September, 2005

September 2005 and we're retired! Yippee! We spent the first part of the month in our Park in Clear Lake, MN (link). A little time to ready the motor home for the road, and to relax (in between retirement parties, real estate closings, and continued packing).

Our first real RV outing was a trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior with our good friends Rich and Suzette. We stayed in a marina near the Duluth Ship Canal, and really enjoyed the ship traffic cruising into and out of port right in front of the motor home.

We made a day trip to Two Harbors and Split Rock Lighthouse (photo). These are great places to visit on the beautiful North Shore as it is referred to in Minnesota.

After the North Shore visit we spent a few days in our park, and then we hit the road. Our destination was to reach DuQuion, IL on September 25th, the start of the escapees club (link) fall 'escapade'. Our first stop was in Eau Claire, WI (link), to visit some relatives. Next stop was Eliva, WI where we had some work done on the RV. Then it was on to Wilton, WI to do a bit of biking on the Sparta-Elroy (link) bike trail. This is a great bike trail, and we'd recommend it to anyone. The tunnels are a little 'spooky' - cold, wet, and dark - but interesting.

Our next stop was a county park in Highland, WI called Blackhawk Lake (link). This is a pretty nice park, but we do not recommend it for an overnight stop. The camping rate is reasonable - $15 - but they nick you for a daily use permit of $5 per day for BOTH the day you arrive, and the day you leave.

From Highland we moved on down the road to Kewanee, IL, staying in a nice, reasonably-priced park. Then it was on to Carlyle, IL and two nights at a very nice Corps of Engineers (COE) Park (link).

From Kewanee it was on to the escapees fall escapade. For any full-timers or anyone interested in the RV lifestyle we would really recommend joining this club. Wonderful people willing to share their love of the road, and their experiences. We belong or have been members of several clubs, and the escapees are the best group around in our opinion. We use their mail service, which so far has been super.