Around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Wally Ress of Albert Lea takes down the stand that held a TV satellite dish. He and his wife, Lynne, were hosts at the White Fox Campground at Myre-Big Island State Park for June and had been slated to be hosts for the first two weeks of July. Their German shepherds, Neko and Sasha, watch him. -- Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune

Jim and Renay Dolton of Alden hoped to spend their summer at the White Fox Campground at Myre-Big Island State Park.

It was close enough to home for Jim to go to work, and they thought the seasonal pass was a good way to relax this summer.

But on Thursday, because of state park closings as a result of a state government shutdown, Jim and Renay had to pack up their camper and haul all their gear back to Alden. Renay said they wished they could get their pass refunded now so they could use the money to relocate to a campground that isn’t owned by the state.

“We are out our summer vacation money until the state pays,” she said.

Myre-Big Island State Park closed at 4 p.m. Thursday, along with all 72 state parks in Minnesota.

“I think there’s a lot of things that should be kept open,” said Rep. Rich Murray, R-Albert Lea. “It’s just plain stupid that we’re at this point. Why are we wrecking everybody’s weekend? It’s not like you have a big staff at all these parks. It wouldn’t take that much to keep it open.”

Around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Wally Ress of Albert Lea takes down the stand that held a TV satellite dish. He and his wife, Lynne, were hosts at the White Fox Campground at Myre-Big Island State Park for June and had been slated to be hosts for the first two weeks of July. Their German shepherds, Neko and Sasha, watch him. -- Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune

Myre-Big Island State Park Ranger Jerry Katzenmeyer checked White Fox Campground and Big Island Campground at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday. No one was on Big Island, and three camps were packing up at White Fox.

The Doltons were among them. So were Wally and Lynne Ress. Wally and Lynne had been the campground hosts for June and expected to be the hosts for the first two weeks of July.

“All negotiations are compromises,” Wally said, frustrated that the state leaders had let the state government shut down.

He didn’t like that the parks were going to lose $1 million in revenue by closing and said the state needs to solve the budget gap by cutting its spending.

He said he hopes they can return to the park in a day or two.

Katzenmeyer said people who come to the park Friday will be greeted by a sign that says the park is closed.

No Department of Natural Resources staff will be present, but people can legally use the park during the day. It will be illegal to be in the park at night. Though Minnesota state trails will remain open throughout the shutdown; they will not be maintained by the DNR.

Furthermore, Katzenmeyer advised against using the park at all because no DNR staff will be present in the event of an emergency.

As of Friday morning, no DNR personnel were available for comment, and the DNR’s website was unavailable, too. All links to the DNR’s site lead to an informational page about the shutdown, which contains a link to bereadymn.com.

The Hayward Rest Area, serving eastbound traffic on Interstate 90, was also closed by 4 p.m. Thursday. Rest areas across Minnesota closed Thursday in anticipation of a shutdown, as well. Signs and barricades blocked residents from entering rest areas.