A Minnesota Summer

Wait. What? Haven't blogged in 4 months? Older, lazier. Not that there hasn't been anything of note to report. Quite the contrary, so here goes:

We're in Minnesota for the summer. Dragged our piece-o-crap little travel trailer all the way up here. This trailer was bought to use as my studio and an extra bedroom for guests. We never intended to travel with it. It was a lemon from the get-go, and continues to be. Three blowouts. Water pump failed. Roof like a colander. And now an occasional leak from the gray tank...

The plan was to buy a place up here for summers, as our Kino paradise is too awful in that heat/humidity/bugginess. I'd been scouring the listings for several months, and had 100 or so properties saved to go look at. Sounded fun, just travel around with our trailer and look at properties. Oy.

Started out at the campground on the Mississippi River in Monticello MN, where we always used to stay summers when we were RV full-timers. Still gorgeous. Pricey: $450/month.

Mississippi River campsite

We stayed 2 weeks, then moved to our friends' hobby farm near Dalbo MN. Much cheaper! Like free. Stayed 3 weeks. Lots of laughs, fun, friends, family. Trailer repairs. Almost hectic. Turns out this trailer cannot even accommodate 2 small grandchildren overnight on the pullout sofa because of our animals. Sofia whined all night because her sofa was taken and the cat was on the bed with us. She's afraid of the cat, and has never slept on the floor and wasn't about to start. We tried putting the grandkids in the bed, figured there'd be enough room for Sofia, but the cat wouldn't vacate and Ron and I and Sofia (didn't) sleep on the pullout all night. Need a bigger trailer.

BFFs Joy and Brian

Brian and Lou

We did this a lot.

Sofia's sofa.

So we packed up and went Up North to commence property hunting. Spent a week at 2 different sites in our favorite Corps of Engineers park on Leech Lake. Two different sites because we never could get a satellite signal for TV. Too many effing trees. Plus our Verizon coverage sucked for internet. After 6 days we were in withdrawal. How pitiful is that?

Leech Lake site.

So yesterday we went hunting for a campsite with a "clear view of the southern sky", and found it here at Austin's Swamp in downtown Longville MN.

Austin's Swamp, Girl Lake site on the channel.

Mobile home park.

Setting up the satellite before the storm hit.

Crammed in between a mobile home and the channel.

Austin's Swamp is an old mobile home park right on a bay of Girl Lake. They squeezed us in between an empty mobile home and the channel, and it's sort of perfect. But a huge windstorm came up last night before we could get the TV satellite lock, so will try today. Great Verizon signal. My own little fishing dock. Walking distance to food and shops. I love Longville!

To date we've glimpsed ONE property from my list. Our thoughts differ widely on what we want versus what we want to pay, and are currently thinking this: If we only buy a new trailer this summer, we'll be in a much better financial position next summer to get what we want, which is as much land as possible and maybe not a cabin. Maybe just the trailer, as long as it has enough beds. We just recently have finished paying off some large debts, and can save a lot more if we wait til next year. I like this one on Craigslist:

Aljo Trailer

But I REALLY like this one. It has TWO bathrooms and a big fridge. Imagine, ice, gin, and Klondike Bars, all at the same time in the freezer!

Puma Trailer



Sofia and Luther are loving it, first time seeing grass and trees for Sofia. Doesn't even mind being tied up too much: turns out she's a cat chaser. Brian and Joy have 6 cats. She never chased Luther, but their cats aren't mean like he is.

We gave up and let Luther go outside without being leashed. He was destroying the screen door wanting out. If Luther ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. He's next door right now, under that mobile home catching stuff. Brought me a shrew or vole or something yesterday. Pointy snout?

Luther up a tree

So that's the current plan, try to buy a newer trailer that doesn't leak, bigger, good tires, and not too expensive. And I'll spend the winter online searching for property with a lot of land that maybe already has electric connected, so all we'd need are septic and a well.

Minnesota