1 Sep
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| On the home stretch! |
Today we departed Lake Vermillion North campground SD at 0745 hrs and arrived Camp Ripley, MN, our 23rd stop at 1446 hrs, 7 hrs 01 minutes total including one rest area stop and one gas stop. 352 miles total which is out LONGEST day! We really shoot for the "rule of twos": No more than
200 miles/travel day - we are retired and not in a hurry!;
Two nights minimum at every stop since there is always something to see no matter where you go; In the campground by
Two o'clock so we can get set-up and relax by evening time; and
two cold beers in the fridge when we get there!
The drive was pretty uneventful. It was very overcast and then we drove in and out of the rain.
We drove through the SE corner of North Dakota and then into Minnesota.
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| Kind of blurry, but Welcome to North Dakota! |
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| Welcome to Minnesota! Camera focused on the raindrops rather than the sign. We will get a better one when we re-enter Minnesota later in the month. |
Camp Ripley Training Center, located near Little Falls MN is a 53,000-acre regional training center hosting numerous ranges and state-of-the-art facilities to support training requirements for military and civilian agencies. CRTC provides resources enabling customers to train in a realistic environment while sustaining lodging and conference space for customer events, programs and education. Camp Ripley is similar to Ft McCoy in Wisconsin. It is to the Army Guard like Volk Field WI is to the Air Guard.
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| The Camp Ripley sign on the highway. |
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| Camp Ripley Main Gate |
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| We passed their military museum on the way to get our check-in packet. I hope it is open sometime while we are here, but since it is a holiday weekend I have my doubts. |
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| Deparcq campground. Nice, well-spaced, wooded campground. |
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| The shade will be welcome, but can't see the satellite due to the trees, so no Iowa football game tomorrow! |
We deliberately passed through North Dakota on the way, so Doreen applies the North Dakota decal on our map. We had already been to Minnesota before, so we did not have to re-do it.
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| Our RV has been through 35 States! |
We chose Camp Ripley due to the location in MN and the rate - $17/night. The location is important as the Schellhase family vacationed not far from here as I was growing up at Blauer's Resort on Little Whitefish Lake west of Mille Lacs lake in north central MN. We came to this same resort every year and joined up with the same people including friends and relatives.
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| The front of the Cafe/Bar at Blauer's. We will see tomorrow what it looks like now! |
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| Dad and I at Blauer's Resort - early 1960's. |
It is apparent from Google Maps and Google earth the resort still exists but under different ownership and I want to revisit it. I have not been there since approximately 1969. That is the plan for tomorrow.
Stats Update:
Campsite#: 23
# States Traveled Through This Trip: 15
Baseball Parks Visited This Trip: 4
Point to point travel miles: 5292 miles
- Avg point to point travel miles: 171 miles
Vicinity miles: 9508 miles
- Avg vicinity miles: 317 miles
Total miles driven: 14,800 miles
Total point to point driving time: 109 hrs 18 minutes
Total fuel purchased: 1050.274 gals
Total fuel cost: $2725.07
Average fuel cost: $2.671
Average MPG: 13.27 miles/gal
# Nights at end of this stay: 117
Lodging cost: $3503.52
Average lodging cost/night: $29.94/night
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