Ah at last we have some wifi, which of course is at the local Starbucks in Guelph. Last I wrote we were in Havre Montana and getting ready to go and do some gambling. Well when we got into "casino" with $20 in hand, there were notes on each of the games saying that if there was a "problem" the person on duty did not have access to open the machines." So we asked the lone girl working what that meant and she said that if we put money in and it got stuck or if the machine didn't "pay out" she was unable to open the machines to retrieve any monies etc. That was all we needed to hear, so on that note we decided to sit at the bar and have a couple of brewskies and chat with the girl. She was very nice and we learned that she had recently moved from Palm Springs California to Havre Montana! What a culture shock that would have been as there is basically nothing in Havre with the exception of some dumpy little casinos. Asking her why she moved there, she said to be with her Man!!! After we finished our bees, we walked around the campsite. It was very neat and tidy and set up for basically travels such as us who are only planing on spending one night. We were talking with a fellow camper who was travelling on his own from Pennsylvania. He was heading west to go to Washington. He noticed that we were from Canada and asked us how the roads were in Canada. Were the roads drivable without snow tires? Some people have no clue about us Canadians!
Anyway the following morning we were up early and set to go. We pulled out of the campground and continued heading east. Within about 3 miles we hit road construction. Well let me tell you, it was a total mud pit!!! We travelled approximately five miles in this muck. You probably could hear Ray cursing all the way to Canada! Our trailer and truck were absolutely filthy! I have never seen it like that and probably will never see that again. After driving through that we hit a rain storm like none other. Who doesn't like a good rain to clear the air, but seriously it was raining so hard that we could only drive 35 miles per hour. The sky was so black and ominous, something out of an old Hitchcock movie. It was unbelievable!!! You would have thought that with all that rain the truck and trailer would have come out clean as a whistle. Nope it was still dirty complete with all the dead bugs on the front of the fifth wheel. They call Montana "big sky country" because all you see for miles and miles are fields of different colours running right into the sky It is quite beautiful in spots but no I do not want to move there!!! A sad thing we did notice were all of the roadside memorials. From Glasgow Montana to the North Dakota border Ray counted 75 roadside memorials. You might wonder how so many highway deaths could occur when the roads are so straight. I have no idea, as we wondered the same thing.
We continued on into North Dakota which is a bit greener and more hilly than Montana. I much preferred the scenery. The worst part of North Dakota was going through Williston as there was so much roadwork (but thankfully no rain) and traffic jams everywhere. It is a large city about 15 miles on the east side of the Montana/North Dakota border and is call Boomtown USA because of the huge oil boom they have been having for a number of years. This once sleepy farming town is one of the fastest growing towns in America with the arrival of the oil companies showed up. Hence the name "Boomtown USA". The population of Williston is approximately 15,000
We continued on Highway 2 through Minot and Rugby, which if you followed our previous blog you may remember that Rugby is the geographical centre of North America. We stopped there for a bite to eat and got talking to a fellow who told us that when we get into Michigan we should take Highway 28 as it would be a quicker than sticking to Highway 2. This friendly fellow also told us his daughter and son in law owned a vineyard called St Charles Vineyard and we had to stop and tell her that her Dad was supposed to buy us a glass of wine!!! We never did see the vineyard.
We continued on Highway 2 through Minot and Rugby, which if you followed our previous blog you may remember that Rugby is the geographical centre of North America. We stopped there for a bite to eat and got talking to a fellow who told us that when we get into Michigan we should take Highway 28 as it would be a quicker than sticking to Highway 2. This friendly fellow also told us his daughter and son in law owned a vineyard called St Charles Vineyard and we had to stop and tell her that her Dad was supposed to buy us a glass of wine!!! We never did see the vineyard.
Ray would like me to add that he has been very good this trip with gassing up on a regular basis. He hasn't let the tank get below 1/4, which is much easier on my own nerves!!! I can relax a bit more and work on the "idiot afghan" that I am crocheting. It is called an "idiot afghan" as apparently it is so easy that even an idiot can make it. There is really only two stitches, so how can I go wrong? Anyway while in North Dakota we stopped in a tiny town called Ray (yup, Ray) to gas up. We pulled into the outside spot which was best with the height of the trailer. There was a black large SUV parked at the pump with the nozzle sitting in the gas tank. No one appeared to be in the SUV nor around it. I had to use the facilities so went into the store, which was like a little market where you could purchase some groceries. I saw a very pregnant young woman's waddling around the store with her shopping basket full of goodies. When I came out, Ray is standing outside our truck looking a bit miffed. The black SUV is still sitting there with the gas nozzle hanging out of it. Looking at the gas pump it appeared that the truck had been filled up but nozzle left in it, so I said that I would go in and see if I could find out who owned the SUV and have them pull ahead. There were a couple of clerks working the tills and I asked one of them if they could find out who owned the black SUV so we could get it moved ahead. I saw the pregnant lady at one of the tills, smiled and said hello. Looking out the window I see the SUV pulling ahead, so I told the clerk not to worry as the truck was leaving. Out I go as Ray moves our truck forward. As he used the facilities I pumped in the gas and I am looking in the direction of the SUV which had really just pulled ahead about 50 feet, but did allow us the space we needed. An older lady got out of the drivers seat,,,,well she was not that old because she was about my age!! She went around to the passenger side and hopped in. Then I notice the pregnant lady waddling out of the store and she slowly waddled right over to the SUV and proceeded to put all her groceries inside before getting into the drivers seat and driving away. I guess she didn't see the sign on the pumps that said "do not leave gas pump unattended when filling or you will be responsible for any spills"!
We spent the night in the Grand Forks North Dakota which is a town bordering North Dakota and Minnesota and with a population of approximately 53,000 is the third largest city in North Dakota. Believe it or not there were no campsites off the main highway without having to travel to far off and we were getting tired. As we entered town we spotted a Walmart with two other rigs parked at the edge of the lot. So we pulled in and looked for "no overnight parking" signs. Seeing none we pulled in behind one of the trailers. We figured if we were going to camp for free we best go in and spend some money, so we bought a few groceries. After having most of our fresh vegetables and fruit taken from us at the border crossing in Wild Horse, we were craving some fresh food! Marline,,my faith in the Walmart free overnight parking has been restored as we were able to camp all night with no hassles and no one bothered us in the morning as they had years ago in Lake Havesue.
Highway 2 takes you through the northern most part of Wisconsin. We went through a small town called Iron River. There really is nothing special to add about this town except that they have an old fashioned A&W drive in restaurant where the waitresses come out to your car and take your order. The only thing missing is the roller skates! We did not stop and eat there,,,just saw it while driving through.
Highway 2 takes you through the northern most part of Wisconsin. We went through a small town called Iron River. There really is nothing special to add about this town except that they have an old fashioned A&W drive in restaurant where the waitresses come out to your car and take your order. The only thing missing is the roller skates! We did not stop and eat there,,,just saw it while driving through.
Next stop is Grand Rapids which is located in the centre of Minnesota and is part of Itasca county . The population is about 12,000. Gas is so cheap down here in the good old USA. At $3.59 per gUS gallon Ray says it is just over a $1.00 per litre. That is why we drive south of the border to cross the country, especially when we are feeding the "Tank" . About 20 minutes from Grand Rapids we saw a Mama deer and her baby. The baby was so young it still had the spotted bum! I am going to assume that the major employer in Grand Rapids is the paper mill just on the outskirts of town.
We headed north on Highway 28 at Bakerfield Michigan. This highway would eventually take us to the bottom end of Lake Superious. We passed through Marquette, Munising where we saw the Beer Belly Butt Crack Car Wash. Didn't stop as we had no idea what kind of a car wash we would end up with. I took the wheel from Ray when we were on Highway 28. There was miles and miles of National Forests to drive through and very little traffic. At Munising Ray took the wheel back and we continued into Sault Ste Marie.
We crossed the bridge from Sault Ste Marie Michigan into Sault Ste Marie Ontario at 9:30 last Wednesday night Stay tuned for Sault Ste Marie Canada on the next post.
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