A Dud in Deer River

The challenge in planning this year's trip was finding a campground in Minnesota.  Jeff had researched Brainerd, a town that is surrounded by lakes and has many resorts.  He wanted to rent a boat and go fishing.  I looked into it, but couldn't find any campgrounds that had available spots in or around Brainerd.  We had booked a stop at Itasca State Park, but had to cut that out of the trip since we stayed an extra day in Red Lodge.

I was able to find a "resort" in Deer River, Minnesota, which appeared to be right off Route 2 on Jessie Lake.  The site said they had a Recreation Room, boat rentals and a swimming beach.  That worked for the long term plan, because our campgrounds in Minnesota and Michigan were off of Route 2.  

Our drive from Medora to Deer River was a long one, and it couldn't have been easy for Jeff to pass so many lake resorts that had campgrounds, knowing we still had miles to go.  Our campground was feather off Route 2 than either of us thought it would be.  We finally got to the Jessie View Resort, and well, let's just say that they must have an excellent website person, because the website is much nicer than the actual campground.  Calling this place a "resort" was a bit of s stretch.  We were the only tourists at the campground - the rest of the people were seasonal campers.  When I checked in, the girl (maybe 15 or 16 years old) told us we could park in an open spot.  There were at least 12 of them.

We found a spot where we thought Jeff could get a satellite signal, but try as he might, it wouldn't work.  No internet connection either.  I went to check out the "game room" that included a television.  Someone had left the door open, and bugs were in there.  Lots of mosquitoes and flies.  I don't think any of the video games worked, and the room was old and worn out.  Jeff said the television worked and got some stations, but I don't think anyone wanted to sit in there.  

We were literally in the boonies.  There was no town near us, and we barely passed anything that looked like a town for many miles.  There was little sign of life in the campground - I saw one site with people on it.

Jeff and Ruth walked down to the lake to check it out, and Ruth was not impressed with the swimming beach.  I don't think they saw any of the alleged rental boats either.  

I ran out to find a convenience store to pick up a few things, and found one a few miles down the road.  It also had gas, so we could fill up our tanks before we left.  I had almost everything I needed to make Cincinnati chili for dinner - homemade chili had had defrosted, served over spaghetti.  I grabbed some extra tomato sauce and shredded cheese at the store, along with some drinks and a few other staples we needed.

Upon my return, Jeff and I agreed that we would not be spending two nights here on Jessie Lake.  No internet, no television, lots of bugs, and nothing to do.  Nothing nearby to check out.  We were only about 100 miles from Duluth, and they had a KOA campground.  

We had a good night, so all was not lost.  Dinner was great, and then we all packed into the back bedroom and watched the last two episodes of VH1's Top 100 Songs of the 1980's I had burned onto a DVD.  Jeff and I knew most of the songs, and Henry and Ruth had heard of some.  They saw Michael Jackson when he still looked like Michael Jackson, and they were introduced to some 80's one hit wonders and long term stars.  It was a lot of fun.

In the morning, I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast.  While hooking up the Jeep, an eagle flew over Jeff, so close that he got a really good look at him.  That salvaged an otherwise lackluster camping experience.