And the Adventures Begin

We left home on Wednesday morning at 7:00.  It was cloudy and rainy all day.  We drove 288 miles, 6 - 1/2 hours.  We went to the Straits State Park, just over the Mackinac Bridge at St. Ignace.  No Wi-Fi-, no cable, but we did get quite a few stations off the antenna.  We had a nice spot near the water.

Doug made a pot of coffee, we had a cup and I called for the casino shuttle.  I managed to make a small donation.  When I got back, Doug had a campfire going, so we sat outside with the dogs.

Mr. Jesse

Me with Jackie (after she got into BIG trouble for barking at a man walking down the road...see the shame on her face?)

Thursday was mostly sunny and 65.  We drove on Highway 2 all the way to Wisconsin, where we picked up U.S. 8 and drove all the way across the state of Wisconsin.  445 miles - 10 hours.  We stayed just over the border in Minnesota at Taylor's Falls.  No Wi-Fi and no cable, but Doug washed the motor home to get all the bugs off of it.


We left this morning around 7:00 and drove 586 miles - 11 hours.  This is a longer day than we like, but it got us all the way to the Badlands, SD.  On the way, we stopped at IBEW Local 292 in Minneapolis so that Doug could buy a shirt.  Later in the day, we stopped at "The World's Only Corn Palace" in Mitchell, SD.  I always wanted to see it, but it was kind of a bust.  The original Corn Palace, called "The Corn Belt Exposition" was established in 1892. Early settlers displayed the fruits of their harvest on the building exterior in order to prove the fertility of South Dakota soil.  The third and present building was completed for its first festival at the present location in 1921.  While we didn't go inside, Doug did stop so I could take this photo.

if

About 20 miles before our exit, we stopped at a rest area and see this guy setting up his satellite dish there.  He was also running his generator.

We had a good laugh about this wondering what was so important that you would go to all that trouble to set it up at a rest area.  Was he planning on spending the night?  Is he obsessive/compulsive and has to watch the ABC Evening News every night?  As we we left, Doug said "Maybe he knows something we don't.  Maybe we should turn on the radio."  I thought about it for a bit and decided that if something tragic had happened, I didn't want to know about it just yet.  Of course, that wasn't the case.  Guess the guy just has OCD.

We are at a KOA in the heart of the Badlands.  Free Wi-Fi and about 15 cable stations.  Tomorrow we will drive through the Badlands and make our way to the Black Hills of SD.  For now, I'm ready for a fresh cup of coffee.