Thursday
After dealing with some issues with my Dad's doctors, we got to work around 10:00 this morning. Well, Linda started a little later because she first picked about four quarts of strawberries.
Oh, they're good and sweet. No sugar needed. :)
I got on the tractor and bush hogged around the pond, next to the river, over the trails in the woods, and out front by the road.
Linda used the push trimmer to knock out tall grass that I couldn't get to with the tractor. She was quite fashionable in her capris, MOR/ryde t-shirt, rubber boots, floppy hat, and safety goggles. :)
We got in about six hours of grass cutting, and there is still a lot more to do.
After calling it a day, we dumped the gray tank because we were concerned about the septic. It wasn't draining like it should. Hopefully, it will be a fairly easy fix for Hekrem tomorrow.
We were considering going over to the resort, The Pines of Kabetogama, to check it out, but a storm was coming so we hunkered down. Fortunately, the storm skirted around us, but we were already settled in by then. After a physical day, we were able to get a great night's sleep.
Friday
It was another pretty day with a high around 80 and low humidity.
Hekrem came by and spent the morning working on our septic issue. Hopefully his efforts will take care of the problem.
Linda & I went back to cutting the grass. The biggest challenge is digging the junk and equipment out of the overgrown weeds. Apparently, these folks never throw anything away, and then it all gets piled up and nature takes over.
Now we have to figure out how to organize and store stuff, so we can avoid having to cut around it all every week.
Later in the afternoon, Steve brought us a new toy - a brand new zero turn radius riding lawnmower. That will be a huge help around here.
Now, neither of us has ever driven a zero turn radius mower, so it might take us awhile to get efficient. In fact, I took my first test drive and proceeded to run the mower into a fence in front of everybody. That was embarrassing. :)
After the others left, Linda took a turn riding around and getting used to the new mower. Then she mowed our "yard".
While she was doing that, Hekrem gave me a quick rundown of the irrigation system which uses water pumped from the pond. He showed me the pump and how to turn it off and on when necessary.
He then mixed up some weed killer and headed out on the Spra-Coupe (a specially designed agricultural spray vehicle) to spray the corn fields.
Finally, around 4:30 we called it a day.
Our contract is for us to each work at least 20 hours per week in exchange for a full hook-up site, $9 per hour for all hours worked, and all the garden produce we can eat. :)
Our plan is to get most of our hours in Friday through Sunday and then take off Monday through Thursday with a couple of hours thrown in here and there during the week.
It was a pretty night so, after getting cleaned up, we drove over to The Pines of Kabetogama resort.
It's a little strange pulling in as there are three small "resorts" on the same road, and had we not seen the above sign from a distance, we wouldn't have known where to go.
Also, the office is in the back of the park and you have to look hard for the signs.
And there is no turnaround at the office, so there really should be an "RVs Stop Here To Register" sign to keep folks from pulling in too far and having to back up.
The appeal, of course, is Lake Kabetogama and the resort's waterfront, boat dock, and water activities.
Now, there are two areas of RV parking. The lower level has side-by-side sites with full hook- ups.
They are close to the waterfront, but they don't really have any view. Some of the cabins have better views, .....
especially the Lakeview Cabin.
Now, the other RV section is up on the cliffs above the office and cabins. You drive out of the main part of the park on a gravel road used by locals to access their homes. The road goes up a steep incline and then there are several sites.
These sites are not yet completed, and it's a little difficult to tell how they are oriented. But they are all reserved for July 4th weekend, so we'll get a better idea and take some pictures then.
Tina & Steve had gone for the day by the time we got there, but we met one of the workamping couples - Don & Carol. I'm sure we'll be over there once a week, so we'll meet the other couple later. We also checked out the laundry facility that we can use while we're here.
The resort is attempting to be a more upscale place than most on the lake. Everything is new and, though I wouldn't consider the RV sites to be "upscale" by any means, I suppose "new" makes it more inviting than the other "resorts" in the area. :)
After the brief tour of the resort, we drove over to the Kabetogama visitors center of Voyageurs National Park. It was closed, but going there was just part of "getting our bearings".
We also drove to a couple of the national park trailheads - one for the Kab-Ash Trail and one for the Echo Bay Trail. We'll get on those trails some time this summer.
And then we continued on to the Woodenfrog State Forest Campground, the only public campground on the Kabetogama Peninsula suitable for RVs. Granted, there are no hook-ups and it's a bit tight for big rigs, but it is an economical option at $14 per night.
When we pulled into Woodenfrog, this turtle was right on the edge of the road building a nest.
Inches from the pavement, she was determined and we got a little video.
And while we were driving through the Woodenfrog Campground, this deer casually walked in front of us and started browsing on some roadside leaves.
Woodenfrog had a few sites long enough for our rig, but the sites were all pretty shaded and dark - tough for solar panels.
Voyageurs National Park has NO campgrounds or campsites that are reachable by car. All the campsites are either "hike in" or "boat in".
After checking out some of the area, we headed back to our little private sanctuary.
I grilled some brats and we had a late dinner.
It gets very quiet at night, and we eventually headed to bed with expectations of another great night's sleep. :)
With the price of FRESH produce, you have a SWEET deal:o)) Those strawberries look wonderful!!!
Posted by: Bill and Nancy | Sunday, June 28, 2015 at 06:48 AM
Those zero turn mowers are wonderful---once you get the hang of them -- don't be embarrassed about running into a fence --I chewed off the leg of a lady's picnic table with mine, wrapped it around a telephone pole, ran it into a creek, got it stuck crossways in the middle of a drainage ditch and got it stuck on a hill before I mastered mine...now I can drive it real good if its on level flat ground ...lol Have fun with it and always keep the noseof it uphill!!!
Posted by: Jenny J | Sunday, June 28, 2015 at 11:44 PM
Love Linda's outfit! She looks like a real farm girl. I can relate to the "don't throw anything away that might be useful SOME DAY on the farm" mentality. I'm married to it. You two are in the exact area we had hoped to go last summer. We'd even planned to go to Woodenfrog but everywhere we called told us Voyageurs and Boundry Waters were so flooded they were not recommending that anyone without excellent knowledge of the area kayak there. Since that was the reason we wanted to go, we sadly bypassed it. I'm feeling just a teeny weenie bit better hearing you say that Woodenfrog wouldn't have been good for solar. Hope your employers take your advice about their campground.
Posted by: Sherry | Friday, July 03, 2015 at 07:27 AM