CampsitePhotos.com 2013 Photo Tour Recap Part 1: CA to MN

What a long strange trip it’s been…

Yeah, but there is much more ahead.

I thought I would share some of my favorite photos from the last eight months. Some that never even made the blog posts.

The trip started here, more or less. Actually about 300 miles southwest on the coast. Doesn’t matter.

That’s where I met my friend Glenn to borrow his trailer.

I promised to bring it back in perfect shape. And I did. More or less.

I left the next morning and headed east for a while. Saw a couple of nice sunrises and an old bridge.

See, most people thought that the London Bridge was the one in all the photos. Nope, that is the Tower Bridge.

Alright, I have to speed this up.

Arizona.

I really enjoyed Patagonia Lake State Park in AZ. Go there. Trust me.

Kept heading east.

For a long time. 600 miles.

All the way to Colorado.

And snow. Little did I know.

I played in the sand at Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Then headed through some interesting weather in Colorado.

Feel cold? Here are some sunset photos to warm you up.

Good. I drove four auto tour routes at once and saw a cool rock.

Not really a rock but that is what it is called, Chimney Rock.

Entering Nebraska I passed by some strange cars and a pelican. Not at the same time.

This was at the end of April.

This was the first day in May at the same spot.

Continued on in a slightly muddy condition as the snow melted.

I was following the Missouri River at this point through Nebraska and saw signs of the flood from 2011.

Nasty.

Luckily Bald Eagles build their nest high. I saw a baby.

And a nice sunset.

They call this Lewis and Clark Lake. Formed by a dam on the Missouri River. On the other side is South Dakota. Kinda where the sun is setting.

They have a massive campground there near Yankton. I liked the marina and this photo.

Finally made it to Minnesota, only to find people tossing poop.

Real Buffalo Chips.

I prefer Buffalo Wings. With habanero sauce.

OK, this is now June.

So in early June I got this thing.

Not the car, the bike.

Probably put 400 miles on it during this trip.Take a bike with you when you go camping. Even just to cruise around the campground. Kids will challenge you to a race. Say “Look, there’s a squirrel” and then get a head start. They will give you dirty looks afterwards. Hey, it’s a life lesson. Don’t trust old people.

I hit the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin at the Mississippi River.

Then headed north along the St. Croix River.

Ran into some fly trouble but called in the military for a surgical strike.

I thanked the troops but then nature sent in the tanks.

Nature will always win.

Especially if they bring in the big fish.

I quickly drove away. To the ocean.

Well, it looked like the Pacific Ocean. Tides and driftwood. The lack of kelp brought me back to my senses. And Lake Superior.

The North Shore in Minnesota is quite impressive. A few hundred feet away from the shore is a plateau rising a few hundred feet, which creates a few waterfalls. (I used all those fews on purpose)

That was as far east as I drove.

How about a squirrel story to finish this post.

A police officer sees a man driving around with a pickup truck full of squirrels.

He pulls the guy over and says… “You can’t drive around with squirrels in this town! Take them to the zoo immediately.”

The guy says “OK”… and drives away.

The next day, the officer sees the guy still driving around with the truck full of squirrels, and they’re all wearing sun glasses.

He pulls the guy over and demands… “I thought I told you to take these squirrels to the zoo yesterday?”

The guy replies… “I did . . . today I’m taking them to the beach!”

Westward Bound. Coming Soon.

No more squirrel jokes, I promise.

Regards, Park Ranger