RV Tour Leg 47 – The Race Home to See Family and Friends

Blue Mounds State Park - in Minnesota!!

I’m writing this from home, which feels both wonderful and a little discombobulating. This post covers our final few days on the road. I’ll save the last entry for reflections and fun statistics (spoiler: they involve a lot of miles -hiking, biking and trucking, a lot of campsites, and more snacks than we care to admit).

We cut out a few planned stops and raced back to Minnesota to attend the memorial of a dear man we’ve known since the ’80s — someone gone far too soon. At the same time, we wanted to complete our year-long road-trip goal. The solution? Camp just outside the Twin Cities for a few days, attend the memorial, and still earn our full-year bragging rights. Creative problem-solving: honed.

After Thermopolis, we high-tailed it across Wyoming and South Dakota with a couple of forgettable overnight stops before landing at Blue Mounds State Park. There we were met by our dear friends Kathryn and Richard, who drove out to greet us. Since we were already cruising western Minnesota, we decided to squeeze in a couple of Minnesota State Parks to add to our Hiking Club Trail tally. For the uninitiated: each park has a designated trail with a hidden password. Collect enough passwords, tally your miles, and you earn patches. It’s quirky, a little silly, and a great excuse to explore parks we might otherwise miss.

Prairie companions — Kathryn, Richard, and Lexi soaking up the prairie grasses and wide-open skies at Blue Mounds State Park

Blue Mounds was a stunner: bison grazing, restored prairie bursting with wildflowers and grasses, and a prairie sky that seemed to go on forever. It felt good to be home on the prairie. You can take the girl out of the prairie, but you can’t take the prairie out of the girl. Even better than the scenery, though, was reconnecting with Kathryn and Richard after a year apart.

Kathryn and Richard, prairie passengers on the bison tour bus at Blue Mounds State Park.

Bison roaming the restored prairie, just as nature intended

Ahhhhhhh! The Prairie big sky - feels like home

Next stop: Kilen Woods State Park for another password, then on to William O’Brien State Park to see our friends Scott and Karen, who treated us to dinner. After months on the road, catching up with old friends was pure joy.

Karen - the amazing chef, cooking up dinner for us. We were too busy catching up to get any more pictures!

We attended the memorial, which was both heartbreaking and heartwarming — a celebration of a good life and a chance to reconnect with many old MTS colleagues we hadn’t seen in years.

That evening we finally met Alex’s girlfriend, Heather, after months of phone calls. Over sushi in Cottage Grove, we discovered she’s an absolute gem. Nothing makes parents happier than seeing their kids find someone special.

Alex and Heather

Our last night was spent at William O’Brien with Nancy and Steve, who were headed to the Fish Boil in Port Wing, Wisconsin — the very first stop of this trip last year. Fittingly, we saw Nancy and Steve at our first stop, in the middle (New Orleans), and again at our final stop. Bookends don’t get better than that.

Catching up with Nancy and Steve over great food and even better company at Brookside Bar & Grill

Champagne toast with Nancy and Steve - celebrating one year in the camper!

Nancy and Steve - our frequent cat sitters, missed the sweet Daphne - here was a chance to reunite.

Hiking the beautiful William O'Brien State Park

Stay tuned for one last post: reflections, statistics, and a look back at this beautiful country filled with beautiful people.