As I’m finally preparing for this season of snowboarding, I’m also reminiscing on this past year’s adventures. One trip that stands out in my mind is the adventure to Trollhaugen. This is a great memory for multiple reasons.
One day I saw a promotional offer that Trollhaugen was having to win free tickets. Low and behold, I won two free lift tickets. Figuring out a time to actually go use those tickets proved to be a bit of a challenge. Finally we decided to commit to a Friday night trip to Wisconsin. As soon as my fiancé got off work, we loaded all our stuff into my car and made the 4 hour trip to Dresser.
Just so you all know, Trollhaugen has some really cool events. One of those events is late nights. The night we went, there was a live band and the slopes were open until 3:00 AM. We arrived around midnight, got our lift tickets and went on our way. This was my first visit to the land of the trolls. It was a bit of a sloppy night because spring was quickly approaching, but it was a blast. The music was great, the alcohol kept me warm and the slopes were busy. We took a couple breathers to watch the chaos on the terrain park and were impressed by the skills and tricks people were throwing down.
Finally – around 2 AM, exhaustion set in and we were ready to crash. Rather than paying for a few hours in a hotel, we scoped out the area and found out the local Walmart allows overnight parking. Once we arrived, we dashed inside to grab some snacks and use the restroom before settling in. To make the car as comfortable as possible for sleeping, we brought along quite a few things. Those things include two comforters, a few smaller blankets/pillow cases (to block out light from the windows), a sunshade for the front window, 2 pillows, and I happened to have a couple cardboard targets that I used for the back window. My car has bench seats, so I got the back seat area and my fiancé got the front.
The next morning we got up, ran in to Walmart to use the restroom and headed on our way to Franconia Sculpture Park and Ikea for breakfast.
If you’re looking to save a little money on a trip, car camping really isn’t that bad; at least not for me because I’m only 5’2”. Just make sure wherever you’re stopping for the night allows overnight parking. Some Walmart’s don’t and you may get woken up during the night to move.
This was my first Midwest adventure feeling like a true ski bum. I truly love the memories from our Trollhaugen trip last season and I’m so excited to see what this season holds.
Live big.
(Please excuse our sub-par cell phone photos from this adventure)
