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Leslie and I went camping up north, near where I grew up, at McCarthy Beach State Park. She and I have been slowly augmenting our collection of camping equipment for over a year. This was more of a shake-down than anything else; although McCarthy is a nice campground, it is just that: a campground. We got a slightly isolated site, and we didn’t have electricity, we even used backpacking food. I was rather sad to see the large amount of people who think “camping” entails using a huge RV / fifth-wheel tow behind trailer with an unleaded generator. We took a few cool pictures of a little chipmunk who had a tunnel just outside our tent. Also, this was the first time that we brought both bikes somewhere using the Thule car racks. There were quite a few nice trails skirting the campground, but I was saddened to find that the trails threading through “private” land (something really interesting, within the bounds of a Minnesota state park) were ill-kept. I really wanted to peddle my way back to Pickerel Lake and sit on the shoreline. I haven’t been back there since I was 11 or 12 years old. It’s a small, rather deep lake, and the Department of Natural Resources stocks it with rainbow trout. We had dinner at a local favorite: Bimbo’s, a bar/restaurant. If you are ever out near Side Lake, Minnesota, the hot wings there are a must. I will post the photos of the chipmunk at a later date.