Cold as a Witch's ...

Williston, ND. A cute town in the middle of nowhere. But it has all the necessities: restaurants, supermarkets, fairgrounds, and a Wal-mart.

This morning we woke up to a cold (38 deg.) pouring rain. That sucking sound you hear is our propane tank emptying.

Since we are a day or two ahead of schedule we decided to take a scenic route through Montana even though it would add a couple of hundred miles to the trip. With this weather there is not much point to taking a scenic drive. I sure hope the heater in HaRVey the RV is up to the task today.

The funny part is that we checked in with the campground in Dawson Creek yesterday, and they said that the temperature has been in the 60s and 70s. I'll believe it when I see it.

We are really starting to get excited about the trek. Judy has been doing lots of work as we drive. She put together a schedule of all the contacts we have to make by date required. We have been doing our trek shopping: coffee supplies, first aid kit, bingo prizes, etc.

We enjoy organizing things and being in charge. It's just a shame that we will have to miss some of the attractions on the trip because we have to leave so early in the morning. Judy will have to ask a guest to buy her blueberry honey at the World's Largest Glass Beehive. (It's not as impressive as it sounds.) She bought some last year and used it all year long in her tea.

Now I have the pleasure of going out and disconnecting everything in the cold rain. I guess it's fair. Judy walked Ziggy this morning.

Rainy Day

It's cold (38 degrees) and raining in North Dakota. Ughhhh! It's almost 10am and we are still hanging out. I just walked Ziggy and wore my raincoat with the polar fleece lining. My hands almost froze so I now have gloves in my pocket. They had predicted wet snow so I guess the rain is a good deal.

We finally packed up and drove to the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. This is an important area due to fur trading and American history with the native Americans. There is a lovely visitor center and a terrific gal named Kim showed us around. Some guys were out fishing for Paddlefish which look prehistoric with a long paddle protruding from their mouth and can weigh around 100 pounds. There is a very short season to catch them – one week or 1000 fish. Seems to attract sportspeople from all over. You can eat the fish, but the eggs (caviar) can bring in good money. Along the road we spotted a ring necked pheasant and he put on quite a show running through a field to evade us.

We drove past the Army’s Fort Buford which was closed and continued to Fort Union which was built by the American Fur Trading Company owned by John Jacob Astor of the English Astors with later descendents in the USA. Despite the driving rain we found the fort impressive as it has been reconstructed. We especially liked the trading room which showed all the items that could be had for a buffalo, beaver or even a mouse pelt. Luxury items like cloth, coffee pots, jewelry, blankets, guns, tea and more were in great demand by the native Americans and in one year over 150,000 buffalo pelts were traded at the fort. Liquor and rifles were also traded for furs.
Lewis and Clark passed here on their way to the Pacific. James Audubon came to the fort to sketch the animals and other prominent people of the time came too including Crazy Horse, Chief Joseph and Sitting Bull. We got soaked walking from the parking lot and back, but it was worth it. Interestingly the fort is in North Dakota and the parking lot is in Montana.

Along the way we saw many workers on the train tracks. They had all types of work vehicles on the rails including tractors and one truck with a porta potty. All day we passed large farms with cattle. There are so many adorable calves and we call each one Norman for the wonderful little calf in the movie “City Slickers.”
Back on the road we headed through desolate country to the Canadian border in Saskachewan. We had lunch at the Wild West Diner just before crossing and continued north to Regina. We drove through the city and out the other side towards Saskatoon. We are now in Mountain Time and the days get longer and longer. It has finally stopped raining and the temperature is about 48 degrees. Scarily there are still some patches of snow along the median of the road. Finally arrived about 7:30 and found a WalMart that we had shopped in last year. Made dinner, listened to some good music on Sirius and now to bed.

Wild Thing

Oh yes, Ziggy is our wild thing. Actually she has been a wonderful traveler and a pleasure to be with each day. As usual she spends the driving time looking out the front window and drooling. Jeff tried a screen restraint to keep her out of the cockpit area and she snuck under immediately, so we resorted to keeping her on a short leash and she is very happy. She does touch things on the dash and has changed the radio station, broken the iPod and turned off the A/C. She also tries to get under the seats and other scary manuevers. We love her and every day is a new laugh and a new adventure.

Today we drove across North Dakota and took a detour on the way to Canada. We are in a campground on the border of North Dakota and Montana in a desolate town called Williston. There is a scenic highway just below here and we plan to drive it tomorrow stopping at two forts where the army waged war against the native Americans and fur traders plied the Missouri River 1800 miles to St. Louis. The trading fort was built by John Jacob Aster, grand or great grandfather of the Aster who died on the Titanic.

What we saw today were small family type farms with large fields and lots of cattle. Mostly flat terrain, the trees are just starting to bud and no flowers yet. At the west end of the state we started to get rolling hills. Hopefully we will get to Canada tomorrow and continue on to British Columbia to begin our trek.

Popsicles and Icicles

We heard this song on the radio today and it always makes me feel so good. It lets me know how I feel about Jeff. He's such a super guy and husband. As we travel he takes care of all the mechanical details and especially the electrical, water and sewerage. I do drive the RV, but the back end stuff is beyond what I need to know.

So we drove though Wisconsin which is green and lots of cattle and dairy farms. Gas prices are 3.54 as compared to a high of 3.99 in Chicago. Midday we cross into Minnesota and head west. Saw a farm with elk and another with bison. By late afternoon we check into a campground in Moorhead which is adjacent to Fargo, ND. We are so happy to relax, check e-mail and cook dinner. Tomorrow we will drive north and cross the border to Canada.

From Wal-mart With Love

All praises to the folks at Camping World in Island Lake, IL!!!! When we got there first thing this morning they had no record of our appointment. When they looked farther they found the appointment: one week from today! But the service manager said he would squeeze us in when he heard our plight.

To make a long story short, they fixed the water heater and got the folks in Georgia to pay for it. Total cost to us -- $0.00! For some reason the air conditioner was also working when we picked up the HaRVey the RV even though they hadn't done anything to it. Maybe something got soaked by the leak and caused a short?

Anyway, by 3:00 PM we were rolling again. We are in a Wal-mart just north of Wisconsin Dells. I suspect we will cross the border into Canada sometime Thursday. I'm sure you'll hear more from Judy.

O Happy Day

We are up early today and drive up to Island Lakes where we have a repair appointment at Camping World. There was a mix up with the date, but they were wonderful and fit us in and fixed our water leak. Our fan worked when we left and we don't know why - but it's great!

While we waited for the repairs we drove around the area and the town of Crystal Lake. A beautiful section about 1 1/2 hours north of Chicago. Lots of lakes and rivers and boating and vacation homes. There are miles of strip malls and loads of shopping and eating choices. We stopped at a Holiday Inn to see if they had a room in case we had to stay overnight. As I walked in to inquire if they allow pets I was greeted by lots of Mastiffs with their owners. Turns out there was a dog show there. Ziggy ws quite disappointed that we didn't get to stay over.

We happily drove off and spent the night in northern Wisconsin at a WalMart.

Tip Toe Through The Tulips

It's Monday and most of the family are off to work and school. We sleep late and start the laundry in Mindy and Glenn's new washer. Thanks to Mindy who later dried our clothes and folded them so beautifully. We set out to cousin Terry's house and we joined her and Rick for a trip to the Chicago Botanical Gardens. Located in the northern suburb of Glencoe, the gardens are set on 385 acres and just breathtaking. We strolled the Japanese islands and saw many waterfalls. The tulips and rhododendrons were in bloom and the crab apple trees were about to flower. It all smelled great too! We had lunch in the cafeteria and took a tram ride around the perimeter of the property. Make sure to visit here if you find yourself in Chicago.

We drove back to reality and met Marilyn for dinner and more catching up. That's what we Glazer's enjoy - eating and talking. Marilyn had to leave for an evening meeting and we said our goodbyes to her, Terry and Rick as we are leaving early in the morning to get our RV repairs done.

Back at the Luebke's Ziggy was patiently waiting for us. Inside we visited and were treated to a short piano recital by Miranda.