Mal and Connie's Cross Canada Adventure 2.0

We did make it home!

Connie reminded me the other day that I failed to post a blog about the last two legs of our journey across the US and home. In case you are wondering, we did make it home on the 22nd of September.

We left Livingston Montana in the rain and made our way through Idaho and into Washington where we stayed overnight at the KOA in Spokane. When I booked our site, I selected the cheaper option of a pull through site…note to self don’t do that again. It wasn’t horrible but it was rather crowded and we were in between two long-term guests, so not the best experience. I didn’t even bother hooking up the Starlink. We ate inside the trailer and were early to bed.

We awoke early and got on the road before 8am. It was a nice sunny day and Spokane rush hour wasn’t too hectic. By 830m we were through Spokane and on our way to Wenatchee via the I-90. Traffic was light and since we were making good time, we stopped off in Moses Lake to wash the trailer. It was nice to give it its first good scrub and rinse since we left home almost 3 months earlier.

It was the first time we had driven up from the south to Wenatchee via 281 and 28 through the Quincy area.

We rolled into Lincoln Rock State Park shortly after 1pm and while we weren’t supposed to check in until 3pm, our spot was empty and no one was at the gate, so we set up and then drove back into town to get groceries at Fred Meyer.

Our friends Doug and Debbie joined us later that afternoon, and Andy and Lisa the following day.

It had been a while since my last haircut, so I booked a cut at Woody’s Classic Man in Lake Chelan. The gal who cut my hair remembered me from the previous year. I must have left an impression.

We enjoyed our time at Lincoln Rock, paddle boarding, bike riding, playing pickle ball (for the first time), and trading stories by the campfire. The ladies also enjoyed a couple of trips to Hobby Lobby, while us boys guarded the camp.

Connie Serving and Andy standing ready with drink in hand.

On Monday the 22nd we said our goodbyes and made our way home. Connie and I were the first to cross the border after a quick stop at Ship It To US where I picked up some parts for my old truck and the trailer.

Like our entry into the US, our departure into Canada was uneventful. We arrived home about 130pm and unpacked before packing our suitcases for a trip to Vancouver, where I attended board meetings.

We don’t know when our next cross continent driving adventure might be but we thoroughly enjoyed this one. If you haven’t done one of these, I really encourage you to put it on your bucket list.

Until next time happy reading!

Yellowstone

It was pouring rain when we woke Saturday morning. Our Harvest Host asked us to leave before 9am because they were bringing in a load of grapes from Washington and needed the parking lot cleared.

We couldn’t leave before the other guests who blocked us in, so at 730am I went out to connect the trailer to our truck inverter power, and started the truck. Generators were not permitted by the host but there was nothing stated about a vehicle inverter. Our truck runs pretty quiet but loud enough to wake someone who is parked right beside.

Whether we woke them up or they were already up, our neighbours drove out at 830am and we followed shortly after.

It continued to rain as we made our way from Billings to Livingston Montana. As we were driving Connie informed me that Jimmy Buffett’s friend (who later became his brother in law) owns a ranch in Livingston and Jimmy wrote a few songs while staying there. I think he must have written Incommunicado there, because of the lyrics:

“On the day that John Wayne died, I found myself on the Continental Divide, saying where do I go from here, maybe take a ride into Leadville and have a few beer.”

Singer and extremely talented guitar player, John Mayer also has a home in Livingston and is frequently seen at local events.

The rain stopped and we arrived in Livingston about 1045am. After a short stop for groceries and gas we drove into the RV park at 1130am. Although check in isn’t until noon, they were fine with us checking in early and we were all set up shortly after noon. After a quick bite to eat, we headed off to the north gate of Yellowstone at Gardiner, Montana.

The drive from Livingston to Gardiner is about an hour (speed limit is 70 in the daytime and 65 at night) and is the prettiest drive through Paradise Valley. As we approached Gardiner, Connie spotted a small herd of Elk basking in the Yellowstone River.

Cars were stopped along side the highway, a thing we came to expect during our time in Yellowstone. At the north gate (the original gateway to the park) we purchased a park pass for $35, which is good for 7 days – I thought it was a pretty good deal – and made our way up the winding road to Mammoth Hot Springs.

Our plan was to travel the Grand Loop over two days, so we decided to do the top half of the park on day one. We travelled from Mammoth to the Roosevelt Lodge and Tower area. Speed limits in the park are typically 35 miles per hour (sometimes 45); however, one needs to be on guard constantly as people tend to break suddenly when they spot wildlife on the side of the road. I ran the GoPro both days and when we get back home, I look forward to editing the footage into something others will enjoy watching.

View of the Yellowstone River valley on the way to Roosevelt Lodge

On the way to Roosevelt Lodge we encountered a huge crowd of people with cars parked on both sides of the road. There was no place to stop, so we continued on. We think it may have been a grizzly bear that folks were spying.

A little further along the way, Connie spotted this guy.

We saw quite a few buffalo while in the park. Unfortunately, we didn’t see a moose. In fact, we haven’t seen a moose yet this summer. We are a bit surprised as New Brunswick is fraught with them. The last moose we saw was in May and it was in Ethan and Carissa’s back yard.

As we drove between Canyon Village and Norris, Connie spotted a wolf in the field next to us. He seemed to ignore the audience as he appeared to be tracking something along the ground. Suddenly he pounced and appeared to have a bite of lunch. It’s too bad we didn’t record a video as his pounce was quite funny – almost like a cat playing with a mouse.

After reaching Norris, we turned back toward Mammoth and stopped briefly at Roaring Mountain. It was quite spectacular.

On Sunday morning we drove by Roaring Mountain in the opposite direction and should have stopped as given the freezing temperatures, the steam was rising from across the entire face of the mountain.

As we continued along our way toward Mammoth, we were searching for a moose. The terrain looked like moose country. While we didn’t see any moose, we did spot a few Buffalo.

When we arrived at Mammoth, we drove on the upper terrace road and were fortunate to find a parking spot. As we made our way down the boardwalk, we were hoping to recreate a photo we took of Ethan 31 years ago. A lot has changed in 31 years and I expect the walkway has been replaced a few times.

We left Mammoth around 445pm and returned through the north gate into Gardiner. As we were leaving, we saw some antelope munching alongside the road.

We woke at 545am hoping to get to the park early and beat the crowds. It was dawn when we got on the highway so were mindful of wildlife on the roads. Fortunately we didn’t see any until we approached Gardiner. Once again there were lots of Elk alongside the road.

As we drove up to the park entrance, there were several elk there to meet us. At Mammoth there was a huge bull elk on the lawn right outside the post office but we didn’t stop to take a photo as there was already a bit of a crowd.

Today we drove toward Norris down the opposite side of the Grand Loop. While we were on the same road as yesterday, it seemed different. The temperatures were near zero celsius until we reached Norris and fog filled the air above the streams, lakes and ponds.

Driving past Norris toward Old Faithful, we came across Beryl Springs. A side note…Connie’s Mom’s name was Beryl and she was with us when we drove through Yellowstone 31 years ago. As we drove past the spring to the parking lot, I was amazed at how loud the roar was. We walked back on the boardwalk toward the roar in the mist and I recorded a video. It was simply awesome.

Shortly after leaving Beryl Springs, we stopped at Gibbon Falls. Connie stood in a long line for the one washroom and I walked down to take couple of photos. Unfortunately for Connie a tour bus had arrived just before us, so it was a long wait.

After Gibbon Falls, we continued on our way toward Old Faithful. Old Faithful was what I really wanted to see today. I don’t recall seeing the geyser in full form during our last trip. I suspect we didn’t as Ethan and Sam were under the age of 3 and little boys are less patient when it comes to waiting.

As we continued, we spotted some cars along the road and pulled over to see what was happening. After a short walk through the woods we emerged to witness these fellas chomping down some grass.

We arrived at Old Faithful just before 10am and learned the geyser was expected to spew at 1024am plus or minus 15 minutes. We waited patiently as the crowd around us began to grow. Some of the kids around us were trying to make the geyser spew by counting down from 10. I commented to them that nature doesn’t work that way.

True to form, Old Faithful let loose at 1025am. It was an awesome site to see. I recorded a 4 minute video of the entire event while Connie took several photos and recorded some short videos.

After leaving Old Faithful, we made our way along the shores of Yellowstone Lake before stopping for a quick bite of lunch at Canyon Village. As we were eating our lunch a few people came over to inspect our license plate. One older lady announced loudly, “British Columbia! That’s what I thought.” Connie and I had a good chuckle. It’s not often we are such celebrities.

From Canyon Village, once again we drove in the opposite direction of yesterday. This time it was along the Grand Loop towards Roosevelt Lodge. When we arrived, we discovered the lodge was closed. This was disappointing because it was open yesterday but we didn’t stop. I would have loved to snap a few photos. C’est la vie!

We continued on, stopped a few times to snap a photo, and by 230pm we were back in Mammoth. After making our final descent into Gardiner, we stopped to take a photo of the Roosevelt Arch and Connie snapped a photo of me driving through.

The experience of being in Yellowstone is truly spectacular. If you haven’t been here, I highly recommend you put it on your bucket list. We may never pass this way again but I’m glad to have seen this place twice during my 61 plus years.

Tomorrow we make our way to Spokane, which will be our last stop before we join some friends for 6 days at Lincoln Rock State Park in Wenatchee.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

PS in an earlier post I indicated we were planning to explore Grand Teton along with Yellowstone. When we arrived in Yellowstone it was obvious that we didn’t have enough time to visit both parks. There is just way too much to see.

Sometimes you should just turn right instead of left

Last night when we went to bed, the sky over Rapid City darkened and a thunder storm rolled in. Interestingly there was very little rain but we enjoyed quite a show for an hour or so.

We woke early this morning and got on the road around 715am. As we were about to turn left on Highway 16 en route to Highway 212, I changed my mind and turned right. We drove out of Rapid City toward Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument on Highway 16 making our way toward Wyoming.

As we approached the turn off to Mount Rushmore, I asked Connie if she wanted to visit again. She shook her head and said as I recall it was a winding road and we’ve already seen it. I carried on and soon discovered that we would pass right by the Crazy Horse Monument and suggested we go and see it.

On the way we passed through the cutest little town called Hill City. It is a quintessential small American town with pretty little brick buildings. There were two ladies patrolling cross walks at each end of town. I don’t think I’ve seen crosswalk patrols since I was in elementary school when the Grade 7 kids used to patrol the cross walk across Highway 97 in Westbank. I have a photo of my older brother Clint and his friend Brad Bennett (yes that Bennett – Premier Bill’s son) working as crossing guards.

We reached the Crazy Horse Monument at 8am and were one of two RVs in the parking lot. I was surprised to see a crane at the monument as I assumed it was complete.

We went inside the visitors centre and a lady invited us to enter a theatre where a short video would be playing shortly. She said it would provide a brief history of the monument.

Connie and I went inside and sat down to watch. I’m ashamed to admit I was pretty ignorant as to the history of this monument carving. We both found the video and history very interesting.

The project was started in May 1947 but had been the dream of Chief Standing Bear for many years before that.

Korczak Ziolkowski an American born sculptor of Polish descent had gained notoriety after winning first prize at the 1939 New York World’s Fair for a marble portrait, “Paderewski, Study of an Immortal.” In the summer of 1939 he was invited to assist Gutzon Borglum with the Mount Rushmore project.

Chief Henry Standing Bear of the Lakota Nation began writing to Korczak in 1939 asking him to create a memorial to American Indians. The two eventually met and discussed potential carving sites. Henry felt Korczak was meant to carve the image of Crazy Horse because he was born on September 5, 1908 the same day as Crazy Horse died in 1877 (31 years prior).

Korczak volunteered to serve in WWII and was wounded after landing on Omaha beach. After the war, he was asked to war memorials in Europe but he declined deciding to accept the invitation of Chief Standing Bear and dedicate the remainder of his life to the Crazy Horse Memorial.

The memorial project was formally kicked off in 1949 when Korczak and Chief Standing Bear ignited the first blast. In 1947 Korczak was joined by Ruth, the woman who would become his wife in 1950, who assisted him with building a log studio and the 741 wooden staircase to the mountain top. They had 10 children 5 girls and 5 boys who were born in the log studio home they built together.

Korczak refused to be paid for his work instead Ruth oversaw the operations of a timber mill and dairy operation on the site. He was offered $10M by the government in the 1950’s and turned it down because he knew governments lacked the stick-to-it-ness for a project like this. From my personal experience, I can confidently say he wasn’t wrong.

Korczak died in October 1982 at the age of 74 and was laid to rest at the base of the mountain where he worked for the last 36 years of his life. He never saw the emergence of Crazy Horse’s head on the mountain top.

Ruth continued Korczak’s work, including the development of an American Indian University and a cultural centre located on the site, until her death in 2014. Ruth is buried near her husband at the base of the mountain. Four of their children and several of their grandchildren continue to work on the memorial.

It is rare for a family legacy (business) to last beyond two generations. I can only imagine how much more difficult it will be for this to last the many years it will take to fully complete Korczak’s vision as seen below in the 1/34 scale sculpture below.

Will this mountain sculpture ever be finished? Only time will tell.

At approximately 9am we left the Crazy Horse Memorial and made our way toward Wyoming. We passed through another little town called Custer, it was much less attractive than Hill City. That said we really enjoyed the scenery along Highway 16. We had considered taking Highway 16 from Buffalo to Cody Wyoming and then entering Yellowstone from the east gate but decided against it due to time constraints.

Highway 16 merged with I90 at Moorcroft and we spent the balance of the day (excluding rest and fuel stops) driving the Interstate to Billings Montana.

We are staying at another Harvest Host tonight – Yellowstone Cellars. The grapes come from eastern Washington but the wines are made here in Billings. We are parked right next to the winery bistro and have a front row to some really good live music.

Prior to dinner we did a wine tasting and purchased a couple of bottles to take with us. The lady serving us asked us where we were from and told us she was very familiar with Kelowna. She opened the Papa Murphy’s Pizza franchises in BC when they first branched into Canada.

As it turns out, she lives right next door to the winery in a pretty cool spot. We walked over and took a few photos.

Another Harvest Guest couple are parked beside us. Mark and Christina are from just outside of Portland Oregon. Christina’s mom was born in Saskatchewan and her dad worked in northern BC.

Tomorrow we have a short drive. We have booked two nights in Livingston Montana. We are planing to use that as our home base and tour Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Summer isn’t over in South Dakota

It was 815am when we left our Harvest Host in Huron, South Dakota. Our destination today was Rapid City, which is close to the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore.

Six years ago when we drove across the US in the other direction, we stopped at Mount Rushmore but didn’t visit the Crazy Horse Memorial, which is a rock carving of the legendary 19th century Oglala Lakota warrior and leader who fought the US government expansion and the assimilation of his people. Unfortunately, we were pressed for time today and will be again tomorrow, so will have to visit the memorial another time.

We made two stops along our journey today. The first was in the town of Mitchell, where the Corn Palace is located. Prior to yesterday neither of us knew the Corn Palace existed. Our hosts suggested we stop there before leaving the area and said it was only 45 minutes away.

We backtracked east a bit but it was well worth it. The first Corn Palace was built in Mitchell in the year 1892. The palace was conceived as a gathering place where city residents and their rural neighbours could enjoy a fall festival with extraordinary stage entertainment – a celebration to climax a crop-growing season and harvest. This tradition continues today with the annual Corn Palace Festival held in late August each year. In 1905 the original corn palace was too small and a new building was completed just in time for the 1921 Corn Harvest festivities. In 1930 it was decided to recapture the artistic features of the original palace and minarets and kiosks of Moorish design were added.

Each year since then, the building is redecorated with murals made from 12 different shades of corn, grains and grasses. Decorating usually begins in late may when rye and dock are removed and in August the corn is stripped from the murals. A new mural is usually completed in early October. Ear by ear, the corn is attached to the murals on the outside of the building, making it a folk art wonder on the prairie of South Dakota.

Inside the palace is a fullsized basketball court, stadium seating on one-side and a huge stage on the other side, used for plays and music concerts. The palace hosts high school and college basketball games and is rated in the top 10 of US college stadiums.

Who knew, right? After about an hour in Mitchell, we drove to the I90 and began a lengthy journey to our next stop, Wall Drug.

Six years ago, I was very intrigued by Wall Drug as signs began popping up advertising its existence in Montana. We were on a mission to get to Toronto on that trip, putting in 12 hour plus days, so had no time to stop but I wanted to return one day.

Driving from the east, Wall Drug signs began appearing in Minnesota. Clearly this was a place one should visit at least once.

On our way, we encountered a heavy headwind, so our gas mileage was less than ideal. I stopped to refuel twice. The trip felt extra ordinarily long despite the distance. Connie suggested it was likely due to the boring prairie and the I90. She is likely correct.

However, we gained an hour today, crossing into the Mountain Time Zone an hour or so before the town of Wall. When we arrived it was 1230pm but our stomachs were still on central time, so we decided to buy lunch instead of eating in the trailer as per usual.

We parked in a large parking lot, mostly full of other RVs and walked a block to Wall Drug. There were two tour buses parked nearby and when we walked in, the line up to order food was a mile long. At this point we were committed and had two choices. Eat something substantial or order donuts and ice cream. We decided to wait in line and eat something that was somewhat of a balanced meal. Fortunately, the line moved reasonably quickly and we were entertained by other folks in line. Most everyone was older than the two of us and there were only a handful of couples with kids.

Despite being cafeteria style, the food was quite tasty and I ordered a blueberry pie al a mode for us to share as dessert. Baked on site (so says the menu) it was reasonably good. It reminded me of the days when as a kid, I went to cattle auctions with my dad. He’d often order me a piece of blueberry pie with ice cream.

Wall Drug almost fills the entire east side of the block on Main Street in the town of Wall. Dorothy and Ted Hustead purchased the store in 1931 when there were just 326 dirt poor people living in Wall. Ted was a newly graduated pharmacist and Dorothy a high school literature teacher. Ted’s father had recently passed away and left him $3000, which he used to purchase the store and make a go of it. They chose Wall because it was a small town and it had a Catholic Church, their only two criteria. Dorothy’s father told Ted that Wall was about as God forsaken as one could find but Ted and Dorothy loved the town and moved there anyway.

For five years they struggled to make a living (remember this was the dirty thirties – the Great Depression), until the summer of 1936 when cars began to chug along Route 16A travelling toward or returning from Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore. Dorothy came up with idea of posting signs along the highway offering the weary travellers free ice water. When Ted and his son Billy put up a few 12 x 36 inch signs along the road, car loads of people began to flow into town to get their free ice water. Soon they were also purchasing sodas and ice cream. And the rest…is history.

Wall Drug today is more like a mini mall. Within the mall is a pharmacy store with a licensed pharmacist but in addition, there is a chapel, a western art store, a souvenir store, a western outfitters store, a book store and of course the cafeteria style restaurant which seats more than 500 people. Behind the store and across the alleyway is a picnicking area with stuffed buffalos, a gold panning centre, an arcade, a shooting gallery, and other entertainment that younger kids enjoy.

I went inside to say hi to the pharmacist

Before leaving, Connie bought a Christmas ornament and some souvenirs and I purchased a bottle of straw hat cleaner from the western outfitter store. It was $8.95 and when I went to pay for it, I said to the older gentleman behind the counter “I hope this stuff works.” He responded, well I guess you will find out. Hardly a show of confidence but I’m desperate as my favourite Stetson hat is a little stained after several days working and sweating in the hot sun at Ethan and Carissa’s place in Bathurst.

It was 29 celsius when we left Wall for the last leg of our journey toward Rapid City and the Black Hills KOA. When we arrived in Rapid City the temperature had risen to 37 celsius. Summer is definitely not over here.

As I write this blog, it is 28 celsius but dark. Summer isn’t over but the days are definitely getting shorter.

Tomorrow we drive to Billings Montana and another Harvest Host. It is a 6 hour drive if we take the I90 but I think we will take highway 212 because it is more direct and should be more scenic.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

An unexpected barn find

It’s been a few days since my last post. Writing every day is hard. Also some days provide less to write about, so I decided to take a break.

After leaving Acres of Joy, the little farm in Wisconsin, we made our way to another Harvest Hosts farm in Dakota Minnesota. Apart from our drive through Green Bay and the last hour before arriving at Frickson’s Family Farms, we drove on less busy highways. Driving through farming country was beautiful and relaxing. At times it seemed we were the only ones on the road.

We crossed the Mississippi River and state line into Minnesota around noon and decided to stop for a bite of lunch. I decided to check my phone and noticed a message on my phone from Barb Little (nee Jones) a long time family friend. She asked me where we were in Minnesota, as she lives in Minneapolis. I should have known this but didn’t. I told Barb we were following the I90, so were south of her and on our way to Sioux Falls. Perhaps we will look you up next time Barb!

Mid afternoon we arrived at Frickson’s Farm and found two other RVs already set up. We were able to secure a spot that had both electrical and water, which is a rarity at Harvest Hosts. Later, we were glad we arrived when we did, as two more guests showed up for the one last electrical spot beside us.

We chatted briefly with the one guest who missed out on the spot with power and waved at the other guest who was parked in the spot beside us. He was a young guy from Florida and appeared to be on his own apart from two pit bull dogs. I’m now kicking myself that I didn’t take my own advice and chat with him.

Unfortunately, we didn’t meet our hosts either. The told us they would be out working on the farm and to check ourselves in. After setting up we walked to the farm store, which was self serve and on the honour system. We stocked up on farm raised beef and pork and inserted our payment for the meat and the power into a lock box. It was refreshing to see this kind of honour system still works in some places.

All of the RVs were parked in the midst of corn field and it reminded me of the movie Field of Dreams.

The wind was blowing quite briskly when we arrived and it increased in intensity in the night. Connie slept very little and me only a little more. The wind rocked the trailer and it whistled as it passed through the slide out and slide out covers.

After breakfast, we packed up and were on the road toward Sioux Falls South Dakota around 9am. The entire day was spent on the I90, so less enjoyable than our previous days. However, we did drive through a couple of thunderstorms.

At 3pm we arrived at the KOA in Sioux Falls. Right next door was a Camping World. How convenient! After checking in and setting up, we drove to camping world and picked up a few things and then drove into town to get some groceries at Target. Our plan was to stop at Down Home DeBoers on the way to Target. Our daughter in law Carissa suggested that Connie check it out while I went for a coffee. I plugged in the coordinates Connie provided me (at least I thought I did) but it took us to an apartment building across from Costco.

Fortunately, Target was close by so all was not lost but we didn’t get to visit the DeBoers store as it was closing shortly and another 20 minutes away from us. Sorry Carissa!

Connie did several loads of laundry which was conveniently located right next to our camp spot. When darkness fell we were treated to a fireworks display across the I90. The KOA is just off I90 West, so a bit too noisy for our liking. That said we both slept well – so well in fact, that we slept till 8am.

We didn’t get on the road until 945am but I wasn’t concerned as we had planned a shorter drive, with a stop at the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of The Little House on the Prairie books. Connie grew up watching the TV series and had read a few of Laura’s books. I’ve never read any of the books and I don’t recall watching a full episode of the TV show.

Once again I plugged in the coordinates into the GPS, thinking it was a bit odd that we were heading back east again for 90 minutes of driving. After about 20 minutes, I commented to Connie that I thought De Smet was in the other direction. Ooops! I had put in the address for another Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Minnesota.

We quickly plugged in the correct coordinates and headed back west. Fortunately, there was still time (just enough) to make it before the 12 noon tour Connie had arranged. All was not lost as we saw some beautiful country and were able to stay off the interstate highway.

I put the pedal to the metal. While I didn’t mention it to Connie, I had serious doubts we would make it on time for the tour. I generally drive below the speed limit while towing the trailer and the GPS estimates based on maximum speed. Fortunately for me, we made it to De Smet with 10 minutes to spare.

The tour was very interesting and while I don’t know much about Little House on the Prairie, I am a history buff. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We met another nice couple (Paul and Mary) who were from Wisconsin. They had been to the birthplace of Laura in Peppin Wisconsin and wanted to check out the Ingalls Home in De Smet. The tour required driving to second property within the town and Paul and Mary offered to drive us so we didn’t have to move our truck and trailer. After the tour we spent an hour or so visiting the museum and Connie bought a few things from the gift shop.

After a late lunch, we made our way toward the outskirts of Huron where we are spending the night at another Harvest Host. We arrived at Berry Good Aronia about 330pm and were met by our host Sandy. Her husband Garry was in town picking up his mower which was in for repairs. While chatting with Sandy, she asked us to come to their house for a visit after we’d settled into our spot.

Sandy and Garry grow Aronia berries on their property. The berries are reported to be very high in antioxidents, far more than elderberries and blueberries. We picked and ate a few off the bushes and to me they tasted similar to Saskatoon berries. They are about the size of a blueberry.

Sandy and Garry have 40 acres of property. When they moved here 10 years ago, they planted 12,000 bushes. The first year the deer ate (pulled the young bushes out by the roots) many of the plants and during the next two years, extra wet summers created bog like conditions which caused a lot of the plants to die. Today, only 4,000 plants remain. I asked if they were going to replant and Sandy said no. She and Garry are 70 now and she thinks their days of Aronia berry farming are numbered.

When Garry returned home, we went to visit our hosts. We visited for about an hour and tasted some juice, jams and jelly. As we were chatting, Garry told me about his love for John Deere equipment and brought up his favourite tractor. I told him I had an old Ford pickup and he said to me, “well, you are going to like what I have down in the shed.”

On our way down to the “sheds”, I went over to take a photo of his old grader. These were used to grade the gravel roads back in the day.

When we entered the first shed, I was surprised to see a 1980 Corvette sitting among several John Deer tractors. Apart from a little dust, the car looked to be in amazing shape. We then walked to shed number 2. When Garry opened the door, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Inside were 50 or more tractors of all sizes (lawn mowers to farm tractors).

Tucked in the back was an 1950 Chevy 5 window pickup. Original paint and I couldn’t find a dent anywhere on the body. Garry said he wouldn’t sell it because it belonged to his father.

However, he said he wasn’t much of a Ford guy, so he’d consider selling the truck behind it. Without hesitation, Connie said “we are not buying another old truck!”

It was a beauty. A 1953 Ford F350 duel wheeled truck with a hoist. I think it would be kind of fun and it only seems appropriate to add this to my collection. Don’t you agree?

As I walked around the other side of the shed, I noticed another gem. A 1948 Ford N8 tractor. Garry said if we bought the property, he’d give us the truck as part of the deal. Just not the truck and tractor.

We visited a third shed containing many more tractors and farm implements. It was a bit overwhelming to see Garry’s collection. He also had an antique Schwinn bicycle (his childhood bike) with original gold paint. I’m not an expert but I’ve watched enough American Pickers to know that an old Schwinn in that condition is worth a small fortune.

Everyone has a story.

Had Connie and I not accepted Sandy and Garry’s invitation to visit, we would have never heard their story.

I’m so glad we did.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Mackinaw City to Green Bay Wisconsin

Actually to Little Suamico, Wisconsin, which is about 20 kms north of Green Bay.

Most of you would know of Green Bay for their NFL team the Packers and of course the famous cheeseheads worn by fans. I’m not a huge NFL fan but I tend to watch the playoffs and the Super Bowl each year.

Wisconsin is known for its cheese and is sometimes referred to as dairyland. We saw several large dairy farms once we entered the state and I expect we will see more as we depart and drive toward Minnesota.

We left the Mackinac KOA about 830am this morning expecting to arrive in Little Suamico around 130pm. We informed our Harvest host of our ETA but forgot to account for the time change. We discovered this oversight once I plugged the destination address into the GPS. In the end it didn’t matter as we made multiple stops along the way and didn’t arrive until 120pm central time.

As an aside, when I was a kid my parents would outfit me with a red and black checkered Mackinaw Jacket. Perhaps you had one too? Well these jackets originated on Mackinac Island. British and Métis women used heavy wool blankets to make coats for the soldiers during the War of 1812.

Driving across the Mackinac Bridge makes one appreciate the 20th century engineering. It must have been challenging to build the bridge given the harsh conditions of the Mackinac Channel which connects Lake Huron with Lake Michigan. The Mackinac is the fifth longest bridge in the world and is the longest bridge of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. Between anchorages the Mackinac is longer than San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.

The drive along the shores of the Mackinac Channel and the norther shores of Lake Michigan on US 2 was pleasant. There was a mix of sun and cloud and the occasional rain shower but otherwise uneventful.

Along the way we noticed several eating establishments called Pasties. Most all of them were closed so we didn’t stop to investigate but Connie did a google search and learned these establishments sell Michigan Pasties (sounds like nasty) which are handheld pies filled with a mixture of uncooked beef, potato, rutabaga, and onion, folded into a crust, sealed with a crimped edge, and baked. These were the original fast food for miners and loggers in the upper peninsula.

We did stop a couple of times to top off the fuel tank because the price of gas was very attractive. Our last gas purchase price was equivalent to $1.05 per litre CDN.

The deciduous trees are beginning to change colour and we could only imagine how pretty they will be in a month from now. Along the way we also noticed a pine tree species I’d never seen before. After doing a little research it appears to be the Eastern White Pine. These trees grow tall and straight and I kept thinking they would make great sailing ship masts. Apparently I was correct. North American ship builders preferred the white pine because they were lightweight and straight.

Tonight are hosts are Don and Teres. They own a 26 acre farm with miniature cows and horses, alpacas, sheep, chickens and guinea fowl. At first I thought the guinea fowl were turkeys. They made quite a racket when we approached them but eventually they warmed up to us. Apparently they lay eggs like chickens and devour bugs (almost as effectively as bats).

Don and Teres moved from Flagstaff Arizona just over a year ago. Teres grew up in the Green Bay Area and had moved away over 30 years ago. Don grew up in Texas. He told me they moved to Wisconsin to care for Teres aging parents. His parents are aging too but he said he had no desire to return to Texas. Both of them work remotely and the farm is a hobby rather than a money maker.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

A step back in time…sort of

The wind gusts died down over night and while it was still raining when we woke, it was much lighter rain than yesterday. It was also slightly warmer, 11 celsius (felt like 6).

While we would have preferred clear skies and warm temperatures, we had no choice but to visit Mackinac Island today as we leave for Wisconsin tomorrow morning. For the first time since early June, I put on a pair of jeans and a long sleeve merino wool shirt. We donned our rain jackets and headed to the campground office to await our shuttle ride to the ferry (Connie had purchased the tickets last night and learned that a shuttle would pick us up when we were ready to visit Mackinac Island).

The trip to the ferry terminal was about 10 minutes. We stepped off the bus, handed our tickets to the ladies at the ferry terminal and walked onto the ferry. Since it was cold, raining and the water a bit choppy, we elected to sit inside rather on the open deck up top. It was the right choice.

If you look closely at the photo above right, you will notice what appear to be tractors driving across the bridge and you would be correct. Yesterday when we were driving up from Ohio to Mackinaw City, we were passed by at least a half dozen trucks pulling trailers carrying antique tractors. This morning we learned a tractor parade was planned to cross the Mackinac Bridge from Mackinaw City to St Ignace. I was a little sorry to miss it, especially given my post retirement renewed interest in old stuff.

The ferry ride was just under 20 minutes and we arrived on the island at about 915am. Prior to two weeks ago, we didn’t know Mackinac Island existed. Our daughter in law Carissa came across an Instagram post about it while asking ChatGPT to plan us a route home. Since then we learned that Mackinac Island is home to actor, director and producer Ron Howard and rock and roll singer Bob Seger. What makes Mackinac Island so unique is that automobiles are not permitted (apart from an ambulance and a few fire trucks). Horses, bicycles (and e-bikes with restrictions) and walking are the only modes of transportation. There is a small airport but typically the method of travel to and from the island is by boat.

Movement of goods and materials is done by horse drawn trailers – including Amazon packages. We saw a trailer loaded with gravel and one delivering a load of supplies to the Grand Hotel (see below). There is a US Post Office on the island but mail is not delivered door to door. Residents must pick up their mail and packages the old fashioned way – in person.

Connie and me in front of the Grand Hotel

There were many horse drawn carriages carrying passengers to and from hotels, shops and various points of interest on the island. Visitors can rent a horse and buggy with driver or a horse by the hour. Bike rental is a thriving business and bike riders mingled with the horses and carriages on the streets.

Prior to the automobile, cities had a horse poop problem. Back then there were few paved roads and none of them were asphalt, only cobblestone. On Mackinac Island horse poop is an issue but there were several people employed to clean it up, like this guy in the photo below right.

When I saw him, I instantly thought of the song by Jimmy Buffet titled ‘It’s my Job’. The first verse and chorus are:

In the middle of late last night I was sittin’ on a curb
I didn’t know what about but I was feeling quite disturbed
A street sweeper came whistlin’ by
He was bouncin’ every step
It seemed strange how good he felt
So I asked him while he swept

He said “It’s my job to be cleaning up this mess
And that’s enough reason to go for me
It’s my job to be better than the rest
And that makes the day for me”

It’s too bad more of us don’t have this attitude toward our vocation. Perhaps there is a little magic in contentment?

There were so many beautiful old homes and several of them were converted to bed and breakfasts.

I saw this sign posted outside one of the B&Bs and thought I’d apply. Unfortunately, the proprietor said I didn’t fulfill the minimum job requirements.

We took some time to visit Fort Mackinac and found it most interesting. Originally built by the British in 1780 and in its control until 1796 when it was relinquished to the Americans. In 1812, the Americans declared war on Canada (which was a British colony at the time), the British attacked and defeated the Americans at Fort Mackinac. After the War of 1812 border disputes between Canada and the US subsided, and the Fort lost its military significance. For a time it was a fur trading post and in 1875 it became part of the second US National Park, Mackinac National Park (Yellowstone was the first). In 1895, the US Congress closed Mackinac National Park and transferred it to the state of Michigan.

We ate a late lunch/early dinner before heading back to the harbour to catch a return ferry to Mackinaw City. The weather was more pleasant than when we left, so I convinced Connie we should sit outside on the top deck for our return. Connie was a bit skeptical but being a good sport agreed. I suggested we sit on the front right behind the ship’s bridge.

There were four seats and I suggested Connie take the one behind the bridge for more protection from the wind. I sat three spots over from her right beside the rail with a view of the front and side of the boat. I pulled out my GoPro and readied it to video the trip back.

As the boat pulled away from the dock, the captain got on the radio to warn us on the top deck that the water was quite choppy and there was a high probability everyone on top would get wet, especially those on the right side. I laughed and looked over at Connie who quickly bundled up to prepare for the worst.

I held the go pro out the side of the boat for as long as I could but I was no match for the cold waters of Lake Huron. My hand began to numb and I had no choice but to bring it back inside the boat.

Furthermore, the spray was hitting me full on, so I slid over closer to Connie. As I moved over the lady behind me yelled: “Hey! Get back in that seat! You were protecting me from getting dumped on.” We both had a good laugh. In fact, everyone on the top deck was laughing despite being soaked from the spray. To add insult to injury, it began to rain. I turned the camera toward Connie and caught her reaction below.

Miraculously, I was only wet on the upper part of my body. My legs and feet were dry. Connie on the other hand told me she was soaked top to bottom, including her shoes. So much for my strategic seating plan. After disembarking we ran over to grab the first available shuttle back to the KOA.

When we arrived at the KOA yesterday, we pulled in beside two large motorhomes from Florida. We wondered why each of them were towing such large trailers. This afternoon, we found out why.

Charlie and Don are both from Florida and they were both in the tractor parade today. Charlie towed his tractor all the way from his vegetable farm in Florida. He has restored several of these old John Deere tractors.

Don is a recently retired pilot, and he picked up this 1959 John Deere from a friend’s place in Kansas. He has restored three John Deere tractors and has them at his acreage in Florida. I told him about my old ford pickup and he said he had previously owned a 1942 Ford F1 and two 1956 Fords including a F600. After we chatted about Borg Warner transmissions and flatheads V8s, he said to me “I miss my old trucks.” I suggested now that he’s retired, he should get himself a project truck like me.

Something I love about this world is that everyone you meet has a story but to hear it, you have to put your phone away and have a face to face conversation.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Oh Shit! and The gales of November came early.

Last night, our stay at the KOA in Perrysburg Ohio was pleasant and quiet. We woke before 6 again today and decided to get an early start on our drive to northern Michigan.

It was cool (10 degrees celsius) and dark when I began my routine of disconnecting the Starlink, power and water (we didn’t have full service last night). When we left our campsite to drive to the sani station, it was pre sunrise and still quiet time in the park.

Our trailer has two grey water tanks and one black tank. I emptied the front grey water tank, disconnected the hose and asked Connie to pull the trailer ahead so I could empty the black tank followed by the second grey water tank (always drain the black tank first).

The perceptive reader may now know where story this is going.

I secured the drain hose to the trailer (at least I thought I did) and began to drain the black tank. As the liquid was flowing, I gave the hose a little tug to straighten it out, so it would drain more effectively into the pit. That little tug was all it took to dislodge the hose from the trailer and effluent began spraying all over the place. The timing was perfect as Connie stepped out of the truck to see her half blind husband trying to put the hose back onto the trailer, while yelling “oh shit!”

As I held the hose in place and tried to secure it, I glanced toward my lovely wife who had a look of horror on her face. Fortunately, I mostly avoided getting splashed…I always wear heavy rubber gloves for this job. However, the trailer tires and the ground didn’t fare so well.

When the black tank was empty, I closed the valve and made certain the hose was properly connected before draining the second grey tank. While it drained I did my best to wash the trailer tires and dilute the ground around the pit in an attempt to dilute the liquid and diminish the stink for the other campers near by.

After cleaning the drain hose and stuffing it back into the trailer bumper, I approached the truck and Connie who handed me a stack of wet wipes. After a thorough wipe down (legs, forearms and shoes) I was permitted to enter the truck.

I sincerely hoped this wasn’t going to be an indication of how the rest of the day would unfold.

We pulled out of the campground just as the sun was rising. Shortly after I stopped to take a photo of the sunrise.

It was a lovely morning as we departed Perrysburg and headed north toward Michigan.

As we drove north, the temperature began to drop, the wind picked up and it began to rain. The further north we drove the more the wind gusts increased. Every so often a cross wind would hit us and cause the trailer to fish tail. My thanks to Ford for incorporating a driver alert suggesting the driver take a coffee break. Most days it happens only once or twice but today it was a regular occurrence. I guess it didn’t like the way the truck was moving when the side winds hit us and interpreted that as me falling asleep at the wheel. At one point it beeped loudly and flashed red letters on the display “Driver take a break now!”

The rain came down sideways at times and the wind gusts continued until we arrived at our campsite in Mackinaw City around 130pm. We learned later that this kind of weather doesn’t typically come until November. The Mackinac Bridge (pronounced Mackinaw) is prone to closing when the winds are high and while it remained open today, cars and trucks were being piloted across at speeds less than 30km per hour. The winds were gusting as high as 60kms per hour and the swells on Lake Huron were reported to be as high as 9 feet. As Gordon Lightfoot said, “the gales of November came early”.

We had planned to ride our e-bikes to Mackinaw City this afternoon but given the wind and the cool temperatures (the weather app said 10 celsius and feels like 5), we decided to stay put in the trailer and map out the rest of our journey home.

The RV park where we are staying, including our site, is quite bougie…I’m hoping we will get to enjoy some of the outdoor amenities tomorrow. As I write this blog entry, it’s 833pm and the rain is literally pouring from the sky.

Tomorrow we plan to take an early ferry to Mackinac Island. The winds are expected to die down by early morning and the rain to stop by 9am. I hope that’s true because otherwise you may be singing a song of the fate of the passengers on Sheplers Ferry.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Rainy day people don’t talk, they just listen ’til they’ve heard it all

Rainy Day People is a great Gordon Lightfoot song and it was suitable for our drive today. Another suitable song was Driving my Life Away by Eddy Rabbit.

Connie and I were listening to songs we used to listen to when we were dating. Eddie Rabbit and Don Williams brought back great memories. Old soggy eyes had trouble holding back his tears at times. It’s the way I’m made, I wear my emotions on my sleeves and I’m no longer ashamed of it. Music is a powerful tool to bring back memories from one’s past. After listening to a few bars, it takes little time for me to recite the lines of songs from my youth. I’ve forgotten a lot of things from the past but I do remember the lyrics!

Last night I set an alarm for 545am. We anticipated a 6.5 hour drive today and wanted to get on the road by 7am. Due to my sore ribs, I woke at 130am and after taking a pain killer, it took me at least an hour to get back to sleep. My mind was racing thinking about stuff that really didn’t need to be thought of. That seems to happen to me now and again. When my mind wanders, I try to shift my thoughts to my sons, daughter in laws and grandson, which helps me fall back asleep.

When the alarm went off this morning, I wasn’t feeling overly perky. After knocking my iPhone and Apple Watch to the floor, I got up to shave and shower, leaving Connie to slumber for a few more precious moments.

After a quick breakfast, we were out of the RV park before 7am. I decided to top up the fuel tank before hitting the road, and drove into Wolcott to fill up at the Marathon gas station. Factoring in the exchange rate, gas is still much cheaper here than in Canada. Today we paid about $1.14 CDN per litre.

When we pulled into the station, there were two pumps in each lane. The first was gas (regular, premium and recreational vehicle – aka marked gas) and the second pump was diesel and kerosene. This was a first for me and I think it is kind of handy.

When I began filling the truck I started chatting with a younger guy who was filling up his diesel pickup truck. He was a logger and on his way to work. He said they hadn’t had much precipiation recently and the farmers were begging for rain. He didn’t mind the dry weather because when it rains, he can’t work in the woods. Before leaving, he commented on how far we’d been driving and wished us both safe travels home. So far, everyone we’ve encountered in the US is friendly and kind.

As we pulled out of the gas station, Connie noticed the sign below. At first I thought it read God Bless America but then noticed the subtle difference.

As we drove through Wolcott NY, toward highway 104 we were surprised to find acres upon acres of apple farms. The trees were loaded and looked ready for picking. These farms made the ones in the Chelan, WA area look tiny.

Apple orchards on both sides of the road.

After driving through Rochester (a pretty big city but not as big as Cleveland!), we connected with highway 490 and then the I 90, which was our route most of the day today. At about 10am it began to rain and it didn’t stop until the entire way through New York and Pennsylvania.

Shortly after we entered Ohio it eased up and by mid afternoon the skies were bright and clear. As I write this blog from our campsite just south of Toledo, the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Our neighbours tonight are from northern California (Redding). They are older than us as are many of the couples in the KOA campground. He’d been to BC years ago when he was young and in the US Navy stationed at Whidbey Island, Washington.

Tomorrow we head to northern Michigan, to the Mackinac City KOA (just south of Sault Ste Marie). We will stay two nights as we plan to explore Mackinac Island. Our daughter in law Carissa discovered it for us and it should be interesting and fun!

Until next time, thanks for reading.

A Carefree Highway through Amish Country

I woke early this morning, about 530am. Rather than disturb Connie, I thought I’d do my crosswords on the iPhone with the screen on the dimmest setting as possible. Unfortunately that didn’t work and before long she was awake.

After breakfast we packed up and once again were headed out by 8am but not before a quick stop at the RV Park Store for a coffee on the house. Normally, I’m not a fan of this kind of coffee but this morning it was really good!

Before leaving we asked the lady at the RV Park Store if she’d ever taken the ferry to New York. She told us that her husband and she took their RV across not too long ago and it wasn’t too expensive and a nice trip. We decided to go that route and were on the road by 820am.

We had planned to drive south on I 87 to Syracuse and skirt the east side of the Adirondack Mountains. Unfortunately Siri had other plans for us. Before long we were at the turn off point and the GPS directed us to keep going on US 2. As we drove by the turn off, I commented to Connie “perhaps there is another ferry?” Nope! That was the turn we should have made. Instead we drove north on US 2 and along the Canadian US Border (south of Montreal).

Other than adding 30 minutes to our trip, it turned out to be just fine. The sun was shining and the drive along Lake Champlain is quite stunning. Some of the homes along the shore are gorgeous – again old but very well kept. Some were made of stone, some brick and some log homes.

Around 9am, we crossed the top of Lake Champlain and entered New York at Rouses Point. As we drove across the bridge, on our right we spotted an old Fort. It was Fort Montgomery, also known as Fort Blunder. Construction of the fort began in 1816 but shortly after it was discovered, the fort was being built on Canadian soil. In 1844, the US began to rebuild the fort on American soil and completed it in 1871.

I can’t help but wonder who exactly the fort was protecting, as the gun portholes face toward the US. We didn’t have the privilege of seeing the back side but perhaps there are also gun portholes facing Canada.

Rouses Point is a cute little border town with lots of old buildings. We drove through town on US 2 and then turned right on US 11. We soon discovered that we were in the northern Adirondack country, which was also Amish country. For most of the day we saw signs that warned us to watch out for horse and buggy and in fact we saw several of them along the highway.

We saw many Amish farms (you can always tell because there are no vehicles in the yard) and a couple of Amish saw mills where the men were working making furniture. On one farm we saw a newly raised barn with a group of boys and girls standing inside all dressed in their traditional attire. One mom was out cutting her grass with an old push reel mower (Leona, her lawn was as big as yours will be! So perhaps you don’t need a gas mower after all). We didn’t have the time and I don’t know what is proper protocol but I would have loved to stop and chat with some of these folks.

Among some of the Amish properties were huge windmill farms. When we drove through all but two of them were stationary, which makes me pause and wonder. I expect the Amish scratch their heads a bit when they see such hideous monstrosities popping up around them. We also saw a few solar farms, which are equally hideous in my humble opinion.

Also on US 11, we came across a huge dairy farm. I’d never seen one so large before. We don’t have a photo but the barns filled acres of land. They must be milking thousands of cows.

Siri directs us on the shortest routes, so some of our turns were suspect and not really appropriate for towing a 30 foot trailer but we made it through. Although, I didn’t mention it in the blog, she did the same yesterday. On one road she took us over a bridge with signage that said one truck at a time.

For some reason Siri took us off US 2 for a bit and this is what we encountered.

Connie likes to map out our route, preferably on a paper map, but it’s definitely challenge to do so when following Siri’s directions!

We stopped in Canton New York to pick up a few groceries and eat a bite of lunch. I’ve been to Canton Massachusetts a few times but had no idea there was also a Canton in New York. Evidently, this isn’t uncommon as we came across another Bangor and a second Mexico.

I decided to listen to some Jimmy Buffet this afternoon, and as we approached the turn off to Mexico, Jimmy started to sing Mexico (actually a James Taylor tune but Jimmy sings it well). Funny how that kind of thing happens from time to time.

We avoided the interstate for most of our drive today – only about 80km on I 81. I prefer this as I enjoy the slower pace and more interesting scenery.

“Care free highway…let me slip away on you”

We arrived at the RV Park around 315pm. It is located in a small town called Wolcott, half way between Syracuse and Rochester, and close to the shores of Lake Ontario (also due south of Kingston/Bellville Ontario). Ours is a full service site, which suits us well (versus Onion River – LOL).

Tomorrow will be our longest drive to date (about 6 hours 30 minutes), so we plan an early start.

Until next time, thanks for reading.