Champaign, Illinois - May 30, 2015

 

Champaign, Illinois - May 30, 2015

We arrived in Champaign, Illinois, and staying at the D & W Lake RV Park.  It is a family owned RV Park that has been owned by three generations of the family.  Wonderful park with a long pull thru so no unhooking.  The lake appears to be manmade but very nice.

Our travels today have been through farmland that makes us think of North Dakota.  Very flat and green.  The wind is blowing, but we are inside and cozy. 

We have gotten to visit with several people here – everyone is so friendly.  There is an abundance of dogs being walked so Bev is in heaven.

Tough Life for Monte & Max
 

 We are only about 150 miles for our next destination of Batesville, Indiana.

 

Visiting family in Bemidji, Minnesota - May 24 - May 26, 2015

Visiting family in Bemidji, Minnesota - May 24 - May 26, 2015

 

The past four days have been spent visiting family in Minnesota

May 24, 2015

We left Casselton, ND heading to Bemidji, MN.   When we arrived in town and got set up, we drove over to Tamarak Court, and picked up Bev’s Mom and husband, Phyllis & Harold Ugelstad.  We brought them out to the motorhome for a visit then met Bev’s brother and sister in law, Al & Doris Swedmark at the Countryside Restaurant for the traditional walleye dinner.  Bev went back to Ugelstad’s for a game of golf, but Stan went back to the RV after a day of driving.

May 25, 2015

We woke up to a downpour of rain, so we decided we would pass on the outdoor Memorial Day service at the cemetery.  We stayed around the motorhome, but went out to Al & Doris’s for dinner and more golf.  Joining us were Phyllis, Harold, Harold’s daughter and son in law, Steve & Ellen Jackelen.  We had great food, cards, conversation and laughter. 

May 26, 2015

Bev started her day by taking her Mom to the dentist.  Stan stayed at the RV and did a few chores, and visited with our neighbor at the park.  A very interesting man.  He is 63 years old, and drove with his wife and two dogs from California.  He is going to Itasca Park – the headwaters of the Mississippi River – putting in his canoe.  He is planning to paddle all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, arriving in August.  His wife is returning to California in the motorhome and going to Louisiana in August to pick him up.  Wow.

Bev spent time with Al & Ellen, reviewing the parent’s care and finances.  We are so fortunate to all be on the same page and agree on their care.

We decided to let Phyllis & Harold have a little of their old routine, eating at the dining room at Tamarak.  Stan was hungry for pizza so we tried one of the places Bev remembers from childhood, Dave’s Pizza.  It was founded in 1958 and cuts their pizza in square pieces rather than the traditional pie cut.  

After dinner, we headed back to Phyllis &  Harold’s for more cards.  Doris joined us.  Al was out golfing and having dinner with his golfing buddies.

May 27, 2015

Bev helped Phyllis with the inventory of her safe deposit box and other finances.  All is in good shape. 

Stan & Bev went to visit Pearl Stordahl, Bev’s former mother in law, later in the afternoon.  It was good to see her and show her pictures of the kids and grandkids.  She enjoys company.

Finished the day with visiting at the motorhome with Phyllis, Harold & Al, then on to dinner at the Ground Round – one of Stan’s favorites.  Doris was busy volunteering  at the Sanford Event Center.  She stays very active since retirement with her garden, volunteering, etc.

Visiting the Schultz Family - May 21 - May 24, 2015

Visiting the Schultz Family - May 21 - May 24, 2015

The past three days have been spent visiting family in North Dakota

May 21, 2015

We arrived in Casselton, ND, about 3:00 from Minot, ND.  Stan had not eaten all day, so was hungry when we arrived.  Unfortunately, Club 94 was not serving dinner until 5:00.  We called Stan’s brother in law, Jerry Discher and friend, Alvin Wolf to see if they wanted to meet us there for a beer and dinner.   They agreed, so we had a great visit with the two of them.  Stan had his favorite Club 94 treat, smothered hamburger steak.  Jerry & Wolf had eaten late so only had a beer with us.

After we had eaten, we decided to take a ride out to Stan’s  brother, Lyle & Eileen Schultz’s.  We got an extra surprise when we got there.  Family friend, Sharon Motter, from Minneapolis, was visiting for a few days, so we got to visit with her.  As the evening wore on, more and more of the family members came in from the various farm chores.  We were able to see Amber Gable, Ryan, Kris & Kyle Schultz, and Jan Horgeshimer.  Much conversation ensued.  Since we had just eaten, we passed on dinner but had a great rhubarb dessert. 

May 22, 2015

Bev’s computer has having difficulty reaching Wifi, so we took it into Fargo, to see if we could get it fixed.  Luckily, Best Buy Geek Squad found the problem right away. 

We stopped over at RDO to see Stan’s brother, Dan Schultz.  We couldn’t talk him into going to lunch with us, so we grabbed a quick bite and headed back to Lyle & Eileen’s farm.  Lyle had been busy in the fields, so we went with Eileen to put plant on the cemetery for Stan’s parents graves.

Lyle & Eileen joined us for dinner at Club 94 for another great dinner and visiting. 

May 23, 2015                                                  

We went back into Fargo to get more flowers for the various graves, being Memorial Day was going to be on Monday.  We visited the Mapleton Cemetery, St. John’s Cemetery and the Moravian Cemetery.  We then stopped by the farm of brother, Bob Schultz’s in laws.  They were out mowing the yard for them.  We also got to see Bob’s son Jason, and twin grandson’s Reston & Harper, and daughter, Jenna’s dog Mugsey.  We had a great visit.

We also stopped by Ryan & Kris’s so we could see their son, Cody, who was helping his Mom, Kris planting her HUGE garden.  They wanted to get it all in before the rains came.

Later that evening we went into Fargo to have dinner with Bob & Deb Schultz at the Blarney Stone Pub. 

Across Highway 2 - May 20 - 21, 2015

Across Highway 2 - May 20 - 21, 2015

We left Minot, North Dakota heading for Casselton.  We stayed at the Roughrider Campground, which was a great park.  Again we didn’t even have to unhook the tow car.  Unlike the night before, we had a beautiful spot that included sewer.

This is the first time that we have gone all the way across on Highway 2.  We have traveled on parts but not the whole thing.  We were amazed that it was a four lane road with a median all the way from outside of Williston, ND.  The roads were under construction in many places.  We expect the state has ample money to make repairs. 

Day 2 - May 20, 2015

Day 2 - May 20, 2015

We left the Blue Lake RV Park in Naples, Idaho, heading toward Montana.  When we arrived in Libby, Montana, we drove by the RV Park where we rescued Monte five years ago.  He didn’t seem to have any interest in staying and reuniting with his old family, so we let him stay with us, even though he is taking up 2/3 of the passenger seat.  

The deer are plentiful.  We have seen many pairs of them along the road.  Most don’t seem to be the least bit frightened – just out grazing.

Stan did all the driving yesterday, but Bev decided to try her hand at the wheel today.  She had not driven the Zephyr before, however, drove the Navigator on most long trips in the past.  The new rig drives like a dream. 

We made it to Havre, MT.  We didn't have as much luck with an RV Park.  We stayed at the Havre RV Park - it is sometimes hard to tell from the internet, what you might get.   Unfortunately, their idea of a pull thru is a bit different than ours.  They have us pulled up to a curb in the park, with the power and water on the wrong side of the rig, so we are on hands and knees threading the cords under the motorhome.   Of course, there is no sewer dump.  We were too tired to move to another park, besides we had already paid for this one. 

 

 

Starting the trip - May 19, 2105

Starting the trip - May 19, 2105

Finally got on the road at 10:00 a.m..   By 10:15 a.m., we were turning around and returning home to get the MiFi that Bev left in the office.   Stan is a saint, he didn’t complain one bit.  We pulled to the side of the road and Bev walked up to the house to get the little bugger.   Back on the road heading East.

All hooked up and ready to go

We took Highway 2 across the state toward Spokane.  We may just take that all across to North Dakota.  We will see.



Bev & Stan on their way

We stayed in a cute RV Park in Naples, Idaho.  The owners are a couple from Anacortes, WA.  We didn’t even have to unhook, which was great since we were both tired.