Camping Where We Almost Caught A Duck

On Sunday my good friend sent me a picture from, oh, probably 28 years ago. I am seated on a picnic table in front of an unfamiliar blue tent. I am wearing a pink flowered top and a pair of faded jeans. Offspring #1 is on my lap on his back and his shoulders rest on the picnic bench. His mouth is open and laughing as he looks at the camera. Offspring #2 in also on my lap on her tummy and she, too, is laughing and looking at the camera. I am just laughing. I could not figure out where this was taken. My friend reminded me of the time the five of us went camping at Charles Lindberg State Park.The blue tent was her blue tent. I brought the pick up truck with the pop up camper and a fishing boat on a trailer. We tried to launch the boat in the Mississippi River. I remember getting frustrated with backing up the trailer that I could not see because of the camper. I ended up taking the trailer off the hitch and walking it down to the water. We fished on the Mississippi River. We were fishing for fish. Unfortunately a flock of mallard ducks kept eyeing out bait and diving at our lines. We had to reel our lines in fast to avoid catching a duck. Lucky for us we caught a few fish and zero ducks. After camping I drove home on Highway 10. As I came to the spot on Highway 10 where the road from Monticello crosses on the way to Santiago. The crossing is at a diagonal. At that time there was no stop light there. A car from Monticello made a poor choice and tried to cross Highway 10 when cars were coming east. I was in the fast lane towing a trailer. The car in front of me smacked into the car crossing Highway 10 so hard I saw both cars lift into the air a little bit before coming back down. I had time to pull over onto the median safely. I told the kids to stay put. I ran to the car in front of me. The driver got out of the car and began walking in circles talking about a headache. She definitely had a concussion. Her passenger in the front seat was quietly sitting there. The ashtray in the car was open when the impact happened. Her shin hit the ashtray and some of her leg was now in the ashtray. Her leg was bleeding profusely. I asked her if she had a towel. She said she did in the back seat. I got the towel and applied pressure to her leg while the driver kept walking around in circles and repeating herself. I was freaked out big time. What was I doing abandoning my two offspring? I hoped they would listen and not leave the truck. The woman with the injured leg said she was in a lot of pain and asked when the ambulance would be there. I started talking in a reassuring manner mentioning the hospital in Monticello and the hospital in Saint Cloud. When I get nervous I get talkative. Soon someone appeared at my left shoulder. He said he was an off duty paramedic and asked if I wanted his assistance. I was happy to give him the job. I walked back to my truck trembling. As the traffic cleared we drove home. Offspring #1 was sure I would be on the television show called 911 that evening. I kept my fear and anxiety under wraps so as not to upset the children. When I got home I called my camping friend. She and her daughter had been unpacking for an hour already. With her I could unload my fear and anxiety. I told her if I had left ten seconds earlier I might not be alive to call her now. I told her about the accident. She listened. Sharing the story helped deflate the emotional turmoil and I could calm down. The camping weekend was fun but the drive home put a damper on the trip. I was glad we made it home safely.