Like everyone else, they've been spending weekends and vacations close to home with the kids. Gas is expensive, but plane tickets and hotels are out of reach.
Minnesota is rich with parks and campgrounds. They realize it's not exactly backpacking in Wyoming, but still. An upside to car camping has always been that they can bring plenty of good food and drink. The downside has always been that they've had trouble keeping juice boxes and string cheese cold for 72 hours.
They finally dropped the $68 on the Cadillac of ice boxes: Igloo's Maxcold 5-day cooler. The 60 quart chest is rated to keep ice intact for five days in 90-degree heat. It's ugly as hell, but it has wheels, handles, a drain spout, and a door lock. Alas, no bottle opener... but he needs that time hunting for a church key, for the beer to thaw.
You can get yours at Target, on sale now for $36, http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html?ie=UTF8&asin=B000F6WDXQ&frombrowse=1
