CAMPGROUND REVIEW - Big Sandy Lake Corp of Engineers Campground near McGregor MN

Tuesday, May 14th, we left Highland Ridge Corp of Engineer Park at 10:00 a.m. We headed West and crossed into Minnesota at St Croix Falls around 11:15 a.m. 

We worked our way around on back roads to avoid going through Minneapolis or St Paul. Big City driving isn't for us.

We headed on further west into North Central Minnesota. We had our eye on hitting a couple Corp of Engineer campgrounds.

We read the reviews for this one called Sandy Lake Recreational Area, located on Big Sandy Lake near McGregor, Minnesota. 

The campground is up on the north end of the lake where there's a dam. This helps control the flow of the water out of the lake. This whole system in this area is comprised of the headwaters of the Mississippi River. So the Corps of Engineers carefully controls the water flow throughout the entire region.

The campground itself is divided into two loops with two separate entrances. The two loops of the campground are connected by a walkway over the dam, but you cannot drive a vehicle over it. We took the first entrance, and checked out the campsites on the southern end of the campground. They are sites number 1 through 14 and are located on a little jutted out peninsula into the lake. There was a sign that said DEAD END .... But there was not any type of sign that said no turnaround or ability to get out once you pull onto this little road!!! We drove past about 7 campsites on each side, and we were faced with a fence. That was it. No cul-de-sac, no loop to turn around in, just a fence with parking for the tent sites beyond it. Oh my!

We were lucky we were in a small rig, even though we were pulling the cargo trailer. Instead of a three-point turn, Steve had to do about a seven or eight-point turn to get us out of there! So please be warned, don't go down that first road into sites 1 through 14 unless you absolutely know that is where you are camping!!! 

The sites are very short and not made for big rigs. But what is nice is that each one has it's own little fishing dock to walk directly out of your campsite right to your boat and go fishing. I'm sure they are very very popular sites. We just didn't expect the end of the road and no spot to turn around!

So we exited that area and drove on up to the other entrance for the Northern Loop. Ahhhhh this was more like it. The sites were nicely spaced apart, very deep, and pretty much level on every single one. It was lightly forested with trees that gave shade, but not heavily forested that you didn't get any sunshine. It was exactly what we were looking for...

The campsites are $26 a night, that includes electricity. There are dump stations on both loops of the campground. And there is a water filling station on the northern loop. We did notice a heavy chlorine smell to the water. Be forewarned. 

With our Senior Access America the Beautiful pass, we got the campsite for $13 a night. We decided that it was so nice we were going to stay for five nights which would carry us through the weekend. 

You have three choices on how you would like to pay for a campsite:

Number 1: you can check online to see if the site you like is available and that it is not reserved, and make the reservation online yourself. Using your credit card, there are no reservation fees when you do it online. 

Number 2: you can call the 1-800 phone number that is located on each post and do the payment over the phone to the staff at the Corps of Engineers office, and use a credit card over the phone to pay for your campsite. 

Number 3: there's a payment kiosk located in a hidden out of the way corner around behind a picnic shelter near the maintenance building. That kiosk can be used to pay for campsites on the spot, to buy daily access stickers, or to buy permits for using the boat launch. I believe it only takes credit cards, and not cash. You will see it in my video posted below. It's just in a very out of the way difficult spot to find unless you know what you're looking for!

The campground is very clean and the camp host is buzzing around all the time making sure absolutely everything is picked up or cleaned up. There were only three or four other campers in the entire northern loop during the week so it was very, very quiet.

Another thing we noticed, in various parts of the campground were tall racks with rakes and shovels on them. They were to use on your campsite and please bring them back and return them to the hanging rack. We have never seen that before in any other campground. Public rakes!

What we liked most is there were no noisy roads nearby and no big city noises. It was quiet and relaxing with the sounds of birds, frogs in the swamp, and yes, there were some mosquitoes. Not too bad yet though for this time of year in May. 

Here's a link to the website to get more information about the park:

Big Sandy Lake REC Area

On one of our 5 days, I did a little practice run using my faux GoPro camera on the handlebars of my bike. I started a separate YouTube channel that will just have my camping videos on. That way people don't have to sort through my videos of family and quilting and knitting and weaving and dogs etc. 

My new You Tube channel is called "What-A-View"  and that is also of course the same name as my blog, because of owning the Winnebago View.  So here's my little short test video. If you watch it and like it, please subscribe. 

I'm not monetized or anything to earn money. I'm just keeping it as a separate channel for camping videos. I loaded up about five or six other ones on the same channel that you might also find of interest?

Here are some more photos I took around the park if you don't care to watch the video. There are two very nice boat landings to launch boats into the southern portion that reaches into the lake. There is also another short steep boat landing to get into the northern part of the river access beyond the dam.

There are some nice large parking lots that are adequate for putting boats and trailers, as well as parking for some of the picnic areas in the park. There's also a very nice swimming beach with more parking and additional campsites over in that area too.

The playground equipment is located over in the middle of the campground, closer to the dam. But they have large fences up to keep the children away from the rushing water. 

In the pic below, the churning dam water is on the left, and the right channel is the lock. I don't believe the locks are operational right now for boats, because the water levels are high enough to just float on through. Otherwise, during times of low water, I am sure that the locks are used by the boats to get from one section to another.

There's a cute little visitor center that is open during the days that is a self-guided tour inside.

We found it extremely interesting to learn all about the locks and the history in the area.

Multi-paneled informational boards are situated inside of the visitor center.

There are also pamphlets and brochures underneath about other things to do in the area as well as the other Corps of Engineers parks in the same region.

The display of the lock wheel and motors was interesting to learn about, along with the levers that operated the lock doors.

Beautiful paddle wheel boats went up and down this section of the river and toured around the lakes in the old days.

Some sad parts of history had to do with the indigenous tribes that frequented the area. Sadly, when white man came they were displaced and moved onto reservations.

Some of the stories were extremely sad, there were tragedies involved with how many people who were mistreated during the transition.

A lot of historical artifacts in the area were found from these tribes. They were moved on further to the west and I believe eventually into North Dakota.

It was nice to see the displays of things that were everyday tools for them. We take so much for granted that we can just go to a store and buy something. They had to make everything they ever used.

This was a large motor that was used for operating the gates on the dam at in earlier years. Now it's all been replaced with newer machinery and technology.

Touring around the campground, down one of the peninsulas with tenting sites is this bird shelter overlooking the marsh. I don't think it's used for hunting, I think it's used for photography of the migratory birds.

The south side of the campground has a really nice shower building and flush toilets. Believe it or not, there's also a washer and dryer available in an alcove on the shower building. And it is FREE!!! They do ask that you limit yourself to one load per campsite per day. That way there's time for anybody else to access the machines and don't have to wait for multiple loads from one person. It's only one washer, and one dryer. But they are FREE!

On the other side of the dam, on the north side of the campground there are only pit toilets. They are very clean and neat, And they even have fans on the roof to help eliminate any unpleasant oders.

Here's another view of the boat ramp closest to the northern campground. There are also volleyball courts, badminton courts, horseshoes and buckboard (beanbag toss). Equipment is available at the office to play on these recreational areas.

Here we are nestled in our chosen site, number 36. I will write more on my next blog of our actual camping within the park. This was just basically an overview of the campground itself in case you were interested in coming here.

191 miles traveled today 

463 miles traveled so far

Days 29-32 BEST Campsite In The Park! Merrisach Lake COE Tichnor Arkansas

We had reached our eighth day at Pendleton Bend and decided that maybe it was time to move on to another Corps of Engineers Park. The host at Pendleton Bend was telling us about a very nice park just up on the other side the river and only a few miles downstream on the canal. The name is Merrisach Lake, And the bottom edge of the lake flows into the man-made Arkansas Post canal. The campground is located right at the intersection between the lake and the canal.

We went online and just kind of looked at the map and chose a site and reserved it for three nights. We had NO IDEA that it was the absolute best site in the entire park!!! 

As we packed up from Pendleton Bend, we dumped our holding tanks and had to drive 30 miles up and around to get to a campground that really was only about 6 miles as the crow flies down the river. 

In the tiny town of Gillett, we stopped at the Dollar General for a little stock up of a few items to get us through the next 4 days. 

Here is a link to the website with all the information:

Merrisach Lake COE Campground

As we pulled into the park, we went down to the D Peninsula to find our campsite, D9. 

Ooooh my!!! 

We were at the end of a little roundabout cul-de-sac with the one and only sight facing out of the end of the peninsula. We had a water view all the way around almost 300°!... I cannot imagine any campsite being any better than this. There was nobody else in the entire campground other than the two camp hosts way up by the gatehouse. Total peace and quiet.

To top it off, the site is a pull-through site. We left our little cargo trailer hooked right up to use as our garage out the back of the campsite. 

Each campsite has a covered pergola over the cement picnic table and benches. There's also a fire ring and a charcoal grill. Each campsite has electric as well as water (no sewer). 

There are nice clean heated bathrooms a short walk away. Each separate bathroom has a separate shower area. There are two for the women and two for the men. How nice is that?

The rate is $26 a night for this site, but with our America the Beautiful Senior Access Pass, we get it for $13 a night. 

The paved patio area is perfectly level. The little gravel area around the table and fire pit is nice to keep the mud and the grass from being tracked into the motorhome. 

Incidentally, although there are alligators known to be in this lake, all around the edges of the campground are a kind of a low molded barrier that I'm sure also helps with erosion. It might deter an alligator from wanting to crawl up into the park. There are more swampy areas in the park that I think are a better habitat for the gators to hang out. Of course, this time of year the alligators are dormant and hiding out in secluded areas. 

We are enjoying the occasional tugboats going past, pushing heavily loaded barges down the river or empty ones back up again to refill. 

This is right next to the campground, and we find it very interesting to watch them float on by. 

We hopped on our bikes and pedalled down river to this tall bridge near the lock for the transported barges. From our bikes, we could not access the actual area to view down into the lock. But from underneath we can see where the boats enter the large chamber. 

Of course, if we pedalled our bikes to the top of this very tall bridge, we could look down as the barges passed through. But Chicken Karen was not about to pedal up that high and look over the edge. Not only do the heights bother me, but I don't know if I am that adept yet at riding the bike up such a tall incline. That adventure can wait for another time. 

Speaking of our e-bikes, we managed to hit a milestone! Yes, we now entered The 100 Mile Club. That may seem like a little thing to some people, but to us 60 plus year old folks who just bought these bikes in November, I think it's quite a feat. 

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be back on a bicycle again. But these e-bikes make it so easy to get up and down the hills, and they are really a lot of fun to ride. 

We pedalled around the campground, exploring a couple of loops and then down to the tall bridge over the locks. We also went a little bit further to read the sign at a nature preserve. All together we pedalled almost 7 mi during our 100 mark milestone. 

These bikes are just so much fun, and I posted this photo to the Lectric Bike Owners page on Facebook. It's nice to see so many older folks enjoying these bikes. It's good to get out and about, fresh air and sunshine, and have new adventures. 

Now, on to set ourselves up

 to reach the 

500 mile club?

A fellow blogger had let us know that he was going to be pulling into a spot at the same campground, a few sites away. It was nice to meet Daryl in person, and he had lots of great hints and ideas of places to go. Here is his blog if anyone would like to follow along: 

https://gozatravels.blogspot.com/?m=1

One of our reasons for escaping the cold weather of Wisconsin, is to see some green. The trees are just starting to bud out, and we've seen some magnolia blooms, crabapple blossoms, and wild daffodils growing in the ditches. 

On our bike ride, the sun had just come out and this beautiful field was a blaze with yellowish green new growth. 

By our second night, a few more campers had joined us in the campground. Although it was very quiet, we no longer had our peninsula to ourselves. But we did have a spectacular sunset to share with everyone!! 

I just can't believe standing in front of our motorhome, I could twist from left to right and do this panorama photo. All of this was ours to enjoy for three nights. 

Then it was time to move on... 

The upcoming blog will be 

about our next selected

Corps of Engineers Park, 

and a crazy crazy moving day!! 

Took a day trip up the river

Ahhh today is such a lovely spring day, and we decided to take a mini road test.  About five miles! LOL   There is a nice little park by the dam upriver, so we drove there to set and relax for the day.   Had to see how those new solar panels rode on the roof, right?

OH oh …. no parking???

 

Just kidding! 

That sign was out by the road and we were legally parked in the area near the dam.  There is a larger parking area with a boat ramp a bit further up the road, but we like going here instead.  Not dealing with pickup trucks and boat trailers in and out of the water all day. 

 

This is a small dam on the Oconto river, just up river a few miles from our home, and it has a hydro electric generator inside. Actually, we are shareholders in the dam and get a tiny dividend check each year too.   So when Steveio would holler at the teens “Who left these lights on?? Do you think I own stock in the electric company???”   The would say: “YES!”

 

We took the dogs and went for a walk along the riverbank.  The folks are gathered along the shore line for fishing and watching the spawning… mostly suckers, (like carp) and walleye are spawning right now.   Not allowed to catch walleye till the first Sunday in May. 

 

This is the top side of the dam building and the reservoir backwaters which is called The Machickanee Flowage.  We sometimes launch our boat here and piddle around fishing in the backwaters of the dam. 

 

It was a gorgeous blue sky day!  Wow,  compared to 8 inches of snow on Thursday? The birch trees are just beginning to leaf out and the hardwoods are tiny buds yet.

 

 

Some other folks were playing with their two dogs by the water, in and out with a ball –—Duke was very jealous and wanted to join right in!

 

The dam is roped off with big orange warning floats and bouys for safety

 

Now we walked down the road aways back towards the highway.  This bridge is maintained by the local snowmobile club and the landing next to it is a place to launch canoes and kayaks.  We can float from here all the way to our house, about five miles, or go another five miles beyond right into Oconto.  A few miles past that and you will find yourself in the waters of Green Bay.  Keep floating and you are into Lake Michigan!

 

 

 

We walked along on top to see the fish spawning from above (can you see the fish? they are about 2 feet long---   there are about 10 of them in this picture)

 

Here is a shot from alongside the bridge as we walked along the shoreline.

 

It sure was a lovely day for a walk… this little bridge was alongside the river over a tiny creek on the way back.  The dogs sure enjoyed their first real outing of the year.

 

 

      Everything seemed so green against the blue sky

 

I had simmered up a pot of homemade chicken veg soup before we went out for the walk (no, I didn’t leave it on while we were gone, I had turned it off) 

We came back and I finished up the soup with a bunch of noodles and soon it was ready. Yummmmmm!

After that nice lunch, we curled up for a while and took a nap, listening to the red winged blackbirds and robins outside.   What a nice way to spend a Sunday in spring! Steve snoozed in his new Euro Chair and I relaxed on the couch.  Now I woke up first and decided to get the pics out of the camera while he is still dozing…. ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

And we are happy to report that the solar panels are working just fine and we are already charged up to the top end of the batteries.    

 

(this blog was posted by a solar powered computer)