Oh Canada!

We left the good ole USA this morning at 11 a.m. and passed through the Canadian port about 11:40.   The trip to Calgary was uneventful, but LONG!   We stopped for lunch in Lethridge and then got fuel farther down the line.   By the time we come back to the USA, bet I'll have learned the metric system!  

We made a couple of logistical errors.   We came into Canada on a 3-day holiday weekend and didn't have our money exchanged.   OOPS!   Banks aren't open tomorrow..... I had $3.70 in Canadian coins from business trips to Canada when I was working.    Our trusty GPS found us an RBC ATM machine so we were able to get some Canadian money.   Whew!    The other issue was that this campground is PACKED!    Our trailers are so close together I can touch the next guys trailer and ours at the same time!

Tomorrow we'll finish our journey (203 miles) to Daysland, Alberta where we'll stay for a week visiting our Canadian relatives.    Wi-fi is scarce, so blogging may be difficult.   Stay tuned!

Spearfish, SD July 27

We arrived in Spearfish on Tuesday afternoon and set up camp in the Spearfish City Campground.   It's right on the Spearfish Creek, one of the premier trout fishing creeks in SD.   It's on the edge of the historic DC Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery, so on Wednesday afternoon we walked across the street to take a look.  

The Museum is housed in the original 1899 hatchery building which was once filled with wooden troughs, incubating trout eggs and running water.   The fishery manager and his family lived upstairs in the house.  

The railcar tells the story of an era when railroad cars were used to transport fish across the country.   Crews lived and worked in the cars from early spring until October delivering fish and stocking lakes and streams.   This beautiful exhibit was constructed from a 1910 passenger car following the design of Fish Car # 3 - the first fish car built.  

The Booth house was built in 1905 was the living quarters for hatchery superintendents and their families until 1983.  

The picture of us by the pond is just one of several ponds containing rainbow and black spotted trout.   There are also ducks in the pond.   For two people who don't fish, this was a very educational tour!  

Iroquois, Pierre, Oahe Dam South Dakota 7/17 - 7/26, 2011

Rollie, Barb and Jean at Oahe Dam near Pierre, SD

This is a picture of one of the downtown stores in Pierre, SD which has sandbagged most of its downtown as a precaution in the event their levy doesn't hold until the Missouri River recedes into it's banks.   The town has added wooden steps so that patrons are able to access the stores without having to climb over the sandbags.    We went to the Oahe Dam which is a few miles outside of Pierre, to see how high the water was at the dam.  We were there a couple years ago, and the spillways were closed -- Not now!  

We visited in Iroquois for a bit over a week.   In fact, we had to move into their basement as our AC unit was not working in all the heat and humidity.   Barb and Rollie were gracious hosts, and we love visiting with them.   We finally got the AC working on 7/25, and left on 7/26.   Jean put a serious drain on Rollie's Diet Coke stash, and we loved Barb's fresh veggies and her desserts.   Barb and Jean worked the evening meals together and Jean spoiled Barb's cats!  Jack enjoyed "guy bonding" at the little grocery store/cafe every morning with Rollie.   The store makes killer sticky buns on Tuesdays, so even I got out of bed to grab one before they were all gone!

Pictures from Bemidji, MN

We took these pictures at Bemidji, MN when we drove up last week.   One is of us by Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe; the one that looks like a big block of stone is rumored to be Paul's boat anchor; the picture of me in the store is showing me participating in my favorite activity -- shopping; there is one of us by Lake Bemidji.    

We're now in Ortonville, MN, a small town on Big Stone Lake.   Discovered that this lake is the headwater of the Minnesota River which flows through Mankato before turning north to the Twin Cities and emptying into the Mississippi River.  

This town is very small - about 2100 people.   We are only a mile or two from the South Dakota border which makes it handy for moving into South Dakota on Sunday.   We are about 50 miles from Morris, MN where Jack's reunion will take place on Saturday.   The weather promises to be hot (96+) and humid.   UGH!   I thought I'd left North Carolina!!!!!!

Minnesota - Part 2, July

Minnesota finally dried out, and then came the mosquitoes and the gnats!   We reconnected with friends in Mankato, Belle Plaine, and Amboy and I have played numerous games of cribbage with my sister.   She won as many games as I did, and we skunked each other equally :-)   We also played some great games of Sequence with two other of our sister friends.   Loved them!  

On Thursday, July 7 we left the Mankato convent and drove 5 hours northwest to Wadena, MN where we are attending the Spahn cousins reunion on Saturday, July 9.   The campground here is in the city park and is nicely shaded and has full hookups ( a big deal since we're staying a week!).   Friday we drove to Bemidji, 90 miles north of Wadena.   Good old Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox, Babe, still stand guard over Lake Bemidji and they're still the tourist beacon they were meant to be in 1937 when they were erected.   If you aren't familiar with Paul and Babe, here are a few legends we gleaned from the Bemidji Welcome Center:

• Paul, legendary superman and woodsman, hero of early logging days was born in Bemidji.   It took 5 large storks, working overtime, to deliver Paul to his parents.  
• Every time Paul sneezed he blew the roof off the bunkhouse.  His booming voice forced his lumberjacks to wear earmuffs year round.   Paul is said to have dug and built Niagara Falls for a shower bath, and he dug Lake Superior as a watering trough for Babe.   Paul could cut down acres of timber single-handed, in a few minutes, by tying his axe to the end of a long rope and swinging it in circles.  
• He's standing 18 feet tall, weighs 2 1/2 tons and protects the shores of Lake Bemidji.

I'll be posting some pictures of this giant in a future blog.

The Spahn Cousins Reunion occured today.   In all there are approximately 55 first cousins.   Five have died and four could not make it.   Counting spouses, children, and grandchildren there were 110 people at the reunion.   We had a great time meeting everyone!   The party continues tomorrow as we gather at various farms in the area to continue our dialog.  There were cousins from AZ, Washington, FL, and NC as well as from closer neighboring states.   We do not have bragging rights for traveling the farthest.  The longest distance was 1700 miles!