random thoughts

This entry will consist of random thoughts/observations/questions we have had as we have driven along over the past week or two.  I make notes as we drive but it seems I seldom have my notes with me as I write the blog.  Sorry if some of these are repeats because I don’t have internet as I write this; I will paste it into the blog next time we are near wifi. 

-we saw a horse and buggy being driven by two young ladies near Kincardine, ON.  We don’t know if they were Amish or Mennonite.  Neat to see them at a busy 4 lane road intersection.

-in some towns, we have noticed signs on residential streets saying ‘autistic child’ or ‘deaf child’.  We wondered if this really helps to keep the child safe or does it further stigmatize a special needs child.  We have no answer to this.

-we loved the two storey, Victorian style houses in New England, most with verandahs on the front.

-Some nights it just doesn’t seem worth the camping fee if we pull in late and leave after breakfast but a hot shower makes it worthwhile on these chilly mornings

-forecast is for below freezing temperatures tonight so we will find out just what our water pipes can survive! (yup, we are okay. it was 3C at 9 am this morning)

-we have seen a few flocks of wild turkeys.  Shon wondered if we should bring one home for Thanksgiving.

-these days we are getting true fall weather – rain, gusty winds, sunshine – and it changes every hour.  Makes for some wonderful lighting.

-as we approached the Mackinac Bridge, the radio had warnings about trucks, motor homes and trailers going 20 MPH due to high winds on the bridge.  We crossed anyway and hardly noticed the wind!  Loved the waves along Lake Michigan, though.

-we saw signs in Michigan saying ‘Package liquor’ at gas stations and other small stores. Never did stop to find out what that meant. (now know it means you buy a package and take it with you, not consume alcohol on the premises - same as 'off sales' here)

-noticed a license plate in Michigan that said ‘Ojibwa tribe’, ‘ Indian community’ and their local area plus Michigan down the side. Today, in Minnesota, we saw police cars with “POLICE’ license plates and sheriffs’ cars with, you guessed it, “SHERIFF’ plates.  We have also seen license plates in a few jurisdictions with wheelchair symbols at the front of the plate number.

-we stopped for gas in the small town of Prentice, MI, early one evening. I was chatting with the owner as Shon filled the tank, the usual ‘where are you from’ and ‘where are you headed’.   In walked 3 local guys who said they were leaving right then for Canada to go moose hunting.  We told them we had driven all across Canada and hadn’t seen a moose.   They didn’t want to hear that! Outside, we noticed they even had a deep freeze in the back of their pick up truck, along with propane tanks to run it, so I guess they weren’t just trophy hunters!  We have noticed many gun and ammunition stores through the States.

-As we left Prentice at dusk, we counted 6 deer and one black bear beside or on the road (not all at once but singly or in pairs).  The hunters just need to change their diet!  We have also spotted a river otter, wild turkeys, a bald eagle,  and a coyote in the last couple of days.  In a city park in St. Cloud, Minnesota this morning, we spotted more squirrels than we have ever seen at one time, all scurrying about gathering acorns for the winter.  In general, we have seen many squirrels lately.  Also spotted a new-to-us woodpecker, called a red-bellied woodpecker, although it is his head, not his belly that is red – go figure!

-We are now near the North Dakota/Minnesota border, a vast, flat area like our prairies, not surprising as we are directly south of Winnipeg.  We have seen trucks filled with sugar beets heading for a large processing plant we passed today.  Many metal silos (the new grain elevator equivalent) filled with grains, too. 

our truck silhouetted along the prairie 

-Fall is truly here.  No more hillsides of red, yellow and orange trees but the bulrushes and reeds are golden and waving in the wind, the corn is dry and golden (unless it has already been harvested) and the trees are turning yellow.  Very beautiful!

-We have now seen the mighty Mississippi!!  It is not so mighty this far north but it is still the Mississippi.

Mississippi R at Little Falls, Minnesota. The falls are now a hydro-electric dam and have been since the late 1800s.

-As we ate our lunch yesterday at a rest area, a couple from the Cariboo came up to say hi.   We have run into BC travellers in most places we have been but those are the only BC people we have seen since we left Ontario last week.

-Our route since we crossed into the States from Sarnia, Ontario last Monday has via been  Hwy 21 to Flint, Michigan; north to the Mackinac Bridge that divides Lake Michigan from Lake Erie; across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on Hwy 2 into Wisconsin.  From there, we took Hwy 8 to St. Croix Falls then dropped down to St. Paul, Minnesota to head northwest on Hwy 10.  That put us in St. Cloud, Minn last night.  Today (Saturday), we dipsy doodled a bit and ended up in Grand Forks, North Dakota.  I don’t know when this will get posted or where we may be by then.   I plan to read some travel brochures tonight so we know what possibilities lie ahead.
 

It is now Sept 23 - we just went to a huge sporting goods store called Cabela's in East Grand Forks, Minn (across the Red River from Grand Forks, North Dakota), mostly for hunting and fishing, where they have taxidermied animals of all kinds in dioramas as well as a large fish tank. Shon bought himself some binoculars and we managed to spend some money on other items we didn't know we needed!   Earlier this morning, we went to the visitor centre and watched a video of the devastating floods of 1997 that destroyed much of Grand Forks.  The Red River still runs through town so I hope they have built the defenses higher and stronger as I am sure it will flood again some time.

Time to hit the road - going to check out a wetlands and see if any of our Canadian prairie birds are stopping here on their southern flights.