Only 350 miles to Tomah!

Our Walmart campground was safe and secure last night.  It was definitely the right price…free!  However, not very quiet.  Even though there was a sign that read… “No Trucks”… there were trucks with their engines running all night.  Then... somewhere in the distance, there was a motorcycle race going on for a while.  Then there was the normal vehicle noise you hear coming and going at a Walmart parking lot.  Other than that…we slept pretty well.  We were up early and on the road for the last 350 miles of our trip.  We were so happy we were up early, otherwise, we would have missed this stunning sunrise.  No matter what time we had gotten up…I don’t think we would have missed the upright car stuck in the ground. 

Still wondering…”WHY?”

  It’s early and it’s Saturday…so going through Minneapolis shouldn’t be too bad.  We were surprised at the amount of traffic when we were taking the bypass.  The traffic was moving well; but then our GPS kept telling us to get off of 94.  Well, we found out why…bridge out!  I don’t think we ever have taken a detour to get to a detour that will take you to another detour to get back on your route.  It was crazy!!!  Then in the midst of one of those messes, was a dead deer and a car with its whole front grill smashed in.  We had lost a hubcap somewhere along the way; but we’re not even going to take up issue with that 

after seeing that driver’s problems!

 A short while later, we were crossing the Minnesota border into Wisconsin.  In less than two hours we will be home.  We both survived a month of travel, 24 hours a day,  in a 31 foot motor home... together.  Vacations are great; but it’s always nice to return home and get back to your normal life again.  I think we will be staying local for a while, since in the last 3 months we have driven south to the tip of Key West to the northwest coastline, fishing village of Homer in Alaska.  We saw some wonderful sites and met some interesting people in those 

12,000 miles or so…with unlimited memories.

                 Lots of rain while we were gone...  

                          and the day returned.

                     Lots of tall grass to cut!

      Lots of pretty flowers waiting for our return.

      Lots of thoughts for our next journey.

Searched at the U.S. border! (Friday the 31st)

Little did we know when we woke up in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan…we would be in Fergus Falls, Minnesota 10 hours later and 620 miles closer to home.  All but 150 miles were on two lane highways with extreme, windy conditions.  

A very long and 

exhausting journey today.

             Unfortunately, Bill had to be watching things on his side of the road...while I was watching things in the fields on my side of the road.....

We viewed more wide-open spaces of oil fields and crop fields of Saskatchewan.  Then we came across some coal fields that really made a mess of the environment.  Saskatchewan is also the world’s leader in reserves of potash. 95% of potash is used for fertilizers and the 

remaining 5% used in soaps. 

After heading south for awhile, we came to the gates for the entrance to the United States.  They asked some questions as usual; but this time we had to get out and they entered the motor home and looked around.  They even checked inside a few cupboards.  I knew they were going to be suspicious of us the moment they saw

 I didn’t make the bed neatly that morning. 

They did smile..I didn't think it was the appropriate time for a selfie with them.  They raised the gate and we were on 

our way into North Dakota.

...and we did as we were back in the U.S.A.

The Northern part of North Dakota is beautiful.  They must have had ample amounts of rain because all the rolling hills are such healthy shades of green.  I noticed small landslides on some of the grassy hillsides along the highway.  I saw these in different parts of Canada too.  Usually, landslides occur where there are steep slopes or mountains made of rocks.  The landslides, we saw, were grass covered dirt or fill.  I read that when the hills get over saturated by rain, it causes the dirt to slide down.  

Some slides can be pretty big.

             Tonight we are staying at the Walmart campground in Fergus Falls, MN  Actually...it is in their parking lot.   It is the cheap campground we use when traveling long hours and really don’t need the amenities of a nice campground.  Most Walmarts welcome overnight parking for motor homes and trailers because they know you will go inside their store and spend money.  It’s feels safe to stay since other campers become your neighbors.  Besides...the cameras on the light poles increase our feelings of security.  

Up early tomorrow and “On Wisconsin!”  

Only 350 miles…a cake walk! (ummm....cake sounds good right now...it's just a short walk to Walmart.)

Mysterious blue domes in Saskatchewan (Thursday the 30th)

This picture of the sun was mesmerizing as we started out this morning for Saskatoon in Saskatchewan.  The photo doesn’t do it justice; but it gives you a glimpse of this orange ball in the sky.  There was smoke in the sky from the wildfires in the area again. The smoke in the air acts as a filter, scattering the shorter wavelengths like blue light and leaves behind the longer wavelengths of the colors like orange and red. The view may have been pleasing to the eyes; but I’m sure that smoke has not been good for the lungs.

As we entered the province of Saskatchewan, we noticed that farm fields and oil fields… just got bigger.  Oil tanks line the horizon and train tracks wait to carry the hundreds of oil cars to their destinations.  Thousands of acres of land with idle machinery... waiting for the right moment to plant their leading crops of wheat, oats, flax, and alfalfa.  

Grain silos empty, 

waiting to feel full again.

 In some of the crop fields, we saw some mysterious, blue, plastic domes.  The domes looked like they were placed evenly apart; but at some distance.  We didn’t know what they could be so I googled it and found the answer.  They are shelters for the alfalfa leaf-cutter bees!  These bees build their nests out of alfalfa leaves. Leaf-cutter bees are the bee of choice when it comes to pollinating alfalfa.  One shelter is used for every 4-5 acres.  That was a mystery... 

I was glad I could solve.

After traveling over 7,000 miles… we thought this would have happen sooner than our last 1,000 miles.  A chip in our windshield from a rock!  It was kind of funny because when it happened…neither Bill nor I said very much.  It was almost like we expected it... since the last two times we went to Alaska we came home 

with chipped windshields. 

Glad we kept our low deductible.

Not much of a mystery going on in these pictures; 

but of interest to me. 

                            Wooden bridge and train track.

                                                              Oh...I agree!

                                  Some memories of the past...

Traveling on a fairly straight highway that goes through a flat prairie for about 8 hours was enough for both of us.  We decided to end our journey east at Saskatoon and head south to Moose Jaw.  The highway is a two lane that will eventually take us to the border of the U.S. into North Dakota.  It will take a little longer; but we need to see some different scenery.  Also….gas will be a lot cheaper!   

               We were excited to see a curve in the road!

                                              Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

      Sounds pretty fancy...any place with full services is fancy to us.  However, when they say the WiFi isn't strong...that means it doesn't work!