May 26. 2011

Had a really nice evening with Liz (my cousin) and her husband Russ in a campground outside of Madison, WI.  Sat around swapping stories of our various adventures.  Ate shrimp pasta with pesto (thanks Vince!) with salad. It was cold, windy and rainy.  A really nasty evening.  Switched to blue jeans and socks, sweat shirt and long sleeved shirt. Guess that’s it for the sandals and shorts.

Minnesota Scene

Minnesota Scene

Woke up at 5am again and were off and running around  6:30 am.  Somehow we’ve gotten into the habit of getting up around 5.  Don’t know why when we can sleep as long as we want.  Overcast skies turned into sunshine as we drove across Wisconsin and into Minnesota.  It was a smooth ride through farm country with yet unplanted fields, lakes and trees beginning to fill out.  We camped on a lake just off of I-94 in Ashley, MN.  You can’t really find it on a map.  We found the campground in our campground book. There is no one here but us and the owners of the campground.  It’s wonderfully peaceful with lots of birds: great egrets, warblers, robins,  cormorants.  Got some shots of a yellow warbler and a chipping sparrow.  At least we think that’s what they are.  I know my birding friends will correct me if I am wrong.

Yellow Warbler

Chipping Sparrow

Right before sunset four deer grazed in the fields below our site.  Was great just watching them.

Sunrise at our campsite in Ashley, Minn

We overlook a lake and recently plowed fields. I was told that this year they will plant soybeans.  Last year it was corn and the year before sunflowers.  Now that would definitely be a sight to see – a field of sunflowers.  Temperature is around 60 and really comfortable.

Tomorrow we are off to Garrison, ND for 3 days.  Really looking forward to just settling in for a couple of days.  Went 433 miles today.

Tomorrow I will have a geography lesson for you all so get your atlases out or Google earth ready.

May 25, 2011

My son David scolded me for not putting any entries on my blog since we left. He said that’s what you’re supposed to do with a blog. What do I know! I figured I’d wait until I had something brilliant to say and some artistic photos. “NO!” he said. “Everyone wants to follow you on a regular basis. “

So, here goes the minutia of our lives!

On Sunday, the 22^nd with son, daughter-in-law, grandkids, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, we had a brunch of lox & bagels, breakfast casserole, fruit salad and coffee cake. We went over all the lists for each of them, answered all questions and took suggestions for things we may have forgotten. After final hugs, they were gone and I completed my 4^th and final load of laundry.

With everything packed and the motorhome gassed up, we set off the next morning  at 8:30 am. The first day we covered 366 miles through North Carolina, Virginia and camped in Milton, WV. It was a rough ride across the Appalachians through winding, steep mountains, bumpy roadways and lots of wind. But the motorhome did great.

After a night of incredible lightning and thunder storms, we awakened at 5 am to a cloudy misty morning. The drive across the rest of WVa, Kentucky and Indiana into Illinois was wonderfully smooth and uneventful.  We travelled 463 miles  across flatlands  through Lexington, KY and Indianapolis, Ind.  Temperatures rose into the 80’s. For $25 for the night, we camped at a lovely site in Mohamat,  Illinois  just west of Urbana surrounded by several lakes. What a peaceful and beautiful place. Spring is just beginning here and the robins, red winged black birds, ducks and Canada geese were everywhere. Even saw a great blue heron that frequents one of the ponds.

The rain caught up with us on the way out of the campground and has been with us ever since. Though we drove only 244 miles, they were the worst yet with heavy winds tossing our rig all over the road. News of tornadoes all over the country kept us on constant alert though we were pretty much north of where everything was happening. It was a nerve wracking, bumpy and arduous trip through the flats of Illinois into Wisconsin. After a stop at a Wal Mart, we now sit in a campground just outside of Madison, Wisconsin waiting to hear from my cousin and her husband.  It’s 51 and still raining.

So far, we find we have planned well. We really haven’t had to change anything around yet. We set our route the night before. At lunch time we determine where we plan to stop and I figure out the location of a campground, call them and set the reservation. Michael drives (so far) and I navigate, figure out campground stops, take care of the meals and clean-up. He does whatever has to be done with the vehicles to keep us moving and settled in. Our plan is to go about 400 miles a day until we get into North Dakota. Then we plan to slow down, stop a few days along the Missouri River in Riverdale, ND and take a breather. Then it’s on to Canada and the Alaska Highway.

The highest gas price we paid was $3.89 and the lowest was $3.75.

My picture taking (and that’s what it is) has been more documentary than artistic—bridges, grain elevators, wind mills, the golden dome of the capital building in Charleston, WV, and the Louisville, KY skyline. All of these were taken through the window of the motorhome. In Mohamat  I did get a couple shots of some geese with their goslings and the lake we sat on. Other than that, I’m waiting until we get to North Dakota and the Alaska Highway before I will be able to do some real photography.

Capital, Charleston, WV

Grain Elevator somewhere in Illinois

Paddle Wheel Boat on the Ohio River

We should be leaving for Alaska in it within 2 weeks and will keep posting with new info as we travel.  If you want to keep abreast of and/or comment on what we are up to, please subscribe (click on the Entries RSS link to the right).

If you want to see more pix of the rig we’ll be driving just click on the Motorhome page.