Our trip home

Our trip home has been very interesting - the winds have been blowing which makes the drive a little hard for Dick. If anyone remembers from our last trip we were never going back to Miles City, Montana but you should never say never - that is where we stayed but we have to admit the people on the outskirts of town were very nice - we'll just stay out of old town. The next day we drove into some bad weather but we kept driving until we reached Rawlins, WY. It was 44 degrees when we pulled into our campsite and the wind was blowing. The next morning we woke up snow and 26 degrees. Our motorhome slides were our first concern but Dick was able to brush off the snow and they slid right in so we were on our way - we had snowy like weather until we reached Rock Springs and then the sun was out - still windy but driveable. We took a side trip through Provo Canyon and it was breathtaking. I have never seen anything like it - the red, orange and yellow trees made the hills look like they were on fire. I hope when I add the pictures you will be able to see the vivid colors. We spent the night in Fillmore, UT where finally we had no wind. WE had another delay due to our jacks not retracting but once they were fixed we were on our way - we had planned to stop in St. George and look around as we thought we wanted to move there but it has grown is to busy for us so we continued on and spent the night in Mesquite - we went out to dinner and did a little gambling which turned out great - Dick won $200 and I won $300 so all was good.

This has been another amazing trip - it was fun spending time and sightseeing with Don and Lea, visiting with Dick's cousins on the Nichols side at the family reunion in South Dakota, sightseeing in Minnesota and Wisconsin, fishing at Devil's Lake, visiting with relatives in North Dakota, and seeing parts of Wyoming and Utah that I hadn't seen before. We are already looking forward to planning our next RV excursion - it is the best!

Visiting in North Dakota

After a wonderful stay in the Devil's Lake area we drove to Bismarck where we visited with our North Dakota cousins. Billy and Doreen had us over for drinks and out to dinner. They have a beautiful home and an awesome view of the Missouri River from their backyard. We had a little problem with the motorhome so the next day we dropped it off for repair and went to the Heritage Center in Bismarck - it is very well done it takes you from the Dinosours to present day. We went to dinner at Bill and Doreen's and Chuck and MaryAnn drove down from Valley to join us. Bill is a great cook and we had a wonderful dinner which included Dick and I eating brussel sprouts - really. We enjoyed a fire with cigars and port. On Saturday Dick and I took a drive to the Lewis & Clark Center and the fort. We did a lot of siteseeing and gathered alot of information about the indians and Lewis and Clark.
On Sunday we drove out to look at the cutest "cocker spaniel hunting dogs" I could have brought them all home with me. It was a very warm day and people were boating on the Missouri river - they even have a sandbar (just like at the river). That evening we visited with Dick's cousin Michael and his wife Karol. The next morning we had a very delicious branch and visited with Dick's Aunt Maxine and cousins Penny and Susan. It was good to see them and Maxine looked great.

Tuesday we left for Valley City and were able to do some golfing at three different courses in the area. We had dinner with Dick's cousin Harlon and Sharon and then met up again with them to go to the big craft show at Fort Ransom - after that we played golf in Grand Rapids - this is a golf course built by the farmers. It is also a city where Dick's grandparents lived and his grandfather worked as the custodian of the schools - we had visited there on our 2007 trip.
We had dinner with Chuck and MaryAnn and plans were made for Dick to join the harvest team again this year. With that decision made we decided it would be best for us to head for home with the motorhome and Dick could fly back to ND- he will work with Chuck, Gary and Billy and then do a little pheasant hunting with Tom, Greg and Michael.

Devil's Lake

Our journey back from Duluth took us back through Detroit Lakes - we spent the night at Long Lake and had nice neighbors who stay there from May through October and had planted green grass and beautiful flower bowls. We then drove to East Grand Forks and spent the night and then went shopping at the Cabela store. We drove to Devils Lake where we had a very nice 3 days. We camped at Spirit Lake Casino which allowed for a little gambling, dinner out and then we hired a guide to take us fishing for walleye and northern pike. I was lucky enough to catch both the walleye and the northern pike. Devil's Lake is pretty amazing as it keeps growing due to the wet seasons. It has flooded out many homes and roads. Some of the fishing sites are named for the roads and the people who owned the houses.
While we were in the area we took a drive to the Wildlife area - we didn't see any wildlife other than the praire dogs but they were very entertaining. We also visited a fort that was used at one time for schooling the indians.

Wisconsin Drive

On Thursday we ventured to Wisconsin - the drive was not what we expected but we had a good time. There were more fall colors on this drive. We were going to go along the shoreline again but then headed inland. We had lunch at a state park and came across more waterfalls ( the color of the water was brownish red and we figured out it must be because of the ore deposits. There was a 55' covered bridge which was kind of neat. We came back to the Lake and explored a beach and walked out as far as we could to the oldest lighthouse on the Lake. We had hoped to take the sightseeing trip of Lake Superior by boat but the weather the next day was not good so we headed on out. We stopped at Northern Lights out of Walker and did a little gambling. I scored and got to play Little Green Men and Mr. Cashman - not big winnings but I didn't lose so that was good. We are spending the weekend at Long Lake in Detriot Lakes and then we will head out for Devil's Lake in North Dakota. We are hoping to do some fishing there. Of course we will need to make a stop in Grand Forks for Cabella's.

Duluth, Minnesota

We left Detroit Lakes area on Tuesday after spending a few days with relatives at the Lakes. We ventured off to Duluth in hopes of seeing the fall foliage - we were a little early but still there was some beautiful colors - I think I liked seeing a little red, orange and yellow amongst the greens. We arrived in Duluth in the late afternoon - we had little problem with the jacks on our motorhome - but eventually Dick figured it out and we were off to the harbor area to see what we could see. The aerial bridge is amazing. We took a walk out the point and then on the Lake walk. Lake Superior really does look like an ocean so it was hard to call it a lake. There were even swells that I think the California surfers would have loved to ride. After our walk we were on our way to Grandma's Saloon for a drink when a tanker ship was approaching and we got to see the aerial bridge raise up and down. (there will be pictures).

The next morning we left for our journey to the north shore - it is over 100 miles - we didn't quite make it to the end as we had hoped - we thought we might be able to go over the border into Canada but we spent alot time stopping along the way. My favorite spot was Gooseberry Falls - when we were walking from fall to fall - it was so awesome that I really wanted to share it with our family - it was just one of those moments when you wished they could all be there with you. We saw several lighthouses, took a tour of the old tugboat (the Edna G.), saw how the ships are loaded with the ores. We stopped and bought smoked salmon and had a picnic with the ducks and pigeons. It was a great day!

Cotton Lake Pictures

First picture - Dick waterskiing - Second picture - Dick getting up

third picture - Kailor skiing - fourth pictures - cousins - Tom, Greg, Chuck & Dick

fifth picture - McCade skiing

The lakes - Minnesota cont'd

After a great Friday in Rollag Dick and I ventured around the lakes. We stopped at Lida Lake and visited with Gqry and Kathy and we got to see Kasey, Kari and Kim and thier spouses and children - it was a good stop. On Sunday we played a game of golf at Green Valley Golf Course - I found out that it wasn't my golf clubs it is the golfer - even with my new clubs I don't do so well. Guess I will have to continue to practice as we go along. We set out on a mission to find my Loon items I wanted for the motorhome. We ventured to Vergas and went by Loon Lake. We found a few items and then stopped for lunch at Billy's Pub - had a great hamburger and played bingo. Monday LeAnne picked me up and we went to the flea market which ws very fun. Then we met up with Dick and Tom at the Lakeside Inn for refreshments before heading out to Cotton Lake - Greg, Sindy, McCade and Kailor had us out for the day and we had a great time - Chuck and Maryann joined up. The boys are great waterskier's (pictures will be attached) Dick gave it hisbest shot but different boat, different ski made for some interesting falls.