It began as a single thump on the motorhome roof. Then another, and another, until a steady rhythm took hold.
It was 5:00 a.m. Kasey was fast asleep beside me, so I whispered to him in case he was not asleep. "It’s starting to rain."
"Hmm?" he murmured, eyes still closed.
"Did we put the chairs away?"
"I don't think so..."
I sprang out of bed as the pitter-patter overhead multiplied. Tossing on clothes, I darted outside into the damp morning air, shoved the firewood safely beneath the rig, and grabbed the lawn chairs just as Kasey opened the door to reach for them. Handing them off, I snagged the leash. Knowing Tad would want his morning walk in an hour anyway, I figured we’d better brave the elements before the sky really opened up.
By the time we got back, puddles were forming, and the individual raindrops had merged into a solid definition of a downpour. I crawled back into bed, feeling cozy, but sleep was gone for the morning. I gave up, rolled out of bed, and started the coffee.
Outside, the steady rain continued while Kasey slept until eight. The days are getting shorter so with the dark clouds it hardly felt that late. Today was checkout day. We were bound northwest for Mille Lacs Kathio State Park. While Kasey got ready and caught up on his blog, I set to work shifting our rolling cabin into travel mode. The bikes needed to be secured and covered, and we took advantage of the power hookup to top off the batteries first. By just after noon, everything was packed tight and we were rolling out.
After a few quick stops for gas and supplies, we pulled into Petaga Campground around 4:00 p.m. to meet up with Cece. To our surprise, she was already there, her tent pitched in a lovely, wooded site after waiting out a storm of her own.
Fortunately, the rain cleared out for the evening, leaving us free to gather around the fire. Cece made a vegetable curry stew, we threw in some peppers and added some rice, and we spent hours catching up: swapping stories, checking in on family, and laying out our plans for the next few days.
The park is a significant archeological site with Native American's occupying the area as far back as 3000 BC. Significant changes started to occur around the mid 1800s with logging. The name Kathio doesn't mean anything and is actually a result of poor handwriting of one of the European explorers. Mille Lacs means "thousand lakes" in French. In the Ojibwe language of the people who historically occupied this area, the lake is called Misi-zaaga'igan ("grand lake").
After dinner, Tad and I set off on a quick walk and stumbled upon a nearby waterway dotted with Trumpeter Swans. I hurried back to camp to grab my binoculars and share my findings with the others. We all rushed back before dusk to catch a
glimpse. A few dozen swans floated gracefully across the water in two loose groups, a serene sight to end the day. This waterway is Rum River that flows from the Ogechie Reservoir. We made a mental note to explore the surrounding trails tomorrow once the rain fully cleared.
As night fell, the campground hummed with life. Campers continued to arrive and fill the vacant spots. We could hear them but rarely see them which is perfect for a campground. Laughter, distant chatter, kids screaming in play, and the occasional dog bark drifting through the trees. We retreated back to the fire for one last round of stories, but my 5:00 a.m. wake-up call was finally catching up to me. Under a cloud ladened sky, serenaded by a chorus of crickets, I said my goodnights and turned in.
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