TREES AND SQUIRRELS

Next stop is Flagstaff, AZ. Stayed at a KOA campground in the middle of a pine forest. This was a lovely change after days of camping in scrub plants and desert. I love the scent of pine! Cruising through the campground in the morning was a strange looking squirrel. Identified it as an Aberts Squirrel. A tree squirrel with white belly and paws. It also has very long ears and a white border all around his tail. Look him up. He's beautiful! Once again I couldn't find a picture that would transfer.

GOOD SAMARITANS

We are still in Canyon, TX. Had to take a household duty day of washing and grocery shopping. That finished, we decided to drive through the Buffalo Lake Wildlife Preserve. The wildlife was hiding. We never saw a lake either. We stopped at an overlook which was when the Honda gremlin struck again.  We needed a jump with no help in sight. Jim jogged to the entrance and flagged a car down with two couples. They were glad to help us. Lifted the hood and one of the guys say a cable loose on the battery! They tightened it, jumped us and we were going again. I asked why they came to the preserve so late in the day. Answer: Pokémon! I felt old.

On the road again, our destination-Canyon, TX. We passed several large fields of cotton. Looked a lot like snowballs scattered all over the fields! Generally, the landscape has become very scruffy with hills getting bigger. I love how the short grasses in this prairie catch the sun and just glow. Especially lovely when the wind dances through them.

The second largest canyon in the US is Palo Duro Canyon. The canyon is beautiful. The flies are awful! Since entering TX, we've had a plague of flies! We attempted to eat lunch in the canyon. I would be shushing the flies from my food while at the same time flies would be in my hair and face! We retreated to the car. Jim managed to get some good pics though.

I've been using the driving time to crochet. Finished a long term project while we were here. It came out really well. Unfortunately I can't get the picture to transfer into the  Blog😒   I'll post it later if I can get it to load.

JUST ASKING FOR ELECTROCUTION

On the road at 8 AM on a beautiful, lovely, and sun-drenched morning. Scenery still very Midwestern with cattle and lush green pastures. This changed the closer we got to Oklahoma City. The hills got bigger with less trees and and roadsides took on a scruffy appearance.  Camped in Foss, OK at a lovely KOA literally on Rte 66. 

The next day, we drove to Elk City, OK to take in the national Rte 66 Museum. Well worth the stop! Many interesting exhibits, vehicles and history. The scariest was this machine for getting a permanent! Looks like in those days a permanent simply getting your hair fried into curls!

The other shock was the impossibly small waists on the clothing on display.  The picture doesn't really do it justice. 

I have to mention Country Doves Tea House. Lunch was wonderful and every entree and sandwich came with Jello! Who ever heard of that on a menu? We both had the daily special, cup of potatochowder, chicken and cheese enchilada with a heart shaped bran muffin and Jello. Jello was a delicious blend with lemon Jello and cream cheese. Delicious!

Don't think I mentioned this before, but the Honda drivers door decided to not open. In Elk City, had a friendly mechanic who agreed to look at it. He spent about an hour trying to fix it . . . No luck. He would take no money for his work! Looks like my lanky, long-legged hubby will be crawling over the console (and me exiting the car every time he wants to take a picture) until we get to CA and a Honda dealer to get a new lock. 

APOLOGY

To the millions (lol) who follow our blog, I apologize. If you are wondering if we've fallen off the highway, no, we are just enjoying the highway too much. 

I left you in Litchfield, IL. Part of the procedure to set up the Honda for towing, is running it for 3 minutes. The Honda decided not to start. Since we are a two vehicle traveling unit, it was a simple jump procedure. Figured that by leaving our auxiliary braking system plugged in all night, we had drained the battery. Live and learn. 

We have decided the old Rte 66 is too much of a gamble for us. Two lane, no shoulders and very narrow. I55 is a much safer way and most of the way, you can actually see the old road. At St. Louis, we change to I 44. Our detail book on Rte 66 informed us that Cuba, MO is a town decorated by murals. Ate lunch in a funky, muraled building that had amazing French onion soup. Drove to Springfield MO.  Camped in a slightly sketchy campground. Would not have been happy if I'd had to use their bathrooms-but the price was right at $18!

70 YEARS TOGETHER

My parents, John and Ruth Snoek, celebrated 70 years of marriage. God was so good to us. Carolyn the hairdresser at Resthaven stayed late to give mom a haircut and set. She transformed her. She looked just like the mother I knew! Mom was basically as alert as she can be  at this time. She was happy to hold Dad's hand and just be beside him. Dad had fallen earlier in the week-with no serious injury, only muscle soreness. Over 60 residents came to celebrate them!

Dave got the best pics, so I'll publish those here.

The flyer inviting residents

The concert with Anna Hagen was lovely. Appreciated by all. Before the main concert, she played her small harp in all the rooms of the nursing wing. She especially played for the three sickest residents. At one point, there were two young girls, 4 and 7 years old singing as she played. So special. 

 We took Dad on a non-color color tour. He just enjoyed seeing all the little towns and how they had changed since he had driven through. Thus ended our week in GR. Left for South Bend, IN for a quick tail pipe repair.  From there, we will take a month to get out to CA!

TANKERS AND TREATS

On beautiful Autumn painted roadsides, we traveled to the Soo. We'd been there many times over the years and never knew there is a campground run by the city, on the shores of the St. Mary's River. Tankers loomed huge as they trolled past our campsite. Yet, the locks were not our destination this year.

Our friends, Karl and Paula Nelson, have opened a boat-shaped cafe right across from from the locks, called Karl's Cuisine! We have been trying to sample the food for years and never made it. The wait was worth it! Jim had a salmon casserole smothered in cheese and other wonderful stuff. I had chicken piccata, one of the nightly specials. We splurged on a cheesecake with wine in it accompanied by a berry and wine sorbet. Words cannot describe the creamy, refreshing taste! Just delicious.

Our waitress took us on the roof to see the fresh herbs growing and where they brew the beer. 

Everything about the experience was perfect. Great service,lovely presentation and delicious food.  A must stop for anyone visiting the Soo. 

All in view of the locks. Here our car looks like part of the large vessel going through the locks.

ALONE IN THE PORCUPINES

Woke to a gorgeous morning on Lake Superior. 66 degrees and going up to 75. Left camp to hike to three beautiful falls in the Porcupine State Park. We were alone on the drive. We were the only car in the parking area. We were alone on the trails. Just the way we like it. The silence was golden with morning light filtering through the trees. The "silence of roaring falls" was blissfully ear splitting. God's creation and our aloneness in it, we worshipped.

COLORS AND WATER

Onward to Ontonagen Michigan.

Fall colors are beginning to bedazzle! Driving through northern Wisconsin and into the upper peninsula of Michigan, it seemed the colors came in waves. We would go in and out of bands of brilliant leaves into sections with hardly any color. What made the difference?  There was seemingly nothing different about the areas. Still, the beauty of this northern area is stunning!

Ontonagon was our base for three days. Campsite was right on Lake Superior!

Lake Superior is massive. Largest and deepest of the Great Lakes. The water is cold. Jim went for a run and thought he would plunge into the lake to cool down. He made it to his knees and decided to splash the rest of him cool.

With temps in the 70s during the day, we could enjoy being on the beach each afternoon.

LEAVING MINNESOTA

On a beautiful October morning as Emmie tended to the goats and sheep, we left Claret Farm and headed to WI for the start of a fall color tour.  Driving to our first destination the paved road suddenly turned to dirt! Could we really trust Google Maps? Can't turn a 40 ft Motorhome around on a narrow dirt road. We eventually arrived at our campground in Sarona, WI.

Enjoyed a fire that night. No road noise, non-noisy neighbors-perfect! Even got reception to watch the Michigan game!

GOOD INTENTIONS WAYLAID

Technology is great when it works. Since leaving MN on October first, we have been in the land that cell phone companies and satellite companies forgot! In northern WI and Michigan, We very rarely had even one bar on our phones. Calls don't go through with one bar! Even when it said we were connected to the internet, nothing would load, no matter how long we waited. So, my intentions to keep you up on our adventures didn't happen. So, you will receive (hopefully if everything works) a few short blogs that will all come in one or two days and should catch you up on our travels.