Six Weeks and Counting

We have been on the road now for six weeks.  Dave remarked the other day that it no longer feels like a vacation to him; it’s just the way we live.  We are nomads, moving every few days from the home of one relative to that of another.  Today we are in Valparaiso at the familiar home of Dave’s brother Mark.  There is time here to catch up on laundry, dentistry (Jane), financial accounting, and blogging.

(Hint:  All these pictures are small, but you can click on them to enlarge.)

Capitol Building in Madison, Wisconsin

Greg, Kathy, and Dave

Jane in front of  Jane the Duck

Leaving Minnesota we drove to McFarland, Wisconsin, near Madison.  Kathy (Dave’s cousin) and Greg gave us a great tour of Madison and the UW campus.  What an attractive city Madison is, situated between the Monona and Mendota Lakes!  The next day we drove north to the Wisconsin Dells for a memorable ride on the amphibious Ducks.  That evening, Kathy and Greg hosted a dinner with more cousins (Marcy and Jim with spouses, Steve and Mary Jo) as well as Uncle Ed and Aunt Ruth. 

Uncle Ed and Aunt Ruth

We stopped the next day to see Ruth and Ed again in their home near Milwaukee before turning south to Illinois. 

Ethan with Mommy and Daddy

In Illinois we made two short stops.   The first was to meet little ten-month old Ethan and see his parents Rebekah (our niece) and David.  Jane has been following the growth of Ethan on Facebook and we were eager to meet this happy fellow.  

Dave and Cousin Tom

From Wayne we drove to see Cousin Tom and his wife Debbie.  Tom gave us a thorough tour of Naperville in his jeep before heading to the Heaven on Seven restaurant for Cajun food. We attended  St. Timothy Lutheran's “church in the woods" service before heading off to Indiana.  

Minnesota Homecoming

We crossed the Canadian-USA boarder on July 25th and spent the next nine days visiting family and friends in Minnesota, Dave's childhood home.  The weather was warm and muggy, but still quite pleasant.

First stop was an eventful stay with Todd and Deanna in Sauk Rapids. Todd was playing in a charity golf tournament when we arrived.  Deanna was hobbling around on crutches while her Achilles tendon heals.  Their boys loved playing in our trailer:  Matthew (8) and twins Christopher and Alexander (5).  We fell in love with Karina (2), who joined the family over a year ago from Korea.  Smart as a whip, vocal as a blue jay, and energetic as a locomotive, it’s hard to keep up with her.  What fun we had with this family that we miss so much since they left Monterey.

Next was a shorter, but equally delightful visit with Dave’s cousin, Bruce, and the beautiful women in his life: his wife, Corey, and daughters, Ella (10), Claire (8) and Grace (6).  They are all balancing very busy lives with open dialogue and abundant grace.  Bruce is fearless when it comes to remodeling their lovely home, attempting projects that we would never consider, even with contractors.  Their home near St. Paul was a lovely stopover.  It was hard to say goodbye.

 We traveled on to the family farm of long-time friends, Roger and Marlys in Elysian.  Jane and Marlys took a carriage ride with the Red Hatters while Dave and Roger shopped at Cabelas.  Other highlights included Bingo at the American Legion (Marlys won twice), playing Dominos, watching X-games on TV (silver medal for Tanner), riding a motorbike, and pulling weeds in the tomato garden.

 Our last Minnesota stop was Rochester, where Dave was born and lived for ten years.  Aunt Marge and Uncle Mel treated us to a fine dinner at Michael’s, a famous restaurant near the Mayo Clinic (where they both used to work).  Then they gave us a tour that tapped into Dave’s nostalgia as we drove past his first home and school and the homes of his grandparents and great-grandparents.

On the way to St. Paul, we bought a new battery for the Casita.  Took a photo of the connections, but should have studied the photo before reconnecting the wires.  In our haste, we got it wrong and melted some wires in the Casita.  Fortunately, a neighbor of Roger and Marlys is a first-class mechanic, who soon had us on our way again.

Canadian Fishing

Dave’s Canadian fishing expedition was a huge success.  He spent a full week at Job Lake, located just north of the Woodland Caribou Provincial Park in Western Ontario.  This is a fly-in lake, accessible only by pontoon plane from Red Lake.  The lake has just one cabin, powered by solar panels and accommodating 8 people.  Dave was joined his brothers, Mark and Chuck, cousin Bob from Texas, and 4 of Bob’s friends from Indianapolis.

During the week the weather was far from ideal, but the fishing was great.  The first two days were very hot (upper 90s), made more unbearable by the smoke of several forest fires to the north.  The smoky haze would come and go, depending on wind direction.  We had mid-week rain storms that soaked those unprepared.  Then a steady wind picked up and the temperature dropped into the 40s and 50s, turning more moderate at the end of the week.

We fished in pairs about 7 hours a day, early in the morning and again in late afternoon or evening.  At each meal, we compared notes about where the fish were most plentiful, at what depths they were feeding, and which lures and bait were most successful.  More often than not, we had our big meal at noon, followed by naptime.  We had pre-ordered all our food and drinks, and all shared in cooking and clean up chores.  Reading, card games, jokes, and fishing stories rounded out our free time.

Altogether our group caught 2,467 fish, mostly walleye, along with a few northern pike and perch.  All but about 50 fish (eaten or frozen) were released for another day and other fishermen.  Dave brought back to the Winnipeg campground to share with Jane the filets of a 21-inch walleye, frozen inside the metal canister of a depleted bottle of Glenlivet Scotch.  Delicious!  Brother Chuck beat me with a 30-incher (pictured below).

Winnipeg Blues (or Hots)

Today marks the midway point in my solo stay at the Traveller’s RV Resort in Winnipeg, Canada.  The time is passing faster than I had expected.  In some ways I feel rather isolated – WiFi is available, but only at the camp store; cell coverage is spotty at best, and when have I ever been separated from Dave for a week where we could not even talk on the phone?  I have absolutely no idea how his fishing adventure is playing out, nor does he really know how I am spending my days.  But thanks to my new friend, Beverly (cousin of a CA friend), who lives here in Winnipeg, I feel very connected to my location and am blessed by this friendship.

When I am not out sightseeing with or being bountifully fed by Bev, I am writing, reading and taking care of our little nest.  There is a delight in being able to “set up house” and leave items out for 10 days.  Dave made sure the Casita was in tip top shape and all plugged in.  At least the wind took some heat with it; Winnipeg had the high temp for Canada last Saturday at 99 degrees. 

No good pictures yet so I’m adding this older, but favorite picture taken somewhere in the Midwest at a rest stop.  Obviously our rig is not the large one.  Stay cool!

On Our Own

We have been on our own since we left Spokane on July 10th.  That means fending for ourselves -- no more meals with friends and family, free electrical plug-ins and showers, or guided tours.  We drove all the way across Montana (it's a BIG state) spending one night at a 24-hour Walmart in Bozeman. 

The next day we visited Little Big Horn Battleground Monument (site of Custer's last stand), continued southeast, crossed a wee corner of Wyoming, and landed at Family Camp on Ellsworth AFB near Rapid City, South Dakota for two nights. Woke to the sound of reveille and the thunder of a B-1 bomber takeoff.

We left all sun and heat in Montana.  It's been overcast, rainy, windy and cool (60's and 70's) for our four days in South Dakota; also, there is a lot of flooding in the eastern part of the state.  Jane got to see Mt. Rushmore, a must on her "bucket list".  And Custer State Park and the Badlands were awesome. 

Last night we "cheated" and stayed in a Holiday Inn Express in Pierre (think hot tub soak, fast WiFi, and room to move about!).  Campgrounds near the Missouri River were flooded as were many of the fields along the roads we traveled today. 

Tonight we are again at an Air Force Family Camp near Grand Forks, North Dakota.  Tomorrow morning we will cross the Canadian border and make our way to the Happy RV Campground in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Until then...

Oregon and Washington

It turns out that we have many friends scattered around the Pacific Northwest, and we enjoyed wonderful reunions with several of them.  Spent two days with Rich and Marilyn at their delightfully isolated farm between Myrtle Creek (on I-5) and Myrtle Point (near the coast), soaking in the beauties of southern Oregon.

Then, on the afternoon of July 4^th, we drove north to visit Mark and Doanne near Portland OR.  Highlights of this visit were watching the Fort Vancouver fireworks, catching up with kids and grandkids, playing tennis and music, and taking nature hikes.  Also in Portland, we were treated to dinner by Troy and Ava, our first “cousin encounter”.  It had been 29 years since Troy and Dave had seen each other, and the evening ended all too soon.  Here are Troy and Ava.

Our little Casita continued its way northward to Bremerton via Shelton WA.  There we met Josh and his mom, Pat, for lunch and renewed another friendship from Jane’s DMDC days.  Navy friends, Mike and Liza, hosted us on top of their "mountain" in Bremerton and graciously invited mutual friends, Mike and Jo, for dinner. Mike, Mike and Dave pose for a photo after sampling single malt Scotch and homemade limoncello.

We had our first travel mishap on July 8^th near Cle Ulam in central Washington.  One of the Casita tires was punctured, overheated, and started spewing bits of rubber tread and steel belts.  Luckily we were able to pull over safely and await AAA roadside assistance.   

That delayed slightly our arrival in Spokane, where we camped in the driveway of Phil and Melody.  Discovered what a pleasant city Spokane is (at least in the summer). Here is our favorite picture taken on our tour of the riverfront area (site of the 1974 World Expo).

Each stop was unique, as are the people we visited, and each thoroughly enjoyable in its own special way.  We have also been blessed with beautiful, comfortable weather along the way.  Now we are entering an extended stretch of territory and time devoid of personal friends and family, but promising its own camping pleasures.  We thank Melody with recalling this quote from Winston Churchill:  “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Penn Valley to Myrtle Creek

After a thoroughly enjoyable time reconnecting with friends Leon and Jan in Penn Valley, CA, we have just spent our third night in the Casita at a KOA campground near Medford OR.  The drive from Penn Valley CA to Myrtle Creek OR is truly beautiful, passing Shasta Lake and Mount Shasta (see photo). Progress  was slow as we made our way up (35 mph) the mountains and down the mountains (55 mph as dictated by CA law).  The pace would have driven Tanner mad, but we hadn't far to go and were in no hurry.  Today we park the trailer and sleep in real beds at Rich and Marilyn's farm.