Spring Camping - The Shakedown Trip

 

Early May usually means we're pulling the camper out to do our spring shakedown as Ryan calls it.  Or rather "figure out what's broken that we need to get fixed before camper season starts".  We've been pretty lucky the last few years - but as with all things, there's an average and that means there is likely also not so lucky years.  LOL!  We aren't sure if a mouse house, or maybe a mysterious water issue, or maybe the cleaner spill last summer contributed to an electrical issue that means a few core things aren't working - mostly the water. 

We were lucky to have 3 other functioning campers to help support us - mostly with dishes!  Outside of our own camper issues though, we had a great weekend!!  We camped at a new (to us) spot - Mirror Lake.  It's in the Dells/Devils Lake area and the lake is the home of Ishnala - voted the best Old Fashioned in the state.  We visited the restaurant last year (or the year before?) and realized there was a campground closeby.  We booked for last October but it conflicted with the Chris Stapleton concert so we rebooked for this spring and we love it there!

The campgroung is small and likely fills out quickly in the summer months, but this might be a good spring/fall campground for us going forward.  We had a great double site (130/131) that was right along the lake (though a steep hike down the hill to get to the water).  It was a huge site and we were pretty far away from other campsites.  We'll rebook there for sure.

We hiked, we geo-cached, we kayaked...we ate, we s'more'd, we cocktailed etc.  It was cool and rainy on Saturday which was a little bit of a bummer but it didn't stop us from doing any of the activities we had planned.  Well, maybe the kayak to the Ishnala part, we decided we were too wet and it was too chilly (and that we could make our own cheaper and better - I know I know...Ryan hates it when I go down that path).  

We hauled the 'yaks along with us for this trip partly because we were right on the lake (and why not?!) and partly because we wanted to try our the new rack Ryan made to carry them when we're pulling the camper.  Another "shakedown" item off the list.

I was a reluctant kayaker - but it really was quite fun!  The last time I kayaked with on Lake Superior with Abby and it was HARDDDD.  This was so much more fun - plus I had my own boat so I wasn't hauling along any extra weight (thanks Ryan!).

We also got back on the geo-cache train!  We tried to locate 3 different cache's but were only successful with one.  The kids are always so excited to open up the boxes and see what they can trade for.  This year we've vowed to plant our own cache somewhere local so that we can see fellow treasure hunters find OUR box.

Last but not least - how can I skip this little collage of photos?  They crack me up.  I love a good "give me a silly face" photo opportunity.

Thanks for being a good sport Jamie!