2019 Fall Western Trip: Minnesota to Washington

Monday, 9/23:  223 miles and parked at Grahams Island State Park, Devils Lake, ND

Ziebach Campground, Site 28

We had a nice drive today and arrived about 3:30  We set up in an almost empty campground.  They close in a week. This is probably the most beautiful campground we have ever stayed at with the huge pull thru sites.  It was a warm sunny 77 day and we sat outside for our afternoon beer.  That evening we watched episode 6 of Ken Burns Country Music documentary.  Too bad we are staying for only one night.

Wednesday, 9/24:  233 miles and parked at Lewis and Clark State Park, Williston, ND

Plover Loop, site 95

Amazing pull through sites

We left Grahams State Park about 11:00.  I'm growing to really like US RT 2 with it's low traffic,  decent roads, and 65 speed limit.  Also, it's easier to find fuel because we're driving through or near so many towns.  Eastern North Dakota farms were corn, soybeans, wheat, a few sunflowers, and some hay.

We arrived at 3:00. Again, it was a nearly empty campground, but a  beautiful campground that is located on the Missouri River.  Both ND State Parks that we stayed at have been outstanding!  They have large sites, many pull throughs, and paved roads.  It was very windy that night.  We couldn't get PBS here, so weren't able to watch Ken Burns special on country music.  I guess we'll have to stream it when we have good wifi.

Wednesday, 9/25:

Today was a rest day.  We are staying over at Lewis and Clark for another night.  We went to Williston for grocery shopping at a HUGE Walmart.  It was the largest Walmart we have ever been in.  We grabbed lunch at the Williston Brewing Company.  Back at the camper we read and napped.  It was nice to take a break from having to move daily.  While walking the dogs, I went to nearby hilltop for an amazing view of the Missouri River.

We have discovered that Williston is a huge oil town.  There are oil fields everywhere.  The only farming here are grazing and occasional hay.  After a Google search, Williston boomed with the discovery of the oil fields about 2006, along with horizontal drilling and fracking.  This surge has allowed North Dakota to have the lowest unemployment in the country.  Who knows what will happen if the oil prices fade.

Tomorrow we move on.

Thursday, 9/26:  336 miles and parked at the Billings, Montana KOA

Site 41

We are parked tonight at the Billings, Montana  KOA.  This KOA was the worlds first KOA back in 1962.  Kind of cool.  Anyway, this wasn’t our original destination for tonight.  Our worst weather fears have finally happened.  An early winter storm is expected along our original route in northern Montana. with 3 to 7 inches of snow in the forecast.  So after a couple hours on the computer and the phone, we were able to reroute our travels for the the next few days by taking a more southern route.  We hope to be back on track by Sunday night.  All part of the adventure.  :-)

After two hours of planning for a new route, we were on the road by 9:30.  A good share of the trip was on Interstate 94.  It was a very nice drive with smooth roads and little traffic.  The temperature has cooled down in the last couple days and it was mid 60's most of the day.We pulled in to the KOA about 3:45.  This a a very nice KOA with most sites having patios and lawn space.

Tomorrow we head for Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Friday, 9/27:  338 miles and parked at Snake River RV Park, Idaho Falls, Idaho

Site C-9

We left Billings about 9:00.  The drive today was very pretty along the western edge of Yellowstone National Park.  The traffic was reasonably light, and the Aspen trees were in full Fall color.

We suffered a couple of road construction delays on Rt. 20 which cost us 30 minutes.  We arrived at the Snake River RV Park about 4:00.  The sun was shinning and the temps were in the mid 60's.

Stay tuned.

Saturday, 9/28:  238 miles and parked at Mountain Home RV Park, Mountain Home, Idaho

Site 44

We drove in the rain all day today.  The whole trip was Interstate driving, so we made good time and the traffic wasn't too bad.  We arrived in Mountain Home just about 2:30 to a cool 50 degrees and wind.  This campground is probably the nicest private park we have ever stayed at, with paved and level pads, and huge lawns.  We happened to be assigned a spot near the laundry, so we got caught up on on laundry duties.  Like the campsites, the laundry was huge and immaculate.

Tomorrow we drive to Walla Walla, Washington.

2019 Fall Western Trip: Mississippi River Headwaters

Saturday, 9/21:  267 miles and parked at Northland RV Park, Superior, Wisconsin

Site 7

We left Lake Emily at 9:00 and arrived at Northland about 1:30.  The drive was uneventful with scattered showers all day.  The campground was very wet.  They apparently had more than just scattered showers.  We tied the dogs out on the lawn while we set up.  That was a mistake.  Not only were they wet, they were covered in mud.  Nothing like 2 wet, muddy dogs in the camper with us.  Over night we lost electrical power.  We still had batter power, but no 110 volts, so no coffee pot.  Mike, one of the owners, had us back in business within 30 minutes after I reported it.  Turned out to be a bad breaker. on the power pole.

Minnesota is our destination tomorrow.

Sunday, 9/22:  186 miles and parked at Lake Itasca State Park, Minnesota

Bear Paw campground, Site 67e

We left Northland about 10:00 and arrived at Lake Itasca about 3:00.  We drove a lap around the campsite loop and decided we could not fit in the reserved spot, so we made a quick visit to the checkin office.  They were very accommodating and recommended a site with a lake view.  Turned out to be perfect.  This campground is electric only, but no problem since we're here for only one night.  We  had to water up, which was not easy because  there was only spot, and it was very crowded.  The weather was in the mid 60's and partly sunny.  It was a beautiful afternoon.  The sunset views were great and the early morning fog views were equally as nice.

Sunset over Lake Itasca

Early morning fog at Lake Itasca

This park includes the headwaters of the Mississippi River.  The next morning we went to the Headwaters Interpretive Center.  It was a short walk to the Lake Itasca outlet.  For several years I've wanted to visit the source of the Mississippi.  

Mississippi leaving Lake Itasca

Wading across the Mississippi River

Made it!!

Mississippi River

Judy standing over the Mississippi River

Tomorrow we continue on to North Dakota.

2019 Fall Western Trip: On to Wisconsin

Monday, 9/16:  302 miles and parked at the KOA in Richmond, Indiana

Patio site # 16

It was another warm and pleasant morning.   We said our good byes and were on the road by 9:00.  We stopped at the first rest area on I-79, about a mile from where we got on, to dump the holding tanks on the camper at the dump station.  That was a HUGE mistake.  The dump station site was filthy!!  We arrived at the Richmond KOA about 2:30.  This is a very nice, small, locally owned KOA and the owners are amazing.  We needed propane, and they picked up the propane tank and then delivered it back to us.  Never had that service before.  We had a deluxe patio site, so we sat outside for our customary Happy Hour drink.  That evening I had wanted to watch episode 2 of the new Ken Burns documentary about Country Music.  I had watched the first episode Sunday night, but for the life of me, I couldn't find a PBS station on the TV.  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to stream it on line sometime.

Tuesday, 9/16:  320 miles and parked at the LaSalle/Peru KOA, Peru, Illinois.

Site #1

We left the campground about 10:00.  We have a 300 plus mile drive today, but we also transition into the Central Time Zone, so that lets us set the clocks back one hour.  The route consisted of I-70 to Indianapolis, then I-74 until it meets I-39 where we turned north.  We have traveled I-70 before, but I had completely forgotten how much truck traffic there is.  In fact, 70 gets so much traffic, the road is in really rough shape.  Interstates 74 and 39 were much better.  Indiana and rural Illinois have amazing amounts of farmland.  There were field after field of corn and soybeans.  A real contrast to mountainous West Virginia.  We arrived at the campground at 2:15 and set up.

Tomorrow we drive to Amherst, Wisconsin where we will spend 3 nights to visit some long time friends, Dave and Ann Wright. 

Wednesday, 9/18:  240 miles and parked at Lake Emily County Park

Site 7.  Beautiful site and private, but difficult to back in to.

We have camped at Lake Emily several times in  the past.  It is a very nice park with huge, wooded sites.  The only downside for some is that the hookups are electric only.  We have discovered we can camp here for 3 nights easily with electric only.

Back to the drive today.  It was Interstate 39 almost all the way.  Lot's of construction, but never any travel blockages.  We left at 9:00 this morning and arrived exactly at 1:00.  After filling the RV up with water, we were all set up and relaxing at 2:00.

Dave and Ann stopped about 3:30 and we got caught up while we had a drink.  We haven't seen them since about this time last year.  I have know them since when they lived in Gouverneur back in the later 60's.  Shortly after that, they moved to Colorado and our visits, needless to say, were much less frequent.  Later in life, they "retired" to Wisconsin.  We try to visit once a year on our travels.  They have a wide circle of friends, including a group that meets every Wednesday at nearby Sunset Lake for an evening picnic.  So we joined in tonight and met some of the folks we have got to know very casually on previous visits.  It was a fun picnic.  Backed to the camper and we had after dinner drinks and then crashed.  Long day!!

Sunset Lake Park

Thursday, 9/19:

Today turned out to be a downright yucky day.  There were thunderstorms all night.  In fact the dogs woke me at 4:00 because of the thunder.  Yucky days are good days to catch up on chores.  We did laundry and grocery shopping in the morning, and naps and reading in the afternoon.  The weather cleared later in the day and met Dave and Ann and went with them to watch their friendly, informal weekly musical group play Irish music. We have met some of the musicians before, and it was fun to watch.

For dinner we went out to the Ambrosia, one of the local eateries, with huge servings and cheap prices.  We were back to the camper by 8:00.

Friday, 9/20:

Today turned to be much nicer, with temperatures in the mid 70's and partly cloudy.  Dave and Ann stopped to pick us up about 11:00.  We are off to visit the 2019 Birds in Art Exhibit at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau.  114 artists from all over the world were selected to show 127 pieces of work.  The exhibition was absolutely stunning!

We found a neat place for lunch, the Wausau Mine Company.  After a great lunch, it was back to the camper.  The Wright's had a 5:00 obligation, so they agreed to meet back at the camper for dinner about 6:30.  We cooked pork ribs in the Instant Pot, followed by a quick, hot grilling on the BBQ.  We had planned on left overs, but that didn't happen. 

After dinner, we said our sad good byes.  We have so much fun with Dave and Ann, and only get to visit once a year, if that. They are good, good friends.

Tomorrow we hit the road again, heading further west with a series of one night layovers.