Hi everyone, it's been a long time since we posted here, mostly because it wasn't very interesting. We spent the summer in Edmonton doing countertops, and we also sold the jet car operation to a fellow from Texas. Just made a deal to sell our place in Edmonton, too.
Now it's winter, and we're heading south. We left on Wednesday, destination Saskatoon. We got a late departure because we had to thaw the water lines in the motorhome so we could fill with water! Along the way we encountered quite a bit of snow and ice on the road. Also passed by the Afghan town, Kandahar (see pic). Arrived in Saskatoon after dark, filled up with gas at the Flying J truck stop, and decided to overnight there. Was about minus 12 at night, and the furnaces ran constantly. Luckily the water system did not freeze up.
We left Saskatoon early, and headed out on the 425 mile drive to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Road was in bad shape, with lots of frost heaves and pot holes, but not much snow around. Still kinda cold. We overnighted at the Walmart Supercenter in Portage.
We were going to leave Portage early, but when we went to check our propane level, the compartment wouldn't open. After a lot of messing around while lying on the cold pavement, finally got the door open. The latch had disintegrated inside because it's made of cheap pot metal. Now I'll have to make a part to fit. After our late departure, we then ran into a rememberance day parade in a small Manitoba town, finally getting close to the US border crossing about 2 hours late, only to find a HUGE line-up of cars waiting to cross. Seemed everyone in Manitoba was heading south. We waited 2 1/2 hours to cross, and endured an agricultural inspection where they seized our rice (new rule since July, no rice from South East Asia), and one can of dog food made in Canada. We stopped in to a truck stop in Grand Forks, North Dakota for gas and propane, and also took the opportunity to dump our tanks and fill with water. Nice to find gas for only 85 cents a litre instead of the $1.20 in Saskatchewan! Our original destination for the day was Wahpeton, North Dakota, but it was already dark when we reached Fargo, so we stayed at the Walmart there. It was really busy, packed with holiday weekend shoppers, and we had trouble finding a parking spot. We went in to buy a few groceries, but grabbed what we needed and ran away from the madding crowd! Spent a restless night due to the trucks left running all night.
Saturday morning we left at about 7:15 and hit Interstate 29, headed to Sioux City, Iowa. We fought 50 mph winds all the way, but finally made it to Sioux City and filled up with cheap gas before parking at the Walmart. Shopped here, and the crowds were a lot lighter. Marlene made a nice Bavarian supper of bratwurst, sauerkraut, potato salad and beer ($10.97 for 24 cans!). It was a nice, relaxed meal.
A side note, we saw several dozen deer, innumerable wolves, raccoons, skunks, porcupines, rabbits, and other unidentified squashed animals dead at the side of the road. Who needs to go hunting, just pick them up off the shoulder and take them home! Tomorrow we head to Kansas City, Missouri. Stay tuned...
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