The museum.
Ruins of the old fort. I read a book called Uprising that was fascinating after the first time we visited this park. Being able to picture the setting was fantastic. I highly recommend.
While Sam read he plaque, I sang the national anthem. Liberals can be patriotic too. Sam tried not to die of embarrassment while remaining cool and calm on the inside and hissing at me on the outside. I told him it was against the law to stop singing the national anthem and then warned him that I'd start goosestepping while yelling the Pledge of Allegiance if he didn't let me have this moment. Really, that's not at all what happened, but it's what I thought about as we stood here in the heat. My mind tends to wander to altered scenarios when bored and hot.
So, we went inside where a very nervous young girl tried to loop us into a diorama tour which we narrowly escaped. Neither of us were feeling that nice, so we hid behind a replica of a tent that soldiers would have lived in. Sam told me he was willing to fake a coronary if she found us, so I pretty much couldn't pay much attention to the museum after that. It is worth a visit, but I was laughing to hard and trying to avoid a predatory tour guide, so we moved on quickly.
Pippin came along too. He guarded the site most of the weekend, when Charlie would let him! We think he's getting doggy dementia, but he's the Old Man and we love him and we decided that he needed to camp too. I couldn't get a decent picture of him and as you can see, the white blur was pissing him off.
Fort Ridgley Creek from our campsite.
While Sam read he plaque, I sang the national anthem. Liberals can be patriotic too. Sam tried not to die of embarrassment while remaining cool and calm on the inside and hissing at me on the outside. I told him it was against the law to stop singing the national anthem and then warned him that I'd start goosestepping while yelling the Pledge of Allegiance if he didn't let me have this moment. Really, that's not at all what happened, but it's what I thought about as we stood here in the heat. My mind tends to wander to altered scenarios when bored and hot.
We love these kinds of plaques and rarely miss one, but I had already read this one Memorial Day weekend AND I had read Uprising, so I felt totally brushed up on the history of what happened here.
So, we went inside where a very nervous young girl tried to loop us into a diorama tour which we narrowly escaped. Neither of us were feeling that nice, so we hid behind a replica of a tent that soldiers would have lived in. Sam told me he was willing to fake a coronary if she found us, so I pretty much couldn't pay much attention to the museum after that. It is worth a visit, but I was laughing to hard and trying to avoid a predatory tour guide, so we moved on quickly.
Pippin came along too. He guarded the site most of the weekend, when Charlie would let him! We think he's getting doggy dementia, but he's the Old Man and we love him and we decided that he needed to camp too. I couldn't get a decent picture of him and as you can see, the white blur was pissing him off.
Fort Ridgley Creek from our campsite.
Charlie at sunset. It's all about the lighting, ya know. Our floppy-eared boy now has radar ears.
Fishing for lunkers must be done as far away from your present location as possible. This is why people cross a lake to get to them. Meanwhile, the people on the other side are crossing to your side to get THEIR lunkers. It's a Minnesota thing. At Fort Ridgely Creek, they had to go upstream or down stream. Never right-there stream. I don't get it, but heck, it got me some alone time, so who am I to argue?
Our huge campsite, complete with Stinky Pete (our shower tent). There's only one shower within walking distance of the creek side campground. I didn't want to drive to the chalet to shower. I fell in love with Stinky Pete up on the Gunflint Trail where there were no showers. Battery powered shower and a two room shower tent is bliss to this girl who loves her boys, but doesn't want to smell like them.
I couldn't get enough of this view. I've fallen out of love with lakes and deeply into love with trout streams. They're quieter with less people and no motors! Fort Ridgely Creek is crystal clear, sandy bottomed, and spring fed. And the DNR stocks it, but it isn't a designated trout stream.
If you're a Minnesotan, I urge you to visit what they call a Discovery Park like Fort Ridgely. These state parks are not the headliners of the North, but they're beautiful, interesting, cheaper to camp in, and less crowded. We had a blast and are hoping to return again this fall to catch some of those Rainbows and Browns we left behind. As the days have gone by, their size has increased from a foot long to arm sized. I believe a truth challenge is in order.
Fishing for lunkers must be done as far away from your present location as possible. This is why people cross a lake to get to them. Meanwhile, the people on the other side are crossing to your side to get THEIR lunkers. It's a Minnesota thing. At Fort Ridgely Creek, they had to go upstream or down stream. Never right-there stream. I don't get it, but heck, it got me some alone time, so who am I to argue?
Our huge campsite, complete with Stinky Pete (our shower tent). There's only one shower within walking distance of the creek side campground. I didn't want to drive to the chalet to shower. I fell in love with Stinky Pete up on the Gunflint Trail where there were no showers. Battery powered shower and a two room shower tent is bliss to this girl who loves her boys, but doesn't want to smell like them.
I couldn't get enough of this view. I've fallen out of love with lakes and deeply into love with trout streams. They're quieter with less people and no motors! Fort Ridgely Creek is crystal clear, sandy bottomed, and spring fed. And the DNR stocks it, but it isn't a designated trout stream.
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Enough of pictures and captions, here's the skinny.
Last weekend was spent at Fort Ridgley State Park. We discovered this park over Labor Day Weekend and vowed to come back again. The creek side campground had one of the loveliest state park campsite we've ever seen and we were lucky enough to nab it for the weekend.
Sam fished for (and caught) trout, threw rocks in the water, chased minnows, and we recharged our batteries. We left a few lunkers there for future trips.
Sam and I visited Harkin Store and the Fort Ridgely Museum. He and I are totally into these little museums. And don't get me started about roadside attractions. The World's Largest Ball of Twine is a temptingly close day trip and if we can squeeze it in, there will be a pilgrimage before the snow flies. (And please, don't tell me about other balls of twine. I'm highly loyal to Minnesota oddities, however, I did veer way off the highway to see the World's Largest Frying Pan. This was a fascinating, yet sad experience because they no longer use it. I'm still recovering from that one, so need to keep my roadside oddity visiting more local. Why the flip wouldn't you take it down once a year and scramble up something? Seriously.)
I forgot my camera, so no pictures of either museums, but we made memories and that's great. We also detoured on our way home to hit the little town of Fairfax, which appeared to be closed for the day. Things roll up early on the prairie, I guess. So convenience store browsing for Big Red soda (don't ask, he's 12) and a Special K bar was all the trouble we could get into. Fairfax has a nice little hotel there for Grandmas who want to camp and don't want to sleep in a tent (hint hint). And there's a mom and pop restaurant called The Corner Cafe that appeared to have attracted all the senior citizens in a 500 mile radius for their early bird special. A definite winner of a restaurant in my book (a. not a chain b. they didn't spell corner with a K which I find a distinct turn off and not in any way cute c. old people don't have time for crappy food) We will return there someday, even if it is just for pie, cause you know a place like that has just got to have pie.
Outside of Fort Ridgely there's a stable that offers trail rides. I really want to do that sometime. We were lucky enough to watch horses on the trail across the creek from our campsite and about a block from our site, they crossed the stream. There was one old nag (and her horse, ahhahhhhhaaa) that made a great show when she crossed the stream. Sam loved it. But, not enough to want to get into a saddle THIS particular weekend.
If you're a Minnesotan, I urge you to visit what they call a Discovery Park like Fort Ridgely. These state parks are not the headliners of the North, but they're beautiful, interesting, cheaper to camp in, and less crowded. We had a blast and are hoping to return again this fall to catch some of those Rainbows and Browns we left behind. As the days have gone by, their size has increased from a foot long to arm sized. I believe a truth challenge is in order.
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