Minnesota

 9-1-2021 Wednesday

We had a peaceful night at our little campground and packed up this morning. The sites don’t have sewer but the seasonal/permanent residents have installed holding tanks which get pumped when needed. Joe was looking at the one next door, he had not seen anything like it.

 He did a little maintenance on our tow bar. The slide bars are wearing out and getting hard to slide. He tried to get some oil down inside them, so he had me help hold them. I cautioned him to not get oil on himself, but he told me to look at my own pants and I had a big oily/dirty patch on the pant leg.  They are now soaking in the sink.

We got on the road about 9:15 and headed out of Wisconsin. We crossed the Minnesota state line just before 10:00 — not sure exactly when because neither of us saw the sign. I was on the phone making campground reservations for the weekend and spotted a gas station. When we stopped at the gas pump, there was a sign saying we were on Almelund, Minnesta. But at least the gas was cheaper there.

Our intent was to take 95 to 23, but we hit a detour that probably took us 20 miles around whatever we were detouring — we assumed some bridges.  We finally got back on 95, which took us to 23 and through St. Cloud.  St. Cloud is my favorite town in Minnesota so far, this the second time we have been through it, and John and Bridgette have friends who live there.  I just think it is a pretty town, big enough to have most businesses, but not too big, and very clean and well kept. 

As we drove through the countryside, we were surprised to see a field of watermelons.  Didn't know they grew them up here.  And then the next field was pumpkins, a pretty good size field of them.  This is what a pumpkin field looks like from the highway going 60 mph -- a little blurry.

We are staying tonight on the parking lot of Prairie View RV Park and Casino in Granite Fallls, Minnesota.  They do have a pretty nice RV park just down the road, but they also allow RV parking on the casino parking lot, and since the weather has cooled off, we decided we didn't need any hook-ups so that would do.  We drove 210 miles today, had just a bit of a breeze but actually pretty nice driving across country.  We had the windows open most of the day, and the a/c turned off.  We ate dinner at the casino, and I won about $200, so it was a good day!

We found a place in South Dakota to say over the holiday weekend, just south of Pierre.  We have not explored that area, so that should work.  We should arrive there tomorrow.  Rain is predicted, but the windshield needs a good wash, so maybe the rain will take care of that.