An Ordinary Day

Their mobile homes were as good as many permanent ones. I'm on the road again and over the past few days I have driven through Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois.  There was too much traffic going through parts of Ohio. But overall the people in these states were very friendly. They would actually speak first to say hello, unlike New England. The countryside was very nice. 

I continued on to Montana, enjoying all the people and their various local accents. I was lucky enough to avoid driving through or too near Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, Pontiac, Flint, Michigan, and then to South Bend, and Gary, Indiana, which is at the very southern tip of Lake Michigan.  What I liked best was that I could drive through the chaos of a city if I wanted to, and then quickly get back to a country road with trees on both sides. Charley and I liked parking near a lake for a night. I watched geese fly overhead and Charley would explore the banks.

 Today was a nice October day and the fields were golden in color as the sun shined. For the night I stopped at a truckers place at the top of a hill. After parking the truck I walked around with Charley and looked down at the valley below. Something weird was happening. There were strange moving waves of some sort. I walked closer to find out what it was and it was turkeys.

My journey continued today and I drove through what is called the twin cities: Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.  My plan was to stay on Highway 10 into St. Paul, then cross the Mississippi River. There is an S-curve in the river there and I would get to cross the Mississippi in three places.

          

I actually was lost for a few hours trying to get out of there. I was finally able to stop at a small German roadside restaurant. I asked for directions to Sauk Centre because I just wanted to see where the famous author Sinclair Lewis was born. I was told to stay on Highway 52 and go through St. Cloud, and then I would not miss Sauk Centre. And there actually was a sign that read “Birthplace of Sinclair Lewis.” I decided to head north on Highway 71 to Wadena and then on to Detroit Lakes, still in Minnesota. I am here for the night.

Today was good. I passed through Moorhead, Minnesota, crossed the Red River, and drove into Fargo, North Dakota.  It was a nice fall day. I continued driving through Mapleton and stopped to rest under some trees near the Maples River. Charley liked wading in the stream. Charley and I agree that we should enjoy this afternoon and stay here for the night. I have parked away from the road so I can enjoy the quiet time. Charley is not comfortable and wants to leave, but we waited until the morning.