Camping ...when pigs fly...

My family loves to camp. It has gotten harder to do though as the kids get older. The teenager has had commitments practically all summer that have kept us in town. FINALLY...we got to go.

My middle sister is in to camping as well and she was planning a trip to Blue Mound State Park in southwestern Minnesota so we decided to combine our efforts and go together. It has been a long time since my sister and I went camping together and I have never gone with her, The Professor and the boys. It was truly an enjoyable time.

When we first started camping, we tented. Shortly after though, The Professor's aunt and uncle offered to sell us their 1989 Coleman Pop-up Camper. It came fully equipped with utensils, plates, cups, pots, cooking gear, towels, table cloths and sheets for the beds. EVERYTHING! We bought it and we have never regretted it.


We opened it up in our driveway to check our supplies.



Another "person" who likes to camp is Lupe. She prefers to stay in the camper while we go on hikes or bike rides - she truly is a city dog. The thing I think she likes most is the fact that we are all together and she gets to hang out with us by the campfire. One big pack!

Blue Mound is prairie. Luckily, the campsite had trees for shade because the temperature was near 100 degrees for three days. The nights cooled off and generally there was a breeze but it was hot and humid for the most part.

We hiked the prairie the first day and saw all sorts of wonderful sites.




Wild prairie flowers of all colors.




Giant bees pollinating the wildflowers.



Huge rock formations.




Lichens, thousands of years old.




Prairie, yet signs of the gateway to the wild, wild West.


And roaming in the distance...BISON!

The highlight of our trip had to be what happened right here, on the entrance to I90 from a rest area in southern Minnesota.



This little guy ran across the road as we were entering the freeway. Now, many families may have just continued their journey and not thought twice about what might befall the little porklet... but NOT US! We jumped out of the van and began a 5 minute circus to catch the thing! I finally captured him by the hind end and quickly handed him to The Professor.



Ain't he cute?!

Luckily there was a ranger back at the rest stop who took the little piggy and popped him in the shed until he could find his rightful owner. He said that this was the third one they found today. Some trucker lost 3 little piggies on his way to the market?

Great trip!