Just to step back to Hixton, Wisconsin KOA for a minute. We forgot to mention that there was an archeological dig on the property with a US State Parks Board notice that states that it is a protected area and apparently you can still find fossils in the sand pit. There is a large tarp covering the site to prevent anyone from falling in.
We rose very early today to find that Jamestown was socked in with fog and extremely gray skies. It started misting just after we left the gas station across from the hotel.
We travelled the straight and narrow and as we passed by the town/village? of Gackle we spotted bare trees black with birds and cormorants perched throughout the branches. It made for a unique effect reflecting in the lake the trees stood in and it looked like silhouettes in the water.
As you may know Kim and Mauvereen have decided to rename the United States of America to Road Work. We came across two massive machines that stretched to both sides of a double lane pouring and smoothing concrete over raised green bars that looked like miniature picnic tables for 3000.
The fee for excessive speed in a road work area here in North Dakota is $80.00. This is a far cry from Illinois and Indiana.
Just outside of Mackenzie, North Dakota we came across a field of sunflowers. Because of the fog and rain the flowers had their heads bowed down. The effect looked like a massive flowing green mattress.
We stopped at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park rest stop at the Painted Canyon. Absolutely stunning from every vista. As we went down the hill and met with the highway again, Mauvereen pulled over so Kim could get pictures of a herd of bison grassing on the side of a hill. The Parks Board cares for this rest stop and has a great gift shop as well. We resisted the temptation.
More highway, and more highway. We stopped in Glendive, Montana to see the dinosaur museum there. The building has the head and front legs of a T-Rex bursting through the brickwork. This museum had a unique view point as they are expressing the view that maybe evolution did not occur as the scientist say, but that there is a strong religious reason for things that have happened in this era. We still enjoyed the many casts of dinosaurs and explanations the museum held. It had a gift shop. We resisted.
Billings loomed in our sights with about 40 miles to go, and so did an enormous sheet and fork lightening and thunder storm. We went from 34C to 17C in 45 minutes. The winds and rain were brutal. The sky was black and the cars and trucks spewed water and steam behind them from the hot pavement.
We made it into Billings and rolled into the Best Western Clock Tower in downtown Billings. We went in search of food and found Jake's Steak House. We sat in the bar area and had fabulous pot stickers, and burgers. We watched as part of the storm collided with wind and dropped buckets of water. We made it up the street during a break in the storm and headed back to the hotel for a night of trying to recover from car lag, too much food, and feeling like we are continually moving.
Next stop: Spokane, Washington
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
From Hixton to Jamestown, North Dakota
Woke up after a rough sleep last night, and hit the road as soon as we could.
The skies were extremely over cast, threatening our first real sign of rain. Once on the road, the skies opened up. It poured rain for most of our trip into Jamestown. Temperature stayed a constant 17 - 20 degrees.
When we closed in on Annadale, Minnesota we saw some Aerial power-line work. A worker was suspended in a harness from a helicopter, hovering over the power-lines. We saw him slowly being lowered to the ground. Takes a lot of guts to be able to do this.
Saw lots of birds along the way, at one point near the border of North Dakota, we spotted a large group of hawks circling a group of trees. there had to be at least 10 birds flying there. Not a common sight, or common behaviour for hawks.
Seeing as we had a very wet day, we didn't get to see too much, or get out to do anything overly interesting, but we did stop at a few rest stops that gave us history lessons. There were large bronze plaques that told us a bit of US history. One talked about Wisconsin's participation and dilemmas in World War 1. We also found out that Charles Lindenberg was a native from Minnesota. Pretty fascinating stuff.
When we reached Pelican Rapids, Mauvereen couldn't drive any more, so she and Kim did a "Chinese Fire Drill", except their joints were so seized they actually did a Geriatric Shuffle to switch places for the next leg of the journey.
At one of the rest stops there was a long path down to what looked like a lake. The sign told us that we were looking at the headwaters of the Mississippi River.
Now that we are back in North Dakota, we have officially crossed the Continental divide more than once. Pretty neat.
We made it to our hotel around 5:30, and went for a quick bite to eat at the restaurant next door. The Pizza Ranch. Interesting concept, you choose what you want to eat from their menu and order it, or pay for the buffet before you take your seat. We both chose the buffet, had LOTS of salad, plus had fried chicken, mashed potatoes and beans. Not too bad for $8. We got lucky and the rain took a break right after we finished eating, so it was a dry jog back to the hotel.
We're now comfortably in our hotel room, watching America's Got Talent, and getting ready for some shut-eye. We'll be off to Billings Montana tomorrow.
The skies were extremely over cast, threatening our first real sign of rain. Once on the road, the skies opened up. It poured rain for most of our trip into Jamestown. Temperature stayed a constant 17 - 20 degrees.
When we closed in on Annadale, Minnesota we saw some Aerial power-line work. A worker was suspended in a harness from a helicopter, hovering over the power-lines. We saw him slowly being lowered to the ground. Takes a lot of guts to be able to do this.
Saw lots of birds along the way, at one point near the border of North Dakota, we spotted a large group of hawks circling a group of trees. there had to be at least 10 birds flying there. Not a common sight, or common behaviour for hawks.
Seeing as we had a very wet day, we didn't get to see too much, or get out to do anything overly interesting, but we did stop at a few rest stops that gave us history lessons. There were large bronze plaques that told us a bit of US history. One talked about Wisconsin's participation and dilemmas in World War 1. We also found out that Charles Lindenberg was a native from Minnesota. Pretty fascinating stuff.
When we reached Pelican Rapids, Mauvereen couldn't drive any more, so she and Kim did a "Chinese Fire Drill", except their joints were so seized they actually did a Geriatric Shuffle to switch places for the next leg of the journey.
At one of the rest stops there was a long path down to what looked like a lake. The sign told us that we were looking at the headwaters of the Mississippi River.
Now that we are back in North Dakota, we have officially crossed the Continental divide more than once. Pretty neat.
We made it to our hotel around 5:30, and went for a quick bite to eat at the restaurant next door. The Pizza Ranch. Interesting concept, you choose what you want to eat from their menu and order it, or pay for the buffet before you take your seat. We both chose the buffet, had LOTS of salad, plus had fried chicken, mashed potatoes and beans. Not too bad for $8. We got lucky and the rain took a break right after we finished eating, so it was a dry jog back to the hotel.
We're now comfortably in our hotel room, watching America's Got Talent, and getting ready for some shut-eye. We'll be off to Billings Montana tomorrow.
Monday, August 29, 2011
From Goshen to Hixton, Wisconsin
Got up bright and early, had a nice breakfast with Ruth before packing up the car. We said our farewells, shared lots of hugs and waved as we drove down the street. We will miss her dearly, as we may not get back this way for a very long time.
We decided to take a short detour before officially leaving the Goshen area. We drove to South Bend, which is the large city in the vicinity. This is where Notre Dame University resides, home of the Fighting Irish. Kim had seen a glance of the campus the first time she came to Indiana, but this was a first for Mauvereen.
It's just beautiful there. Old architecture dating back to at least the 1800's. Trees surrounding the area, and a large cemetery with headstones at least a century old. From a distance you can see a golden dome of one of the buildings. Similar to that of our parliament with the Golden Boy standing atop the roof. We drove towards this, leading to the end of the road on campus. Here we were at a roundabout, blocked by hundred's of students continuously crossing back and forth to their classes. We had to inch our way through the crowd, few acknowledged us. You can tell for a big city it still has that small town persona, as few people look left and right when crossing the street. They just mind their own business and keep going.
Leaving here, we headed for the border of Indiana to Illinois, finding our first toll booth along the way. We found this one interesting as we didn't have to pay. There was a ticket machine, which gave you your pass to get to the next toll booth. There they would figure out how far you had travelled through the state, and charge you accordingly.
Just a few miles past here, we found our first rest stop. Quite Brilliant if I do say so..MMM YES. This was a gas station, McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Washroom, Convenience store and Chocolate shop combined into one! who ever thought of this, was really a genius. The other amenity they had was a massive parking lot for the big rigs, at the side of the building. They also had showers available for the long haulers.
We continued on into Illionis, this is where the trip got tricky. The GPS wanted to go to Chicago, we didn't. We had to trick it to go down the highway we wanted but even at that, we had some human error. We followed the I-80 to where it turns into HWY 294, The signs said go north for Wisconsin, and go East for Iowa. We went North, the GPS wanted East. Hence we managed to go through the same toll booth, twice at $0.60 a pop. At the ticket toll in Indiana, it cost us over $3.
Finally headed in the right direction, we stopped for lunch in Rockford, Illinois at the local Cracker Barrel. The food was good, as usual, but wasn't up to par with the first one we visited.
We did our last bit of souvenir shopping, then went next door to get gas.
We drove our last four hours of the day, and made it to Alma, Wisconsin...or so we thought.
The KOA campground has a different address, than the one in the GPS, so it took us the long route on I-94 Alternate, leading us through Alma Centre, population 500. and finally, "Destination, on Right". we peer to our right, and it's a massive dairy farm, filled with cows and big rigs for shipping...not exactly a campground. Pop in address number 2..."continue 3 miles to destination, on right!"
Drove the last 3 miles to discover the KOA sign...no campground. "Drive another 1700feet", found the drive way, got in, confirmed our reservation, upgraded to a cabin. Really nice accommodation. Mauvereen scored herself a twin bed, while Kim got her choice of bunk bed. Just like the summer camp days!
Along the way, saw some beautiful farmland, forests and Kim was particularly intrigued by a mail box designed to be a Turkey. Painted with full tail, wings and neck.
Now to explain, the KOA is located 3 miles outside of Hixton in one direction, and 3 miles outside of Alma Centre in the other direction. But the GPS took us about 15 miles out into the bush to find this place, when directly at the entrance to Hixton is the freeway ramp. Go figure...the difference engine must have been tired too...OR it's gotten diabolical again...THE CAKE IS A LIE! (reference to Portal...for those non-gamers)
On the way to food saw "Blue Moo", the water-skiing stop. (no water for MILES)
We went for dinner at the local truck stop, Clark's Gas Bar. We both ordered ourselves a pepsi and quesadillas. While eating we noticed the most entertaining sign "Eat and Get Gas!" (photo to follow eventually) on that note...
Now we are cozied up in our cabin, teeth brushed, getting ready for lights out. We've secured our hotel room for tomorrow in Jamestown, North Dakota. Forecast: Thunder Showers! our first rain on the trip (Mauvereen claims there was 5 minutes of rain at Ruth's...but no one else saw it). We'll see if it holds up.
Goodnight! and update soon!
We decided to take a short detour before officially leaving the Goshen area. We drove to South Bend, which is the large city in the vicinity. This is where Notre Dame University resides, home of the Fighting Irish. Kim had seen a glance of the campus the first time she came to Indiana, but this was a first for Mauvereen.
It's just beautiful there. Old architecture dating back to at least the 1800's. Trees surrounding the area, and a large cemetery with headstones at least a century old. From a distance you can see a golden dome of one of the buildings. Similar to that of our parliament with the Golden Boy standing atop the roof. We drove towards this, leading to the end of the road on campus. Here we were at a roundabout, blocked by hundred's of students continuously crossing back and forth to their classes. We had to inch our way through the crowd, few acknowledged us. You can tell for a big city it still has that small town persona, as few people look left and right when crossing the street. They just mind their own business and keep going.
Leaving here, we headed for the border of Indiana to Illinois, finding our first toll booth along the way. We found this one interesting as we didn't have to pay. There was a ticket machine, which gave you your pass to get to the next toll booth. There they would figure out how far you had travelled through the state, and charge you accordingly.
Just a few miles past here, we found our first rest stop. Quite Brilliant if I do say so..MMM YES. This was a gas station, McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Washroom, Convenience store and Chocolate shop combined into one! who ever thought of this, was really a genius. The other amenity they had was a massive parking lot for the big rigs, at the side of the building. They also had showers available for the long haulers.
We continued on into Illionis, this is where the trip got tricky. The GPS wanted to go to Chicago, we didn't. We had to trick it to go down the highway we wanted but even at that, we had some human error. We followed the I-80 to where it turns into HWY 294, The signs said go north for Wisconsin, and go East for Iowa. We went North, the GPS wanted East. Hence we managed to go through the same toll booth, twice at $0.60 a pop. At the ticket toll in Indiana, it cost us over $3.
Finally headed in the right direction, we stopped for lunch in Rockford, Illinois at the local Cracker Barrel. The food was good, as usual, but wasn't up to par with the first one we visited.
We did our last bit of souvenir shopping, then went next door to get gas.
We drove our last four hours of the day, and made it to Alma, Wisconsin...or so we thought.
The KOA campground has a different address, than the one in the GPS, so it took us the long route on I-94 Alternate, leading us through Alma Centre, population 500. and finally, "Destination, on Right". we peer to our right, and it's a massive dairy farm, filled with cows and big rigs for shipping...not exactly a campground. Pop in address number 2..."continue 3 miles to destination, on right!"
Drove the last 3 miles to discover the KOA sign...no campground. "Drive another 1700feet", found the drive way, got in, confirmed our reservation, upgraded to a cabin. Really nice accommodation. Mauvereen scored herself a twin bed, while Kim got her choice of bunk bed. Just like the summer camp days!
Along the way, saw some beautiful farmland, forests and Kim was particularly intrigued by a mail box designed to be a Turkey. Painted with full tail, wings and neck.
Now to explain, the KOA is located 3 miles outside of Hixton in one direction, and 3 miles outside of Alma Centre in the other direction. But the GPS took us about 15 miles out into the bush to find this place, when directly at the entrance to Hixton is the freeway ramp. Go figure...the difference engine must have been tired too...OR it's gotten diabolical again...THE CAKE IS A LIE! (reference to Portal...for those non-gamers)
On the way to food saw "Blue Moo", the water-skiing stop. (no water for MILES)
We went for dinner at the local truck stop, Clark's Gas Bar. We both ordered ourselves a pepsi and quesadillas. While eating we noticed the most entertaining sign "Eat and Get Gas!" (photo to follow eventually) on that note...
Now we are cozied up in our cabin, teeth brushed, getting ready for lights out. We've secured our hotel room for tomorrow in Jamestown, North Dakota. Forecast: Thunder Showers! our first rain on the trip (Mauvereen claims there was 5 minutes of rain at Ruth's...but no one else saw it). We'll see if it holds up.
Goodnight! and update soon!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Day 3 in Goshen
Last night we got to go on a very delightful walk around the neighbourhood with Ruth. We saw lots of fireflies, spotted a cardinal flying into a nearby tree, as well as a bat darting back and forth across the street catching flies.
This morning, we got up at a decent hour, before getting ourselves ready and eating breakfast. Ruth had been up pretty early, chopping up vegetables for the "Chow Mein Casserole" she was making for lunch.
We spent the morning sitting and reading, as well as taking a short stroll down the street to the Save-A-Lot, similar to that of Save on Foods, to pick up a few things, before heading back for lunch.
The weather was just perfect today. It was supposed to reach about 32 degrees out, but with a nice breeze, it felt more like 26 degrees, very nice.
Ruth's son Greg, joined us for lunch. He's a really nice man. He and his family run a business for driving Amish to and from the places they need to go to. They call it doing an Amish run to help out when it is too hot or too far for the horses to go. His son Robert, is a little younger than Kim and is also doing computer science with an interest in video games and animation. We sat and had a good conversation with Greg, then we all sat down to eat. While having our visit, a small raccoon also went running through Ruth's backyard. We hadn't seen any raccoon's like this at home. He was more of a brown colour, and slimmer than the ones we have back in B.C.
Another thing about this trip is Kim has been collecting quarters, as they have a special series that each quarter represents one of the 50 states. Every time this is mentioned, one of her step uncles pulls out his change for Kim to go through. Very generous guys :)
After Greg had left, we helped Ruth clean up then we all had a bit of a nap. With the weather being so warm, and with keeping ourselves busy, we've all gotten tired very easily these past few days.
while doing our clean up, we noticed a beautiful large dog sitting on the lawn across the street. Ruth was telling us, that it is an Akita, but he has no home. He wanders around the complex, and goes to sleep in the cornfield across the street every night. He seems to be very afraid of people, as when cars or people go by, he starts to bolt in the opposite direction. The other day when we had gone to Daus Essenhaus, we had brought back left overs which Ruth decided to share with the pooch.
We walked across the street, leaving the container of roast beef and stuffing as well as a bucket full of water. He watched us warily from a distance. When we started to walk away he started to edge a little closer. By the time we had gotten back in the house, he happily came and chowed down. He finished all the food, ate the styrofoam container it was in, drank all the water and attempted to devour the bucket as well. By the time we had recovered the containers, half the styrofoam was gone, the bucket was all holey, and the handle was missing. He obviously had been hungry, but enjoyed himself.
Later on in the afternoon, around 4, Ruth's daughter Lane came over for a visit. She lives in Fort Wayne about 50 miles outside of Goshen. She comes to visit Ruth every sunday, and so it was really nice to be here to get to meet her. Lane has two little dogs that she absolutely adores and talks about them a lot. She has a Schnoodle named Douglas, and a little tiny black Chihuahua named Izzy. She was telling us about taking the two to puppy training school, where in one lesson there was a Jack Russell Terrior who was determined to catch Izzy, and when he had the chance managed to nip her in the bum. Next lesson they went, there was a German Shepard who is afraid of everything, Douglas had gone over to make a new friend out of the dog and it's owner, which led to him getting nipped in the bum too. Lane chuckled about it, but said they won't be going to back for more lessons at the moment.
By the evening all of us headed over to Laurel and Paul's house to visit one last time. They have a fabulous house on a good size bit of land a few miles away from where Ruth lives. We all got inside, grabbed a cool glass of ice water and sat in their front room having a chat about what we had all been up to, and admiring their beautiful backyard. Their house is fantastic, both of them have exquisite taste, and have fully decorated their home. Looks like a professional could have done it.
Lane had to leave a little early as she had a long drive home, so we took some family pictures before all heading out. Laurel and Paul were more than kind to the two of us, they gave us some pictures that they had taken the day before when we all went out, as well as giving the both of us a beautiful gift. Mauvereen was given a beautiful turquoise necklace, as she had been telling Laurel how much she wanted a Turquoise necklace but was never able to find one. And they gave Kim a gorgeous scarf of all different colours, and a silver and turquoise bracelet. So kind of them, this was totally unexpected.
On the way back, we took a final stop at the local walmart to stock up on water, and Kim got lucky finding a few boxes of "Trix" cereal to bring home. Her favourite, and it's no longer sold in Canada.
Now we are back at Ruth's and after having a lovely dinner, we're just sitting enjoying the night sounds and cool air before heading to an early bed time.
Will be an early morning tomorrow, and heading out the door, back on the road to home. Will stop at the KOA in Hixton/Alma Wisconsin tomorrow night. Update again then :)
Thank you to all our family in Goshen for making our visit so wonderful. Thanks to everyone who has been following our trip and all our stories thus far :)
This morning, we got up at a decent hour, before getting ourselves ready and eating breakfast. Ruth had been up pretty early, chopping up vegetables for the "Chow Mein Casserole" she was making for lunch.
We spent the morning sitting and reading, as well as taking a short stroll down the street to the Save-A-Lot, similar to that of Save on Foods, to pick up a few things, before heading back for lunch.
The weather was just perfect today. It was supposed to reach about 32 degrees out, but with a nice breeze, it felt more like 26 degrees, very nice.
Ruth's son Greg, joined us for lunch. He's a really nice man. He and his family run a business for driving Amish to and from the places they need to go to. They call it doing an Amish run to help out when it is too hot or too far for the horses to go. His son Robert, is a little younger than Kim and is also doing computer science with an interest in video games and animation. We sat and had a good conversation with Greg, then we all sat down to eat. While having our visit, a small raccoon also went running through Ruth's backyard. We hadn't seen any raccoon's like this at home. He was more of a brown colour, and slimmer than the ones we have back in B.C.
Another thing about this trip is Kim has been collecting quarters, as they have a special series that each quarter represents one of the 50 states. Every time this is mentioned, one of her step uncles pulls out his change for Kim to go through. Very generous guys :)
After Greg had left, we helped Ruth clean up then we all had a bit of a nap. With the weather being so warm, and with keeping ourselves busy, we've all gotten tired very easily these past few days.
while doing our clean up, we noticed a beautiful large dog sitting on the lawn across the street. Ruth was telling us, that it is an Akita, but he has no home. He wanders around the complex, and goes to sleep in the cornfield across the street every night. He seems to be very afraid of people, as when cars or people go by, he starts to bolt in the opposite direction. The other day when we had gone to Daus Essenhaus, we had brought back left overs which Ruth decided to share with the pooch.
We walked across the street, leaving the container of roast beef and stuffing as well as a bucket full of water. He watched us warily from a distance. When we started to walk away he started to edge a little closer. By the time we had gotten back in the house, he happily came and chowed down. He finished all the food, ate the styrofoam container it was in, drank all the water and attempted to devour the bucket as well. By the time we had recovered the containers, half the styrofoam was gone, the bucket was all holey, and the handle was missing. He obviously had been hungry, but enjoyed himself.
Later on in the afternoon, around 4, Ruth's daughter Lane came over for a visit. She lives in Fort Wayne about 50 miles outside of Goshen. She comes to visit Ruth every sunday, and so it was really nice to be here to get to meet her. Lane has two little dogs that she absolutely adores and talks about them a lot. She has a Schnoodle named Douglas, and a little tiny black Chihuahua named Izzy. She was telling us about taking the two to puppy training school, where in one lesson there was a Jack Russell Terrior who was determined to catch Izzy, and when he had the chance managed to nip her in the bum. Next lesson they went, there was a German Shepard who is afraid of everything, Douglas had gone over to make a new friend out of the dog and it's owner, which led to him getting nipped in the bum too. Lane chuckled about it, but said they won't be going to back for more lessons at the moment.
By the evening all of us headed over to Laurel and Paul's house to visit one last time. They have a fabulous house on a good size bit of land a few miles away from where Ruth lives. We all got inside, grabbed a cool glass of ice water and sat in their front room having a chat about what we had all been up to, and admiring their beautiful backyard. Their house is fantastic, both of them have exquisite taste, and have fully decorated their home. Looks like a professional could have done it.
Lane had to leave a little early as she had a long drive home, so we took some family pictures before all heading out. Laurel and Paul were more than kind to the two of us, they gave us some pictures that they had taken the day before when we all went out, as well as giving the both of us a beautiful gift. Mauvereen was given a beautiful turquoise necklace, as she had been telling Laurel how much she wanted a Turquoise necklace but was never able to find one. And they gave Kim a gorgeous scarf of all different colours, and a silver and turquoise bracelet. So kind of them, this was totally unexpected.
On the way back, we took a final stop at the local walmart to stock up on water, and Kim got lucky finding a few boxes of "Trix" cereal to bring home. Her favourite, and it's no longer sold in Canada.
Now we are back at Ruth's and after having a lovely dinner, we're just sitting enjoying the night sounds and cool air before heading to an early bed time.
Will be an early morning tomorrow, and heading out the door, back on the road to home. Will stop at the KOA in Hixton/Alma Wisconsin tomorrow night. Update again then :)
Thank you to all our family in Goshen for making our visit so wonderful. Thanks to everyone who has been following our trip and all our stories thus far :)
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Day 2 in Goshen
August 27th, 2011
Today we managed to sleep in a bit, but were still pretty tired after having a restless sleep. Goshen has a lot of trains going through town, and they feel it necessary to blow their whistle at every single road crossing, keeps you up a lot.
After waking up, having a shower, and eating some breakfast, we met up with Laurel and her husband Paul who took us to Lake Winona. This is a beautiful little community on the edge of a large lake, where fishing and boating are prevalent.
Each of the shops we visited are situated in separate houses, where people still live in the upstairs portion. All the architecture is very old style with the large porches and intricate wood detailing along their eaves.
We started by visiting a wood carver who makes kitchen utensils all out of soft maple wood (from CANADA! YAY!) the same Maples that make maple syrup, next stop was another wood carver who made jewelry and bowls and such, beautiful stuff but a little pricey. Our final stop was a small shop that makes home made soaps and hand creams. Very unique fragrances, very delightful. Grabbed a few bottles of hand cream that smell like grapefruit for Dad and a small bar of Vanilla Bean soap for ourselves.
We walked along the sidewalk, admiring the waterway canal that runs through the town.
We stopped for lunch in a nice restaurant called Cerulean. Here they specialize in coffees, but their food is a Japanese/Western influence. We all ordered Bento Boxes (lunch boxes) with different entree's and you get to choose 3 different sides. Kim had Beef Sukiyaki (sauteed beef) on rice, with broccolini salad, cold asian noodles and edamame beans, along with a traditional order of Ebi Nigiri (prawn sushi). Mauvereen had Salmon with Basil Soy sauce on rice, with broccolini salad, Mandarin oranges with almonds and Sticky Rice. Very good food. The broccolini salad has a white sauce, with almonds and dried cranberries, Asian noodles had a soy sauce reduction with peanuts and green onion.
We then took a few pictures, and hopped back in the car to go back to town.
Paul took us on a short detour to a small place called "The Chief". This place only opens in the summer, making home made ice cream and cool treats. It was named after the local highschool mascots "the Redskins". Very VERY good ice cream.
Now back at Ruth's, had a lovely dinner of tortilla soup, with fresh veggies and fruit, and about to head out for a nice evening walking around the neighourhood.
Will post again tomorrow :)
Today we managed to sleep in a bit, but were still pretty tired after having a restless sleep. Goshen has a lot of trains going through town, and they feel it necessary to blow their whistle at every single road crossing, keeps you up a lot.
After waking up, having a shower, and eating some breakfast, we met up with Laurel and her husband Paul who took us to Lake Winona. This is a beautiful little community on the edge of a large lake, where fishing and boating are prevalent.
Each of the shops we visited are situated in separate houses, where people still live in the upstairs portion. All the architecture is very old style with the large porches and intricate wood detailing along their eaves.
We started by visiting a wood carver who makes kitchen utensils all out of soft maple wood (from CANADA! YAY!) the same Maples that make maple syrup, next stop was another wood carver who made jewelry and bowls and such, beautiful stuff but a little pricey. Our final stop was a small shop that makes home made soaps and hand creams. Very unique fragrances, very delightful. Grabbed a few bottles of hand cream that smell like grapefruit for Dad and a small bar of Vanilla Bean soap for ourselves.
We walked along the sidewalk, admiring the waterway canal that runs through the town.
We stopped for lunch in a nice restaurant called Cerulean. Here they specialize in coffees, but their food is a Japanese/Western influence. We all ordered Bento Boxes (lunch boxes) with different entree's and you get to choose 3 different sides. Kim had Beef Sukiyaki (sauteed beef) on rice, with broccolini salad, cold asian noodles and edamame beans, along with a traditional order of Ebi Nigiri (prawn sushi). Mauvereen had Salmon with Basil Soy sauce on rice, with broccolini salad, Mandarin oranges with almonds and Sticky Rice. Very good food. The broccolini salad has a white sauce, with almonds and dried cranberries, Asian noodles had a soy sauce reduction with peanuts and green onion.
We then took a few pictures, and hopped back in the car to go back to town.
Paul took us on a short detour to a small place called "The Chief". This place only opens in the summer, making home made ice cream and cool treats. It was named after the local highschool mascots "the Redskins". Very VERY good ice cream.
Now back at Ruth's, had a lovely dinner of tortilla soup, with fresh veggies and fruit, and about to head out for a nice evening walking around the neighourhood.
Will post again tomorrow :)
Welcome to Goshen!
August 26th, 2011 (Friday)
We safely arrived in Goshen around 5pm, on Thursday. Drove up to Kim's Step-Grandma's (Ruth) house, and she was more than happy to greet us.
That evening we experienced for the first time ever (for both of us) FIREFLIES!!!!
we also saw bunnies, all out on the front lawn of the house.
The rest of the evening was spent repairing our gelatinous bodies to normal.
The next morning we woke up pretty early, had a very pleasant breakfast with Ruth, then had the pleasure of meeting her youngest daughter Laurel (Mauvereen's first time meeting her). She's a wonderful person.
We hopped into Laurel's little mazda, and drove off for our tour of the surrounding area.
We started off at the Old Bag Factory, located just outside of downtown Goshen. It is exactly as it is named, a Bag Factory. The building is no longer in commission for this business but is now setup as an artisan shop, with small shops inside and a museum explaining the history of the building. The company who used to be in the building, manufactured old cloth bags for flour, oats and grain. This is also where Laurel's youngest daughter Ashley is going to be married in September.
We visited a small quilting shop adjacent to the Bag Factory, where a pleasant fellow told us all about the quilts his wife Shirley creates and designs herself. The quilts were just beautiful, and very unique. Not many of them are the traditional quilts from patterns, as Shirley designs them all herself. The cheapest one we saw was $675 where as the most expensive was $5200. They do accept monthly payments if you choose to buy one. And they SHIP! All for the low low cost of....... and now a word from our sponsor.
We weren't able to take any photos, as Shirley's work is very unique and un documented, none of her patterns are written down or for re-sale. We heard A LOT about Shirley.
While at the Old Bag Factory, we also went into a small antique shop, a consignment store, potter and a woodcarving shop. We also met an adorable puppy who was outside waiting for his owner. He was more than happy to share some hugs and kisses with us.
We left the Old Bag Factory, and headed towards the amish town of Shipshewana (Ship-She-Wana).
Along the country roads we got to see a lot of Amish driving their horse and buggies. Driving through the countryside we stopped at one home, as a Horse had gotten their leg and hoof caught in the surrounding wire fence. Just as we arrived we saw the owner come out of their shed with wire cutters, walking slowly to go save the horse.
We saw a lot of Amish homes, and if you don't know the difference between Western World homes and Amish, it's hard to tell. They have magnificent houses, but no electricity, and the dead give away is the clothes line hanging outside. Amish homes don't have any blinds or pull down blinds, so all the windows are bare and open, plus they have large fields for their crops and animals, and one or two buggies in the yard.
We ended up having lunch at an Amish business complex called Essenhaus. The food here is very traditional country meal, lots of gravy and potatoes. Kim got roast beef on noodles and mash potatoes, Mauvereen had roast beef with stuffing and white gravy. Artery clogging goodness...or sorta good. Plus Kim got a massive piece de resistance. Lemon Meringue Pie. om nom nom.
It feels very strange to have modern vehicles and stores then to step back in time with bearded men, bonnetted women who drive by at a quick trot in their horse and buggy, BUT they are equipped with left and right lighted turn signals (battery operated as they shun electricity...we did find out they are allowed cellphones though...but not land lines. This gets confusing)
We actually saw one of the horses look both ways, before turning a corner on a busy street. Smart animals.
We ended up parked and out walking in Shipshewana, where we visited Davis Mercantile which is a large old grain building, which now houses multiple small shops, as well as a merchant who sells seasonal nick nacks. You could get yourself a buggy ride in an authentic amish horse drawn carriage for just $4.
It's a beautiful and quaint little town, very peaceful.
We then headed back to Goshen, hitting up the local Wal-Mart for a few necessities, then back to Ruth's for a nap and supper.
Was a wonderful, busy, long day and looking forward to another one tomorrow,
We safely arrived in Goshen around 5pm, on Thursday. Drove up to Kim's Step-Grandma's (Ruth) house, and she was more than happy to greet us.
That evening we experienced for the first time ever (for both of us) FIREFLIES!!!!
we also saw bunnies, all out on the front lawn of the house.
The rest of the evening was spent repairing our gelatinous bodies to normal.
The next morning we woke up pretty early, had a very pleasant breakfast with Ruth, then had the pleasure of meeting her youngest daughter Laurel (Mauvereen's first time meeting her). She's a wonderful person.
We hopped into Laurel's little mazda, and drove off for our tour of the surrounding area.
We started off at the Old Bag Factory, located just outside of downtown Goshen. It is exactly as it is named, a Bag Factory. The building is no longer in commission for this business but is now setup as an artisan shop, with small shops inside and a museum explaining the history of the building. The company who used to be in the building, manufactured old cloth bags for flour, oats and grain. This is also where Laurel's youngest daughter Ashley is going to be married in September.
We visited a small quilting shop adjacent to the Bag Factory, where a pleasant fellow told us all about the quilts his wife Shirley creates and designs herself. The quilts were just beautiful, and very unique. Not many of them are the traditional quilts from patterns, as Shirley designs them all herself. The cheapest one we saw was $675 where as the most expensive was $5200. They do accept monthly payments if you choose to buy one. And they SHIP! All for the low low cost of....... and now a word from our sponsor.
We weren't able to take any photos, as Shirley's work is very unique and un documented, none of her patterns are written down or for re-sale. We heard A LOT about Shirley.
While at the Old Bag Factory, we also went into a small antique shop, a consignment store, potter and a woodcarving shop. We also met an adorable puppy who was outside waiting for his owner. He was more than happy to share some hugs and kisses with us.
We left the Old Bag Factory, and headed towards the amish town of Shipshewana (Ship-She-Wana).
Along the country roads we got to see a lot of Amish driving their horse and buggies. Driving through the countryside we stopped at one home, as a Horse had gotten their leg and hoof caught in the surrounding wire fence. Just as we arrived we saw the owner come out of their shed with wire cutters, walking slowly to go save the horse.
We saw a lot of Amish homes, and if you don't know the difference between Western World homes and Amish, it's hard to tell. They have magnificent houses, but no electricity, and the dead give away is the clothes line hanging outside. Amish homes don't have any blinds or pull down blinds, so all the windows are bare and open, plus they have large fields for their crops and animals, and one or two buggies in the yard.
We ended up having lunch at an Amish business complex called Essenhaus. The food here is very traditional country meal, lots of gravy and potatoes. Kim got roast beef on noodles and mash potatoes, Mauvereen had roast beef with stuffing and white gravy. Artery clogging goodness...or sorta good. Plus Kim got a massive piece de resistance. Lemon Meringue Pie. om nom nom.
It feels very strange to have modern vehicles and stores then to step back in time with bearded men, bonnetted women who drive by at a quick trot in their horse and buggy, BUT they are equipped with left and right lighted turn signals (battery operated as they shun electricity...we did find out they are allowed cellphones though...but not land lines. This gets confusing)
We actually saw one of the horses look both ways, before turning a corner on a busy street. Smart animals.
We ended up parked and out walking in Shipshewana, where we visited Davis Mercantile which is a large old grain building, which now houses multiple small shops, as well as a merchant who sells seasonal nick nacks. You could get yourself a buggy ride in an authentic amish horse drawn carriage for just $4.
It's a beautiful and quaint little town, very peaceful.
We then headed back to Goshen, hitting up the local Wal-Mart for a few necessities, then back to Ruth's for a nap and supper.
Was a wonderful, busy, long day and looking forward to another one tomorrow,
From Wisconsin to Goshen, Indiana
August 25th, 2011
'Twas another early morning leaving the campground. We both woke up around 6a.m. and decided that this was early enough to get our things together and hit the road to head for Goshen. This was again a chore, as the windstorm from the night before had yet to stop blowing at hurricane force. So we quickly ran around the tent in Musical Chairs fashion, grabbing all the pegs as we went, grabbing the tent, rolling it into a ball and chucking it into the trunk as fast as humanly possible. Now having leapt into the car, we drove off at a blistering 1 mile an hour, as the campground had the biggest speed bump on the planet, thus preventing fatal damage to our vehicle.
OFF TO ILLINOIS!
As we drove down the road, we discovered how a "good" night of rest (filled with semi-trucks on a freeway, airplanes, trains and crickets chirping up a storm) we ended up hitting every single rest-stop and about every second McDonald's we could find for resuscitation. Heavy eyelids are a terrible symptom to have when driving.
Once we finally crossed the border into Illinois, we drove to their Welcome Centre for a quick pit stop, and were lucky enough to find someone who works there who was kind enough to give us directions on avoiding Chicago. We managed to drive down the very centre of Illinois then an abrupt left turn onto the I-80 driving underneath Chicago, thus avoiding all but 2 toll-booths...Well technically 1, because Kim got confused by all the signage, managed to drive through the I-PASS lane, avoiding throwing her $1 out the window and passing through...oops.
Now feeling extremely guilty or as Kim says "Like an escaped convict on the run of epic proportions from paying a speeding ticket AND missing a toll-booth..." (Mauvereen was COMPLETELY supportive of this...and when I say completely, I mean peeing herself laughing at her daughter's misfortune saying at least it wasn't me :) )
Kim be-grudgingly continued to drive until the next rest stop...
back to our story!
We encountered more massive wind farms all along the Illinois stretch of the I-35. Bigger than that of the one in Washington. It's amazing to see them loom over the top of you as you drive by. These things are MASSIVE. one propeller is about the size of two Semi-Trailers.
Both of us have come to a conclusion that we will be re-naming the United States of America to "Road Work" as we have not hit a stretch of road without it. The orange barrels follow us everywhere (not to mention the guy who got that contract is laughing all the way to the bank!).
Due to this, we have no memorized that going over the speed limit will cost you a minimum fine of $375 plus 8 years in jail, reckless driving is a fine of $1000, and hitting a worker is $10,000 with a minimum of 14 years in jail.
These items are now definitely on our "To Do" list.
Things that are random:
- drove through Aasho Illinois. AASSSSS HO!
- best bill board ever: "Don't die with your teeth in a glass!"
'Twas another early morning leaving the campground. We both woke up around 6a.m. and decided that this was early enough to get our things together and hit the road to head for Goshen. This was again a chore, as the windstorm from the night before had yet to stop blowing at hurricane force. So we quickly ran around the tent in Musical Chairs fashion, grabbing all the pegs as we went, grabbing the tent, rolling it into a ball and chucking it into the trunk as fast as humanly possible. Now having leapt into the car, we drove off at a blistering 1 mile an hour, as the campground had the biggest speed bump on the planet, thus preventing fatal damage to our vehicle.
OFF TO ILLINOIS!
As we drove down the road, we discovered how a "good" night of rest (filled with semi-trucks on a freeway, airplanes, trains and crickets chirping up a storm) we ended up hitting every single rest-stop and about every second McDonald's we could find for resuscitation. Heavy eyelids are a terrible symptom to have when driving.
Once we finally crossed the border into Illinois, we drove to their Welcome Centre for a quick pit stop, and were lucky enough to find someone who works there who was kind enough to give us directions on avoiding Chicago. We managed to drive down the very centre of Illinois then an abrupt left turn onto the I-80 driving underneath Chicago, thus avoiding all but 2 toll-booths...Well technically 1, because Kim got confused by all the signage, managed to drive through the I-PASS lane, avoiding throwing her $1 out the window and passing through...oops.
Now feeling extremely guilty or as Kim says "Like an escaped convict on the run of epic proportions from paying a speeding ticket AND missing a toll-booth..." (Mauvereen was COMPLETELY supportive of this...and when I say completely, I mean peeing herself laughing at her daughter's misfortune saying at least it wasn't me :) )
Kim be-grudgingly continued to drive until the next rest stop...
back to our story!
We encountered more massive wind farms all along the Illinois stretch of the I-35. Bigger than that of the one in Washington. It's amazing to see them loom over the top of you as you drive by. These things are MASSIVE. one propeller is about the size of two Semi-Trailers.
Both of us have come to a conclusion that we will be re-naming the United States of America to "Road Work" as we have not hit a stretch of road without it. The orange barrels follow us everywhere (not to mention the guy who got that contract is laughing all the way to the bank!).
Due to this, we have no memorized that going over the speed limit will cost you a minimum fine of $375 plus 8 years in jail, reckless driving is a fine of $1000, and hitting a worker is $10,000 with a minimum of 14 years in jail.
These items are now definitely on our "To Do" list.
Things that are random:
- drove through Aasho Illinois. AASSSSS HO!
- best bill board ever: "Don't die with your teeth in a glass!"
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
From Bloomington to Madison, Wisconsin
Twas a short travelling day today, but a rough one. Ever try doing a road trip after a few days of R&R? it's tough. We were up by 7am this morning, and out the doors of the hotel by 8:30am. Both of us were completely exhausted and found it hard to focus on the trip ahead.
We took it slow, hitting up most of the rest stops and gas stations before stopping for food just outside of De Forest at the local Cracker Barrel. Had another delicious meal there, with great service, then scurried back to the car to continue our venture.
We made it to the KOA in De Forest, Wisconsin, just outside of Madison, where we grabbed our site and attempted pitching the tent. It's an extremely blustery day here, so the tent was a major challenge. It kept trying to blow away every time we would lay it out and try to put pegs in. We had one of the neighbouring tenters come over to help hold it down while we secured it to the ground. But even then, it keeps trying to pull out its pegs and escape. We've anchored it down now with multiple pegs, and heavy suitcases on the inside. Hopefully it won't try to fly away with us in it tonight, OR that the wind will die down. So it's been a lot of fun! Will make an interesting morning trying to take it down, looking forward to it!
The wind is a welcome change though as it is a toasty 86 degrees Fahrenheit / about 30 degrees Celsius. But with Hurricane force winds, and the shade on the campsite, it's a manageable 23-24 degrees Celsius.
Kim hit up the shower to cool down a bit, rather than jumping in the kiddie infested pool, she came out exclaiming, it's a good thing we're Canadian because we're used to cold water. The shower went from Cold, to Colder, to Frigid apparently. A good wake up.
The people here have been extremely friendly and helpful. It's an older couple who own the campground, and they maintain it very well. Smiling and waving as they ride by on the sit down mower, or striking up a friendly conversation at the small general store.
We have had a chance to watch the news too, and have heard about Hurricane Irene hitting the East Coast with major force. Saw they have started to evacuate coast cities and small islands in the hurricane's path. Mauvereen was excited and exclaimed "Way to Go Mom! Show 'em what it means to be an Irene!!"
We do hope that everyone will be ok through the storm.
Found we have plenty of insects tenting in the area with us, which led to Kim finding out that she is unforuntately allergic to bug spray. Good thing we brought Benadryl. What a way to find out, on the road, in a campsite, already bitten a few times.
Now it's off to find some grub, then curl up with a good book in the tent.
Tomorrow we will be up early again, heading for Goshen Indiana to visit Kim's Step-Grandma Ruth and her family. Should be a good visit.
Will update again soon!
We took it slow, hitting up most of the rest stops and gas stations before stopping for food just outside of De Forest at the local Cracker Barrel. Had another delicious meal there, with great service, then scurried back to the car to continue our venture.
We made it to the KOA in De Forest, Wisconsin, just outside of Madison, where we grabbed our site and attempted pitching the tent. It's an extremely blustery day here, so the tent was a major challenge. It kept trying to blow away every time we would lay it out and try to put pegs in. We had one of the neighbouring tenters come over to help hold it down while we secured it to the ground. But even then, it keeps trying to pull out its pegs and escape. We've anchored it down now with multiple pegs, and heavy suitcases on the inside. Hopefully it won't try to fly away with us in it tonight, OR that the wind will die down. So it's been a lot of fun! Will make an interesting morning trying to take it down, looking forward to it!
The wind is a welcome change though as it is a toasty 86 degrees Fahrenheit / about 30 degrees Celsius. But with Hurricane force winds, and the shade on the campsite, it's a manageable 23-24 degrees Celsius.
Kim hit up the shower to cool down a bit, rather than jumping in the kiddie infested pool, she came out exclaiming, it's a good thing we're Canadian because we're used to cold water. The shower went from Cold, to Colder, to Frigid apparently. A good wake up.
The people here have been extremely friendly and helpful. It's an older couple who own the campground, and they maintain it very well. Smiling and waving as they ride by on the sit down mower, or striking up a friendly conversation at the small general store.
We have had a chance to watch the news too, and have heard about Hurricane Irene hitting the East Coast with major force. Saw they have started to evacuate coast cities and small islands in the hurricane's path. Mauvereen was excited and exclaimed "Way to Go Mom! Show 'em what it means to be an Irene!!"
We do hope that everyone will be ok through the storm.
Found we have plenty of insects tenting in the area with us, which led to Kim finding out that she is unforuntately allergic to bug spray. Good thing we brought Benadryl. What a way to find out, on the road, in a campsite, already bitten a few times.
Now it's off to find some grub, then curl up with a good book in the tent.
Tomorrow we will be up early again, heading for Goshen Indiana to visit Kim's Step-Grandma Ruth and her family. Should be a good visit.
Will update again soon!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Mall Of America
August 23, 2011
So today was the big shopping day! We got up after having a great sleep and a decent sleep in, headed down for a good breakfast in the hotel dining hall. This was the best one yet, with hot waffles, omelets, hash-browns plus a passel of fruit, yogurt and cereals to choose from. Very delicious. Once finished, we grabbed our effects and then walked over to the biggest mall in North America.
It's a little overwhelming when you first experience it. With 552 stores, plus a 7 acre amusement park right in the middle.
We wandered the mall, hitting up some stores we recognized plus some we didn't know. Both of us had a successful day, getting some new clothes and trinkets. Kim went a little overboard, as she likes to do on holidays, coming back with quite a handful of treasures.
While venturing between stores and walking the long shop lined hallways, we decided to take a short cut through Nickelodeon Universe and see what it was all about. The rides were insane! One roller coaster we stood and watched, had a vertical incline that almost touched the roof of the mall, before roaring down a massive hill into a long line of loop-de-loops.
Another we saw is very similar to the Pirate Ship at the PNE, but this was a giant skateboard that went back and forth on a giant ramp. The seats were all boxes, that spin when the ride goes up or down. Kim is ban for life even though she's never been on it.
We spent about 4 hours shopping, a record for both of us, before our feet started to scream and exhaustion hit.
To take a break we found a really nice restaurant on the upper levels of the mall called the Napa Valley Grill. Very posh atmosphere and upper-class style. The service was excellent, very quick. Food was phenomenal. We both ordered the grilled atlantic salmon with roasted fingerling potatoes in a white wine reduction. When the waitress asked how we wanted our salmon cooked, we were quite taken a-back. Never been asked this before, as normally you cook fish until it was cooked right through. We both asked for Medium, and the fish just melted in your mouth. Mauvereen got herself a white wine spritzer, which was extremely flavourful and sweet. Kim ordered herself a Strawberry Rhubarb pie with Rum Caramel and Whip Cream for dessert. Very rich flavour, but quite delicious. Makes you want to go back again and again.
After lunch we came back for a nap through the afternoon, before Kim headed back to the mall to pick up some food for dinner and last minute goodies.Walking back to the hotel was a bit of a chore. You're already tired, and it's a balmy 90 degrees outside, and Kim was wearing jeans...not a great idea.
So far we've found the people here in Minnesota very pleasant and helpful. We had help from a young lady in Columbia who was very knowledgeable of the product, plus very excited to be helping out. She was telling us all about why the 3-in-1 jackets are one of the greatest products that Columbia makes especially for those cold Minnesota winters. Another girl that was amazing was a young lady working at the Disney Store. She was all by herself helping out a long line of people. While working on each transaction, she was extremely chipper telling the customer about the re-usable bags you could purchase for $2.50 or that you could pre-order the Lion King on DVD for only $24.99. While the customer was getting out their wallet she would acknowledge the rest of the line saying "I'll be with you in just one moment", or she would turn around really quick and answer the phone with a "Thank you for calling the Disney Store, hope you're having a magical day, how can I help you?". Wonderful to see such enthusiasm.
Now we're enjoying a relaxing evening in the hotel room, checking e-mail, watching some TV and checking out our goodies.
Tomorrow is back on the road for a "short" 5 hour jaunt to Madison, Wisconsin, then setting up the tent at the KOA.
Shall update again tomorrow!
So today was the big shopping day! We got up after having a great sleep and a decent sleep in, headed down for a good breakfast in the hotel dining hall. This was the best one yet, with hot waffles, omelets, hash-browns plus a passel of fruit, yogurt and cereals to choose from. Very delicious. Once finished, we grabbed our effects and then walked over to the biggest mall in North America.
It's a little overwhelming when you first experience it. With 552 stores, plus a 7 acre amusement park right in the middle.
We wandered the mall, hitting up some stores we recognized plus some we didn't know. Both of us had a successful day, getting some new clothes and trinkets. Kim went a little overboard, as she likes to do on holidays, coming back with quite a handful of treasures.
While venturing between stores and walking the long shop lined hallways, we decided to take a short cut through Nickelodeon Universe and see what it was all about. The rides were insane! One roller coaster we stood and watched, had a vertical incline that almost touched the roof of the mall, before roaring down a massive hill into a long line of loop-de-loops.
Another we saw is very similar to the Pirate Ship at the PNE, but this was a giant skateboard that went back and forth on a giant ramp. The seats were all boxes, that spin when the ride goes up or down. Kim is ban for life even though she's never been on it.
We spent about 4 hours shopping, a record for both of us, before our feet started to scream and exhaustion hit.
To take a break we found a really nice restaurant on the upper levels of the mall called the Napa Valley Grill. Very posh atmosphere and upper-class style. The service was excellent, very quick. Food was phenomenal. We both ordered the grilled atlantic salmon with roasted fingerling potatoes in a white wine reduction. When the waitress asked how we wanted our salmon cooked, we were quite taken a-back. Never been asked this before, as normally you cook fish until it was cooked right through. We both asked for Medium, and the fish just melted in your mouth. Mauvereen got herself a white wine spritzer, which was extremely flavourful and sweet. Kim ordered herself a Strawberry Rhubarb pie with Rum Caramel and Whip Cream for dessert. Very rich flavour, but quite delicious. Makes you want to go back again and again.
After lunch we came back for a nap through the afternoon, before Kim headed back to the mall to pick up some food for dinner and last minute goodies.Walking back to the hotel was a bit of a chore. You're already tired, and it's a balmy 90 degrees outside, and Kim was wearing jeans...not a great idea.
So far we've found the people here in Minnesota very pleasant and helpful. We had help from a young lady in Columbia who was very knowledgeable of the product, plus very excited to be helping out. She was telling us all about why the 3-in-1 jackets are one of the greatest products that Columbia makes especially for those cold Minnesota winters. Another girl that was amazing was a young lady working at the Disney Store. She was all by herself helping out a long line of people. While working on each transaction, she was extremely chipper telling the customer about the re-usable bags you could purchase for $2.50 or that you could pre-order the Lion King on DVD for only $24.99. While the customer was getting out their wallet she would acknowledge the rest of the line saying "I'll be with you in just one moment", or she would turn around really quick and answer the phone with a "Thank you for calling the Disney Store, hope you're having a magical day, how can I help you?". Wonderful to see such enthusiasm.
Now we're enjoying a relaxing evening in the hotel room, checking e-mail, watching some TV and checking out our goodies.
Tomorrow is back on the road for a "short" 5 hour jaunt to Madison, Wisconsin, then setting up the tent at the KOA.
Shall update again tomorrow!
Aug 22 Sauk Centre to Bloomington, MN
Sauk Centre is famous for a few things, but the most notable is Sinclair Lewis. He was born in Sauk Centre in 1885 and is the first American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature. He was born to a family doctor and he worked writing books from 1912 to his death in 1951. Many of his books were adapted into movies such as Main Street and Elmer Gantry.
By the way, State Troopers drive the black Shelby Mustang "Barricade" from the Transformers movie. It's slogan was "To Punish and Enslave". Thank goodness it's not really their motto.
This morning we met Lou and Lori Plant. They are cousins from the McDonough/Buckley side, heavy on the Buckley side. They live in the Daniel Buckley homestead and the house was classified as a Century House for being over 100 years old. Lou is the son of Agnes Buckley Plant, who was Daniel Buckley's daughter. Lou and Lori were kind enough to let us go through the house and take pictures. We will definitely be keeping in touch. They are warm and friendly people. They took us to the Palmer Hotel in Sauk Centre for lunch. The hotel is documented as haunted. Over the years hotel guests and staff have heard a little boy bouncing his ball and giggling at the top of the stairs. The other ghost is a hostess haunting the dining hall. The hotel still uses the original front desk and keys are in small cubbies. No electronic cards here.
A little about Lou's mother Agnes. She was a school teacher, superintendent of schools, owner of two beauty parlors, a poet, a journalist, and was instrumental in helping to set up the Sinclair Lewis museum.
Lou and Lori then drove us to the Calvary cemetery where most of the Buckley, Plant, and Johnson family are buried. We had to take a pass on the Oakland Cemetery where Michael and Rachael (Buckley) McDonough are buried. The cemetery has gone through tough times and the State no longer buries anyone there. There is a movement to get funding to clean the cemetery up. There was a huge storm that came through and knocked down several large trees and monuments. The clean up crew managed to not only clear up the trees but pick up markers and put them in the far corner of the cemetery with the debris. Apparently some markers were so old you can no longer read the inscription. Several people have gone out to this cemetery on my behalf but no luck finding Michael and Rachael. All the obituaries state that they are there.
Next we went to meet Marilyn at the Sauk Centre Historical Society. It is on the main street and in the basement of the library. Marilyn is not very tall and very bubbly. She had found and copied over 200 documents for me. A large part came from Lou Plant's attic. I'm sure there will be duplicates of what I have but these look to be far better copies.
We then drove to St. Cloud to the Stearns Historical Society and Museum to meet with John. First of all we were amazed at how large St.Cloud really is. We were expecting a small town and the usual for the historial society to be tucked away in the basement of a library, such as the Sauk Centre Historical Society. St Cloud is a city to be reckoned with but it must be 10,000 plus, and it's Best Buy tag sign is backwards. Kim was highly entertained about this and could hardly wait to let her coworkers know. Pictures may go on You Tube. John has asked that I contact Todd County as well with my information as this is were Michael McDonough spent part of his life and died there. The museum is huge and well laid out. This was another surprise to find a place so large housing so much of the history of Minnesota.
Now we were off to Bloomington to Mall of America!!!! and to meet the Brant Family. We passed a sign that said "We Do Cows.com". It was a veterinarian. We managed to make it to our hotel in Bloomington around 4:30 pm in the afternoon and contacted the Brant family. Ron Brant is the grandson of Elizabeth Buckley. So we now had the oldest Buckley's family through Daniel, a middle sister, Elizabeth for the Brant family, and the youngest sister, Rachael, for the McDonough family. We are all related as cousins. We met at the Mall of America for dinner. That is one large mall. Over 552 stores and a complete Playland in the very middle no to mention LegoLand. Apparently there is an aquarium on one of the floors too. We met Ron and two of his four sons. Dan Brant, who I have been corresponding with, and his older brother, Dave. Tom and Tim couldn't make it as well as their aunt, Ron's sister, who is 87. Dan had more documents for me from his side of the family. It's a good thing I brought folders of information for everyone I was to see on this trip.
A mention about the hotel room. We were quite knocked over when we opened the door and expected a regular room. It has a small front room and a King size bed. We have had moderate rooms a long the way, and this was a splurge, but I wasn't expecting this. And we are right across the street from the Mall of America!!!! Kim is excited.
Getting ready to go shopping and will update you at the end of the day.
By the way, State Troopers drive the black Shelby Mustang "Barricade" from the Transformers movie. It's slogan was "To Punish and Enslave". Thank goodness it's not really their motto.
This morning we met Lou and Lori Plant. They are cousins from the McDonough/Buckley side, heavy on the Buckley side. They live in the Daniel Buckley homestead and the house was classified as a Century House for being over 100 years old. Lou is the son of Agnes Buckley Plant, who was Daniel Buckley's daughter. Lou and Lori were kind enough to let us go through the house and take pictures. We will definitely be keeping in touch. They are warm and friendly people. They took us to the Palmer Hotel in Sauk Centre for lunch. The hotel is documented as haunted. Over the years hotel guests and staff have heard a little boy bouncing his ball and giggling at the top of the stairs. The other ghost is a hostess haunting the dining hall. The hotel still uses the original front desk and keys are in small cubbies. No electronic cards here.
A little about Lou's mother Agnes. She was a school teacher, superintendent of schools, owner of two beauty parlors, a poet, a journalist, and was instrumental in helping to set up the Sinclair Lewis museum.
Lou and Lori then drove us to the Calvary cemetery where most of the Buckley, Plant, and Johnson family are buried. We had to take a pass on the Oakland Cemetery where Michael and Rachael (Buckley) McDonough are buried. The cemetery has gone through tough times and the State no longer buries anyone there. There is a movement to get funding to clean the cemetery up. There was a huge storm that came through and knocked down several large trees and monuments. The clean up crew managed to not only clear up the trees but pick up markers and put them in the far corner of the cemetery with the debris. Apparently some markers were so old you can no longer read the inscription. Several people have gone out to this cemetery on my behalf but no luck finding Michael and Rachael. All the obituaries state that they are there.
Next we went to meet Marilyn at the Sauk Centre Historical Society. It is on the main street and in the basement of the library. Marilyn is not very tall and very bubbly. She had found and copied over 200 documents for me. A large part came from Lou Plant's attic. I'm sure there will be duplicates of what I have but these look to be far better copies.
We then drove to St. Cloud to the Stearns Historical Society and Museum to meet with John. First of all we were amazed at how large St.Cloud really is. We were expecting a small town and the usual for the historial society to be tucked away in the basement of a library, such as the Sauk Centre Historical Society. St Cloud is a city to be reckoned with but it must be 10,000 plus, and it's Best Buy tag sign is backwards. Kim was highly entertained about this and could hardly wait to let her coworkers know. Pictures may go on You Tube. John has asked that I contact Todd County as well with my information as this is were Michael McDonough spent part of his life and died there. The museum is huge and well laid out. This was another surprise to find a place so large housing so much of the history of Minnesota.
Now we were off to Bloomington to Mall of America!!!! and to meet the Brant Family. We passed a sign that said "We Do Cows.com". It was a veterinarian. We managed to make it to our hotel in Bloomington around 4:30 pm in the afternoon and contacted the Brant family. Ron Brant is the grandson of Elizabeth Buckley. So we now had the oldest Buckley's family through Daniel, a middle sister, Elizabeth for the Brant family, and the youngest sister, Rachael, for the McDonough family. We are all related as cousins. We met at the Mall of America for dinner. That is one large mall. Over 552 stores and a complete Playland in the very middle no to mention LegoLand. Apparently there is an aquarium on one of the floors too. We met Ron and two of his four sons. Dan Brant, who I have been corresponding with, and his older brother, Dave. Tom and Tim couldn't make it as well as their aunt, Ron's sister, who is 87. Dan had more documents for me from his side of the family. It's a good thing I brought folders of information for everyone I was to see on this trip.
A mention about the hotel room. We were quite knocked over when we opened the door and expected a regular room. It has a small front room and a King size bed. We have had moderate rooms a long the way, and this was a splurge, but I wasn't expecting this. And we are right across the street from the Mall of America!!!! Kim is excited.
Getting ready to go shopping and will update you at the end of the day.
Monday, August 22, 2011
From Fargo to Sauk Centre
August 21st, 2011
After a bright and early start we headed towards Duluth to do our first bit of geneaology. We were expecting to hit the I-94 and go flying straight into Duluth proper, but our GPS had other plans. We ended up on highway 200 for most of the trip, travelling through the back woods, small towns, and seeing incredible scenery. Minnesota is known for it's 10,000 lakes, they weren't kidding when they said 10,000. We spotted lakes about every 10 feet along the road. Just beautiful!
So far, the drive has reminded us a lot of B.C., especially the drive up to Manning Park. It is very similar with the trees on both sides of the road, small clearings with ponds and wildlife.
Speaking of wildlife, we were sad to see a lot of raccoons and porcupines hit on the side of the road, but were completely ecstatic to see our first living porcupine! He had waddled into the middle of the highway, stood on his back two legs and looked around trying to figure out what to do as cars were heading towards him in both directions. All the vehicles slowed to a crawl and drove around him, or in our case pretty much came to a dead stop, until he decided to turn around and go back into the bush the way he came. So cool! neither of us have ever seen a porcupine until now.
As we were heading out of small town district and closer to our destination of Calvary Cemetery, we got quite the show from a very large Bald Eagle, perched at the side of the road. She flew out of the tree she was crouched in, Dove across the road to catch something, and then went swooping back above us to her perch in the tree. Incredible to see.
While passing through the Village of Remer, we got to see the world's largest bald eagle. completely carved out of wood, about 15 feet tall? point being, it was huge.
We also got to see one of the world's largest catfish displayed at one of the rest stops. Also made of wood, about 10 feet long or so.
We made it to Calvary Cemetery where we easily found the grave markers for the McNelis family and the Willesen family. Took lots of pictures. You could tell that when the markers were purchased, the families had money. Both families had multiple plot sites marked with a large marble headstone with the family name carved in. The cemetery was a beautiful site. very well maintained, fresh flowers on a lot of the markers, in a very quiet neighbourhood with not much around. The McNelis family would be Mauvereen's Great Grandparents with a Great Uncle William and Great Aunt Norene. The Willesen markers had Great Aunt Helen McNelis Willesen. It's amazing to think that you are standing at their last resting places.
After visiting the cemetery, we headed back up the road for lunch. Stopped at the Sunset Bar & Grill. Fabulous food! The back of the restaurant was a massive park filled with softball fields. Well maintained, they must hold a lot of tournaments here. Kim was very tempted to go and play some ball.
After lunch, we hightailed it to the I-35 and headed straight for Sauk Centre. Lucky for us there was a LOT of road work going on, so we were stuck in a 1/2 hour back up between Duluth and Hinckley. We made the best of it, turned up the radio, sang and danced along, as the car moved about 1 MPH.
When we finally escaped the traffic, we quickly made it to the turn off to head toward St.Cloud and Sauk Centre. Another beautiful, scenic route.
Once we hit St.Cloud we were shocked to find out what a huge city it is! We were expecting small town, population approx. 1000, but what we got was Big City, population 10,000+. very beautiful. We will be heading back there tomorrow to go and visit, before we head for Bloomington.
Finally arrived in Sauk Centre at the Guesthouse Inn. very quaint hotel, nice quiet area. Fabulous beds. let me say that again, FABULOUS BEDS. so comfy, and the comforters are amazing, kinda want to take one home. Only problem is they are pure white, and I'm sure Jessie would LOVE to turn them black,
Before hitting the sack, we went down to the hotel restaurant, JT's pub and grill to grab a small bite to eat. Ordered stuffed potatoes. We were expecting potato skins, but what we got was the equivalent to Jalapeno poppers. Potato filled with cheese and Jalapeno's deep fried. Pretty tasty. We then headed back up and got some sleep.
Tomorrow is a big day, meeting family and more travelling. Will keep you all posted!
After a bright and early start we headed towards Duluth to do our first bit of geneaology. We were expecting to hit the I-94 and go flying straight into Duluth proper, but our GPS had other plans. We ended up on highway 200 for most of the trip, travelling through the back woods, small towns, and seeing incredible scenery. Minnesota is known for it's 10,000 lakes, they weren't kidding when they said 10,000. We spotted lakes about every 10 feet along the road. Just beautiful!
So far, the drive has reminded us a lot of B.C., especially the drive up to Manning Park. It is very similar with the trees on both sides of the road, small clearings with ponds and wildlife.
Speaking of wildlife, we were sad to see a lot of raccoons and porcupines hit on the side of the road, but were completely ecstatic to see our first living porcupine! He had waddled into the middle of the highway, stood on his back two legs and looked around trying to figure out what to do as cars were heading towards him in both directions. All the vehicles slowed to a crawl and drove around him, or in our case pretty much came to a dead stop, until he decided to turn around and go back into the bush the way he came. So cool! neither of us have ever seen a porcupine until now.
As we were heading out of small town district and closer to our destination of Calvary Cemetery, we got quite the show from a very large Bald Eagle, perched at the side of the road. She flew out of the tree she was crouched in, Dove across the road to catch something, and then went swooping back above us to her perch in the tree. Incredible to see.
While passing through the Village of Remer, we got to see the world's largest bald eagle. completely carved out of wood, about 15 feet tall? point being, it was huge.
We also got to see one of the world's largest catfish displayed at one of the rest stops. Also made of wood, about 10 feet long or so.
We made it to Calvary Cemetery where we easily found the grave markers for the McNelis family and the Willesen family. Took lots of pictures. You could tell that when the markers were purchased, the families had money. Both families had multiple plot sites marked with a large marble headstone with the family name carved in. The cemetery was a beautiful site. very well maintained, fresh flowers on a lot of the markers, in a very quiet neighbourhood with not much around. The McNelis family would be Mauvereen's Great Grandparents with a Great Uncle William and Great Aunt Norene. The Willesen markers had Great Aunt Helen McNelis Willesen. It's amazing to think that you are standing at their last resting places.
After visiting the cemetery, we headed back up the road for lunch. Stopped at the Sunset Bar & Grill. Fabulous food! The back of the restaurant was a massive park filled with softball fields. Well maintained, they must hold a lot of tournaments here. Kim was very tempted to go and play some ball.
After lunch, we hightailed it to the I-35 and headed straight for Sauk Centre. Lucky for us there was a LOT of road work going on, so we were stuck in a 1/2 hour back up between Duluth and Hinckley. We made the best of it, turned up the radio, sang and danced along, as the car moved about 1 MPH.
When we finally escaped the traffic, we quickly made it to the turn off to head toward St.Cloud and Sauk Centre. Another beautiful, scenic route.
Once we hit St.Cloud we were shocked to find out what a huge city it is! We were expecting small town, population approx. 1000, but what we got was Big City, population 10,000+. very beautiful. We will be heading back there tomorrow to go and visit, before we head for Bloomington.
Finally arrived in Sauk Centre at the Guesthouse Inn. very quaint hotel, nice quiet area. Fabulous beds. let me say that again, FABULOUS BEDS. so comfy, and the comforters are amazing, kinda want to take one home. Only problem is they are pure white, and I'm sure Jessie would LOVE to turn them black,
Before hitting the sack, we went down to the hotel restaurant, JT's pub and grill to grab a small bite to eat. Ordered stuffed potatoes. We were expecting potato skins, but what we got was the equivalent to Jalapeno poppers. Potato filled with cheese and Jalapeno's deep fried. Pretty tasty. We then headed back up and got some sleep.
Tomorrow is a big day, meeting family and more travelling. Will keep you all posted!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
From Billings to Fargo Aug 19-20
Leaving Billings, Montana we travelled past many yellow fields and craggy rock formations. The best was passing by fields of Deer. Unfortunately this was also the most common road kill. The sky was brilliant blue and most of the country is an ocre yellow to pale yellow.
We passed by Custer and Custer's Last Stand battlefield and the next area was Bighorn. A large sign showed that yes Sakegewea is remembered. We also flew past the small town of Forsyth with an elevation of 2525 ft. There is much ado about the Lewis & Clark Trail. One hotel sign said that Lewis and Clark slept there 167 times.
We eventually came upon Rosebud, Montana. Lovely place for sledding.
One of the many rest stops (this one on Bad Route Road) had large boards talking about Clinkers. These are red topped mountains (hills if you ask me) that have an incredible function. The red portion of the mountain is porous, so that when it rains the material absorbs the rain rather than have it run off making a natural irrigation system. The bottom portion of the mountain is a dark colour and it's core is coal. The coal inside heats up causing fire and the clinkers put the fires out.
All along our route right through into North Dakota there are small sunflowers growing on either side of the highway. You can find them in large clumps near water sources as well.
We got to met the nicest of men on our trip. We were nearest the first exit of Glendive, Montana when Patrol Office M. L. Briggs pulled us over. Kim got a $20.00 speeding ticket but he dropped the speed down so that she got the lowest fine. He left us with "Kim, watch your speed". We are still looking for an envelope and stamp to pay the fine before August 29.
A couple of the interesting places along the way were "Home on the Range" and "Camel Hump Lake". New Salem in North Dakota is famous for the world's largest Holstein Cow. Montana had what looks to be Jesus on top of the mountain. Just like South America. In Montana each town had the first letter of the town embedded in one of the hills. You could see these letters for miles. Now that we reached North Dakota, they have the world's largest buffalo. We got to see a field full of the living kind.
We saw our first water fowl in two states when we moved into North Dakota. White Cranes, Cormorants, and ducks in and around the exit for "Gackle". There is a large lake that had trees that looked like they had long since been dead, but made a beautiful sight with their branches rising above the water.
We are now headed for Duluth, St. Cloud and then onto Sauk Centre, Minnesota. I think the hardest part of this is the time changes, and when you are tired, everything is funny. It's time to hit the road.
We passed by Custer and Custer's Last Stand battlefield and the next area was Bighorn. A large sign showed that yes Sakegewea is remembered. We also flew past the small town of Forsyth with an elevation of 2525 ft. There is much ado about the Lewis & Clark Trail. One hotel sign said that Lewis and Clark slept there 167 times.
We eventually came upon Rosebud, Montana. Lovely place for sledding.
One of the many rest stops (this one on Bad Route Road) had large boards talking about Clinkers. These are red topped mountains (hills if you ask me) that have an incredible function. The red portion of the mountain is porous, so that when it rains the material absorbs the rain rather than have it run off making a natural irrigation system. The bottom portion of the mountain is a dark colour and it's core is coal. The coal inside heats up causing fire and the clinkers put the fires out.
All along our route right through into North Dakota there are small sunflowers growing on either side of the highway. You can find them in large clumps near water sources as well.
We got to met the nicest of men on our trip. We were nearest the first exit of Glendive, Montana when Patrol Office M. L. Briggs pulled us over. Kim got a $20.00 speeding ticket but he dropped the speed down so that she got the lowest fine. He left us with "Kim, watch your speed". We are still looking for an envelope and stamp to pay the fine before August 29.
A couple of the interesting places along the way were "Home on the Range" and "Camel Hump Lake". New Salem in North Dakota is famous for the world's largest Holstein Cow. Montana had what looks to be Jesus on top of the mountain. Just like South America. In Montana each town had the first letter of the town embedded in one of the hills. You could see these letters for miles. Now that we reached North Dakota, they have the world's largest buffalo. We got to see a field full of the living kind.
We saw our first water fowl in two states when we moved into North Dakota. White Cranes, Cormorants, and ducks in and around the exit for "Gackle". There is a large lake that had trees that looked like they had long since been dead, but made a beautiful sight with their branches rising above the water.
We are now headed for Duluth, St. Cloud and then onto Sauk Centre, Minnesota. I think the hardest part of this is the time changes, and when you are tired, everything is funny. It's time to hit the road.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
The Fallen Soldier Project
One of the great things that they have here in Montana, possibly other states, is the Fallen Soldier Project.
We found this at the Cracker Barrel General Store and Restaurant. Here they sell products such as T-Shirts, Hats and even Rocking Chairs, where a portion of the sale goes to helping wounded soldiers get back on their feet.
Also, while visiting Walmart in Butte, Montana, they have a wall dedicated to both fallen and serving soldiers that lived in this town. Photos were posted all over the wall, and the soldiers were from all different wars.
It's really nice to see such patriotism.
We found this at the Cracker Barrel General Store and Restaurant. Here they sell products such as T-Shirts, Hats and even Rocking Chairs, where a portion of the sale goes to helping wounded soldiers get back on their feet.
Also, while visiting Walmart in Butte, Montana, they have a wall dedicated to both fallen and serving soldiers that lived in this town. Photos were posted all over the wall, and the soldiers were from all different wars.
It's really nice to see such patriotism.
Friday, August 19, 2011
From Spokane to Billings Montana
August 19th, 2011
We had a bright and early start at the campground. We were up, out of bed by 5:30am, and on the road by 7:00. We headed through Spokane crossing the state line into Idaho around 8:00.
We stopped for gas in Post Falls. Extremely friendly people here.
We spent the day doing driving, more driving and even more driving. Passing some interesting places along the way: Idaho Panhandle National Forest, 4th of July Pass etc. (don't know where they come up with these names)
Driving through Idaho was quick and somewhat painless, hit a lot of construction spots, but other than that the drive was beautiful and enjoyable.
For anyone who has never been to Idaho, we were in the Northern part and it looks very similar to B.C. Lots of lush forests, vast lakes and greenery. Once we hit Montana, the scenery changed drastically!
Small brush everywhere, yellow grasses, and major rock out croppings. One of the neatest things we saw along the way was the Crazy Mountains. The mountain range is actually called Crazy Mountains...in case you were wondering. They are completely flat, no tops. They look as if someone came a long and chopped off the tops.
Finally reaching Billings, we started our search for a hotel. We tried 5 different hotels, none of which had rooms available. We finally got lucky and ended up at the Howard Johnson. While here, we made sure to book a hotel room for our next destination in Fargo, North Dakota.
For dinner we walked down the street to the Cracker Barrel General Store and Restaurant. The food was amazing, All homestyle country cooking. Most expensive meal was $10. The general store has amazing merchandise and old style candies / pop. The service was wonderful, and the atmosphere was very friendly. Out front they have a row of rocking chairs for sale, which they encourage you take a seat in and stay to play a game of checkers. We would highly recommend this place to any one planning on visiting Billings Montana, If you won't be making it to Billings any time soon, the Cracker Barrel has a few other locations and a website where you can order their food and merchandise.
Now we are back and settled in our hotel room, finally showered, feeling a little more human and ready for a good night sleep!
We're really enjoying ourselves and had some great laughs along the way!
Will update again tomorrow!
We had a bright and early start at the campground. We were up, out of bed by 5:30am, and on the road by 7:00. We headed through Spokane crossing the state line into Idaho around 8:00.
We stopped for gas in Post Falls. Extremely friendly people here.
We spent the day doing driving, more driving and even more driving. Passing some interesting places along the way: Idaho Panhandle National Forest, 4th of July Pass etc. (don't know where they come up with these names)
Driving through Idaho was quick and somewhat painless, hit a lot of construction spots, but other than that the drive was beautiful and enjoyable.
For anyone who has never been to Idaho, we were in the Northern part and it looks very similar to B.C. Lots of lush forests, vast lakes and greenery. Once we hit Montana, the scenery changed drastically!
Small brush everywhere, yellow grasses, and major rock out croppings. One of the neatest things we saw along the way was the Crazy Mountains. The mountain range is actually called Crazy Mountains...in case you were wondering. They are completely flat, no tops. They look as if someone came a long and chopped off the tops.
Finally reaching Billings, we started our search for a hotel. We tried 5 different hotels, none of which had rooms available. We finally got lucky and ended up at the Howard Johnson. While here, we made sure to book a hotel room for our next destination in Fargo, North Dakota.
For dinner we walked down the street to the Cracker Barrel General Store and Restaurant. The food was amazing, All homestyle country cooking. Most expensive meal was $10. The general store has amazing merchandise and old style candies / pop. The service was wonderful, and the atmosphere was very friendly. Out front they have a row of rocking chairs for sale, which they encourage you take a seat in and stay to play a game of checkers. We would highly recommend this place to any one planning on visiting Billings Montana, If you won't be making it to Billings any time soon, the Cracker Barrel has a few other locations and a website where you can order their food and merchandise.
Now we are back and settled in our hotel room, finally showered, feeling a little more human and ready for a good night sleep!
We're really enjoying ourselves and had some great laughs along the way!
Will update again tomorrow!
From Vancouver to Spokane
Aug 18th, 2011
We left on our journey at 7:30am, and passed through the "forbidden gates" of the US border patrol by 8:45, officially running late. We started off on Highway 2 (The scenic route) through Leavenworth. We were too far gone and chose to ignore the signs that said HWY 2 closed at Mile Point 84. We charged on, coming upon a detour, which took us up through Steven's Pass to Chumstick Hwy. An almost vertical climb up the mountain, then straight back down into the valley. Once in Leavenworth, we stopped at this quaint little restaurant known as Subway, devoured our sandwiches and then jumped back in the car to continue our epic quest.
We left Leavenworth, turned on HWY 97 past Old Blewett road (ya...you read it right...Blew It..haha), we went down past Blewett Pass with an elevation of 4102, no measurement though...for all we know it was an ant hill.
We passed by Indian John hill at 2:34PM. We figured that most of the side streets were named after people who live in the area, or did live in the area excluding those saying D42F street etc.
So while filling up on gas in Cle Eleum, Kim made a new friend out of a Llama in the neighbouring field. BACK ON THE ROAD!
We finally made our way back to I-90, managing to hit almost every rest stop on the way due to the temperature hitting 31 degrees C, between the two of us finishing about 4 bottles of water each.
One of the amazing sites of the trip so far was in Kittitas. Here is the Kittitas Solar and Wind Energy Farm. The giant windmills spanned for miles along the horizon. Quite spectacular. This was a first for both of us, as neither of us had ever seen a wind farm before.
About 120 miles outside of Spokane, we noticed that the farms along the way were labeling their crops with signs on the fences facing the free way. I take it they get many questions from passer's by.
We finally reached Spokane, hit extreme traffic due to construction, now feeling frustrated and tired, we decided to turn on our beloved GPS "GLadOS" (kim lovingly named it after a diabolical robot from a video game). We were thinking..."Oh this will help us get to the closest campground, so we can set up and get some rest. but NOOOOOOO. Of course, it makes us do a U-Turn, drive 10KM back down the I-90 to a small campground/RV park at a truck stop in Medical Lake, directly under a flight path.
We pull up to the campground known as Overland Station RV Park. For a whopping $16 we pitched our tent and made ourselves comfortable.
We grabbed some dinner, and are now comfortably settled into our sleeping bags, in our cozy 6 man tent, ready for a good sleep before hitting the road bright and early tomorrow morning.
Our goal for tomorrow:
- pay attention to signs that say "Road Closed"
- use the GPS before you get to the middle of town
- get to Billings, Montana in better time!
So far this day has been excellent, having lots of fun!
keep checking in!
We left on our journey at 7:30am, and passed through the "forbidden gates" of the US border patrol by 8:45, officially running late. We started off on Highway 2 (The scenic route) through Leavenworth. We were too far gone and chose to ignore the signs that said HWY 2 closed at Mile Point 84. We charged on, coming upon a detour, which took us up through Steven's Pass to Chumstick Hwy. An almost vertical climb up the mountain, then straight back down into the valley. Once in Leavenworth, we stopped at this quaint little restaurant known as Subway, devoured our sandwiches and then jumped back in the car to continue our epic quest.
We left Leavenworth, turned on HWY 97 past Old Blewett road (ya...you read it right...Blew It..haha), we went down past Blewett Pass with an elevation of 4102, no measurement though...for all we know it was an ant hill.
We passed by Indian John hill at 2:34PM. We figured that most of the side streets were named after people who live in the area, or did live in the area excluding those saying D42F street etc.
So while filling up on gas in Cle Eleum, Kim made a new friend out of a Llama in the neighbouring field. BACK ON THE ROAD!
We finally made our way back to I-90, managing to hit almost every rest stop on the way due to the temperature hitting 31 degrees C, between the two of us finishing about 4 bottles of water each.
One of the amazing sites of the trip so far was in Kittitas. Here is the Kittitas Solar and Wind Energy Farm. The giant windmills spanned for miles along the horizon. Quite spectacular. This was a first for both of us, as neither of us had ever seen a wind farm before.
About 120 miles outside of Spokane, we noticed that the farms along the way were labeling their crops with signs on the fences facing the free way. I take it they get many questions from passer's by.
We finally reached Spokane, hit extreme traffic due to construction, now feeling frustrated and tired, we decided to turn on our beloved GPS "GLadOS" (kim lovingly named it after a diabolical robot from a video game). We were thinking..."Oh this will help us get to the closest campground, so we can set up and get some rest. but NOOOOOOO. Of course, it makes us do a U-Turn, drive 10KM back down the I-90 to a small campground/RV park at a truck stop in Medical Lake, directly under a flight path.
We pull up to the campground known as Overland Station RV Park. For a whopping $16 we pitched our tent and made ourselves comfortable.
We grabbed some dinner, and are now comfortably settled into our sleeping bags, in our cozy 6 man tent, ready for a good sleep before hitting the road bright and early tomorrow morning.
Our goal for tomorrow:
- pay attention to signs that say "Road Closed"
- use the GPS before you get to the middle of town
- get to Billings, Montana in better time!
So far this day has been excellent, having lots of fun!
keep checking in!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Greetings and Salutations!
Welcome to our travel blog!
For the next few weeks we will post pictures, stories and information tidbits that we learn while on our trip.
We will be travelling from Vancouver to Minnesota then on to Indiana in the course of the next 2 1/2 weeks, should be a lot of fun!
so keep watching for updates!
Happy Trails!
For the next few weeks we will post pictures, stories and information tidbits that we learn while on our trip.
We will be travelling from Vancouver to Minnesota then on to Indiana in the course of the next 2 1/2 weeks, should be a lot of fun!
so keep watching for updates!
Happy Trails!
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