Bentleyville is Snow Joke

Yesterday's snow storm was such a big one that some businesses had to close or delay opening. In fact, we had to postpone our plans to visit Bentleyville because they had so much damage from the storm. But we won't let the snow keep us from enjoying the holiday season. Since Bentleyville is back up and running today, so are we. After celebrating Thanksgiving dinner with the family, we all caravanned up to Duluth walk through Bentleyville. 

Bentleyville is America's largest free walk-through lighting display. With over 5 millions lights, Bentleyville is a favorite of both children and adults. 

Josh and I are big suckers for cheesy Christmas, and therefore, we love to see light shows any chances we can. Since we lived in the Northwoods for 5 years, we are no strangers to Bentleyville, but that doesn't mean we ever get tired of it. This year, in particular, was wonderful since we were visiting with family after the first snowstorm. The millions of lights with the snow backdrop is something from a Hallmark card. 

Snow Place Like Home

We woke up to the Northwoods' first real snow of the season, and it marks our camper's inaugural snowstorm. So this promises to be an adventure, because when it snows in Wisconsin, they don't do things halfway.

Luckily, we knew the storm was coming. In order to get ready for this storm, we had some prep to do. We started with skirting the camper because we needed the underside to stay warm enough so our pipes didn't freeze. Skirting the camper prevents cold air from blowing under the camper, allowing the air under the camper to act as an insulator. We just got a roll of house wrap from Menards. To secure the house wrap to the camper, we backed out some of the screws around the paneling on the side of the camper, then replaced them with washers to help hold the wrap and prevent tearing, The bottom was held down with 2x4s laid across the ground and secured with screws and washers as well.

We also bought a thermometer with multiple sensors so that we could keep track of the temperature under the camper and in the storage compartment, both of which we need to make sure don't get below freezing. We were happily surprised with how well the plastic skirting worked. So far, it hasn't gotten below 40 degrees. Hopefully, since snow acts as insulation, it will continue to be a successful system.

Additionally, we bought a heated water hose. This was essential with our hose running across the frozen ground.

Finally, we need heat tape to use on waste hose. It may not be pretty to think about, but since we need to use a macerator pump and it's 10 degrees with the ground is frozen, the waste can freeze as you empty your tank, and that isn't something you want to deal with. This already happened to us once while pumping, and we didn't want to experience that again!

Mall of America

Even though we enjoy the quietness country life brings, we sometimes want the busyness life in a city can provide. So we went to Mall of America for some retail therapy. 

The Mall of America is located in Bloomington, Minnesota, which is considered part of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. MoA is the largest mall in the USA and in the Western Hemisphere. There are 520 stores among the 4 floors. In fact, some of the stores have more than one location within the mall. 

You'll find many of the stores you'd expect in a mall, like Macy's, Nordstrom, Old Navy, American Eagle, Pandora, and Bath & Body Works. But there are also a lot of entertainment options, like a movie theater, Lego store, escape rooms, and arcades. 

But what's most notable is the indoor theme park in the middle of the mall. There are multiple roller coasters and rides for kids and adults, and the laughter and screams can be heard throughout the halls. It certainly is interesting seeing a roller coaster car zoom by you as you walk around on the 3rd floor. 

With all the options, no visit to MoA is ever identical. This round, it was the first time Josh and I had been there during the Christmas season. I enjoyed seeing all the holiday decorations around, which I'm sure will only increase as we get deeper into the season.

Nature's Glow-Up

One benefit of country life is little to no light pollution, which we were particularly grateful for these past 3 nights as Aurora Borealis fills our night sky. What I found interesting is that the camera captures the light better than the naked eye. So these images, although they haven't been edited, aren't a reflection of what we actually saw. Still, the beauty is undeniable!