Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Temperature 70 Degrees, Abundant Sunshine, Clear Blue Skies

Travel Day – Yesterday

It’s always hard to say goodbye to such great friends. So rather than saying goodbye we chose instead to say until we meet again.

The past four days have been absolutely wonderful. We’ve so enjoyed each other’s company. We’ve talked about just about everything under the sun. Why, even Proton was welcomed with open arms into their home and he absolutely loved it. Open the door to our rig and he was out the door and headed to the house in a flash. These past days have underscored what is so precious in life, good friends and family. If you have them, then you are the most blessed person in the world. And right about now that is just how we feel.

Yet, the time had come for us to get back on the road. We’ve been invited back anytime we want to come. So yes, we’re not sure when but the day will come when we will head to Wisconsin once again.

So yesterday we packed up, pulled the slides in, raised the jacks and got back on the road. However, just a few miles down the road Ms. Barbara with a sense of urgency in her voice said, Pull over as soon as you can we left the door awning out. Oops!

Thankfully, that turned out to be the only hiccup in the whole trip. We really didn’t know what to expect in terms of traffic but it turned out why we were going north the whole world was going south. Thus, we had a smooth and uneventful trip from start to finish. Well, sort of, since some of the roads were anything but smooth.

It was, however, as expected a long trip. The total drive time was just close to 5 hours. The surprise came when we realized that we were going back into the eastern time zone. Oh well, add another hour.

A couple of stops for the bathroom and a stop for fuel and in due time

we were in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at our new home, Jack Pine Lodge and Campground.

This is our new home until next Tuesday when we will be back on the road again. We have a back in – yes, that’s right, back in, not pull thru – site that was a bit tight getting into but I made it with no sweat. Our site has a nice, thick, gravel base that is level as can be. All utilities are right at hand. It is also as you can see rather heavily wooded. So where to put Albert? I tried over there, and then over there with no luck. He just could not find the necessary satellites. Then, finally out of desperation I hauled him up unto the roof. That did the trick. He is as happy as could be up there and is working just fine.

Then we got our big surprise. We had absolutely no cell service. We were cut off from the world. No cell service meant no texting, and no cell service meant no internet which in turn meant no email and no blogs. Oh my. However, we learned something new from our campground host. The campground has a strong and reliable internet connection meaning that we could set up our phones up do internet calling. How about that. Moreover, it also meant that we would have a strong and reliable internet connection. Once again all is right with our world.

But there was one thing , unfortunately, he could not help us with. The bugs! Oh yes, we have them as bad as they were up at the Peace Gardens. You don’t dare go outside without spraying yourself with bug spray. And by all means don’t leave the door open more than a couple of seconds.

That, then, is where we are at on The Road of Retirement. We’re settled in and ready to do a whole bunch of sightseeing More about that in the days to come in subsequent blogs. We are definitely living the good life and making the most of every day that the good Lord gives us. We hope you are doing the same.

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest.

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.

Saturday, July 2, 2022

Temperature 70 Degrees, Overcast

Moochdocking at the home of Steve and Patti

Getting caught up.

Yesterday was our travel day. I know, you’re not supposed to travel on July 1st because of the heavy traffic. I guess we lucked out because we had none. Correction, we stayed in the right lane at 63 mph and the rest of the world went flying by us! Fine by me.

All in all it was an easy trip. However, Wisconsin really needs to do something about the condition of their roads. My oh my some of them are absolutely horrible. At times we just had to slow down and cross our fingers that we didn’t leave any parts behind.

Here we are at our new home until July 5th. We’re at our good friends Steve and Patti. We’re parked next to their brand new 40ft 5th wheel. Hard to believe but both rigs are 40 ft in length yet ours looks so small. I asked him what the clearance is on his rig, can you believe 13 feet, 5 inches! I’m sure they’ll be a few places that they’re not going to be able to go to. We have FHU so we’re living in the lap of luxury. Why, even with all the trees on his property we were able after a few tries to get Albert set up so that he could find all 3 satellites. Yipee!

Steve and Patti have been so very gracious. We have been treated like royalty from the time we arrived. Last night we had supper together and spent hours catching up and telling RV’ing tales a-plenty. They are truly two of God’s beautiful people and we count ourselves blessed that they are our friends.

So that is where we are at on the Road of Retirement. We are getting ready to turn the corner toward home. At this point in time we’ve been in 13 different states, stayed in 23 different RV parks, and covered 4,712 miles. We have about 2,000 or so miles to go before we are back home in Florida. Sounds so funny in a way to say, home. This is the first time in 4 years we’ve had a fixed base to return to. Home, yup we have a home we’re looking forward to returning to in a couple of months.

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest.

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Temperature 81 Degrees, Partially Cloudy

Travel Days, Two Hops

Two days ago we had some decisions to make based on these facts

We where currently in Bemidji, MN.

We needed to be in Eau Claire, WI by Thursday, June 30th.

That would have meant a drive of 6 to 7 hours if done in one day. Though I could have done it I wasn’t really looking forward to such a trip.

The answer, break the trip into two segments. Easy? Right? That’s were the fun began.

The trip would consist of two segments. That meant two different RV parks. We had the second one already picked out. However, believe it or not we had no idea where we were going to stay the first night.

The first route we came up with would have taken us through Superior, WI. But getting there, well, two map programs wanted to take us south on a certain highway when the exit was clearly to the north. The third map program wanted us to go north. Two map programs wanted us to take a bridge that we discovered was under construction. The third map program wanted to take us through a six mile stretch of downtown Superior with stoplights every block. Things were getting a bit testy as we tried to work things out.

The I discovered an alternate route. It went through the city of St. Cloud, MN. It avoided Superior and the downtown traffic and all that nonsense of do we go north or south. But again we were presented with two different routes to get to the same location. It was getting late and we were really tired. We decided that tomorrow we would decide which route we would travel.

Come the morning we packed up, brought in the slides, brought up the jacks and headed out. Where? We were still making phone calls. Finally, we had our stop for the first night secured.

Regarding the route we would take? We ultimately decided to follow the RV GPS. Which in the end proved to be the right decision. It was an easy trip on good roads with only a few slow- downs as we made our way through different towns along the way.

This was our home for the night on the first leg of the trip.

We had a pull-through site which was reasonably level. We only hooked up electric and only put the two bedroom slides out.

Come the following morning we were back on the road by 9 am heading to our second home for the second leg of the trip. No questions this time regarding our route or which GPS to follow. We were going with the RV GPS once again.

We had a mix of roads this time. Some were really great. Some were really bad. We had some construction. A good deal of traffic at times. However, all things considered we made good time.

This is where we are as of now. A nice RV Park but really off the beaten track. At one point our GPS gave up even trying to find it.

Thankfully, at the same point in time we saw a sign that in essence said Looking For Eagle Ridge? Forget Your GPS and Follow Our Signs. Follow the signs we did and they took us this way and that and down some really horrible roads but we finally ended up at the park in front of the office.

Here we are. We’re on grass, the site is sort of level and we have FHU’s. Albert is doing his thing and we have our TV working just fine. The best part of being here? We’re only 20 minutes from where I need to be tomorrow for my doctor’s appointment.

And we have this whole section to ourselves. Campground crowding? We haven’t really found that to be the case yet.

I dare say this was probably the worse part of the whole trip to date. Most of the blame falls on me for not figuring things out a long time ago. I will definitely be more careful going forward.

Well, time to call it a day and get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest.

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Temperature 68 Degrees, Overcast, High Winds

I Waded Across the Mighty Mississippi River

We awoke this morning to a cold and windy day. Yet that was not going to stop us from going out to do some sightseeing and to also cross another item off our bucket list.

Have you ever wondered where the mighty Mississippi River starts? Have you ever wondered how big it would be at its headwaters? Have you ever wondered if you could actually wade across the Mississippi River without drowning?

Today, no matter the weather we were going to answer all three of the above questions. So, after church and breakfast we set out on our quest.

Regarding the first question, where the Mississippi begins.

In the early days of our country, the Mississippi River formed the western-most boundary of the United States. Thus it was important to know its true location, from its beginning to its end.

Thus, from the mid 1700’s there was a parade of explorers determined to add their name to a particular lake or stream or pond and claim it as the source of the Mississippi River. However, all failed to find the true beginning of the river for two reasons: no detailed maps of the area existed at the time; and, they all failed to enlist the help of the local American Indians who knew their own homeland.

Finally, in 1832 United States Government Explorer Henry Roe Schoolcraft while along the south shore of Lake Superior, encounters Ojibwe leader Ozawindib. He agrees to take Schoolcraft and his party to the place he knows to be the source of the Mississippi River. They paddle up the Schoolcraft River and portage through the woods to what is known today as Lake Itasca, the lake known by the Ojibwe Indians as the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

To confirm this location as the true beginning of the Mississippi, in 1888 statesman, archaeologist and surveyor Jacob V Brower begins his survey of the Itasca basin and confirms it as the as the true source of the Mississippi River.

So now we know where it begins, the second question regards the size of the headwaters.

This is the marker that is at the headwaters today. This historic marker was erected in 1930, and indicates the Mississippi River’s total mileage as 2,552 miles. Since then the river’s course has been shortened and altered by flooding and channeling. Today the distance to the Gulf of Mexico is more like 2,318 miles.

The headwaters today. It should be noted that this area was created by the Civilian Conservation Corp to create a more pleasant experience for visitors. They created the small rock dam in the photos above, and

a small channel that flows a short distance from the rock dam.

After that the river’s channel appears much as it did when Henry Rowe Schoolcraft discovered the source in 1832. Water ripples across a sandy gravel bottom through a channel lined with cattails, tamarack trees, and sedge.

It is really hard to believe when you stand and look at it, that this is the river that tug boats and large ships move up and down on a regular basis. This is the same river of historic floods and wide-scale devastation. Yet, from this tiny trickle comes such a formidable river.

OK, regarding the third question, can you actually wade across the Mississippi River? That is a resounding YES!

Option number one is to cross using the rocks that make up the dam. That appeared to easy to me. Besides which, rocks can be slippery and I didn’t want to end up in the river in front of so many people. Yet, a lot of people like to cross this way. Especially the kids. You’ll find them scooting back and forth without a care in the world.

Option number two, just wade on across from east to west and back again. So, shoes off and away I went. I expected the water to be freezing but was delighted when I discovered it was quite warm. I had on water shoes so the gravel on the bottom was of no concern. Actually, I believe this is the easier way to get across. What the heck, it is also a lot of fun!

Safely on the other side. A couple of big rocks over there you had to climb around but they didn’t really create a problem.

On my way back. Oh yes, I was having a wonderful time. The funny thing is, I was probably the only adult willing to wade over and back. What gives with adults today? So many party poopers. Most of them just stood and watched the kids, and the big kid at heart do their thing.

Back where I started from. Oh yea, I had a blast from start to finish.

But wait, there is still one other way to do the crossing. Option number three is to

cross over using the log bridge.

Ms. Barbara was not up to getting wet so she took this route. She can still say with pride that I walked crossed the mighty Mississippi!

Well, I’ve now crossed another item off my bucket list of things to see and do. Moreover, I can now say I’ve been on the Mississippi at both ends – here at Lake Itasca, and on a River Boat in New Orleans. It’s a great life that two of us live.

Some bonus stuff if you will

This sculpture is entitled Heartwaters-Caretaker Women. In Ojibwe belief it is the women who are the Caretakers of the Water. Here’s what I learned about this sculpture: In this sculpture, a woman is leaning over releasing a small clutch of turtles from a basket, renewing the seasons and continuing the waters of life. Her flowing hair is like flowing water.

The turtle’s round shell represents the earth, moon, sun and seasonal cycles. The legs of the turtle point in the four directions, his head points up to honor Grandfather Son, and his tail points down towards Mother Earth. Turtles show us all directions of life -they live in the water, they walk on land and breath air.

Some interesting facts

There is so much more that we learned today. Between the headwaters park and the Lake Itasca Visitor’s Center we had a fantastic day packed with new experiences and all kinds of learning opportunities. What more can you ask for.

One more thing, want to see the headwaters live? Google headwaters of the Mississippi, click on the first entry which is Mississippi River Headquarters and you’ll be taken to a page with a live web cam of the area. But really the only way to do it up right is to go yourself. Put it on your bucket list and find a way to visit the region. You’ll have a blast. And something you can brag about to others I walked across the Mississippi.

Which is exactly what my new T-Shirt proudly proclaims!

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest.

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.