The Terry Terriers

Interstate 94 shoots right on by our rv park of last night, Prairie Breeze. The next town is Bismarck, North Dakota, and then on and on it goes.

The  skies were overcast and a low fog hugged the ground, but it didn't bother cattle grazing along the road.

In Medora, we stopped at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center.

This area has never been developed or farmed. Large herds of bison graze amongst prairie dog towns, and prairie flowers bloom in profusion. This place is protected and unspoiled.

Being new to this selfie thing, we managed to cut off most of the sign that we really wanted to see!

Then, back on I-94 heading west.

We stopped for fuel in Glendive, Montana, and just as we left the skies opened up. We were caught in another of those heavy thunderstorms that dot the landscape around here in the summer.

Out of the storm at last, we followed our gps off the highway in Terry, Montana, looking for an rv park where we had reservations. Turning on Towne Rd, it quickly turned to gravel...uh oh....

This little gem of a park has several unique qualities. First of all, the owner lives onsite, and came out of the house to bring us a small, clean trash can and a door mat. After helping us to connect, he gave us directions to the local attractions, as well as a binder with other things to see and do in the area and the state. His two young sons came out after a bit and chatted with us while we set up. Nice!

Later this evening, just after Sasha and I finished our constitutional, the boys returned with a half dozen eggs from their backyard chickens! They didn't want to sell them, just wanted to share, but a small contribution to their candy fund made a hit. While the park is a bit rustic, it is perfectly serviceable and the owners are very nice. We like it!

We will be here two nights so we can do some laundry and maybe sleep late. There's not much to do in Terry, we've already seen the high school home of the Terry Terriers, and the two restaurants in town are closed tomorrow, so we'll have to go a little farther afield.

We'll see what happens!

Menoken, North Dakota

Leaving Steinbring Motorcoach in a driving rain, we made our way to I-94 and headed northwest. A hundred miles or so later, we cruised into and out of Fargo, North Dakota, and settled into one of the longest and straightest highways I've ever seen!

 Lingering clouds didn't do anything to slow drivers down. The legal speed limit here is 75, and most drivers exceeded that by a substantial margin.

This highway is in excellent condition, and we were able to maintain a safe speed other than a few minor (read 11 miles) of construction one-lane road.

Passing through Jamestown, ND, we caught a glimpse of the World's Largest Buffalo! We intended to stop at the National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown and get an up close look at these magnificent creatures, but decided otherwise when we saw that the roads into and out of the area were a bit small for our "road train."

If you look very closely in the left center of this photo, you can see the south end of a northbound buffalo on top of the ridge. The statue is billed as the world's largest, but it sure didn't seem to be very big from the Interstate!

West of Jamestown, heading toward Bismarck.....again with the straight and flat!

Eventually we slipped into site 12 of A Prairie Breeze RV Park, 278.5 miles on the road today, just a bit more than yesterday. 49 sites here, about half with the 50 amp power supply we would like to have, but we're doing ok with 30 amp power and only one air conditioner running. It's in the low 80's here, so we need some cooling! This is a nice small park with narrow sites, but the roads are wide and easily navigable by any rv. We were fortunate to be able to get a site here, as it seems that the entire United States RV community is on the way to Minot, North Dakota, for a huge rally this next week. The park is packed, and will be for the next few days.

We're slam bang in the middle of the prairie here and there is a light breeze blowing. We hope to get a look at a good sunset tonight.

And so we did...

It was a fine day! More adventures tomorrow!

Worlds Biggest.....Hobo?

We were desperately looking for something to do on our last day in the Forest City area, and, thanks to Debbie, we found it!

First, we headed off to Mitchells restaurant in Linden for a great lunch. We had been expecting Barbecue but found out that its only available on the dinner menu. Sad. Nonetheless, we had a nice lunch and were set to set out on our discovery tour.

First stop: Crystal Lake, IA, the home of the Worlds Largest Bullhead!

ok.....now what? Aha! The National Hobo Museum in Britt, Iowa!

Britt hosts the annual Hobo Jungle, and true to form, we are going to miss it by24 hours....Hobos from all over the country arrive here to talk, entertain, and tell of the Good Old Days. We started our tour of the museum with the definition of the lifestyle:

Our preconceptions were shattered by news that millions of men and women deliberately chose this traveling lifestyle. However, many people were made penniless in a matter of minutes and were forced to travel, depending on charity and good will for survival.

Clothes were washed in a scavenged five gallon pail,

and stew was cooked in a borrowed kettle.

The main street of Britt was setting up for the festivities as we walked through some of the old buildings in town.

Returning to Forest City, we couldn't help but take a panoramic shot of Iowa farmland. Awesome!

The sunset was incredible with the latest in wind turbine technology adding emphasis.

As we prepared to leave Forest City, we reflected on the good times we had with Debbie and Larry. We hope to see them again soon.

Good food.....

Trying to extricate oneself from the base of a wind turbine blade.....

and memories of day trips taken.

Tonite, August  9, we find ourselves 280 miles north and west of Forest City, Iowa, in the small burg of Garfield, Minnesota, home of Steinbring Motor Coaches. This is where we first met Nessie2 last year, and since we were in the area, we decided to stop in and say hello...and to camp in the back lot. Most of the staff had left when we arrived at 5:15, but our salesman from last year, Lee, was still around and directed us to a place to park with electricity. Cool! We're going to try to say hello first thing tomorrow before we leave for North Dakota.

We're on the road for a couple of days, moving into Montana in a few days. Wish us well!

Winnebago and Playful Dogs

Forest City, IA, is the corporate home of Winnebago Industries and the place where Winnebago branded products are made. The company owns several different brands, and manufactures and sells motorhomes and towable rvs under several different names and at multiple locations. At this location, however, about 2100 employees work to build between 22 and 25 motor driven rvs five days a week! Unlike other rv manufacturers, Winnebago assigns each worker a specific task each day....four motorhome floors, or seven roof structures, as an example. When that task is completed, the worker may clock out and go home, but is only paid for time worked. Sort of a screwy system, but it obviously works for them. The average wage at this plant is $16.00 per hour. Photography is strictly not allowed anywhere on the campus, so I don't have any photos. Take my word....it is a huge and complex operation!

Debbie and Larry are owned by a kick-in-the-pants Pug named Max. And he is! They hadn't been together for a moment before the fun began and it's been nonstop since!

We visited the Heritage Museum of Northern Iowa, an extensive collection of prairie homes, farm implements, and steam engines. The museum is normally open only on specified days, but we managed to find a knowledgeable mechanic/docent who gave the four of us a personally guided tour of the buildings. "Prairie Breakers", huge gas or steam engine tractors were stuffed into every nook and cranny. We picked our way through two buildings before admitting defeat....we could no longer process the tremendous array of implements.

Housing tractors from the 1880's to the 1970's, the buildings are a view into the industrial farm age.

They even have an old Cat Twenty orchard tractor just like the one I grew up with!

Some interesting names were used over the years...this probably wasn't as fast as a greyhound!

A mail-order house was moved onsite and is open to the public. A traditional "four square" two story home, it is another glance into our grandparents day. The most interesting thing about the house to us was the china gracing the dining table. This china is exactly like the set that Donna and I ate many meals on at her aunt's house over fifty years ago!

 Leaving the Heritage Museum, we drove out into the country near the rv park, where we found several electricity-generating windmills under construction. Pretending that we knew what we were doing, we embarked on a self-guided tour.

Larry and Debbie posed next to one of the windmill vanes, giving some perspective to its size!

Iowa is a huge electricity generating state, much of it coming from wind powered generators.

The size of these vanes boggles the mind. This is the end that attaches to the hub of the generating unit.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of wind machines scattered across the landscape of Iowa soybean fields.

Oh, and did I mention the cornfields...

Contrary to our original belief, there are several interesting things to see in the Forest City area. Tomorrow is another day!