Father's Day: Camping at St. Croix State Park

This weekend we decided to go camping at St. Croix State Park, near Hinckley, MN. Dina and I love to camp, and last year we didn't go at all since Caden and Rohan were so young. This was a trial run to see how they (and we) handled it, and to make sure we have everything we need for a longer trip to the North Shore later this summer. The weekend went well! We had packed a bunch of stuff on Friday night, then on Saturday morning we got up early and packed the rest and loaded up the van. It was pretty tight, with all five of us, our camping gear, and the dog. We headed out (after a couple of "oops, I forgot..." false starts) and started the drive north. Dina's sister was going to meet us at the park with her two boys, but on the way we talked to her on the phone and realized she was thinking of a different state park, much closer. After getting that sorted out, all was good.

We arrived at St. Croix State Park at about noon, right at check-in time. We'd reserved our campsite ahead of time, which is always a crapshoot when you don't know how wooded and private the campground is, but our site was pretty awesome. We got our tent set up and most of our bedding set up, and started doing camping-type stuff. A few hours later Dina's sister and her boys arrived, and they set up, then we all had good times together. Honestly most of the specifics escape me after I've been camping...it's just nice to get out, make a fire, and enjoy being outdoors with good people. It was hot during the day - 90s - but luckily there was a swimming area at the park. (Caden and Rohan decided to nap in the air conditioned van for that, so I was with them.) Campfire, hot dogs, snacks, fireflies, playing in the dirt, hiking, swimming, lots of laughing - it was a good time. Dina's dad Dean and his wife Karen even stopped by for a while; it was good to see them.

The night was a little rough. It got colder than it does in our house, and Caden and Rohan had a tough time with that, so Dina was up much of the night soothing them in the tent. The boys and I let her sleep in that morning, though, so that worked out.

Let me just say here that campfire breakfasts rule. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns cooked over a fire are one of life's Good Things. After breakfast Dina and I worked on packing up the site while playing with the kids. Gretchen had to leave right after breakfast; her boys were going to the Saints game with their dad for Father's Day. Dean and Karen stopped by again later that morning; they'd spent the night at a nearby B&B. Sunday was another hot day, but it was cloudy instead of sunny. The last thing we packed up was the tent, and just as we started taking it down the first drops of rain started to sprinkle down. The timing was perfect. We had a good trip home, and put away as much of our gear as we could manage before exhaustion set in. We definitely will return to St. Croix state park to see more of it; it's a huge park with many hiking and biking trails and two good-sized rivers, and I can see our family having a lot of fun there in the future.

It was a fantastic Father's Day weekend for me. I love my family and can't think of anything I'd rather do than spend time with them. Happy belated Father's Day to all the other dads out there!