This tour is loosely following the Great River Road, a national scenic byway that loosely follows the Mississippi River for its entire length. All this looseness has led to some quirky route planning to get us to locations included on the itinerary, as well as to campgrounds that can accommodate our group of 24 RV’s. We follow a log book with cue sheets that give turn-by-turn directions. GPS is of little help as its goal is always to get you from point A to point B as quickly as possible. No meandering allowed.

On top of this, states are busy spending that infrastructure money that is upgrading roads and laying fiber optic cable everywhere. Road closures and detours have been plentiful. Some of these have presented interesting challenges to rigs that are as much as 40 feet long, plus a car in tow.

Driving from cue sheets is something that takes a little practice. We had our challenges with it on the first couple of days. Our experience was shared by the entire group, as we discovered when we arrived in camp at the end of the day. People resorted to GPS directions early and often. We thought it was just us! Nope.

Our first couple of days after Bemidji were travel days. We drove to Crow Wing River Campground in Brainerd, Minnesota the first day. This day was supposed to include a stop at a forest museum on the way but the museum was closed for renovations. So the tour leaders prepared dinner for us at the campground instead. This turned into a nice social occasion with a tasty meal cooked en route.

The next day we traveled to Dakotah Meadows RV Park in Prior Lake, Minnesota. This was the day that caused most people to lose their way early. A lengthy detour through the town of Sartell did it for many. We successfully navigated the detour but returned to the cue sheet at the wrong point, causing us to get stuck in a tight parking lot next to some road construction. A couple of road crew members moved their cars out of the way and we were able to escape unscathed. Des did a great job of keeping me on track through all the backing up required for that one!

Eventually we found a spot on the cue sheet that defeated us. The next maneuver bore no resemblance whatsoever to what we were looking at on the road. GPS time! We rolled into the campground to find that everyone else had bailed much earlier.

We arrived just in time for a wood turning demonstration in the pavilion. Des hurried off to see this while I took Gracie for a long exploration of the campground. She had been cooped up in her crate for most of the day and was overdue for a good walk and some emptying. Des enjoyed the turning demo very much. She has become interested in this through our friend Carol, who is an expert at it and has been giving Des lessons.

After a little relaxation and some dinner we were ready to hit the hay. Tomorrow morning is an early departure for an all-day tour of St. Paul. 😴