Where Are We?

If we could fly like a bird and go due south, we would fly over Wall, South Dakota (some of you have been there) Amarillo and then Lubbock, Texas, and eventually get to Del Rio, Texas on the border with Mexico where the Amistad Reservoir is, last year a man was jet skiing and was killed by the drug cartel of Mexico. No - we aren't going there! If we fly due west we would fly over Great Falls, Montana, just miss Missoula, then Coeur d'Alene, Idaho fly on to Spokane and then Seattle, Washington hitting the Pacific coast at Olympic National Park. Flying east we would fly over Chisholm, Minnesota (liked that town), then over Copper Harbor in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie, lots of Canadian towns in Ontario, then to just below Quebec City, then Frederickton, New Brunswick where we camped 2 years ago on the St. Johns River that reverses flow, and then on to Prince Edward Island. As you see, we are quite high in longitude. We asked about seeing the Aurora Borealis but they said only in the winter. We remember seeing the Borealis when we camped in Jackson, Wyoming in July many years ago. Will have to pay attention when we get to Wyoming in a couple of weeks.

We are surprised by the weather. Yesterday it was 94 but low humidity, which they say is typical for summer. By evening it had cooled to high 40's. We can tell winters are hard - small homes with huge garages that are double the size of the house. Electrical plugs hang outside the front of the car/truck so it can be plugged into a heater and keep warm when it is 40 below. Another thing we noticed - there are no fancy cars here. No Beemers, no Lexis, no Benzs. Or any kind of foreign for that matter. American trucks and cars and many of them are beaters, just plain worn. And very dirty since many of the roads are dirt and gravel. Only state, county, or federal roads are paved.

Many homes have RVs such as 5th wheels, motor homes, boxes, etc. parked beside it. We think that maybe some of these garages also have their RV stored in it. Do they head south for the winter with them or do they use them in the summer then store inside for the winter? I have had some conversations with people while in town shopping and ask about winters, economy, life and for the most part people say they only go out for a short amount of time in the winter, then head back inside. Snow can get quite deep but it is the wind and the temperatures in the minus 40s that keep everyone in. Schools? I imagine that when the school bus comes along to pick up kids - they are inside and at the last minute fly out of the house to the bus. Not many snow days here - this is what it is. And the economy? Need a job - come here. This little town is just booming. No unemployment - everyone has a job that wants one.

Tomorrow we head south towards South Dakota, stopping for one night near Pierre, SD (the capital) a distance of about 260 miles from here. Then Friday we travel about 250 miles west to just south of Rapid City (Mount Rushmore is there) to Hermosa, SD where we will stay about 2 weeks. Depends on how Dave does at the dentist appointment as to how long we will be there.