Cascade River State Park

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Minnesota is one of the country’s best states for outdoor fun. With scores of campgrounds, state parks, and wildlife preserves, there’s always a new area to explore. Take Cascade River State Park, for example. Located just 10 miles southwest of Grand Marais and about 265 miles from the Twin Cities, its office is located just off State Highway 61 at mile post 101.

The Cascade River is fast-moving and cuts through black volcanic rocks and into a gorge, creating a spectacular waterfall. Ferns and moss add to the beauty of the park, growing along the river. The park offers views of Lake Superior along numerous hiking trails that lead through forests of birch, spruce, and white cedar.

The park covers over 5000 acres and is home to a number of species across its hilly terrain, including moose, wolves, bears, pine martens, and deer. Bird-watching is also a readily pursued activity with a variety of birds and hawks native to the area, including warblers and chickadees.

RVers will find a number of RV sites to use, making for a comfortable spot to set up camp and stay for a few nights while exploring the area.

Visit PleasureLand RV Center

Before you head out on any road trip this summer, it’s important to get your RV checked over by a technician to help prevent any mechanical mishaps. Stop by PleasureLand RV Center to schedule some service or to tour some new motorhomes.

Crow Wing Lake Campground

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Conveniently located just two hours from the Twin Cities and a mere 10 miles south of Brainerd along Highway 371, Crow Wing Lake Campground is the perfect summer weekend destination for your RV from PleasureLand RV Center.

Crow Wing Lake Campground is situated on 30-acres of woodland filled with mature, old-growth trees. The woods are located along the shore of the 400-acre Crow Wing Lake.

There are 80 full hook-up sites for RVers as well as 20 electric/water sites. Each site comes with a picnic table and fire ring. The campsites are all nicely shaded for hot summer days. The RV sites also include a 7×20 concrete patio.

The campground also offers amenities such as full service restrooms, laundry facilities, a fish cleaning house, boat launches, docks, slips, and an on-site general store. The general store is fully furnished with everything you need and some things you don’t! From groceries and bait to pizza, souvenirs, and camping equipment, the store has got you covered.

Visit PleasureLand RV Center

Stop by PleasureLand RV Center this summer before you hit the road for Crow Wing Lake or any other destination. Whether you’re shopping for a new or used motorhome or you just want to schedule some much needed service on your current rig, PleasureLand RV Center can help.

Must-Try Summer Recipes for the Road

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Summer means long nights outside at the campsite and big adventures. It doesn’t mean long days spent cooking in your compact RV kitchen. These simple summer recipes are easy to cook and delicious, so you can spend more time out exploring.

Summer Corn and Tomato Pasta

What you’ll need:

  • 1 pound bowtie pasta
  • 2 garlic cloves (smashed)
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 ears fresh corn (kernels cut off)
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (torn)
  • salt

Cooking instructions:

  1. Salt a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, then drain.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes and garlic and stir occasionally for about five minutes.
  3. Stir in corn and raise heat to medium-high. Cook until the corn is golden brown.
  4. Season to taste with salt.
  5. Stir cooked vegetables into pasta and toss.

Spicy Honey-Glazed Chicken Breasts

What you’ll need:

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
  • 1 small onion (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 8 pineapple rings
  • salt to taste

Cooking instructions:

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and onion and cook until brown. Stir in honey, chili pepper and hot sauce, then let simmer for one minute.
  2. Remove the sauce from heat and stir in lemon juice.
  3. Preheat your grill to medium-high and rub the chicken with the remaining olive oil and salt to taste.
  4. Grill for about seven minutes, then flip and cook for another two minutes.
  5. Move the chicken breasts to a plate and brush with the honey glaze. Cover with foil and let sit for 5 minutes.
  6. Grill pineapple rings for three minutes on each side, then serve with chicken.

Visit PleasureLand RV Center

Don’t forget to stop and see us at the PleasureLand RV Center in Minnesota for all of your summer RV and camping needs.

Visit Tettegouche State Park

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Visit Tettegouche State Park to explore the North Shore region. The park includes spectacular overlooks, such as Shovel Point, rocky cliffs, inland bluffs, cascading falls, and the historic campground.

Hikers will be in heaven as they explore the miles of trails that wind in and out of scenic overlooks, including some that give a great view of the Sawtooth Mountains.

The park is also know for its rock climbing opportunities. Fishing is also popular, with two lakes specifically made for trout fishing.

Wildlife observers will enjoy the park as well; the wide variety of plant communities in the park supports more than 40 species of mammals. Most commonly seen are white-tailed deer, snowshoe hare, red squirrel and beaver. Less commonly observed are moose, black bear, red fox, and river otter. Occasionally, coyote, fisher pine marten, northern flying squirrel, and even the timber wolf are seen.

Birdwatching is popular. In all, 140 species have been identified living in the park in various seasons. Kinglets, spruce grouse, and many northern warblers nest in bogs and coniferous forests in the summer.

Visit PleasureLand RV Center

Stop by PleasureLand RV Center before you hit the road to make sure that your rig is road worthy. If it’s time to upgrade your RV, or even if you’re shopping for your first, PleasureLand RV Center can help make sure that you get an RV that’s right for you.

Visit El Rancho Manana Campground & Riding Stable

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This is a great Minnesota campground that offers most of the amenities you’d expect at a campground, plus the opportunity for horseback riding. The onsite riding stable and available rental horses allow every visitor the opportunity to take advantage of the riding trails.

El Rancho Manana also offers traditional camping in the natural setting of Long Lake, where your family can enjoy the large sandy beach, fishing, boating, modern bathhouse facilities, and unique weekends of free planned activities. The campground features 120 sites of traditional-style family camping for tents to RV’s with hookups.

For the boating and fishing, you can actually rent fishing boats, canoes, and kayaks, so you don’t have to haul your own there.

Hikers and bikers will enjoy their time at the campground since it has miles of trails to explore all along the lake and surrounding area.

The campground also provides onsite laundry facilities, a grocery and supply store, and a tavern. The campground is pet friendly.

Visit PleasureLand RV Center

Before hitting the road to find some adventure, stop by PleasureLand RV Center to shop for a new or used motorhome, to tour some models, or to schedule maintenance service on your rig.

Pizza for Breakfast

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If you’re tired of the same old breakfast fare, try making this delicious and filling breakfast pizza. It’s also low-carb as a bonus, if that’s a dietary restriction that you have, though from the taste you won’t be able to tell!

Ingredients

  • 12 eggs
  • ½ cup cream
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 8 oz sausage
  • 2 cups peppers, sliced
  • 1 cup cheese, shredded

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Add peppers to microwave for 3 minutes.
  3. Brown sausage in cast iron skillet.
  4. Take out and set aside.
  5. Mix eggs, cream, salt and pepper together and add to skillet.
  6. Cook for 5 minutes until the sides start to set up.
  7. Add to oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  8. Take out and add sausage, peppers and cheese.
  9. Set under broiler for 3 minutes.
  10. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Visit PleasureLand RV

Stop by PleasureLand RV Center this spring or summer to shop for a new or used motorhome or travel trailer. While you’re here, you can tour the various models and floorplans on the lot and find the one that’s perfect for you. PleasureLand RV Center can also help you with RV service, parts, and accessories.

Rent an RV for Your Spring Getaway

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Interested in starting your RV lifestyle? Or searching for an alternative vacation without costly plane tickets? Rent an RV from PleasureLand for your spring getaway, and you’ll quickly realize all of the joys of the RV lifestyle.

Renting an RV is the perfect way to get a feel for the RV lifestyle and which RV suits your family’s needs. It’s also the perfect way to save big bucks on an otherwise costly vacation. The following are some of the reasons you should choose to rent an RV this spring.

It’s Cost Effective

By the time you plan your spring vacation with costly plane tickets for the entire family, hotel rooms and money budgeted for eating every meal out, it becomes hard to imagine relaxing with so many expenses to pay. When you rent an RV, you can forget about plane tickets, hotel reservations and unbearably expensive meals. An RV allows you to travel together in one vehicle, cook family meals inside your RV and sleep comfortably wherever you decide to park.

It Gives You Freedom

Traveling by plane can be a major hassle, especially if you’re traveling as a family. TSA checkpoints take time, the lines are long and there are so many stresses associated with making your flights on time. renting an RV gives you the freedom to travel as you please and stop for breaks or sightseeing whenever you desire. Forget about dinner reservations, canceled flights and checking out of your hotel room on time; your RV is your mobile vacation home.

Test Out the RV Lifestyle

In addition to being an ideal way to enjoy a vacation, renting an RV gives you an opportunity to experience the RV lifestyle before you by. You can try renting a number of RV types to discover which RV suits your needs. PleasureLand RV Center offers Class A motorhome, Class C motorhome, travel trailer, fold down and ice house rentals with unlimited mileage, so you can get out and discover what the RV lifestyle is all about.

Take Part in the Brainerd Jaycees Run for the Lakes

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Join the community of Brainerd and beyond for the annual Run for the Lakes event. Since its inception in 2008, the run has grown and evolved. Last year, the event drew over 1500 runners. The Run for the Lakes is organized by volunteers from the Brainerd Jaycees, community members, and local businesses. All proceeds go to benefit various non-profit organizations and charities, including.

  • Brainerd Amateur Radio
  • Brainerd Lakes Area Women of Today
  • Brainerd Public School Foundation
  • Brainerd Restoration
  • Baxter Kiwanis
  • BMX Club
  • Crow Wing County Mounted Patrol
  • Crow Wing County Beyond the Yellow Ribbon
  • First Lutheran Church
  • Forestview Middle School Power Packs
  • Junior Achievement
  • Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity
  • LAYSA
  • Lowell School
  • Nisswa Parks & Rec
  • Nisswa Fire Department
  • Nothing But Nets
  • St. Francis School
  • Teen Challenge
  • Verge Ministries

Registration is open now and the event is scheduled for April 28 and 29. April 29 is packet pick-up, the kids 1K, and the 5K fun run. April 29 offers the 10K, half marathon, full marathon, and relay marathon.

There’s also a zeroK for those who haven’t trained for a run but still wish to support the event.

Whether you participate in a run or do the zeroK, you’ll get race swag.

Visit PleasureLand RV Center

Stop by PleasureLand RV Center for all of your RV needs, including sales, service, parts, and accessories.

There’s Plenty to See and Do at Gooseberry Falls State Park

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Next in our series of fantastic Minnesota state parks, we’ve got Gooseberry Falls State Park. It’s definitely worth a look the next time you’re on the road in your motorhome or travel trailer.

Gooseberry Falls State Park is known as the gateway to the North Shore. It possesses spectacular waterfalls, a river gorge, pristine Lake Superior shoreline, plenty of log and stone structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and north woods wildlife.

Hike or ski to see the Fifth Falls through a forest of evergreens, aspen, and birch, and enjoy camping in modern campsites, picnicking, and relaxing along the Lake Superior shoreline or the Gooseberry River.

Listen to the thunderous roar of the Upper, Middle and Lower Falls of the Gooseberry River as it plummets through a rocky gorge. Watch for waves, ships, or the moon rise on Lake Superior from an ancient lava flow known as the Picnic Flow.

To get the most out of your visit, stop by the Joseph N. Alexander Visitor Center where you can find park information, interpretive displays, a park video, Nature Store, and more. Don’t miss the Gateway Plaza for outdoor interpretive signs on area resources and history.

The park is open daily from 9am to 4pm. You can contact them at 3206 Highway 61 East, Two Harbors, Minnesota.

To get to the park from the town of Two Harbors, follow State Highway 61 northeast approximately 13 miles to the park.

Visit PleasureLand RV Center

Stop by PleasureLand RV Center today before you hit the road to any destination, such as Gooseberry Falls State Park. Tour a motorhome or travel trailer and find the one that’s perfect for you or schedule some maintenance service with our PleasureLand RV Center technicians.

Discover Theodore Roosevelt National Park

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Named in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt, who founded our modern national park system, Theodore Roosevelt National Park is located in the badlands of North Dakota.

Teddy Roosevelt had an intimate relationship with the land that would one day bear his name. He came to the Dakota Territory in 1883 when he was a skinny young man and left a little older and a lot tougher. His adventures in the rugged landscape of North Dakota forever altered his life and, ultimately, the course of the nation.

The park offers visitors scenic drives, over 100 miles of foot and horse trails, wildlife viewing, and opportunities for back country hiking and camping. There are three developed campgrounds for use: Juniper Campground, Cottonwood Campground, and the Roundup Group Horse Campground.

Wildlife viewing is especially popular, as the park is home to many native species, including bison, coyotes, cougars, feral horses, badgers, elk, bighorn sheep, white-tailed deer, mule deer, prairie dogs, golden eagles, sharp-tailed grouse, and wild turkeys.

The park also preserves the history and artifacts of Roosevelt’s time there, including the cabin he lived in and the lands his ranch occupied.

Visit PleasureLand RV Center

Stop by PleasureLand RV Center today before you hit the road to any destination, such as Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Tour a motorhome or travel trailer and find the one that’s perfect for you or schedule some maintenance service with our PleasureLand RV Center technicians.