North to Minnesota

Susan and I finally got out of our long-term campground, though it took a few days more than intended, because 1) I wanted to get our generator checked out, and 2) Susan had a doctor’s appointment on the morning of our intended departure. As a result, by the time we finally got on the road she’d already been driving off-and-on for four hours. That made for a tiring travel day for her (August 30th, Wednesday).

We stayed a couple of days in Missouri, to visit with my brother; the first night was in an RV slot at a Love’s truck stop, the second in my brother’s back driveway (no power, but I could use our generator till things cooled enough that we didn’t need it). Once we started off again — Friday, September 1st — we got a few hundred miles further up the road and stayed at another Love’s in Ellsworth IA … but not a hookup slot this time, just a parking spot at the very back, where we sat quiet and unobjectionable, and nobody objected.

(The evening stop came after Susan and I took a tour of the small museum set up at John Wayne’s birthplace. She got a few souvenirs as well.)

Saturday, September 2nd, we got nearly to the Iowa-Minnesota border, then backtracked 20 miles to the McIntosh Woods State Park in Ventura, IA. Non-powered slot for $12 a night. And we learned that Winnebago (of which we’re living in one) has its headquarters in Forest City.

Sunday, September 3rd, we made it up into Minnesota, then camped for the night at the Isanti County Fairgrounds, in Cambridge, MN. We were taking time to make the trip for two reasons. First, driving really takes it out of Susan; if she isn’t going to have a few days to recover, she needs to drive for shorter distances on consecutive days. Second, it’s the Labor Day weekend, and we had some concern that camping slots might be chancy to come by.

By the time we arrived today (Monday, yay!), the short-trip vacationers had already started home, and we had no trouble getting a slot for the next couple of weeks at the West 40 RV Park & Campground, Gilbert MN.

There were things learned over the last several days, but I’ll go into that later. For now, except for visiting by car, we’re staying put for a bit.