Hello, thank you so much for being here and reading our story! My name is Amanda and my husband, Ben and I own and operate Itasca Adventures RV Rentals. Ben and I met years ago when I was managing a steakhouse. He came in for a serving job, and, well, the rest is history. People often joke that I was his boss and still am, but we are very much a team in all aspects of life. After college and the steakhouse days, we moved to Florida for 5 years. All and all, we have moved 21 times! We ended up back in Minnesota in 2013 and welcomed our oldest baby shortly after. When he arrived, we bought our first fixer upper (because newborns and renovations totally mesh-right?!) and then we bought another-this time, a century old farm! 3 more babies in almost as many years and a ministry called Quiet Waters Ranch later, we moved again to northern Minnesota. This is when Itasca Adventures was born.
Ben and I have always been avid campers. Like the tent it in the middle of nowhere type. When the kiddos came along, we decided to buy a 1982 Bethany Pop Up camper (spoiler–dumb idea). We took that beast out to Glacier and couldn’t sell it fast enough when we returned. HA. Enter scene- The Bear’s Den. When we bought our first “real” camper, we had no idea what it would lead to. Forever stubborn and looking for a way to entrepreneur, I decided to deck out the camper and throw it up for rent to see what would happen. Well, needless to say, it did well, and here we are 3 seasons and 7 campers later.
It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, however. As is the nature of small business, there is a lot of learning and growth to be had. We tried snowmobile and ice fishing rentals to keep our business sustainable throughout the winter. The first year there was no snow, then no ice, then plenty of ice, but not much for rentals. We decided we did not like being at the mercy of Mother Nature anymore, so sold the ice houses and replaced them with more campers. Not sure what next winter will bring, but for now, we are thinking summer thoughts. We are grateful for all that we learned, and are enjoying a slower pace of winter while I home school the kiddos and Ben works his “real” job in middle mile transportation.
I thank you again for reading and joining us along the crazy ride. We are so very grateful for you and your business. Northern Minnesota has truly been a blessing.
-Amanda