Campland RV Resort, Saskatoon, SK

Site 6, Campland RV Resort, Saskatoon, SK

Tuesday, June 16, 2015, Campland RV Resort, Saskatoon, SK, 243.8 Miles Today, 1978 Miles for the Trip

Last night I managed to overwrite Sunday's page. I usually copy the previous day's page & save it as the next day, however once each trip I manage to forget to do a "save as" and kill the page. Of course I did it when I didn't have an internet connection to download the page from the website, so I had to wait until today.

We drove up 39 to 6 to 11 and stopped at Lumdsen, SK to try to fix my phone. Don & I both added AT&T's Passport service to get 30 days or reduced rates for Canada. His worked fine, however with us sitting next to each other, he had service & I didn't. Of course I couldn't call to find out why, and had no internet to find out why on line. Anne called while Don was driving, and they needed me & my phone to fix the problem, so the nearest stop was Lumdsen. Turns out AT&T had turned off international roaming when I was camped next to Mexico 2 years ago & never turned it back on. Evidently, turning it off & on at my phone has no effect on international roaming if AT&T shuts it off. Anyhow, I now have service. We also stopped at a bank ATM to get some Canadian money. My exchange rate was 1.1598, which seems a bit low, however my bank does not charge a transaction fee & refunds the ATM fee, so I'm happy.

Most of the drive was on either flat 2 lane or 4 lane roads, so we didn't hold up traffic driving at 95KPH, even in the 110KPH portions. My mileage is just below 14.7MPG (US).

We stopped for the afternoon at the Campland RV Resort, sites 6 & 7. Full hookups sites for $37.80 with my Good Sam's discount. The campground WiFi is solid & fast enough to post the web page. Well, it was! OK at 3:00, but now at 9:00PM it is just about dead.

After setting up, Don & Anne drove into Saskatoon looking for an Anderson Leveler. For those with a single axle trailer I believe it is the best way possible to level a trailer. Slip it under the low side tire, drive onto it until level & you are done. They are also looking for a CB microphone that fits a Radio Shack CB. We believe theirs died - They can hear me, I can't hear them although I do see their RF transmission on my CB. Good luck finding one! We are now using my hand held radios.

Not sure what dinner will be - if they find something interesting, that will be it, otherwise we will finish off the brots, sausage, and a salad. (That is what we had).

Until Later -

Nickel Lake Regional Park, Weyburn, SK

Sites 17 & 18, Nickel Lake Regional Park

Monday, June 15, 2015, Nickel Lake Regional Park, Weyburn, SK, 225 Miles Today, 1734.2 Miles for the Trip

We stopped in Rugby to replace the propane we've used so far on the trip. Don needed 2 gallons. Since I didn't refill the tank after the trip to Tennessee, I needed 4 gallons. The idea was to get it in the US where it would be less expensive, but at $3.50 per gallon, I'm not sure Canada is any more expensive. I'm used to paying $10.00 to fill an empty tank (about 4.7 gallons).

A bit more on US 2, then ND 58 to the border at Portal. An easy crossing, although it was the first time I had the inspection officer use a checklist (he actually checked boxes as he asked questions). We headed northwest on 39,stopping for the day at the Nickel Lake Regional Park outside of Weyburn. We are in sites 17 & 18, huge sites close to the washrooms.

Now I don't want to pick on Canadian campgrounds, because a number of the US places I've stayed have the same problem, but the Canadian parks seem to do it more often - the utility hookups are in the wrong place. Here they are at curbside, requiring a longer than normal power cord & water hose. Don solved the problem by pulling into the site tow vehicle first. In my case, the RAV4 is short enough that I could just get it off the road & still hook up. At least I could reach it with my 25' cord. I was in a Provincial park in BC that required 40' of power cord. With the two trailers parked in the opposite directions, we have a huge space between us.  The above is the only photo for today.

After setting up Don & Anne walked to the lake. I hung out at the campsites & enjoyed the sun. It is cool in the shade, but the sun has quite a punch.

Dinner was grilled chicken, corn on the cob, and a microwaved spinach & noodle side dish. Ice cream cones for desert. Not to bad a meal, although it was the first time I've had microwave cooking while camping. None in the Escape, but there is one in the Scamp.

This is being posted a little late - The campground office manager suggested that the campground WiFi @ $9.00 per day would be too slow to do my images, so I waited until we reached the next stop.

Until Later -

Geographic Center of North America, Rugby, ND

Don & Anne at the Geographic Center of North America

Sunday, June 14, 2015, Geographic Center of North America, Rugby, ND, 204 Miles Today, 1509.2 Miles for the Trip

Another day of driving west on US 2. The traffic was light, and the only times we slowed below 60MPH was in the towns & cities. My mileage is creeping up - for awhile I was down to 13.7MPG; at the end of today's travels I'm up to 14.7.

We stopped for the night in Rugby, ND. A bit early in the day, but it is nice to have some time to relax. I remember stopping here with my late wife Carol on a previous trip across the country on US 2 in 1998. I also remember the incredible plate of French fries at the restaurant next to the monument. It was a 12" diameter plate piled 8" high! I'm glad we didn't order 2; we couldn't get through the one we got. Unfortunately, it is now a Mexican restaurant so no French fries.

The 2 car loads of people that got to the monument as we did were willing to let us take out photos first, but since we were in the campground next door, we let them go ahead. A mistake - they spent 15 minutes doing photos. The father must have been a director - he did many retakes, poses, etc...  A couple more photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.

We are in sites 17 & 16 at the Oakwood Inn & Campground. They have sites on both sides of US 2 - we are in the south campground. Full hookups, but nothing to write home about. The bathrooms are all in one units, but there is only one mens & one womens. Very worn, but fairly clean. The campground is fairly filled with semi permanent trailers - I met a couple of the guys that are working on stringing high voltage power lines.

Not sure what will be for dinner - we haven't decided. We do plan to hit Canada tomorrow, so updates will depend on finding WiFi connections.

Added Later-
The wind was blowing strong enough that I'm not sure the grill would stay lit, and there is no picnic table, so we decided to eat at the Mexican restaurant. They may not have the largest plate of French fries, but they sure do provide a huge meal. We each had something different, and any one of them would have been enough for all three of us. Mine was very good - mixed meat fajitas that came in a large, sizzling bowl, along with the fixings & soft tacos.

Until Tomorrow -

Sarah Lake Farmers Union Campground, MN

Sites ? Sarah Lake Farmers Union Campground

Saturday, June 32, 2015, Sarah Lake Farmers Union Campground, MN, 213.1 Miles Today, 1305.2 Miles for the Trip

We spent most of the day driving west on US2. Parts two lane at 55MPH, and much four lane at 65MPH, although I still stayed around 59-60MPH. It is interesting that when I was leading & using cruise control at 57MPH on the interstate over the last few days my mileage was going down, finishing at 13.7MPG. Over the last two days following Don without cruise control at a bit faster average speed, my mileage has been climbing; now it is up to 14.5MPG. A bit flatter roads, but still I found I have a tendency to not let the RAV4 down-shift by slowing down on the slight upgrades, while the cruise control just keeps the speed at its settings, no matter what the grade. I usually have better mileage on cruise control when not towing, but with the trailer is is a different game. A few towns that slowed us down, but I bet we didn't take all that much more time than it would going down to the interstate, and it was much more pleasant a drive.

Our plan was to stop for the night at Sarah Lake Farmers Union Campground southwest of McIntosh. Because it was a weekend, we called, but only got an answering machine & no call back. Got to the campground & it looked full, and no owner. One of the campers called Don, the owner, and he has us parking in the campground road in front of his house. Works for us - $15.00 for the night, although no hookups. A pretty location right on the lake. Pretty clean bathrooms with showers.  No photos today...

Dinner will be Tacos.

Until Tomorrow -

Northland RV Park, South Range, WI

Sunset over Lake Superior

Friday, June 12, 2015, Northland Camping & RV Park, South Range, WI, 284.7 Miles Today, 1092.1 Miles for the Trip

We watched a pretty sunset over Lake Superior & Grand Island viewed from behind our campsites. A quiet, but cool night; it was 49°F this morning. We got an early start and were on the road before 9:00AM. We stopped for a bathroom break at Agate Falls near Trout Creek, MI. There used to be steps going to the bottom, but now all you can do (without climbing the fence) is shoot it from above. Looks like a pretty falls. A photo and today's site photos at today's LakeshoreImages Page.

A long drive today, made longer because the original campground we found on the internet ( and located down a 4 mile dirt road) had a chained gate at the entrance. We decided to continue to our second choice. We started today on MI 28, and finally hit US 2, our primary road until we head back into Canada in North Dakota.

We finally reached the Northland Camping & RV Park in South Range, WI around 4:00 (with a time zone change). We are in sites 14 & 15, full hookup sites for $33.00 per night. The park is a bit worn, both the sites & the bathrooms, as well as being close to US 2 & its road noise, but OK for an overnight.

Dinner was Grilled Sausage, Kielbasa & Cheese Brots, along with Grandma Brown's Sauce Pan Beans & a salad.

Until Tomorrow -