Sunday, August 7, 2016

Not Our Usual Pace

Thursday, August 4 - Sunday, August 7, 2016
Chamberlain, South Dakota - Rochester, Minnesota

No wind in the park Thursday morning as we pull out and continue east.

I-90 sees us coming and the cross winds begin. At least it's not blowing over 25 mph today. 196 miles of rolling agriculture, and nothing much else. We turn off the freeway just before the Missouri River.

It is much bigger here than where it begins in Montana!

I was really looking forward to this stop where we originally had three nights. But our extra time in Gillette reduced the stay to one night - unless I want to make several other changes, which I don't.

Cedar Shore Resort RV Park is a small, lovely campground that shares the property with a hotel, restaurant, marina, and rental cabins. Sitting right on the river, the views are amazing. Most river front sites are seasonal, but site #12 is a great spot one row back. 




Our evening is spent enjoying the river, and the sunset.




Friday morning we're back on the road. Somewhere before we reach the border we clearly move from the West to the Midwest. 

So. Much. Corn.  Had no idea that South Dakota and Minnesota have this many farms!!

Another nearly 200 miles and we enter our 11th state - Minnesota! 

The tiny town of Adrian has the largest campground in southern Minnesota. It is beautiful. Lots of green grass and trees, disc golf course, large playground, and FHUs with 50 amp. The spacing varies a great deal, but all sites have huge open areas with fire pits in the back.

Another single night's stay and we once again hang out in our nice yard, with our nice views.





We rarely travel more than 150 miles on moving day, or stay less than three days in any stop. So this 600 miles in four days is unusual for us. It isn't horrible, but I wouldn't want to move like this for long.

We fuel up on our way out of Adrian, and continue our trek through the corn fields.

Good prices, unfortunate name......
Our stop in Rochester gets us back on schedule and we're here for three nights. Autumn Woods RV Park is just off Highway 63, south of the city. Level sites with nice trees, clean and quiet. 

We drive into the city for a nice lunch at Canadian Honker Restaurant. Turns out it's across the street from the Mayo Clinic. A beautiful old campus - and huge! We only see one side of it, but I expected a modern-looking facility that looks like a hospital.

One of the few things I miss on the road is consistently good grocery stores. I can usually find most everything I like if there's a Safeway, but when there's a Trader Joe's I feel like I've won the lottery :-)  What a nice surprise to find one here.

It's the little things 
Although the temperature here is much cooler, the humidity is 80% on Sunday. We have plans for Monday, so today is a good time to clean house, do a little maintenance, and get the laundry done. Love being able to have it all done in two hours - I never miss having a big house!

Monday we're off to see Minneapolis.



23 comments:

  1. Looks like you struck paydirt with the great spot and great river view !

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    1. It is such a pretty place across the river from Chamberlain, SD. Highly recommend if you're in the area!

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  2. You are getting closer to us!! Hurry up! Wasn't Cedar Shore a nice find! We enjoyed just relaxing by the river, as well. Lot and lots and lots of corn and soybeans. A TJ's...I'm jealous! When you get to Iowa (if you come this way), the Hy Vee Grocery Stores with a Market Place are outstanding stores. They are just huge and have everything and then some. All the employees wear button down collar shirts which makes such a nice appearance. The meat counter is over the top and the people working there all wear chef coats and hats. We are in the Quad City area for the week. Where are you heading from Rochester?

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    1. Those stores sound wonderful!! No Iowa this time, heading to Wisconsin Dells from here for a few nights, then Rockford, Harrison Lake and a little town outside of Pittsburgh so we can see that stadium :) We're going across upstate NY, are we going to miss where you'll be?

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  3. Bummer about the quick travel but at least you had a nice view. I don't miss that high humidity.

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    1. So far it's been bearable but not much fun for a lot of activity outdoors. Sure does make for a green world though.

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  4. Ha, ha, ha...those gas stations never fail to crack me up!

    That pace is like our pace up California...too fast! It's so nice to slow down after a long (or a few) driving days!

    YAY for Trader Joes! Finding a Sprouts also makes me ridiculously happy!

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    1. Oh yes - Sprouts is wonderful too. If I can find one with a peanut grinder to make my own peanut butter I'm really thrilled!!

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  5. Long travel,days are a bummer...we have done it several times!
    Nice that you had nice places to put your feet up and enjoy the outdoors at the end of each day.

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    1. We laughed that we rarely spend a lot of time hanging out by the rig - and the places we really enjoyed it were quick stops!

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  6. Wow, you're in an awful hurry... Where are you heading? Maybe I missed that post. It's been hard to read or write much nowadays. But it's all good! Yep, new grocery stores can be hard to navigate and even to find the particular brand that you're used to. Drive safe and we'll be out there soon:-))

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    1. We're headed for upstate New York and Vermont for early Fall, and then taking our time going to New Orleans for Christmas. Can't wait til you're on the road!!!

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  7. Ah, you are in Minneapolis today! Are you going to explore the Mall of America? That seems to be our biggest draw nowadays. Can't remember if I already said this but south of the Dells, in Baraboo, is the circus museum which includes shows we really enjoyed. In the Dells itself, the magic show's illusions start while you are still in the lobby--that was fun, too. We also took the Original Duck Tour which is hard on the knees--built for the military, providing comfortable leg room for the troops was not a priority.

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    1. Malls are not our thing, although I know that one is something to see. We'll have to do it next time, we went to see the new stadium instead :-) We're doing the Duck for sure, good to know about the tight seating - Bill is very tall!

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  8. I always feel like we've hit the jackpot when we come across a Trader Joe's, too! They have some things that I can't easily find other places—and for lots better prices, as you know. What a beautiful campground!

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    1. I definitely recommend either of those parks - so, so nice. There are four or five things I stock up on when I find a TJs.

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  9. What a glorious sunset. Love the reflection on the coach. Really good catch. Tell Tessa I think she should take up modeling. She has the perfect figure and style as captured in that great photo of her. For her portfolio no doubt – right? I laugh everytime I see that gas station sign but boy I haven’t seen under $2 a gallon in ages. Hope you get to slow down soon. 3 one nighters in a row is my limit.

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    1. Sometimes I think she fluffs her tail when I pull out the camera! We haven't seen that low a price since then, although no higher than $2.29 isn't bad :-) We've slowed down to 3 night stops again - slower when we arrive in NY.

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  10. PS, are you coming to Vermont? If so, when? We're in up state New York as you know but we won't be here long enough for you to get here I don't think.

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    1. I'm thinking we should be around Monpelier around Sept 9. Haven't decided about Maine yet, will depend on the weather the end of Sept.

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  11. Lots of memories in Rochester, especially for Diana...as her mom was there in the early 90's. Wonderful place, as they saved her life and got her 25 more years. :). Those gas stations crack me up every time I'm out that way.

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    1. So many people here for the Mayo - it is a wonderful place of medical miracles. How wonderful to have 25 more years with Mom!!!

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  12. When we drove thru Minnesota last year, I too couldn't get over the number of beautiful farms. Nice spot on the river. I am already missing Fred Myers. Why who knows just lots to look at I guess.

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