comment ] ( 11 views )

Back Next