June 9
Travel from Interstate Campground to Jay Cooke State Park
We woke and started the day with guarded optimism – the area we were headed to had forcasted temps in the more typical 70s for today. Though, it'd still be in the 90s nearly the whole way there.
We'd planned to sleep in and leave later in the day but we had no reason the stick around, so we got on the road early.
We stopped at a grocery store to restock our food and we decided to check out a spot John had researched but removed from the tentative itinerary: Big Spring Falls at Banning State Park.
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| exploring Banning State Park |
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| Big Spring Falls at Banning State Park |
And, we made another impromptu stop after seeing a roadside sign (we were trying to salvage the trip and have some fun after a few days of being hot, sweaty messes or stuck in the RV to stay cool). So, we all got some sweets at Kismet Candy Store.
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| Sweetly Kismet Candy Store |
Heads up if you plan to stop for some sweets: It's kinda tucked away behind a truck stop and feels a little sketchy as you approach it from the back, but it is a fun little shop.
When we arrived at Jay Cooke State Park our moods were all instantly lifted as we stepped out of the RV, felt the comfortable temps, and saw this amazing spot on the St. Louis River.
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| exploring Jay Cooke State Park |
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| St. Louis River at Jay Cooke State Park |
It was a lovely 66°F degrees at dinner time and we actually enjoyed cooking over the campfire and just hanging out outside. This kids found a great climbing tree and decided to start filming a "movie" around it.
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| "cooler by the lake" |
And, after our nightly marshmallow roasting, we even tried a fun "Campfire Colors" packet, which the kids got a kick out of.
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| campfire fun |
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| Campfire Colors |
This. This was what the whole trip was supposed to be like. We know there nothing you can do about the weather and we were rolling with the punches and making the most of it. But there is no denying we were all having a much better time today.