Camper trip to Minnesota, 2012

Awesome. I felt like a kid. This is a solo trip. Me in my camper, technically a slide-in, pop-up camper. Since I was heading to Minneapolis from Western, Colorado, and I’d never been to Mount Rushmore, I had no option. All Americans must visit Mount Rushmore. On the drive up I slept in the mountains of northern Colorado. Here, I stayed at a KOA Kampground. I love American. We are fortunate in many ways. A huge asset in my book is our national park system. Imagine when they carved this baby. If you want to see what’s going on for summer vacation in semi-affluent America, stay at the KOA Kampground near Mount Rushmore. Wonderful experience of humanity from all over the world, albeit cramped and perpetually noisy. I prefer forests when possible, but this was a trip.

As long as I was heading to Minneapolis from Rapid City on Interstate 90, I had to stop in the tiny farm town of Murdo, South Dakota. It was my first and only visit. Murdo is home to the National Rockhound Hall of Fame and I was inducted in 2004, based on my book, Petrified Wood, the lectures I’d given, and my passion for the subject. I was the first inductee in the category of fossils. I forgot to bring my lifetime pass and had a hard time getting in without paying ten bucks before I told them I’d bet them ten bucks my picture was hanging on the wall. There it is.

I was actually fishing in Lake Powell here. Had to crop out the fishing rod. It was what I think of as a perfect Lake Powell Day. We were on a large houseboat with the kids and friends. At sunrise I had someone drop me off a few miles up river at a canyon I wanted to explore. We’d meet back there at noon. I had a beautiful hike, saw lots wildlife and old mining artifacts, and was shadowed by a coyote for a mile until I threw a rock at him. He got within twenty feet sneaking from behind. I had my knife out and open. Right on time at the rendezvous, my friends showed up to get me. Since we could see a lot of fish action right there in the river, were cast our lines and caught a mess of striped bass in a short period of time. That’s when Allison took this picture. I water skied the three miles back through a windy, narrow section of the canyon. At times it was like skiing on glass,. Back at the houseboat Martelle had a fantastic sandwich ready for me. And a few cold drinks. The kids were all water skiing and swimming. For dinner we ate the stripers. Slept on the roof under a starry starry canopy. Perfect Lake Powell Day.
Back to Murdo, South Dakota. Also at the museum is one of the Dodge Chargers used as The General Lee, a 1969 Dodge Charger driven in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard by the Duke boys, Bo and Luke, along with cousins Coy and Vance. (one of like 300)

This is why I went to Minnesota – A Celebration of Agates. It was technically in Minnetonka. In a junior high school gymnasium. I stayed at a KOA in Maple Grove, a small town being swallowed by the metropolis. Interesting folks there. They like it because it’s close to the Mall of America, which is of no interest to me. Very park-like campground with huge maple trees and a sizable pool. I like talking to people who live in their rigs 100% of the time, and there are a lot of them, like a million or two. They have a lot of helpful advice for a fellow traveler. One guy showed me his new teeth and told me where to cross the border near Yuma to get to the dentist who made them. They looked like plastic. It was hotter than hell and humid. I was glad to have an air-conditioner in my camper. It kept me cool and helped cover the sound of the super highway a stone’s-throw away. The worst part was a third world restroom.

This is my display. All petrified wood. They provided the ugly plywood case. I had a great time and enjoyed meeting the people of Minnesota.